Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

Humewood-Cedarvale

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

The neighbourhood of Humewood-Cedarvale is a result of the amalgamation of the former communities of Humewood and Cedarvale (check out Realosophy’s neighbourhood profile for local school and housing stats). 

Sir Henry Mill Pellat, the brains behind Casa Loma, desired to build an exclusive, gated subdivision that was to be crowned “Cedarvale”.  As history tells us, Sir Pellat went bankrupt following World War One which prevented both of his dreams from coming to fruition.  Iron gates located at the corner of Bathurst Street and Claxton Boulevard indicate the original entrance to Sir Pellat’s Cedarvale, and remind Torontonians of what might have been.  William Hume Blake, the first professor of civil and common law in Toronto, owned land in what is now the southwest corner of this neighbourhood.  His estate had been known as “Humewood.”

Lytton Park

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Incorporated into the City of Toronto in 1912, the neighbourhood of Lytton Park hit its construction peak between 1946 and 1960 (check out Realosophy’s Lytton Park neighbourhood profile for local school and housing stats).  Today, with the advent of the Lytton Park Resident’s Organization, this community retains its status as one of Toronto’s oldest and most established areas.

Straddling Avenue Road and bounded on the east by Yonge Street, these two arteries offer easy travel into and out of the downtown core.  Buses, including the 5 Avenue Road, 14 Glencairn Avenue, 97 Yonge Street and 52 Lawrence Avenue West, shuttle passengers to and from surrounding subway stations, creating an alternate mode of transportation should residents want to leave the car at home. 

Caribou Park

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Joining Allenby and Corso Italia is yet another of Toronto’s smaller areas, the neighbourhood of Caribou Park (check out Realosophy’s Neighbourhood Profile for stats in housing and schools).  Hidden within larger neighbourhoods, Caribou Park is contained within the borders of Lytton Park, Glen Park and Ledbury Park.  On land that once was part of the Snider Family Farm (circ. 1800s), Caribou Park is now almost exclusively residential.

As with many large tracts of land that were held within Toronto’s city limits, the Snider Farm changed hands and was sold to developers by the 1940s who continued building until the 1960s. A mix of two-storied homes and bungalows were built along streets with names such as Coldstream Avenue, Otter Crescent and Caribou Road which bisects the neighbourhood; a few low-rise buildings are located along Lawrence Avenue West. Caribou Park homes are reminiscent of the styles and designs that can be found on Toronto Island - where the variety of finishes and facade choices differ from house to house, they all manage to add to the consistency of the area.  As with any neighbourhood, there are clusters of houses that were built with the same floor plans (this is assumption, I have only seen the outside) but HomeOwners have added touches here and there so no two homes are really alike.

 

Oakwood-Vaughan

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Somewhere in between snow storms, I ventured out of my house-turned-hibernation-cave with a plan to seek out all that Oakwood-Vaughan had to offer (check out Realosophy’s Oakwood-Vaughan Neighbourhood Profile for local school and housing stats).  A recurring winter theme of Toronto neighbourhoods is that the road less travelled is also the one less ploughed, a logical approach but vexing nonetheless.  This occurred to me as I attempted to head home from Oakwood-Vaughan and found my car had become stuck in a wicked combination of ice and street piled snow; road salt was severely lacking in the equation.  After borrowing a shovel from a neighbouring Montessori school and attempting, in vain, to dig myself out, it was the kind act of a passer-by that coaxed my car free and enabled me to continue on my way. 

Corso Italia: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods 

Similar to Allenby, the neighbourhood of Corso Italia is one of Toronto’s smallest (check out Realosphy’s Neighbourhood Profile for housing and school stats). The seemingly aged collection of buildings and retail shops span only a few blocks east from Lansdowne Avenue/Prospect Cemetery to Westmount Avenue and approximately a block north and south from St. Clair Avenue West.

Semi-detached and fully-detached two-storey homes line the one-way streets that lead to and from busy   St. Clair Avenue West. Set close together with smaller front yards these houses are reminiscent of those found in older areas of the city such as Allenby and North Toronto. Along St. Clair, many retail spaces have apartments above - a fact that allows Corso Italia to have a larger neighbourhood population than meets the eye.

Allenby: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Nestled in between North Toronto and Forest Hill lies the neighbourhood of Allenby (check out Realosophy’s Neighbourhood Profile for school and housing stats). Although retail and restaurants are located on the portion of Eglinton Avenue West that creates Allenby’s southern border, the remainder of the neighbourhood is residential.

Transit provides access to Allenby via bus routes Avenue Road 5 and 307 Eglinton Avenue West which regularly travel to and from nearby subway stations. As it is mostly residential, traffic calming zones are  located all through Allenby. Along Roselawn Avenue, for instance, stop signs alternate with speed humps (a larger, flatter version of speed bumps) throughout the entirety of Allenby. This creates a slow, safe environment for both drivers and pedestrians and unfortunately causes traffic build-up and when street-parked cars are factored in, navigational prowess behind the wheel is an asset. Pay attention to signage as non-residential traffic is restricted during peak traffic hours on the north-south running streets.

Lawrence Heights: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

The neighbourhood of Lawrence Heights, like a lot of older communities, has two sides (check out Realosophy’s neighbourhood profile for local housing and school stats). Much like Elia, crime and violence have put this neighbourhood on the map as positive events are over looked. Located on the property of Mulholland Farm (circ. 1814), developers purchased the area in between Dufferin Street and Bathurst Street, just north of Lawrence Avenue West, from the Mulholland family in the 1940s. The transformation of farmland into Lawrence Heights, one of Toronto’s largest designated public housing areas, was planned and executed by The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation in the 1950s.

Known as ‘The Jungle’ due to the self-contained streets that lie within Lawrence Heights, visitors commonly get lost amid the winding streets. Connected by Flemington Road, the courts and lanes are not linked together which makes Flemington a very busy street as it provides the sole means of vehicular access to the residential areas. Cross walks are common along this street to allow safe access to Flemington Elementary School, Lawrence Park Community Health and Community Centers and pedestrian walkways into residential housing and surrounding parks.  Leaving from nearby Lawrence West Subway Station, the Lawrence Manor 400 bus facilitates travel throughout Lawrence Heights and adjacent neighbourhood Lawrence Manor.

Keelesdale: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods

During my directionally challenged tour of Fairbank, I accidentally ended up in its western neighbour of Keelesdale (check out Realosophy's neighbourhood profile for local housing and school stats). The incredibly hilly landscape initiates the beginning descent into the downtown core. The varied housing styles and streets, which Toronto Life described as both "not much to look at" and "charming," were built to accommodate this steep terrain.

I find it difficult to classify homes in this area by particular styles as no one street has a homogenous feel to it. Eclectic collections of homes line the majority of streets throughout Keelesdale. All-brick bungalows and two-storeys, both detached and semi-detached, have a presence in the eastern half of Keelesdale, the area in between Fairbank's western border and Keele Street; all-siding homes also make an appearance as do brick-and-siding combos. The hills on which these homes were built forced unique construction into the planning. Second-storey front entrances are popular among the above-mentioned styles, allowing for a separate entrance into the basement, possibly for basement tenants? Wrought iron railings line driveways and front porches, and in the case of homes perched high above the streets, they line the numerous steps leading up to the front door.

Fairbank: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods 

Getting lost in one’s own neighbourhood takes dedication and skill. Having moved to the neighbourhood of Fairbank (check out Realosophy’s neighbourhood profile for school and housing stats) a year ago, I thought I had gotten a feel for my surroundings and that losing my way was a thing of the past. My confidence was shaken this afternoon as I did what I thought was un-doable and got lost ten minutes away from my house. Thank goodness I had my Vince Guaraldi cd to keep me company as I wove throughout the residential streets that make up Fairbank.

The Distillery District: Historical Toronto or EuroArt Disneyland?

Urmi in Toronto Neighbourhoods, Urban Issues

I particularly enjoyed reading Jesse's take on the history and future promise of the Distillery District this week, since I've been wondering about this neighbourhood as well.  I, like Jesse, am excited to see a piece of Toronto's history preserved rather than merely lamented.  But, at the risk of sounding impatient, I have some misgivings about the Distillery's developmental trajectory as it currently stands. 

Now, it's not the 'condos going up on artifacts' thing that bothers me.  I am not one to oppose building on history in some misguided attempt to keep things 'sacred', which in the sociocultural realm of North America, all too often means keeping things dead and preserved in underutilized museums.  No, I believe that finding new reasons to visit old things makes a whole lot of sense.  So revitalizing this beautifully historic area is a no-brainer.

However, I do wonder if the District will be home to the right mix of residential, commercial and social establishments to make it sufficiently lively.  Developers have gone to great (and commendable) lengths to make the arts and art studios a principle draw of the area.  But too much drawing makes Jack a dull boy.  As dedicated Jacobins (not to be confused with their equally militant French counterparts) know all too well - a neighbourhood that is not frequented at most hours of the day and night, day in and day out, is a neighbourhood in danger of becoming unsafe and unpopular.  But given that I have visited the District on many a weekend now, either to take in a play, eat or drink, I'll allow that as more office spaces are taken up and condos are completed, the 'mix' may evolve into something with more persistent magnetism (after all, Chekhov can pull you into the old neighbourhood only so many times).

But even if the District evolves, will it ever drop that rather dismaying veneer of 'themed amusement park' it has so unfortunately taken on?  Take for example the ubiquitous signs that dot the place (see left).  While a bit of useful sign posting, perhaps for the benefit of frazzled theatre-goers making a last minute dash before the curtains open is in order, these signs are clearly out-of-control.  One of the primary reasons we live in bustling urban spaces is for the sense of adventure it affords us, which is somehow undermined by the notion of clearly planned and regulated pit stops.