Governor's Bridge | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Toronto |
Governor's Bridge is a bridge and small neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located to the east of Rosedale and Moore Park neighbourhoods. Unlike them, it was part of the former city of East York. The neighbourhood is named for the Governor's Bridge that crosses the Moore Park Ravine from Douglas Crescent to Astley Avenue and connects the area to Rosedale. The bridge was built in 1923 and restored in 2000.
Governor's Bridge's boundaries are the Canadian Pacific Railroad to the north, Bayview Avenue to the south and east, and Mud Creek as part of the Moore Park Ravine to its intersection with Pottery Road to the west. It contains all residential properties on the streets currently known as Governor's Road, Nesbitt Drive, Douglas Crescent, True Davidson Drive and Hampton Park Crescent, as of May 1, 2009. [1] The neighbourhood is divided into two sections by a smaller set of railway tracks.
It is a very small neighbourhood with only a couple of hundred homes. The area was originally purchased and subdivided in 1911 by two prominent Toronto lawyers: William Douglas and Wallace Nesbitt. Each has a street in the neighbourhood named after him. Construction had to wait until the construction of Governor's Bridge in 1923 connected the area to the rest of the city. [2] The bridge was named in honour of the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario whose official residence, Chorley Park (Fourth Government House), was located just south of the bridge.
The west part of the neighbourhood was quickly built up during the Roaring Twenties boom period, and most of the houses date from this era. Many of them are ornamented with Spanish-style accents. This style was also very popular in California at the time, and was thus often featured and glamourized in films of the period. In its early history the area was thus sometimes nicknamed "Little Hollywood." It has remained an elite enclave that in recent years has seen many of the smaller bungalows replaced by much larger new homes. [3]
The eastern part of the neighbourhood, across the rail line, has a very different history. After the Second World War Bayview Avenue was extended south from Moore Avenue through the Don Valley. This opened the possibility of developing the land just east of Governor's Bridge, which could be reached along Bayview. In 1959 Harry Frimerman, a Toronto land developer obtained permission from East York reeve Jack Allen to construct a set of apartment buildings on the site. This caused immediate outrage from the residents of Governor's Bridge and beyond who had been promised the area would remain as park land. Within days the municipality reversed itself, but legally the development permit could not be revoked. The developers began construction of the Hampton Park Apartments. Unable to block the construction itself, the township refused to extend water and sewer service to the site. In 1960 the developers halted construction of the partially completed apartments when the municipality refused right-of-way to the site. [4] A hollow seven story shell of a building remained on the site for over twenty years. The position atop the ravine and next to the Don Valley Parkway made it into a prominent landmark and it was nicknamed the Bayview Ghost. [5]
East York rezoned the area for single family homes and the "Ghost" was finally demolished in November 1981 at the developer's expense. [6]
A new bridge was built linking Governor's Bridge to the other side of the tracks, and in the late 1990s the Conservatory Group began work on a new subdivision named the Governor's Bridge Estates. The development consists of 60 homes in a neo-eclectic style. This development also ran into difficulties as people proved unwilling to buy homes overlooking an expressway at Rosedale prices. [7]
Rosedale is a neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance. It is located north of Downtown Toronto and is one of its oldest suburbs. In 2013, Rosedale was ranked the best neighbourhood in Toronto to live in by Toronto Life. According to Today’s Senior Magazine, it is known as the area where the city's 'old money' lives, and is home to some of Canada's richest and most famous citizens including Gerry Schwartz, founder of Onex Corporation, Adrienne Clarkson, the 26th Governor General of Canada, and her husband, the author John Ralston Saul, as well as David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet of the Thomson Corporation, the latter of whom is the richest man in Canada.
The Bridle Path is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is characterized by large multimillion-dollar mansions and two to four acre lot sizes. It makes up part of Bridle Path–Sunnybrook–York Mills. Often referred to as "Millionaires' Row", as of 2014 it is the most affluent neighbourhood in Canada, with an average household income of $936,137, as well as by property values with an average dwelling value of $2.24M.
North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in the northern part of the Old Toronto district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Currently occupying a geographically central location within the city of Toronto, the Town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890, when much of the area was still farmland, and annexed by Toronto in 1912. The name is still used to refer to the area in general, although Yonge–Eglinton and Midtown Toronto are officially used.
Deer Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centered on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in the south, Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway in the west, the Beltline Trail in the north on the west side of Yonge Street, and Glen Elm Avenue in the north on the east side of Yonge Street. For the purposes of social policy analysis and research, the Toronto government’s Social Development & Administration division includes Deer Park within the City of Toronto's official "Rosedale-Moore Park" and "Yonge-St.Clair" neighbourhood profiles. The neighbourhood is in Ward 22, represented by Councillor Josh Matlow at Toronto City Council.
Lawrence Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Yonge Street to the west and Bayview Avenue to the east, and from Blythwood Ravine on the south to Lawrence Avenue on the north. Lawrence Park was one of Toronto's first planned garden suburbs. Begun in the early part of the 20th century, it did not fully develop until after the Second World War. It was ranked the wealthiest neighbourhood in all of Canada in 2011.
Moore Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Toronto's most affluent neighbourhoods. Toronto Life ranked the Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood as the best neighbourhood to live in Toronto. It lies along both sides of St. Clair Avenue East between the Vale of Avoca ravine and Moore Park ravine. The northern boundary is Mount Pleasant Cemetery and the southern the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.
Bayview Village is an neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the federal Don Valley North riding and the provincial Don Valley North electoral district, and Toronto electoral Ward 17: Don Valley North. In 2006, it had a population of 15,370.
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same right-of-way. The street, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) long, contains a significant cross-sample of Toronto's ethnic communities. It is also home to Toronto's famous shopping street, the Mink Mile.
Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is designated as York Regional Road 34.
The Toronto Belt Line Railway was built during the 1890s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consisted of two commuter railway lines to promote and service new suburban neighbourhoods outside of the then city limits. Both lines were laid as loops. The longer Don Loop ran north of the city limits, and the shorter Humber Loop ran west of the city limits. The railway was never profitable and ran for only two years. Today, as part of a rails-to-trails project, the Beltline Trail lies on the right-of-way of the Don Loop.
Bayview Woods-Steeles is a neighbourhood located in the northern tip of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the district of North York. It is part of federal and provincial electoral district Willowdale, and Toronto electoral ward 24: Willowdale (East). In 2006, it had a population of 13,295. The area is divided by a series of ravines, and is often not considered a neighbourhood unto itself. Rather the sections are more often divided between the neighbouring areas of Hillcrest Village, Bayview Village, and Newtonbrook.
Old East York is a district of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of the southern, urban, portion of the former borough of East York. Old East York is continuous and functionally integrated with the old City of Toronto, bounded by the old municipal boundary between East York and Old Toronto on the south, by the Don River Valley on the west and northwest, by Taylor-Massey Creek on the north, and Victoria Park Avenue in the east.
Midtown is one of four central business districts outside the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the north of Old Toronto, its borders are roughly defined by St. Clair Avenue to the south and Eglinton Avenue or Lawrence Avenue to the north, Bayview Avenue to the east and Dufferin Street to the west. The central neighbourhood of the area is Yonge–Eglinton.
The Bayview Bridge is a Deck truss bridge over the West Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The six-lane bridge carries Bayview Avenue across the Don Valley, connecting with Lawrence Avenue East at its southern end. Built in 1929 by Harold Babcock, the bridge helped spur the development of the Bridle Path, an affluent neighbourhood northeast of the bridge's span.
Mount Pleasant Road is a major arterial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street extends from Jarvis Street south of Bloor Street north to Glen Echo Drive. The road is unique as one of the few arterial roads in Toronto to be created after the development of the suburbs which it passes through. These include the wealthy Rosedale, Moore Park and Lawrence Park neighbourhoods. The road also passes through the centre of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, after which it takes its name.
The Beltline Trail is a 9-kilometre (5.6 mi)-long cycling and walking rail trail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of three sections, the York Beltline Trail west of Allen Road, the Kay Gardner Beltline Park from the Allen to Mount Pleasant Road, and the Ravine Beltline Trail south of Mount Pleasant Cemetery through the Moore Park Ravine. Built on the former right-of-way of the Toronto Belt Line Railway, the linear park passes through the neighbourhoods of Rosedale, Moore Park, Forest Hill, Chaplin Estates, and Fairbank.
Teddington Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Yonge Street to the west and Bayview Avenue to the east, and from Snowden Road in the south to north of Glen Echo Road and Rosedale Golf Club. Development occurred in and around the 1930s, and was farmland before that time.
Yellow Creek is a partially-buried southeasterly tributary of the Don River in Toronto. It has also been known at different times as Silver Creek, Sylvan Creek, and Rosedale Brook. The former source of Yellow Creek begins near Sheppard West station in the Downsview neighbourhood. Most of the creek and its sources are buried underground in storm sewers until they emerge into Avoca Ravine in the Deer Park neighbourhood and continue their way to the Don River.
Mud Creek is a mostly buried south-easterly tributary of the Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has also been known at different times as Mount Pleasant Brook and Spring Valley Creek.