Some things are hard to figure out, like the unusual building in a playground at David Crombie Park.

It has yellow-tinged glass walls that are caked with grime. It seems to serve no obvious purpose, other than as a storage facility for junk or a subject for debate among neighbours with varying theories about it.

Decals on the glass panels indicate that it is Toronto District School Board property. So why is it in a city park and why has it been allowed to become a run-down eyesore?

We dug into it and found the answers below ground, and quite different than you might think.

Karen Newton emailed to say it has for many years been a conversation piece for people living in the area, who think it has outlived its usefulness, if it ever had any value.

“The structure is used to store garbage (and) is never emptied,” said Newton, adding, “it has sat there unused for I would say over 10 years” and should be torn down.

According to local lore, “it was supposed to be an exit for an underground tunnel to the school across the road. I believe it cost millions of dollars to build. It was never used, due to flooding.

“The sidewalk is well used by people going to and from the Distillery District. What must they be thinking about an enormous plastic garbage container, yellowed but clear enough to see all the garbage within?”

We found it exactly as described by Newton, directly across the street from the Market Lane Jr. and Sr. Public School. So we went into the school and found a staffer who confirmed that an underground passageway runs between the school and the structure.

When the school was built, he said they wanted kids to be able to get to the playground on the south side of The Esplanade without dodging traffic. A passageway that connects to a staircase in the playground structure was constructed, but he said it was soon shut down when water began leaking into it.

The tunnel was never reopened, which is why the glass-walled building was never put to its intended use as an entrance and exit, and has taken on an air of neglect, he said.

STATUS: Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the TDSB, sent us an email confirming its use as an exit and entrance to the Market Lane passageway. “It was used for a brief time prior to leaks developing, at which point it stopped being used. The tunnel is currently on the school’s list of needed repairs, but it is not urgent and will likely not be addressed in the near future,” he said, noting the school board’s $3.4 billion repair backlog. “In the meantime, staff will be taking a look at the tunnel to determine if it is even necessary. Students currently cross the street to the park with the help of a crossing guard.”

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