Governor's Bridge is a bridge and small 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 ancho ...
, 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, located to the east of Rosedale and Moore Park neighbourhoods. Unlike them, it was part of the former city of East York
East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
. 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
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 Yong ...
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. The neighbourhood is divided into two sections by a smaller set of railway tracks.
Western section
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
Wallace Nesbitt, (May 13, 1858 – April 7, 1930) was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Born in Woodstock, Canada West (now Ontario), the son of John W. Nesbitt and Mary Wallace, he was called to the Ontar ...
. 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. The bridge was named in honour of the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario
The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province but ...
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
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...
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.
Eastern section and the "Bayview Ghost"
The eastern part of the neighbourhood, across the rail line, has a very different history. After the Second World War 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 Yong ...
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. 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
The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway run ...
made it into a prominent landmark and it was nicknamed the Bayview Ghost.
East York rezoned the area for single family homes and the "Ghost" was finally demolished in November 1981 at the developer's expense.
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.["Pricey subdivision half-vacant." Jonathan Spicer. ''Town Crier.'' January 10, 2005]
References
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Neighbourhoods in Toronto
Bridges in Toronto