Islington Avenue

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Islington Avenue
Islington Avenue Kleinburg Sign.jpg
York Regional Road 17.svg Islington Avenue Toronto Sign.jpg
York Regional Road 17
Islington Avenue Map in Toronto.jpg
Route of Islington Avenue within Toronto, road shown in red
Maintained by City of Toronto
York Region
Length18.7 mi (30.1 km) [1]
Location Toronto
Vaughan
South end Lake Shore Boulevard
in Toronto
Major
junctions
Gardiner Shield.svg Gardiner Expressway
The Queensway
Bloor Street
Dundas Street
Burnhamthorpe Road
Eglinton Avenue
Dixon Road
Ontario 401 crown.svg  Highway 401
Rexdale Boulevard
Albion Road
Finch Avenue
Steeles Avenue
York Regional Road 7.svg Highway 7
York Regional Road 72.svg Langstaff Road
York Regional Road 73.svg Rutherford Road
York Regional Road 25.svg Major Mackenzie Drive
North endOntario 27 crown.svg  Highway 27
in Vaughan
Nearby arterial roads
  Kipling Avenue Islington Avenue Royal York Road  

Islington Avenue is a north-south route travelling through the City of Toronto and York Region. It runs from Lake Shore Boulevard West at 7th Street in the former Town of New Toronto to Highway 27 at the former town of Kleinburg, in the City of Vaughan north of Toronto. Islington Avenue is approximately 30.2 kilometres (18.7 mi) long. It runs through the former city of Etobicoke, serving as one of its main north-south arterials.

Contents

History

The street was first surveyed in 1799 (at the time, it was known as the Middle Road). [2] The originating section of Islington Avenue between Lake Shore Blvd. West and Birmingham Street in New Toronto, was originally Seventh Street until 1980, when Islington Avenue was extended south of Horner Avenue. This connection required a new alignment north of Birmingham Street, which crossed over to the top of Sixth Street before continuing north over the CNR Railway yards.

The stretch beyond Albion Road into York Region was originally part of a road connecting the former villages of Woodbridge and Weston. Beyond Woodbridge, the road continued north through Kleinburg as Islington Avenue does today.

At the end of the Second World War the street was widened, causing the loss of almost all historic buildings. [3]

Route

Islington Avenue today begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West at 7th Street in the former Town of New Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario, in the southwest area of the City of Toronto. It and proceeds north through the former village of Islington, from which it gets its name. At Dundas Street, is historic Montgomery's Inn, built in 1832, and now operated as a museum by the City of Toronto. It continues north through a series of nieghbourhoods of suburban Etobicoke including Richview, Kingsview Village, and Rexdale. At Finch Avenue it crosses the Humber River and enters the former city of North York, passing through the neighbourhood of Humber Summit. North of Steeles Avenue it enters the city of Vaughan, and passes through the communities of Woodbridge and Pine Grove before terminating at Highway 27 at the former town of Kleinburg.

Transit

Islington subway station opened on Bloor St in 1968. Today the 110 Islington South serves the street south of the station, [4] while the 37 Islington runs along the street from the station to Steeles. [5]

Landmarks

Landmarks and notable sites along Steeles from west to east

LandmarkCross streetNotesImage
GO Transit Willowbrook Yard Evans AveCrossed by an overpass GO Transit Willowbrook 02.JPG
Islington subway station Bloor St Islington TTC Station.jpg
Montgomery's Inn Dundas StHistoric structure Montgomery's Inn.jpg
St. George's Golf and Country Club The Kingsway
Richview Collegiate Institute Eglinton Ave
Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School Dixon RdFormer Keiller Mackay Collegiate Institute Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School.JPG
Rexdale Presbyterian ChurchRexdale Blvd Rexdale Presbyterian.JPG
Thistletown Collegiate Institute Elmhurst Dr
St. Roch's Roman Catholic ChurchFinch Ave St. Roch's, Toronto.JPG
Pine Ridge CemeteryFinch Ave Pine Ridge Cemetery.JPG
Humber Summit LibrarySteeles Ave TPL Humber Summit.JPG
Boyd Conservation Area Rutherford Rd

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References

  1. "Steeles Ave. route". Google Maps. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  2. Brown 2020, p. 46.
  3. Brown 2020, p. 47.
  4. "110 Islington South Route History" Transfer Points, Vol XV, No. 6, July-August 1989
  5. "37 Islington Route History." Transfer Points, Vol XV, No. 6, July-August 1989

Sources