Rexdale

Last updated

Rexdale
Neighbourhood
Rexdale houses.JPG
Residences in Rexdale
Rexdale
Location of Rexdale within Toronto
Coordinates: 43°43′19″N79°34′19″W / 43.72194°N 79.57194°W / 43.72194; -79.57194 [1]
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Province Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario
City Toronto
Community Etobicoke-York
Changed Municipality1998
(Toronto from Etobicoke)
Government
 •  MP Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North)
 •  MPP Doug Ford (Etobicoke North)
 •  Councillor Vincent Crisanti (Ward 1 Etobicoke North)

Rexdale is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north-west of the central core, in the district of Etobicoke. Rexdale defines an area of several official neighbourhoods north of Highway 401 and east of Highway 427. Rexdale was originally a post World War II residential development within Etobicoke, and today is applied to a general area from Malton and Toronto Pearson International Airport in the City of Mississauga to the west, Highway 401 to the south, Steeles Avenue to the north, and the Humber River to the east. It is centred on Rexdale Boulevard and Islington Avenue.

Contents

Character

Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale Woodbine Racetrack.jpg
Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale

Neighbourhoods in Rexdale include:

Institutions and attractions located in Rexdale include the Canadian Standards Association, Toronto Congress Centre, Woodbine Centre, and Woodbine Racetrack.

History

Rexdale was named after local real estate developer Rex Heslop, who purchased farmland in the area in 1955 for a cost of $110,000, and installed water mains, streets and sewers, as well as houses that listed for sale at either $9,000 or $10,000. The homes sold well, and soon 330 families were living in the development. In 1956, Heslop opened the Rexdale Plaza (once home to Eaton's and also Towers Department Stores and since demolished and replaced by a power centre). By then, 70 industries and 3,600 homes were located in Rexdale. [2]

Rexdale's first residents were mostly English and Scottish, Italian but it evolved into a multicultural neighbourhood in the following decades, led by those from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent. The population of Rexdale, according to the 2006 Census, is 94,469 living in 30,238 households. The population grows at a rate comparable to surrounding communities.[ citation needed ]

In 2006, Christopher Hume, a journalist with the Toronto Star , wrote that Rexdale "has become shorthand for suburban blight, social breakdown and gang violence. In 2005 alone, five young men were shot dead in the area, a grey landscape of highways and highrises, shopping malls and churches." Hume wrote that children who lived in Rexdale had nothing to do, and were "wandering around the anonymous streets of this place". The vision of Rexdale's planners, Hume wrote, was a patchwork of separate precincts for working, living, shopping and playing, connected by expressways. However, this single-use zoning, separation, industrial-scale development and reliance on cars contributed to Rexdale's problems. [3] Joyce Lau of the South China Morning Post stated in 2015 that in Rexdale "other immigrants live in poverty, surrounded by crime." [4]

In 2006, Toronto Police conducted a gang sweep, apprehending 106 alleged members of The Jamestown Crew, "a violent street gang that spreads violence, chaos and drugs in Rexdale". [5]

Education

West Humber Collegiate Institute is one of several public secondary schools in the area. West Humber Collegiate Institute.JPG
West Humber Collegiate Institute is one of several public secondary schools in the area.
Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School is one of several public separate secondary schools in the area. This building was built in 1966 as Humbergrove Secondary School. Humbergrove Secondary School.jpg
Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School is one of several public separate secondary schools in the area. This building was built in 1966 as Humbergrove Secondary School.

Notable schools located in Rexdale include:

Toronto District School Board:

Toronto Catholic District School Board:

The North Campus of Humber College is located within Rexdale. The same campus also hosts the University of Guelph-Humber, a post-secondary institution operated by Humber College, and the University of Guelph. The Rexdale branch of the Toronto Public Library is located in the area.

Notable people

In 2006, Rexdale was the setting of the TV movie Doomstown . The youth TV series How to Be Indie took place in Rexdale.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etobicoke</span> District of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Etobicoke is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River, on the west by Etobicoke Creek, the cities of Brampton, and Mississauga, the Toronto Pearson International Airport, and on the north by the city of Vaughan at Steeles Avenue West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kingsway, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane and Finch</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thistletown</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Heights</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Lawrence Heights is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of central Toronto, in the district of North York. The neighbourhood is roughly bounded by Lawrence Avenue to the south, Yorkdale Road to the north, Varna Drive to the east and Dufferin Street to the west. It is part of the greater Yorkdale-Glen Park official Toronto neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kipling Avenue</span> Road in Toronto, Canada

Kipling Avenue is a street in the cities of Toronto and Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 6 concessions (12 km) west from Yonge Street, and is a major north–south arterial road. It consists of three separate sections, with total combined length of 26.4 km. (16.4 mi.).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martingrove Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Martingrove Collegiate Institute is a semestered public secondary school in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1966 and is currently overseen by the Toronto District School Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Elms, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Elms is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by the Humber River to the east, Islington Avenue to the west, Thistletown to the north, and Highway 401 to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smithfield, Toronto</span> Part of a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Smithfield is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Some new residents of Toronto and new immigrants to Canada are attracted to this neighbourhood, mainly because there is a large amount of affordable public housing. It is named after the former village of Smithfield located at the intersection of Albion Road and Martin Grove Road. The neighbourhood is located north of the west branch of the Humber River and west of Kipling Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Valley Village</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Humber Valley Village is a neighbourhood located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is within the former suburb of Etobicoke and includes some of the most expensive real estate in the metropolitan west end. The boundaries are from Dundas Street on the south to Islington Avenue to the west, Eglinton Avenue to the north, and the Humber River in the east. The neighbourhood is in the political riding of Etobicoke Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Humber Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

West Humber Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated at the corner of Martin Grove Road and John Garland Blvd., just south of Finch Avenue West in the neighbourhood of Rexdale. Opened in 1966, the institute is owned and operated by the Toronto District School Board. Prior to 1998, it was overseen by the Etobicoke Board of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Queensway–Humber Bay</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Queensway–Humber Bay, known officially as Stonegate–Queensway, is a neighbourhood in the southwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southeast area of the former City of Etobicoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thistletown Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Thistletown Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located at the corner of Fordwich Crescent and Islington Avenue in the district of Etobicoke. The motto of the school is "Scientia Crescat Vita Colatur". It is administered by the Toronto District School Board.

Rex Wesley Heslop, was a Canadian businessman noted for being a land developer and residential real estate developer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School</span> Catholic high school in Ontario, Canada

Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Metropolitan Separate School Board. It is named after a Basilian Father and founder of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Henry Carr (1880–1963).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre</span> Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre is a Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the New Toronto area of Etobicoke. It is operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board as a regional art school for grades 9-12.

Humberwood is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of the central core in the former suburb of Etobicoke within the larger neighbourhood of Rexdale. Humberwood is named after the Humber River, which flows along its northern edge. Humberwood is bound to the north by the Humber River western branch from Highway 427 east to Highway 27, Highway 27 south to Rexdale Boulevard, east on Rexdale Boulevard to Islington Avenue, south on Islington to Highway 401, and west along the 401 to Highway 427. It is the southern part of the official City of Toronto "West Humber-Clairville" neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic High School</span> School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary School is a Roman Catholic high school in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board. It is located in the neighbourhood of Rexdale, in the former suburb of Etobicoke.

References

  1. ↑ "Rexdale". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  2. ↑ Filey, Mike (2006). Toronto Sketches 9: "The Way We Were" Columns from the Toronto Sunday Sun. Dundurn. pp. 103–105. ISBN   9781550029451.
  3. ↑ Hume, Christopher (February 18, 2006). "At The Least, Build a Community Centre". Urbantoronto.ca.
  4. ↑ Lau, Joyce (2016-11-09). "A murder in Toronto and the dark side of the Asian immigrant dream". South China Morning Post . Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  5. ↑ "CityNews: Police Display Weapons Seized In Gang Raids". 2007-01-27. Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  6. ↑ Royson, James. "Closing school dagger to heart of Rexdale." Toronto Star . December 12, 2001. News p. B01. Retrieved on August 27, 2013.
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