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The Bridle Path is a residential neighbourhood in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. It is characterized by large multimillion-dollar
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s and two to four acre (8,000 to 16,000 m²) lot sizes. It makes up part of Bridle Path–Sunnybrook–York Mills. Often referred to as " Millionaires' Row", 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. Although "The Bridle Path" is in fact the name of a road in the area, the term generally applies to the neighbourhood as a whole. It is bounded by The Bridle Path on the north,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest trauma centre in Canada and one of two trauma cen ...
on the south,
Bayview Avenue 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. History Bayview Avenue follows the first concession line, laid east of Y ...
on the west and Wilket Creek on the east. Few roads pass through the area, contributing to the area's exclusivity. House prices in the Bridle Path are varied, but most are well in excess of a million dollars. It is a secluded neighbourhood, surrounded by the Don River Valley and lush parklands.


History

The Bridle Path was little more than farmland until 1929, when the
Bayview Bridge The Bayview Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge bringing westbound U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Mississippi River. It connects the cities of West Quincy, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. Quincy Memorial Bridge serves Eastbound US-24. The ...
was constructed across the steep (West Branch) Don River Valley. It was at that point that the area was first considered for residential development. Forsey Page, a Toronto-based land developer, envisioned the Bridle Path as an "exclusive enclave of estate homes" and he built the neighbourhood's first home, a
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...
style home at 2 The Bridle Path. This house is credited as the catalyst for the development of the neighbourhood. In 1937, developer E.P. Taylor, who designed the Don Mills community, purchased a large plot of land north of the Bridle Path. The estate, named ''Windfields'' by his wife, is occupied today by the
Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...
. The park through which Wilket Creek flows behind this parcel of land is known as ''Windfields Park''. In the late forties, Taylor's business partner George Montegu Black, Jr (father of
Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canad ...
) moved into the area and built a large mansion on Park Lane Circle. In an effort to control who his future neighbours would be, Black took over the company that owned the rolling farmland that was to become the Bridle Path, and set restrictions in place through the North York zoning by-law; only single-family dwellings could be built, and only on minimum lot sizes of . The area was subdivided into about 50 lots, each selling for $25,000 at the time, and through the Fifties it began to take shape. In July 1948, Sunnybrook Military Hospital was opened to the south of the neighbourhood. The hospital was since reorganized into
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest trauma centre in Canada and one of two trauma cen ...
, and has expanded to encompass much of Bridle Path's southern boundary. In the 1950s and 1960s, local architects such as James A. Murray, Jerome Markson, Brook and Banz, and Seligman & Dick built many
modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
houses in the Bridle Path. Many of these have now been replaced with larger houses. The Bridle Path has been home to prominent Toronto business people, celebrities, doctors, and engineers. Media mogul
Moses Znaimer Moses Znaimer (; born 1942) is a Tajik-born Canadian media executive of jewish descent. He is the co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia ...
used to call the Bridle Path home, as did computer businessman
Robert Herjavec Robert Herjavec (; ; born September 14, 1962) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality. Herjavec founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of Internet security software, and sold it to AT&T Canada (now Allstr ...
. Former newspaper baron and convicted felon, businessman
Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canad ...
was owner of a familial residence until 2016 when he sold the 26 Park Lane Circle, North York for $16.5 million.
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
bought a house in the Bridle Path in the early 2000s. "Casino King of Macau"
Stanley Ho Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong- Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which ow ...
bought a house in the Bridle Path in 1987 for a then-high $5.5 million. Rapper
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
built a house there in the late 2010s. A location in the Bridle Path was used in the movie ''
Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried (in her film debut), Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler a ...
'' as Regina George's house and another house was used for the movie '' It Takes Two''.


Education

Two
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
s operate
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s in Bridle Path, the separate Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), and the
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
(TDSB). TCDSB operates St. Bonaventure Catholic School, and TDSB operates Park Lane Public School. Neither school board operates a
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in the neighbourhood; secondary schools for both TCDSB and TDSB are in adjacent neighbourhoods. Two French
first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...
public school boards also provides schooling for applicable residents of Bridle Path, the secular
Conseil scolaire Viamonde The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary schools an ...
(CSV), and the separate Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir (CSCM). Neither operates a school in the neighbourhood, with CSV and CSCM students attending schools in other neighbourhoods in Toronto. The neighbourhood has one
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
post-secondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...
institution,
Glendon College Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student po ...
. The college is a federated campus of
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...
, operating as a bilingual liberal arts college. In addition to public institutions, the neighbourhood is also home to several
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s, including Crescent School, an elementary and secondary private school.


Recreation

The neighbourhood includes several municipal parks and green spaces, including Edwards Gardens, Sunnybrook Park, and Windfields Park. Edwards Gardens is a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
located in the east of the neighbourhood. Many of these parks are situated near the Don Valley, which forms a part of the larger
Toronto ravine system The Toronto ravine system is a distinctive feature of the city's geography, consisting of a network of deep ravines, which forms a large urban forest that runs through most of Toronto. The ravine system is the largest in any city in the world, w ...
. Municipal parks in Bridle Path are managed by the
Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation (PFR) is the division of Toronto's municipal government responsible for maintaining the municipal park system and natural spaces, regulation of and provision of urban forestry services, and the delivery of rec ...
.


Transportation

Several major roadways pass through the neighbourhood, including
Bayview Avenue 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. History Bayview Avenue follows the first concession line, laid east of Y ...
, a north–south thoroughfare, and
Lawrence Avenue Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions (Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West) by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto. Route d ...
, an east–west thoroughfare. The neighbourhood's namesake comes from a residential road, The Bridle Path. The actual "Bridle Path" name came about as early plans for the neighbourhood included an elaborate system of
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
bridle paths, as most of the estate owners in the area preceding its development were horse-owners.
Public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
is provided by
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...
(TTC), operating
bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
around the neighbourhood.


Popular Culture

* The neighbourhood is the namesake for resident Drake's song “7am On Bridle Path” off his 2021 studio album ''
Certified Lover Boy ''Certified Lover Boy'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, released on September 3, 2021, by OVO Sound and Republic Records. Its production was handled by frequent collaborators 40, Nineteen85, PartyNextDoor, OZ, a ...
''.


References


External links


Map of the Rich


by
Mike Filey Mike Filey (October 11, 1941 – July 30, 2022) was a Canadian historian, radio host, journalist and author. He was awarded the Jean Hibbert Memorial Award in 2009 for promoting the city of Toronto and its history. Early life Born in 1941 in ...
{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Toronto North York