Thorncliffe Park
Encyclopedia
Thorncliffe Park is a densely populated, multicultural neighbourhood in central east Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, in the former Borough of East York
. East York merged with five other municipalities and a regional government in 1998 to form the new "City of Toronto". It is commonly considered to be bounded on the east by the Don River
, on the west by Millwood Road, on the north by Wicksteed Avenue and Research Road, and on the northwest by a railway track between Millwood and Wicksteed. However, the official Community Planning Area named Thorncliffe Park includes the neighbourhood to the north of the railway tracks, east of Laird Avenue, south of Eglinton Avenue
, and west of the Don River.
Overlea Boulevard used to be the dividing line between the industrial and residential sections, but the decline of the industrial sector in Toronto has led to the appearance of retail establishments and service organizations in the former factories on the north side of Overlea.
The residential section of Thorncliffe Park was originally designed as a planned community
for 12,500 residents, but now houses 30,000. The neighbourhood is heavily served by 24 hour public transit provided by the Toronto Transit Commission
.
Although the neighbourhood is known for its low income and high unemployment, the Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper reported in 2004 that it had a low crime rate
Thorncliffe Park Public School
The local elementary school, Thorncliffe Park Public School is a K-5 school that began seeing signs of overpopulation in the late 90s. It was largely overpopulated when in 1998 it had a student population of 1,500 and as many as 40 portables filled the schoolyard. The following year students had to be sent to the nearby Don Mills school due to a lack of space. Parents objected to this and Thorncliffe Public School began a massive addition. In 2003 the new addition opened and now Thorncliffe Park Public School is the largest elementary school in North America with a staggering 1900 students.
- In the summer of 2008 the soccer field and baseball diamond were paved over and 20 new portables were erected in their place prompting fears of further over-crowding.
- On June 16, 2009 Education Minister and local MP Kathleen Wynne announced 12 million dollars in provincial funding to rebuild the school so the students would not have to be in portables.
, the wealthy founder of the Dominion Brewing Co. An avid participant in horse racing
, under the banner of Thorncliffe Stable, he raced both Thoroughbred
and Standardbred horses. After Davies' death in 1916 his estate sold the property to a group of investors from Baltimore, Maryland who built the Thorncliffe Park Raceway
racetrack
. The track was home to thoroughbred horse racing
and harness racing
from 1917 until 1952 when it was sold for real estate development
. Today, the old racetrack site is commemorated by two streets named Grandstand Place and Milepost Place and the number of buildings that took on racetrack stable names like Churchill, Maple Glen and Wellow Glen.
In the 1950s, developers tore down the racetrack and created one of Toronto's first high-rise neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood embodies some standard urban planning
ideas of the era – high concentrations of similar housing types, strict separation of retail and residential development, and the assumption that everyone has a car. Low-rise buildings are clustered inside the enclosure created by Thorncliffe Park and Overlea, while high-rise buildings line the outside of Thorncliffe Park. Retail establishments were concentrated in a single shopping mall, now called the East York Town Centre, between the two arms of Thorncliffe Park Drive at Overlea Boulevard. Smaller retail and service plazas have recently opened along Overlea Boulevard. Many residents on Thorncliffe Park Drive are at considerable walking distance from shops, although this problem is mitigated somewhat, even in winter, by well kept sidewalks and walkways and by frequent bus service.
The residential twin Leaside Towers
are by far the tallest buildings in East York.
and Gujarati
. In Toronto as a whole, immigrants constituted only 49% of the population, and recent immigrants only 11%; only 19% spoke a language other than English or French at home. Median household income in 2001 was $38,404 Cdn.; the median income in the entire city was $45,251. Twelve per cent of the families in the Community Planning Area were officially classified as having low household incomes, while 5% of the families throughout Toronto were so classified.
Many religious backgrounds are represented in Thorncliffe Park, including: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.
The 6 largest visible minority groups in Thorncliffe Park are:
English is the most popular language.
The top 5 non-English languages spoken at home in Thorncliffe Park:
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...
, in the former Borough of East York
East York, Ontario
East York is a former municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a semi-autonomous borough within the overall municipality of Metropolitan Toronto before East York, North York, York, Scarborough, Etobicoke and Toronto were amalgamated into the new "megacity" of Toronto...
. East York merged with five other municipalities and a regional government in 1998 to form the new "City of Toronto". It is commonly considered to be bounded on the east by the Don River
Don River (Toronto)
The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...
, on the west by Millwood Road, on the north by Wicksteed Avenue and Research Road, and on the northwest by a railway track between Millwood and Wicksteed. However, the official Community Planning Area named Thorncliffe Park includes the neighbourhood to the north of the railway tracks, east of Laird Avenue, south of Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
, and west of the Don River.
Character
Thorncliffe Park has both an industrial and a residential section. The residential section is in the south, and consists chiefly of 34 high-rise and low-rise apartment buildings grouped in and around a rough oval with Overlea Boulevard dividing Thorncliffe Park Drive. Some condominiums (in a converted office building) and townhouses have recently been added on Overlea.Overlea Boulevard used to be the dividing line between the industrial and residential sections, but the decline of the industrial sector in Toronto has led to the appearance of retail establishments and service organizations in the former factories on the north side of Overlea.
The residential section of Thorncliffe Park was originally designed as a planned community
Planned community
A planned community, or planned city, is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are less frequent in planned communities since...
for 12,500 residents, but now houses 30,000. The neighbourhood is heavily served by 24 hour public transit provided by 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:...
.
Although the neighbourhood is known for its low income and high unemployment, the Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper reported in 2004 that it had a low crime rate
Schools
Both middle school and high schools are all within a short walk of pupils' residences, while buses take pupils to (Catholic) separate schools. In 1998, the local middle school, Valley Park Middle School, stood at around 1,000 students. As of 2007, the school has in excess of 1,200 students, and has been expanded with a new wing and over 10 portable classrooms mounted in the school yard.Thorncliffe Park Public School
The local elementary school, Thorncliffe Park Public School is a K-5 school that began seeing signs of overpopulation in the late 90s. It was largely overpopulated when in 1998 it had a student population of 1,500 and as many as 40 portables filled the schoolyard. The following year students had to be sent to the nearby Don Mills school due to a lack of space. Parents objected to this and Thorncliffe Public School began a massive addition. In 2003 the new addition opened and now Thorncliffe Park Public School is the largest elementary school in North America with a staggering 1900 students.
- In the summer of 2008 the soccer field and baseball diamond were paved over and 20 new portables were erected in their place prompting fears of further over-crowding.
- On June 16, 2009 Education Minister and local MP Kathleen Wynne announced 12 million dollars in provincial funding to rebuild the school so the students would not have to be in portables.
History
The site of Thorncliffe Park was a farm owned by Robert T. DaviesRobert T. Davies
Robert T. Davies was a Canadian businessman and Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorse owner and breeder.Born in Toronto, Ontario, he studied at Park School and Upper Canada College, in the early 1870s Robert Davies married Margaret Anne Taylor, the daughter of John Taylor, owner of paper mills...
, the wealthy founder of the Dominion Brewing Co. An avid participant in horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, under the banner of Thorncliffe Stable, he raced both Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
and Standardbred horses. After Davies' death in 1916 his estate sold the property to a group of investors from Baltimore, Maryland who built the Thorncliffe Park Raceway
Thorncliffe Park Raceway
Thorncliffe Park Raceway was a racetrack in Leaside, Ontario, Canada that operated from 1917 until 1952. It was located east of Millwood Road, south of Eglinton Avenue East and north of the CPR railroad tracks. It was the first home of the Prince of Wales Stakes...
racetrack
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
. The track was home to thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
and harness racing
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
from 1917 until 1952 when it was sold for real estate development
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
. Today, the old racetrack site is commemorated by two streets named Grandstand Place and Milepost Place and the number of buildings that took on racetrack stable names like Churchill, Maple Glen and Wellow Glen.
In the 1950s, developers tore down the racetrack and created one of Toronto's first high-rise neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood embodies some standard urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
ideas of the era – high concentrations of similar housing types, strict separation of retail and residential development, and the assumption that everyone has a car. Low-rise buildings are clustered inside the enclosure created by Thorncliffe Park and Overlea, while high-rise buildings line the outside of Thorncliffe Park. Retail establishments were concentrated in a single shopping mall, now called the East York Town Centre, between the two arms of Thorncliffe Park Drive at Overlea Boulevard. Smaller retail and service plazas have recently opened along Overlea Boulevard. Many residents on Thorncliffe Park Drive are at considerable walking distance from shops, although this problem is mitigated somewhat, even in winter, by well kept sidewalks and walkways and by frequent bus service.
The residential twin Leaside Towers
Leaside Towers
The Leaside Towers are the tallest buildings in East York, Toronto, Canada. They are a twin set of apartment towers, with one facing north-south, and another facing east-west. Located at 85 Thorncliffe Park Drive near Overlea, they are the biggest section of the "East York Skyline". Their...
are by far the tallest buildings in East York.
Demographics
In 2001, immigrants constituted 66% of the population of the Community Planning Area, and recent immigrants constituted 87%. Twenty-eight per cent of the residents spoke a language other than English or French at home, with the most frequent being UrduUrdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
. In Toronto as a whole, immigrants constituted only 49% of the population, and recent immigrants only 11%; only 19% spoke a language other than English or French at home. Median household income in 2001 was $38,404 Cdn.; the median income in the entire city was $45,251. Twelve per cent of the families in the Community Planning Area were officially classified as having low household incomes, while 5% of the families throughout Toronto were so classified.
Many religious backgrounds are represented in Thorncliffe Park, including: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.
The 6 largest visible minority groups in Thorncliffe Park are:
- South Asian - 63.5%
- FilipinoFilipino CanadianFilipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...
- 21.2% - BlackBlack Canadian'Black Canadians is a designation used for people of Black African descent, who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The term specifically refers to Canadians with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin...
- 4.1% - Arab/West Asian - 3.4%
- ChineseChinese CanadianChinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
- 1.4%
English is the most popular language.
The top 5 non-English languages spoken at home in Thorncliffe Park:
- UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
- 1,030 (6.28%) - GujaratiGujarati peopleGujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
- 735 (4.48% - TagalogTagalog languageTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
- 325 (1.98%) - PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
- 265 (1.61%) - ChineseChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
- 235 (1.43%)
External links
- Tales from the towers - a 10 Part series on Thorncliffe Park - Globe & Mail 2003
- A food tour of Thorncliffe Park - Toronto Star - Feb 27, 2008
- Thorncliffe Park Public School website Statistics on the largest elementary school
- Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office Community & Settlement organization
- Thorncliffe statistics - from City of Toronto