Community Focus - Etobicoke
by Amy West - New Dreamhomes & Condominiums Magazine
Located at the southwestern end of the GTA, Etobicoke is an urban living option outside of Toronto proper. It has a population of about 350,000 and stretches westward from the Humber River to Highway 427 and north to south from Highway 401 to Lake Ontario. The Toronto Transit Commission provides easy access by streetcar, subway, and bus to the GTA downtown core.
The name Etobicoke comes from the Mississauga word wah-do-be-kang, meaning “place where the black/wild alders grow” to describe the area between Etobicoke Creek and the Humber River. The first provincial land surveyor, Augustus Jones, spelled it as ato-be-coake. Etobicoke was finally adopted as the official name in 1796.
The township of Etobicoke was incorporated in 1850, and in 1953 it became a part of the newly formed municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. In 1967, Etobicoke township merged with three small lakeside municipalities—Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico—to form the borough of Etobicoke .
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Long Branch was a popular vacation destination for Torontonians and was accessed by steamers that sailed from the foot of Bay Street. A popular summer resort was located at Long Branch Avenue and Lake Promenade until it was destroyed by fire in the 1950s. More recently, this neighbourhood has become desirable to new homebuyers because of its affordable real estate and proximity to Toronto.
New Toronto is a working-class neighbourhood that was first incorporated as a village in 1913 and became a town in 1920. It was a strong manufacturing community during the early part of the 20th century. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which established a plant there in 1917, was the largest employer. It is now a neighbourhood in transition, as the industrial corridor located at its north end is being converted into residential zoning.
Mimico, whose name is derived from a Mississauga word meaning “place of the wild pigeons,” reflects its upper-middle to working class roots.
Etobicoke provides a community atmosphere against the backdrop of Canada’s largest city. Tree-lined streets, large backyards, and big homes supply residents with more comfortable surroundings than other urban areas in the GTA. Numerous ravines provide parkland for outdoor activity and dog walking. At the south end of Etobicoke, opportunities for rowing, sailing, and boating abound on Lake Ontario.
The area has numerous public parks, including James Gardens on the banks of the Humber River, which includes seasonal flowers, walkways, a rock garden, streams, and waterfalls. The city is home to Humber College, University of Guelph-Humber, Woodbine Race Track and Slots, Woodbine Centre, and Sherway Gardens Shopping Centre.
Etobicoke Civic Centre Gallery is dedicated to the promotion of art in the community and displays the works of local, national, and international artists. Exhibits change monthly and primarily feature pieces from annual juried shows of art organizations.
Famous figures that Etobicoke has spawned include Stephen Harper, June Callwood, Keanu Reeves, and Catherine O’Hara.
The city boasts a diversity of landscapes and communities: prosperous farms, resorts clustered on the lakeshore, mill villages on the Humber, and a commercial byway along Lakeshore Boulevard.
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