An Update From Madeleine McDowell

Readers of this site are familiar with Madeleine McDowell and her contributions not just to the Clara Harris archive but to the heritage of Toronto. In September of 2012 I had asked Madeleine about a collector’s painting: Houses in Snow, Raymond Avenue. And in keeping with her philosophy “that everything tells a story” (http://heritagetoronto.org/everything-tells-a-story/) this is Madeleine’s conclusion:

“I have been examining the area around Clara's home and Raymond Avenue, including the slope down to Langmuir and "I think I've got it". Climbing the hill, from Langmuir and Humbercrest, illustration in hand, and a little local knowledge applied, I think that that is the site where she was when she did the study.


There are a few vintage buildings intact to the east, about a block. They are similar in flavour. The slope connects Raymond Avenue to Langmuir Crescent. This whole continuum was originally Raymond Baby's lane, which led from Jane Street to her home and orchard, in the Valley south of Baby Point.”


The roads highlighted in yellow mark Madeleine’s route.