Rosedale is a neighbourhood in central
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. It was formerly the estate of
William Botsford Jarvis
William Botsford Jarvis (May 4, 1799 – July 26, 1864) was an important member of the Family Compact and Sheriff of the Home District, Ontario, Home District. His estate in what was then York, Upper Canada, gave its name to Rosedale, Toronto ...
, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of
William Dummer Powell
William Dummer Powell (November 5, 1755 – September 6, 1834) was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.
Early life and education
Born at Boston, Massachusetts, he was named for his grandmother's brother William Dumm ...
, for the
wild roses that grew there in abundance. It is located north of
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...
and is one of its oldest suburbs. In 2013, Rosedale was ranked the best neighbourhood in Toronto to live in by ''
Toronto Life
''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...
''.
According to Today’s Senior Magazine, it is known as the area where the city's '
old money
Old money is a social class of the rich who have been able to maintain their wealth over multiple generations, in contrast with new money whose wealth has been acquired within its own generation. The term often refers to perceived members of th ...
' lives, and is home to some of Canada's richest and most famous citizens including
Gerry Schwartz
Gerald W. Schwartz, OC (born 1941) is the founder and chairman of Onex Corporation. Schwartz has a net worth of US$1.5 billion, according to ''Forbes'' magazine.
Early life and career
Schwartz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He graduated from ...
, founder of
Onex Corporation
Onex Corporation is a Canadian investment management firm founded by Gerry Schwartz in 1984. In September 2024, it had $50 billion dollars under management.
History
Schwartz founded Onex in 1984 and took the company public in 1987.
In Jun ...
,
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005.
Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...
, the 26th
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...
, and her husband, the author
John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian writer, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Saul is most widely known for his writings on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-l ...
, as well as
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet
David Kenneth Roy Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (born 12 June 1957), is a Canadian/British hereditary peer and media magnate. Upon the death of his father in 2006, Thomson became the chairman of Thomson Corporation and also inherited his f ...
of the
Thomson Corporation
Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organization and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to form Thomson Reut ...
, the latter of whom is the richest man in Canada.
Rosedale's boundaries consist of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks to the north,
Yonge Street
Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
to the west, Aylmer Avenue and Rosedale Valley Road to the south,
and
Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...
to the east. The neighbourhood is within the City of Toronto's Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is divided into a north and south portion by the Park Drive Ravine.
History

South Rosedale was first settled by Sheriff
William Jarvis and his wife, Mary, in 1826 after Jarvis inherited his father's home there two years earlier. Mary Jarvis, the granddaughter of chief justice and loyalist William Drummer Powell frequently walked and rode on horseback around the trails for that formed Rosedale's meandering streets (which are one of the area's trademarks). She named the estate "Rosedale" as a tribute to the abundance of wild roses that graced the hillsides of their estate. The Jarvis estate was subdivided in 1854 and became Toronto's first "garden suburb". The Jarvis Family sold the Rosedale homestead in 1864, which led to the residential development of the area soon after, including the extension of Cluny Drive.
A noteworthy piece of Rosedale's History, is that it was home to Ontario's fourth
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries.
Government Houses in th ...
. The house was called Chorley Park, and it was built for the Lieutenant Governor in 1915. It was demolished in 1960 by the city of Toronto to save money. It is now a public park of the same name.
Notable residents
One of Canada's foremost fiction writers both pre- and post-World War II,
Morley Callaghan
Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and Television, TV and radio personality.
Biography
Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian No ...
lived in the southern part of Rosedale at 20 Dale Avenue from 1951 until his death in 1990; a historic plaque at the nearby Glen Road footbridge summarizes Callaghan's noteworthy writing career and his best-known literary contemporaries, including
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
and
F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
inductees
W. A. Hewitt
William Abraham Hewitt (May 15, 1875September 8, 1966) was a Canadian sports executive and journalist, also widely known as Billy Hewitt. He was secretary of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1903 to 1966, and sports editor of the ''To ...
and
Foster Hewitt
Foster William Hewitt, (November 21, 1902 – April 21, 1985) was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for ''Hockey Night in Canada''. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt.
Early life ...
, lived on Roxborough Street at
Yonge Street
Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
.
Character

Rosedale is built among three
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...
s, preserved as parkland. Rosedale is full of cul de sacs and convoluted routes through the neighbourhood, which coupled with other physical boundaries (such as the ravines and bridges) lead to low levels of vehicular traffic. Even though Rosedale is located in the middle of Toronto, virtually no vehicular traffic can be heard with the abundance of trees and foliage that surround the community. The homes are mostly single family detached dwellings, many of which are at least 100 years old including some former farmhouses that are closer to 200. Houses range from Edwardian and Tudor in style to the more common Victorian and Georgian.
Rosedale Park is home to the annual spring park party, Mayfair. The event typically consists of rides, games, flea market and other such carnival-like activities. The event is traditionally on the first Saturday in May and is run and funded by Mooredale House.
According to
Census tract
A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exis ...
s 0086.00 and 0087.00 of the
2006 Canadian census
The 2006 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The following census was the 2011 census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897. This count was lower t ...
, Rosedale has 7,672 residents, up 4.8% from the 2001 census. The median income in this Census Tract in the 2006 Canadian Census was $55,906, while the average total income in this Census was $165,827, one of the highest incomes of all Toronto neighbourhoods. The median income level was also double that of Canada and Ontario, while the average total income levels were 4.5 to 5 times larger than that of Ontario and Canada. Similarly, the total income levels reflected in the 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) were exceedingly high with the total income median at $61,284, more than double that of Ontario and Canada, and the total income average at $210,484, more than 5 times that of Ontario and Canada. In 2015 the average Rosedale house sold for over $1,800,000. Additionally, Rosedale possesses a large population of people of English, Scottish, and Irish ethnic origin.
Important buildings

*
Integral House
*
The Studio Building (25 Severn Street)
*
North Toronto station
*
University of Toronto President's Estate
*
Rosedale Presbyterian Church
*
Rosedale United Church
Education
Public
* Rosedale Public School
*
Rosedale Heights School of the Arts
Rosedale Heights School of the Arts (RHSA) is an arts-based high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Formerly Castle Frank, the school has been reinvented and re-purposed by Principal Barrie Sketchley. It is a semestered school with an ...
Private
*
Branksome Hall
Branksome Hall is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Toronto's only all-years International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for girls. Branksome Hall is located on a 13-acre campus in the Toronto n ...
- an all-girls school.
*Gradale Academy- an outdoor education school.
Electoral districts
Rosedale is represented in the House of Commons by
Chrystia Freeland
Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician and journalist who has served as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for University—Rosedale (federal electoral district), University—Rose ...
and is a part of the Toronto's central district, renamed to
University-Rosedale in 2015 and formerly known as Toronto Centre. In Provincial Parliament, Rosedale is also a part of the
University-Rosedale electoral district, and is represented by
Jessica Bell.
Music
Japanese composer
Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Tōru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Es ...
wrote a three movement piece for solo guitar called "Into the Woods" in 1995 whose second movement "Rosedale" was inspired in this area of Toronto.
Toronto Lawn Tennis Club
Rosedale is the location of the
Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, the oldest active and surviving lawn tennis club in the world. The club moved to Rosedale in 1913.
[Toronto Lawn Tennis Club. "Club History". https://www.torontolawn.com/history/]
References
External links
Rosedale BIA website
{{authority control
Neighbourhoods in Toronto