East Toronto Neighbourhoods

East York



Todmorden Village

Todmorden Village grew up around a complex of mills and a brewery that operated near the banks of the Don River beginning in 1795. Many of Todmorden's original families, including the Helliwells and Eastwoods came from Todmorden Village in Yorkshire England. It is this English Village that Todmorden is named after. The Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum situated at the foot of Pottery Road and a small number of workers houses east of Broadview Avenue are vivid reminders of this pioneer community. The history of the Todmorden area north of O'Connor is dominated by the Taylor family who came to the Don Valley in 1834. The Taylors owned all of the land north of O'Connor between Broadview and Woodbine Avenues. The Taylors' business empire in the Don Valley included paper mills, saw mills, grist mills, and the Don Valley Pressed Brick Works which supplied the bricks for many of Toronto's houses and commercial buildings.


The Taylor estates were subdivided in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's, which led to the residential development of the north end of Todmorden Village.



East York


The Township of East York was incorporated on January 1, 1924. At that time East York was comprised mostly of market gardens, a handful of brick making yards and a race horse track that was located in the area bound by Oak Park, Lumsden, Chisholm and Danforth Avenues.



In its early years, East York's population consisted mostly of employees of the local market gardens and brick yards as well as returning World War One veterans and their families. East York's largest period of growth took place between 1946 and 1961 when the housing supply nearly doubled in size.


East York held the distinction of being Canada's only Borough until 1998 when it was amalgamated into the City of Toronto. The fact that East York chose to remain a Borough for so long rather than incorporate as a city speaks volumes for the neighbourliness and small town friendliness that has been an East York trademark ever since its formation in 1924.



Leaside

Leaside was first settled by John Lea a pioneer farmer who emigrated to Canada from Philadelphia in 1819. In the 1850's, Lea's oldest son William built an eight-sided octagonal shaped house - appropriately named 'Leaside' - near the present day site of Leaside Memorial Gardens. This neighbourhood has been called Leaside ever since.


The Canadian Northern Railway incorporated the Town of Leaside in 1913 on land formerly owned by the Lea family. Leaside's development was historically significant in that it was the first town in Ontario to be completely planned on paper before any homes were actually built.


Leaside's residential development was stalled due to the outbreak of World War I, however Leaside was an important contributor to the war effort. Heavy artillery was manufactured at the Leaside Munitions Company. Leaside was also the location of an airfield used for the training of Canadian pilots.


In 1918 the Leaside Airfield made Canadian aviation history as the terminus of the first airmail flight in Canada, travelling from Montreal to Toronto. Leaside's status as a Town came to an end in 1967 when it became part of the Borough of East York, which has since amalgamated with the City of Toronto.



Parkview Hills

Parkview Hills was once part of the vast Taylor family estate. The Taylors moved to the Don Valley in the 1820's and built up a business empire that included a complex of mills and the Don Valley Brick Works.


The Taylors never settled on this part of their estate however they were involved in the subdivision of land in Parkview Hills. The Taylor family are said to have named Hackberry, White Pine, Alder and Aspen streets after trees that once grew in this area. Presteign Avenue, Presteign United Church, and Presteign School are all named after the Welsh hometown of William Pugh who, along with the Taylor family, subdivided the present day neighbourhood.


When Parkview Hills first opened in 1947, three bedroom bungalows were sold for around $9,950. The foundations of these houses were dug using teams of horses and there were no paved roads until 1950. Local residents recall swimming and fishing in nearby Taylor Creek up until 1955 when it was deemed to be to polluted for recreational use.



Governor's Bridge

The Governor's Bridge neighbourhood was subdivided in 1912 by William Douglas and Wallace Nesbitt. Douglas and Nesbitt were distinguished lawyers at the Toronto law firm of McCarthy, Osler and Company and both men were elected president of the Osgoode Legal and Literary Society during their careers.


The actual building of homes in this neighbourhood did not take place until after 1923, when the Governor's Bridge was opened. This bridge spanned a section of the Moore Park Ravine and received its name due to the close proximity of the Lieutenant Governor's residence, which was located where Chorley Park is today.


The same year that the Governor's Bridge opened, Wallace Nesbitt and the estate of William Douglas altered their original plan of subdivision for this neighbourhood. All of the original street names were changed in the new plan. Southview Avenue became Nesbitt Drive, Oakdale Crescent became Douglas Crescent and Hawthorne Avenue was changed to Governor's Road.
In the early years this neighbourhood was affectionately referred to as "Little Hollywood" because many of the first houses built in Governor's Bridge featured Spanish architectural accents.



Bennington Heights

The Bennington Heights neighbourhood is situated on a flat plain of land, on the crest of an escarpment which thousands of years ago had been part of the shoreline of ancient Lake Iroquois - the forerunner to Lake Ontario.


This area was first settled in the 1870's by John Cudmore and Daniel Ryan, who operated successful market gardens on their respective properties. The Cudmore farm was subdivided for residential development in 1889 and later re-subdivided in 1912. Daniel Ryan's property, which was located just to the north of the Cudmore farm was subdivided in stages between 1891 and 1946.


The first resident of the present day neighbourhood was Thomas Weatherhead, a solicitor for the East York School Board. In 1925, when Weatherhead purchased number thirty Rosemount Avenue he had the Rosemount street name changed to Bennington, which was his wife's maiden name.


The Bennington name was also adopted by the Bennington Heights School when it opened in 1950. This neighbourhood has been referred to as Bennington Heights ever since.



Toronto

Danforth Village

Danforth Village, north of the Danforth, was land originally held by the Church of England. Local street names like Glebemount, and Glebeholme, are reminders that this was once Church land.



The land south of the Danforth was not held by the Church. This land was originally owned by families engaged in either farming or in the brick making business.


Danforth Avenue, this neighbourhood's main thoroughfare, is named after Asa Danforth, an American contractor who built Kingston road in 1799 but ironically he had nothing to do with the building of Danforth Avenue.


After being annexed to the City of Toronto in 1908 Danforth Village began to be subdivided. The two most significant events in the growth of this neighbourhood were the completion of the Prince Edward Viaduct in 1918, and the opening of the Bloor - Danforth subway in 1966.



Playter Estates

Playter Estates is named after the Playter family who held the original land grants on both sides of the Don River near Bloor Street. Captain George Playter, the patriarch of the family, was an United Empire Loyalist who emigrated to Canada from Pennsylvania in the 1790's. George's son James Playter, owned the land where Playter Estates is today. However, it was James' eldest brother John who actually settled on this land. John's grandson, John Lea Playter, erected the Playter Homestead at 28 Playter Crescent in the mid 1870's. This charming brick home is still owned by members of the Playter family. The property around the homestead was used for farmland up until 1912, when the current neighbourhood was developed



Riverdale

Riverdale was a small rural community until the Grand Trunk Railway began steaming through here in the 1850's. The railway brought industry and employment opportunities to Riverdale. It also attracted a pool of labourers who built the first homes in Riverdale, south of the railway tracks.North of Queen Street Riverdale remained largely undeveloped until 1884 when it was annexed by the City of Toronto. At that time Riverdale was called Riverside. The name was probably changed to Riverdale as a reference to the city park of the same name, that has long been a landmark in this area.


Riverdale's development was accelerated in 1918 with the building of Toronto's largest bridge, the Prince Edward Viaduct. The Viaduct provided Riverdale with an important link to the City of Toronto, west of the Don River, and marked a coming of age for this popular Toronto neighbourhood.



Leslieville

Leslieville began as a small village back in the 1850's. The village grew up around the Toronto Nurseries owned by George Leslie and sons, after whom this neighbourhood is named.


Most of Leslieville's residents were either market gardeners or were employed at one of several brick making companies that used to operate in the area.


One of the first buildings in the village was the Leslieville Public School, built in 1863. Leslieville's first principal was Alexander Muir who composed "The Maple Leaf Forever".


Muir's poetic verse was inspired when a brilliant autumn maple leaf fell from a Leslieville tree onto his jacket.


That maple tree is still standing today and has become Leslieville's most famous landmark. It is designated by an historic plaque at the intersection of Laing Street and Memory Lane.



The Beach

The Beach was first settled by the Ashbridge family who came to Canada from Philadelphia, in 1793. Ashbridge's Bay Park is named after these pioneers. The Ashbridges, and a handful of other families, farmed this district until the latter part of the 1800's, when many of The Beach properties were subdivided. At that time, large parcels of land were set aside for local parks.



Woodbine, Kew Gardens, Scarboro, Balmy Beach and Victoria Park collectively became Toronto's playgrounds by the lake. These amusement parks also attracted many summer cottagers to the area.


By the 1920's, the City of Toronto was expanding eastward and The Beach was subdivided for year round residential development. Over the years The Beach has emerged as one of Toronto's most popular neighbourhoods.