As fate would have it on this day of exploring, the two most sought locations were locked up. At the same time, fate also decided to hand us several random houses along the road. Several times throughout the day we found ourselves making a U-turn to investigate potential abandoned places.

This particular four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is located in prime real estate territory, along a busy road and next to several businesses. I don’t know if a develop purchased the land or if the owners decided to sell of their own accord. The property is worth $3,499,000.

There was little of interest inside although the electricity was still functional. In an upstairs bathroom, I noticed a bird trapped and unable to find a way outside. I tore open the screen (it was already torn) but the bird flew into another bedroom. The other bedroom had no screen, and so I opened the window allowing the bird to fly to freedom.

In 1968, a Jewish businessman named Stan founded a company in the State of New York. Stan’s company sold sealants used for roofing, pools and various construction purposes. The company grew to two N.Y. warehouses and eight warehouses in Ontario, Canada.

In 1978, Stan’s wife Elaine purchased a Santa Fe-style house located in a prestigious area of Toronto known for its million-dollar homes. The property may have already been in the family name as it was transferred to her for an amount of $2.00 which is common for inter-family transfers.

Around 1994 the sealant company changed their name to reflect the larger variety of merchandise they carried. The company’s product line included insulation foam, disinfectants, adhesives and roofing supplies. At around the same time, a child company was formed that sold retail pools, spas and pool cleaning supplies.
 
The couple’s son, David worked at the family business as the Vice President of Finance from 1995 to 2008. In 2009, he was promoted to the position of CEO, which he held until 2017. In 2017 the business was sold to a new business interest.

The pool and spa business still operate several locations across Ontario. Current reviews seem to suggest that they’re having current difficulty in maintaining customer satisfaction.

In 2002, Stan’s name was added to the house title which had previously been in his wife’s name. Stan passed away in February of 2018 and his wife, Elaine, passed away in June of 2019.

The house was sold in November of 2020 for $5,780,000. The couple who purchased the property hired an architectural firm to design a new home. In April 2021, an application was made to the City of Toronto to demolish the property and build the new home. There were objections from the neighbours, particularly with regards to the clear cutting of trees along the road. The City has so far declined to allow the new construction to go forth.

The home features an indoor pool with sky lights and patio doors leading to the back deck. The front entrance features two stain glass windows. A winding staircase leads to the upper and lower floors. On the main floor is a washroom with some unique gold wallpaper and a gravity toilet. Perhaps the most modern portion of the house is the kitchen with marble counter tops, ceramic floors and stainless steel appliances.

The basement has been completely done in bamboo wicker (real or artificial) and with a tiki bar and wine rack in the corner. The bar’s counter top is set upon four wine barrels with spouts. There’s also a pool room with over sized table.

Photos & Research: TWP
Thanks to UrbexIsLife for the location

Like so many of Toronto’s aging homes, this property fell into the cross-hairs of a property developer and now awaits its day with the bulldozer. The property was built in 1966 and features a three car garage. The front door and fireplace are exceptionally wider than found in most homes today.

The property is located in North York.

I don’t have a lot of background information on this property. I was told that it was once a hippy camp during the 1960’s. It’s been well preserved mainly because it’s tucked away in a forested area of Ontario. There are several buildings on the property, which appear to have been last in use as seasonal residences.

A follower of mine was able to send me some information on this place, that showed it used to be a community. Unfortunately I lost the information on the history of this site.

During a follow up visit, we did see someone using one of the furthest buildings as a camping ground.

This is a rural farm out in the country. The front entrance features yellow and blue stain glass. The staircase is the usual wooden newel post design that was so prevalent in these designs.

An assistance walker in the front entrance along with the dated bed frame and overall design of the home, leads me to think that an elderly couple resided here until their passing away.

This location is named Sandra’s House for the young girl who once lived here. As of 2021, she would be approximately 29 years old. In her bedroom still hang the movie posters from Walt Disney’s Pocahontas (released in 1995).

The house was a treasure trove of vintage children’s toys at one time. These items include an Easy Bake oven and a Lite-Brite. A Lite-Brite is a toy in which you’d insert coloured pegs into a honeycomb-like grid that was placed over a piece of black cardboard paper. On the black paper were tiny letters indicating what colour pegs to place into the grid. Once you’d inserted the clear plastic pegs, they’d break through the  paper and instantly light up from the light bulb inside the toy. The result of inserting all of the proper coloured pegs, were different designs such as flowers or boats. The toy came with a variety of different designs on the black paper.

Given the age of the television and a few scarce VHS tapes, I’d estimate the house was abandoned sometime during the late 1990’s.

The house has seen considerable natural decay over the years; the paint on the walls is peeling and holes in the roof allowing the elements inside. On my visit I didn’t even venture into the room with all of the vintage toys, a lesson to be learned about exploring all the nooks and crannies.

I could find only one reference to Sandra on the internet, which in this day and age is something remarkable. Whomever owned the home had the first initial of “R”, but my research has come up empty so far. The family was Italian, which would explain the photo of Mary.

There are barns out back, but I didn’t explore them. I hope to return for a follow-up visit soon.

This is a well documented house in the urban exploration hobby as the house is found alongside a well traveled highway near Hamilton. The house has been vacant for as long as I can remember. In recent years wooden beams have been added to the exterior of the house, presumably to reinforce the frame.

Despite the condition of the house, the owner allegedly doesn’t want to sell the land.

This house is located in a large metropolitan area, tucked away in a small forested pocket off of a highway. The house is barely visible from the road.

The house was constructed in 1967.

It was last occupied by a family from Syria. The family came to Canada as refugees from the war torn country of Syria. The four children were not able to attend school or go outside in their homeland. Seven family members lived in a small bachelor sized apartment.

Perhaps you’ve seen the news coverage of Syria, particularly overwhelmed hospitals where small children have been seriously injured in the conflict. After ten years of war, many of the buildings are now shells, and over 12,000 children have died or been injured since 2011 (source: Unicef).

They family sought better living conditions and knew that Canada was a safe haven. They made a three-week trek to Canada. The children are now in school and learning English (they spoke only Arabic). The  father went to school in Ontario and is now working at a car dealership.

This house was donated to the family. This makes me appreciate what a great country Canada is. Don’t ever take for granted your freedom.

A development company purchased the property for $16,400,000 and the occupants found new housing. The family left behind several child’s toys, bedding and large television sets.

The developer plans to build a new subdivision on the property. The community has been outspoken in their opposition to eradicating green space to create new housing. Several years ago, the city council had agreed that the land was not for development.

Video

This is a rural property that’s been around for some years now. I have never been back to check on whether any of the items are still there. There’s a minivan and a parted-out car in the garage and a 40 foot motorhome.

Whoever lived here would certainly have been someone I could get acquainted with. They were an avid computer enthusiast and video game collector. Some of the computers include a Commodore PET and 8050 dual drive, a Radio Shack TRS-80 and what looks like a ZX-80. Video game consoles include an Atari 2600 and a Coleco Telstar Marksman. There was a reel-to-reel tape player as well. I wouldn’t expect any of these to still be in working condition.

Inside the house are many cages in various rooms, which was somewhat disturbing.