Kipling Avenue
Encyclopedia
Kipling Avenue, originally named Mimico Avenue, is a street in the Etobicoke district of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. It is a concession road
, 6 concessions (12 km) from Yonge Street
, and is a major north–south arterial road
that also extends beyond Toronto, into the Regional Municipality of York.
The street was surveyed in 1795 as a Meridian Street south of the east-west Meridian (now Rathburn Road) with lots to the east running east–west and lots to the west running north–south, a pattern later subdivisions preserved in modern side streets. Most of the road traverses residential neighbourhoods and pockets of industrial and commercial hubs.
The street goes through such areas as New Toronto
, Etobicoke Centre, Richview
, and Rexdale
.
Originally named Mimico Avenue, the street became a central street for the lake shore municipalities of New Toronto
(in which it is situated) and Long Branch
. It is believed (but unproven) that the street was named in honour of Rudyard Kipling
, author of such works as The Jungle Book
and the Just So Stories
, in preparation for a planned visit to Woodbridge in 1907. Kipling cancelled at the last moment, but the street retained the name.
The Kipling Avenue section in the Town of New Toronto also reverted back to its alternate name, Eighteenth Street, at least twice.
The Toronto Transit Commission
's 45 Kipling and 44 Kipling South bus routes operate from Kipling Station on the Bloor-Danforth line. These surface routes provide service along the length of the road.
Kipling Avenue was extended south of Lake Shore Boulevard West with the development of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital grounds. In 2001 City Council renamed the southerly extension as "Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive", after rejecting the City Surveyor's original suggestion of Eighteenth Street.
The Six Points interchange with Bloor
and Ontario's early Toronto-Hamilton highway, now Dundas
has traditionally been Etobicoke's central intersection. In 1953 Etobicoke left York County and joined the newly formed urban region Metropolitan Toronto
launching a period of urbanisation which included changing the Six Points intersection to use a number of bridges in 1961. The street is now scheduled to be reconfigured to create an at-grade intersection.
Film studio complex Kipling Studio located on 777 Kipling Avenue is part of Cinespace Film Studios.
Sights along Kipling Avenue in Toronto (north to south):
, Kipling is a broken street and appears briefly from Highway 7 to Langstaff Road. Its original alignment becomes Clarence Street until Major Mackenzie Road. It begins abruptly again south of Teston Road before finally terminating at King-Vaughan Road.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is a concession road
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
, 6 concessions (12 km) from Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
, and is a major north–south arterial road
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
that also extends beyond Toronto, into the Regional Municipality of York.
The street was surveyed in 1795 as a Meridian Street south of the east-west Meridian (now Rathburn Road) with lots to the east running east–west and lots to the west running north–south, a pattern later subdivisions preserved in modern side streets. Most of the road traverses residential neighbourhoods and pockets of industrial and commercial hubs.
The street goes through such areas as New Toronto
New Toronto
The historic Town of New Toronto is a neighbourhood in the south-west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-centre of the former Township of Etobicoke and was an independent municipality from 1913 to 1967, one of the former 'Lakeshore Municipalities'...
, Etobicoke Centre, Richview
Richview, Toronto
Richview is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former city of Etobicoke. It is bounded on the west by Highway 401 and on the north by the highway and by Dixon Road, Royal York Road on the east, and Eglinton Avenue West along the south...
, and Rexdale
Rexdale
Rexdale is a neighbourhood located in the north-west corner of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It covers the northern section of Etobicoke, which was an independent city until it merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new City of Toronto in 1998. Rexdale was named...
.
Originally named Mimico Avenue, the street became a central street for the lake shore municipalities of New Toronto
New Toronto
The historic Town of New Toronto is a neighbourhood in the south-west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-centre of the former Township of Etobicoke and was an independent municipality from 1913 to 1967, one of the former 'Lakeshore Municipalities'...
(in which it is situated) and Long Branch
Long Branch, Toronto
The former Village of Long Branch is a neighbourhood in the south-west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west corner of the former Township of Etobicoke and was a partially-independent municipality from 1930-1967...
. It is believed (but unproven) that the street was named in honour of Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, author of such works as The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
and the Just So Stories
Just So Stories
The Just So Stories for Little Children were written by British author Rudyard Kipling. They are highly fantasised origin stories and are among Kipling's best known works.-Description:...
, in preparation for a planned visit to Woodbridge in 1907. Kipling cancelled at the last moment, but the street retained the name.
The Kipling Avenue section in the Town of New Toronto also reverted back to its alternate name, Eighteenth Street, at least twice.
The Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
's 45 Kipling and 44 Kipling South bus routes operate from Kipling Station on the Bloor-Danforth line. These surface routes provide service along the length of the road.
Kipling Avenue was extended south of Lake Shore Boulevard West with the development of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital grounds. In 2001 City Council renamed the southerly extension as "Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive", after rejecting the City Surveyor's original suggestion of Eighteenth Street.
The Six Points interchange with Bloor
Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
and Ontario's early Toronto-Hamilton highway, now Dundas
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
has traditionally been Etobicoke's central intersection. In 1953 Etobicoke left York County and joined the newly formed urban region Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
launching a period of urbanisation which included changing the Six Points intersection to use a number of bridges in 1961. The street is now scheduled to be reconfigured to create an at-grade intersection.
Film studio complex Kipling Studio located on 777 Kipling Avenue is part of Cinespace Film Studios.
Landmarks
- North Humber Park
- North Kipling Park
- North Kipling Junior Middle SchoolNorth Kipling Junior Middle SchoolNorth Kipling Junior Middle School was built in 1998 and was opened September, 1999. It features a community centre, and also has its own park. North Kipling is located at 2 Rowntree Road, at the intersection with Kipling Avenue. This school is both an elementary and middle school which contains...
- North Albion Collegiate InstituteNorth Albion Collegiate InstituteNorth Albion Collegiate Institute is a high school in Etobicoke, Canada. It is part of the Toronto District School Board. The school opened in 1962 to serve the growing suburb known as Rexdale....
- Albion Centre
- Albion Arena
- Toronto Public LibraryToronto Public LibraryToronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
RexdaleRexdaleRexdale is a neighbourhood located in the north-west corner of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It covers the northern section of Etobicoke, which was an independent city until it merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new City of Toronto in 1998. Rexdale was named...
branch - Kipling Heights Plaza
- Toronto Public Library Northern Elms branch
- Mississauga Private School
- Monsignor Percy Johnson C.S.S.
- Etobicoke North GO Station
- Westway Plaza
- Dixon Grove Junior Middle School
- Denfield Park
- Islington Golf Club
- Six Points interchange
- Kipling subway stationKipling (TTC)Kipling is the western terminus station of the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the westernmost station in the system. It is located on St...
- Kipling GO Station
- Kipling-Queensway Mall
- Mimico Correctional CentreMimico Correctional CentreThe Mimico Correctional Centre is a provincial medium-security correctional facility for adult male inmates serving a sentence of 2-years-less-a-day or less in Ontario, Canada. Its history can be traced back to 1887...
- New Toronto Secondary School, now Lakeshore Collegiate InstituteLakeshore Collegiate InstituteLakeshore Collegiate Institute beginning in 1950, is a high school located in New Toronto that serves the New Toronto, Long Branch, and Mimico working class neighbourhoods in Toronto's west end community of Etobicoke...
- Humber CollegeHumber CollegeHumber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning is a polytechnic college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Humber offers more than 150 programs including: bachelor’s degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs, across 40 fields of study. Humber serves...
Lakeshore campus - Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School
- Colonel Samuel Smith Park
Beyond Toronto
North of Steeles AvenueSteeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
, Kipling is a broken street and appears briefly from Highway 7 to Langstaff Road. Its original alignment becomes Clarence Street until Major Mackenzie Road. It begins abruptly again south of Teston Road before finally terminating at King-Vaughan Road.