North Toronto

The Origins and Development of North Toronto

The history of the North Toronto neighbourhood goes back to 1890. This is when it was first incorporated, and it was formed by Davisville Village, Eglinton Village, and Bedford Park Village all joining together.

Looking at downtown Toronto from North Toronto

At the time, this entire area was primarily known as a agricultural farming community. The first houses were built in the 1890’s, right after the railway extended up to the North Toronto neighbourhood.

In the early 1900’s, North Toronto joined with Toronto’s most popular commuter suburb, and by the end of the year 1912, the North Toronto neighbourhood officially joined the City of Toronto. The neighbourhood was filled with residence quickly after annexation, and was completely developed by the 1950

Christmastime in the Neighbourhood

Today, the North Toronto neighbourhood is a central location, within the updated city boundaries. This large neighbourhood is extremely popular for families with young children. The area has lots to offer, including: a variety of education opportunities, plenty of parks, a community centre, a library, and public transit to anywhere you need to be in Toronto.

North Toronto is easily one of Toronto’s largest neighbourhoods. The entire area has a lot to offer, so to keep it simple, we’ll break it into sections. To find more information about each section of North Toronto, read the following:

• Bedford Park – this area offers a nice mix of detached, and semi-detached houses. The original houses were built between 1890 and 1940. Since then, there has been more custom designed houses built in the area.

• Yonge Lawrence Village – this is a very family oriented area. It has a shopping district with a nice selection of stores. This is one of the main shopping districts for the entire North Toronto neighbourhood! You can find: coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, chain stores, home decorating stores, fast food restaurants, gift stores, and gourmet food shops.

• Lawrence Park South – (aka Lytton Park) offers detached Georgian houses, that are built on large lots. The trees line the streets, and provide a beautiful shade in the summer. The public lawn bowling and tennis courts provide the area with some friendly competition.

• Wanless Park – this area offers solid brick detached Gothic and Geordian style houses. They were built between 1930 and 1950, and most of the houses are two storey, however there’s a few bungalows as well. This area also offers large property sizes, most houses have at least 30 feet of frontage, and have a mutual or private driveway.

Depending on your personal interests, you may like a specific section of the North Toronto neighbourhood. Be sure to keep note of which area appeals to you most.

Local Library

One of North Toronto’s main attractions is an island green space located right in the centre of the neighbourhood! It’s actually in the Wanless Park area, but offers the entire North Toronto neighbourhood a great social experience. The island features: five tennis courts, one basketball court, one baseball diamond, a tots’ playground, and a wading pool. The island also offers: certified lessons, social events, clubs, teams, and tournaments for adults and juniors!

The neighbourhood Community Centre provides residence with a public gym, and an indoor pool. The Community Centre is located in the Bedford Park section of the North Toronto neighbourhood.

The North Toronto subway station will take you to anywhere you want to be in Toronto. It is convenient to all residence in the North Toronto neighbourhood, and it takes approximately 20 minutes to get to downtown Toronto.

Other Central Toronto Neighbourhoods: The Annex –Cabbagetown –Rosedale –Moore Park –North Toronto –Lawrence Park –Hoggs Hollow –Leaside –Summerhill – Regal Heights –Forest Hill –Chaplin Estates –Davisville Village –King West Village –Dovercourt Village