Old East York is a district of the city of
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 C ...
, Canada. It consists of the southern, urban, portion of the former borough 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 ...
. 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 (which runs variably a few to several blocks north of Danforth Avenue), by the
Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
Valley on the west and northwest, by
Taylor-Massey Creek on the north, and
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park.
History
Vi ...
in the east.
Most of Old East York, particularly south of Cosburn, was constructed before World War II in a traditionally urban, pedestrian-oriented block pattern. Originally populated by immigrants of predominantly
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descent, Old East York is now home to a wide range of ethnicities, including people of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Bangladeshi, and Chinese descent. Old East York can be divided into several smaller neighbourhoods.
Neighbourhoods
Broadview North
Broadview North is located at the western end of Old East York bordered by Pape Avenue to the East, Chesterhill and Fulton to the South and the DVP to the west and north. The area is dominated by renters and high rise buildings. There are numerous low income buildings in the area, however, renting (at over 70%) is certainly the norm in this area. However at the very north the area contains many bungalows, many of which are being redone into 2-storey houses because of the decent area and the considerably low housing price. The area has significant
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Serbian populations.
Crescent Town
Crescent Town
Crescent Town is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former borough of East York. It is located near Victoria Park Avenue and Danforth Avenue. It mainly consists of high-rise apartment complexes, built originally to take advantage ...
is at the eastern end of Old East York and was founded on the former site of the
Crescent School to take advantage of the adjacent Victoria Park station. Crescent Town is today a diverse multicultural neighbourhood, whose population includes extensive numbers of Bengali, Jamaican, Pakistani, and Tamil Canadians. Housing stock is a pleasing mixture of mid-rise apartments, Victorian mansions, highrise condominiums, Edwardian workers cottages, and stately 1920s Craftsman homes. The adjoining stretch of Danforth Avenue (from Victoria Park to Main) Street hosts a high concentration of Bangladeshi grocers, restaurants, clothing stores and entertainment venues.
Dentonia Park
Dentonia Park is at the eastern edge of Old East York and is located south of Crescent Town, west of Victoria Park, north of the Danforth and generally east of either Main or Dawes (west of Dawes towards Main and beyond is sometimes referred to as :Woodbine Lumsden"). There is an athletic field and park known as Dentonia Park Athletic Field and a street known as Dentonia Park Avenue in the neighbourhood plus a golf course named Dentonia Park Golf Course just across Victoria Park to the northeast.
Glebe Land/Danforth Village
Glebe Land/Danforth Village is located in the central section of Old East York. Much of the central section of what became East York was first set aside as 'Clergy Reserves', called 'Glebe Land', a hotly debated feature of the original system of land granting in Ontario which retained land for the use of the church. Arguments over which church should have the use of this land led to the eventual sale of the clergy reserves, most of which had remained undeveloped for many years as surrounding areas were cleared and built on. The clergy lots between Donlands (originally a part of Leslie Street) and Woodbine only began to be developed after the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct and Leslie Bridge and successful development of the old Todmorden postal village west of Donlands as
Pape Village
Pape Village is a commercial district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located within the neighbourhood of Old East York. It is a mixed-use shopping street, consisting mainly of small-scale retail, restaurant and personal service uses.
Location
Th ...
. Given the central location of this within the former East York and the presence of both the former East York Municipal Office and East York Collegiate on its eastern edge (Cosburn Avenue), this is an area that is often just referred to as "East York" or "Old East York".
Pape Village
Pape Village
Pape Village is a commercial district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located within the neighbourhood of Old East York. It is a mixed-use shopping street, consisting mainly of small-scale retail, restaurant and personal service uses.
Location
Th ...
is a commercial district in the eastern portion of Old East York along Pape Street. It has mixed-use shopping street, consisting mainly of small-scale retail, restaurant and personal service uses.
Todmorden Village
Todmorden Village is located north of O'Connor, at the very edge of Old East York. Much of the village lies atop the
Don Valley Ravine which is lined with forest. Mature trees are a big presence in this area of the neighbourhood and create an extremely peaceful and natural area, rarely found this close to downtown Toronto. Where Pape and the Donlands head north past O'Connor is an area consisting of very few streets and beautiful homes.
Woodbine Heights
Woodbine Heights is an Edwardian neighbourhood, straddling parts of Old East York and old Toronto. It is bounded by Coxwell on the West, Main on the East, the Taylor-Massey Creek Ravine on the north and Danforth on the south. Aside from the Danforth, its main foci are the "East York Village", located Coxwell Avenue, north of Mortimer, and the Woodbine Village, centered on the intersection of Woodbine and Mortimer. While Woodbine Heights is situated to the east of the Glebe Lands, it was actually developed earlier, around the railway station and horse-racing facilities at Main and Danforth. This area was known as being the original homestead of the Smith clan, starting with Reuben Smith in the 1920s, followed by his son Thomas and the remainder of his extended family. Housing stock and street patterns at that time were chiefly of
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
design, and are typified by distinctive, narrow-lot variants of the
Dutch Colonial Revival
Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Rev ...
, Classical, and Cotswold styles. Notable landmarks include the
Toronto East General Hospital
Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH), is a community teaching hospital located at 825 Coxwell Avenue in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Overview
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Michael Garron Hospi ...
(Sammon & Woodington) a full-service teaching hospital founded in 1929, the Woodbine Heights Royal Canadian Legion (Woodbine-Barker), the Church of the Resurrection (Woodbine & Milverton), founded in 1912 and the Gledhill Public School (Gledhill-King Edward) built 1917. As late as 2010, this neighborhood was dominated by middle-aged residents and retirees. It is currently undergoing rapid social transformation, with an influx of young families attracted to car-free city living, and character-filled, yet affordable, Edwardian homes. As a result of the influx, the area is experiencing a significant replacement of its original single story homes with larger multi-story family homes.
Landmarks
*
East York Civic Centre
*
East York Collegiate Institute
East York Collegiate Institute (East York CI, EYCI, or East York), formerly East York High School is a public high-school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former borough of East York at the corner of Coxwell and Cosburn Avenues. ...
*
Toronto East General Hospital
Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH), is a community teaching hospital located at 825 Coxwell Avenue in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Overview
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Michael Garron Hospi ...
Government
The area west of Coxwell Avenue is the federal and provincial riding of
Toronto-Danforth and Ward 29, the area east of Coxwell is the federal and provincial riding of
Beaches-East York and Ward 31.
References
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Neighbourhoods in Toronto