The Kingsway is a residential neighbourhood in

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, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by

Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...

to the south,

Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...

to the north, the

Mimico Creek Mimico Creek is a stream that flows through Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is long, is in the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Ontario. The creek's name is derived from the comm ...

to the west and the Humber River to the east. The neighbourhood was officially known as Kingsway Park, which later became replaced by its nickname ''the Kingsway''. In this neighbourhood, ''the Kingsway'' specifically refers to a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street. For planning purposes, the neighbourhood is known by the

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as "Kingsway South" to differentiate it from a more recent extension of the Kingsway road north of Dundas Street. "Kingsway South" is not used by residents, due to confusion with the South Kingsway, a street located east of the Humber River and extending south from Bloor Street. Originally the Kingsway road and South Kingsway were supposed to be one continuous route, however the intended connection (including a crossing of the Humber River) was instead occupied by the westward extension of Bloor Street. South Kingsway consequently acts as a southern continuation of

Jane Street Jane Street may refer to: * Jane Street (labor organizer) (1887–1966), American union founder * Jane Street Capital, global proprietary trading firm * Jane Street (Toronto), major road in Toronto, Canada * Jane Street Theatre, now The Jane, on Ja ...

, and continues south where it interchanges with

the Queensway The Queensway (or Queensway) is a major street in the municipalities of Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is a western continuation of Queen Street, after it crosses Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in Toronto. The Queensway is ...

before ending at the

Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it exten ...

History

The area now known as the Kingsway is a combination of three distinct areas: * The first area to be built on was south of Government Road, east of Prince Edward Drive which formed the government King's Mill Reserve; a large forested area with the Old Mill at the centre, on Bloor beside the Humber River. This part of the modern Kingsway, now centred on the street the Kingsway, was the least developed area until the neighbourhood was subdivided; it is now the most exclusive (and leafy) part of the Kingsway as well as its namesake; the street the Kingsway beginning at gates beside the Old King's Mill. * Along Dundas from the Humber River to Royal York was the Etobicoke side of York Township's community of

Lambton Mills The Village of Lambton Mills was a settlement at the crossing of Dundas Street and the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River. The settlement was on both sides of the Humber River, in both the former Etobicoke Township and York Township, within toda ...

. With a second mill on the western (Etobicoke) side, this area was the first to develop but is today the least affluent part of the Kingsway. * South of Bloor, west of Prince Edward Drive formed a typical farming community dominated by the Thompson family; sometimes called Thompson Estates by local developers. Today this community is only slightly less affluent than the former Kingsmill, although picturesque along the Mimico Creek which winds through the former Thompson farms. One of the two Thompson homes, Spring Bank Cottage, survives facing Royal York at the top of the hill overlooking Mimico Creek.

The Kingsway Garden Subdivision

The neighbourhood was first developed by Etobicoke lawyer Robert Home Smith who purchased the old King's Mill (which was renamed the

Old Mill Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

, reopening as a high-end Inn) and began developing land in the early 1900s. The Kingsway emerged from Home Smith's vision of the ideal community and was mostly inspired by the Garden City principles, which were originally conceived in parts of

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and the

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during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, Smith was a big fan of everything English, and this inclination instructed his ideas for the neighbourhood. By the 1920s, those ideas culminated into the development, which he named Kingsway Park. "Tastefully appointed" traditional homes were sited on well-treed and winding streets, to create an air of a wooded retreat. Home Smith also decreed that no owner could build a house without the approval of his staff, and he developed strict regulations against the cutting of trees. Most of the homes were designed in the

Arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

style, which had become popular during that time. Smith insisted on the use of locally sourced materials for the houses in Kingsway Park, such as sandstone quarried from around the Humber River and

Credit River The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately . The total l ...

areas. Kingsway Park was aimed at affluent home buyers. Street names such as Queen Anne Road and Kingsgarden Road emphasized the appearance of English respectability and affluence that Smith was selling. Smith also created the Old Mill Restaurant in the community, whose

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

facade and well-appointed interior inspired much of the English design in the Kingsway. Despite its well-intentioned approach to traditionalism, the Kingsway was a neighbourhood built for the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

, and all houses were built with discreetly placed garages, as per Smith's wishes.

Recent development

In the 1950s a series of accidents led to the creation of a highway style interchange at Royal York and Dundas, cutting the neighbourhood from the much older community of Islington to the west and the street the Kingsway from its extension to the north. Consequently, the neighbourhood along the Kingsway north of Dundas developed in a radically different way than that to the south had done. The stretch of Bloor east of Prince Edward Drive near the entrance to the street the Kingsway and the Old Mill saw the construction of many apartment buildings in this period. The community in the Kingsway has been very successful in preserving the style of housing and atmosphere of the neighbourhood as intended by Robert Home Smith; the area contains many of Etobicoke's most prestigious addresses.

Transportation

The area is served by the Royal York and

TTC subway stations. The 73 Royal York and 48 Rathburn buses run north from the Royal York station. The 66 Prince Edward bus line run north and south from the Old Mill station.

Main streets

"The Kingsway" road is a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood from

and extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street. Originally the Kingsway road and South Kingsway were supposed to be one continuous route, however the intended connection (including a crossing of the Humber River) was instead occupied by the westward extension of Bloor Street. South Kingsway consequently acts as a southern continuation of

, and continues south where it interchanges with

before ending at the

is the southern boundary of the neighbourhood and also a major east–west arterial roadway and commercial district. Prince Edward, a two-lane arterial roadway, runs north–south from Berry Road to Dundas Street West. Dundas Street West is the northern boundary of the neighbourhood and also a major east–west arterial roadway. There is some commercial and institutional uses along the roadway within the neighbourhood.

Education

Two

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school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

s operate schools in the Kingsway, the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

(TDSB), and the

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. ...

(TCDSB). The TDSB operates one

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the neighbourhood,

Etobicoke Collegiate Institute Etobicoke Collegiate Institute (ECI, Etobicoke CI), previously known as Etobicoke High School is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Islington neighbourhood of the former suburb of Etobicoke. It is overseen by the Toro ...

. The secondary school was established in the fall of 1928 and is the first and traditionally central school for Etobicoke. Lambton-Kingsway Junior Middle School is a

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

on Prince Edward Drive, close to the intersection of

Dundas Street West Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long section ...

and

Royal York Road Royal York Road, historically known as Church Street or New Church Street, is a north-south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 5 concessions (10 km) west of Yonge Street, and runs through many residential ne ...

. The present building opened in January 1993. Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school situated on Montgomery Road near the intersection of

and Royal York Road. Established in 1942 out of Etobicoke's oldest parish, Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, Kingsway. Our Lady of Sorrows once served much of the then largely rural, Etobicoke until post war urbanisation led to the creation of many new parishes to the north. Our Lady of Sorrows is now a feeder school for

Bishop Allen Academy Bishop Allen Academy; officially known as Bishop Allen Academy Catholic Secondary School (alternatively as Bishop Allen, Bishop Allen Academy CSS, BAA, BAACSS, BA, Allen), is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada managed by the Toronto Catho ...

. The original school building was demolished from 2001 to 2002, and in 2003 the new school building was completed. In addition to public schools, the Kingsway is also home to Kingsway College School, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

affiliated with the Anglican Church, located at 4600 Dundas Street West.

Institutions

*Brentwood Library *Kingsway Mills Shopping Plaza *Park Lawn Cemetery *Home Smith Park *Kings Mill Park

Churches

*Kingsway Baptist Church *Kingsway-Lambton United Church *Royal York Road United Church *All Saints Anglican Church * Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church *St.Georges on the Hill, Anglican Church

Notes

External links

Kingsway-South neighbourhood profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsway, The Neighbourhoods in Toronto Etobicoke