How visible are the boundaries between the former Metro municipalities today?

[marcus_a_j]

From the last example above; one can also see the different street signs survive on in many places:

Here we see an old East York street sign:

View attachment 317477


1 block south, we see a street sign from the old City of Toronto:

View attachment 317478

East of Donlands the former border is the most obvious through the former street signs. All the houses on Milverton are in Toronto while those on Springdale are in East York. The housing stock is practically the same though. Some differences are the streetlights as noted (white for Toronto, with Donlands the most obvious example IMO) and sidewalks - common for East York side streets to have a grassed boulevard between road and sidewalk whereas the sidewalk abuts the curb in Toronto. Certainly there are exceptions like my own street but these two traits let me when I’m crossing (former) jurisdictions.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Scarborough (which is where I grew up) is still very firmly Scarborough. Thanks for asking.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Scarborough (which is where I grew up) is still very firmly Scarborough. Thanks for asking.

From link.

 

[Johnny Au]

From link.

It's funny that the main antagonist in the Lion King is Simba's uncle, Scar.

One cannot spell Scarborough without Scar.

 

[King of Kensington]

Even with Mel Lastman's civic boosterism, North York doesn't really have that strong a civic identity. Whether you're in York Mills or Bathurst Manor or Jane and Finch - I don't think you'll find much "North York pride" or anything like that.

 

[KhalilHeron]

Even with Mel Lastman's civic boosterism, North York doesn't really have that strong a civic identity. Whether you're in York Mills or Bathurst Manor or Jane and Finch - I don't think you'll find much "North York pride" or anything like that.

It's the opposite in Scarborough for sure. Just poking around on google earth I noticed that the houses on the west side of victoria park always tend to be bigger than those on the east side. Walking around the area you don't notice much but I find it interesting.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Even with Mel Lastman's civic boosterism, North York doesn't really have that strong a civic identity. Whether you're in York Mills or Bathurst Manor or Jane and Finch - I don't think you'll find much "North York pride" or anything like that.

You could probably argue that Toronto's civic identity encompasses York, East York, and North York today.

Only Etobicoke and Scarborough really retain somewhat of a distinguished identity. We shall see how long that lasts in Etobicoke with the development of Central Etobicoke and the Waterfront which will make the area feel more like an extension of Toronto proper.

 

[W. K. Lis]

You could probably argue that Toronto's civic identity encompasses York, East York, and North York today.

Only Etobicoke and Scarborough really retain somewhat of a distinguished identity. We shall see how long that lasts in Etobicoke with the development of Central Etobicoke and the Waterfront which will make the area feel more like an extension of Toronto proper.

Did you know German prisoners of war ended up in Mimico ("Camp 22") during World War II. Today's Mimico Correctional Centre. See link and link.

 

[Johnny Au]

I find this funny:

Note that The College View Avenue signs have the East York logo despite being a few kilometres from East York. I took the photos today at College View and Avenue.

 

[King of Kensington]

The transition is so subtle and people have forgotten I guess.

 

[christiesplits]

You could probably argue that Toronto's civic identity encompasses York, East York, and North York today.

Only Etobicoke and Scarborough really retain somewhat of a distinguished identity. We shall see how long that lasts in Etobicoke with the development of Central Etobicoke and the Waterfront which will make the area feel more like an extension of Toronto proper.

There are areas of East York, like Leaside and the southern edge near Milverton/Springdale, that feel more "Toronto," while communities like Topham Park and Crescent Town feel more "Scarborough."

Likewise, there are pockets of York, like Baby Point and Humewood, that feel more "Toronto," while Briar Hill feels more "North York."

 

[King of Kensington]

There are areas of East York, like Leaside and the southern edge near Milverton/Springdale, that feel more "Toronto," while communities like Topham Park and Crescent Town feel more "Scarborough."

Likewise, there are pockets of York, like Bay Point and Humewood, that feel more "Toronto," while Briar Hill feels more "North York."

Agreed. East York and York are both interwar and postwar. East York is probably about 50/50 prewar/postwar development. York is mostly prewar, but some parts on the edge continued to fill in in the 1950s.

 

[W. K. Lis]

From link.

The town (West Toronto) began when D. W. Clendenan and D.J.Laws, seized the opportunity created by the coming of the Canadian Pacific Railway to purchase an estate of 240 acres bounded by Keele and Dundas, Lake View Road (Evelyn Avenue) to the west and Bloor Street to the south. Here they contracted for the grading of over five miles of streets, planted over 1, 500 shade trees (how many developers do that today?) and then sold 400 lots to 170 people. Not only would railroaders need homes but, industry would follow the railway and their workers too would need housing.

The old city of West Toronto (now considered Bloor West Village and The Junction) had trees, mostly replaced by now because of age. I remember in the 1970's, many of the streets north of it (Township of York) was generally bare of trees. West Toronto did feel cooler in summer because of the trees.

City of Toronto homeowners today can get a free tree planted on the city property portion of the front lawn at this link. The outer suburbs still have that barren desert look because of the lack of trees. Some streets have a start with saplings, but will take decades to create shade.

The Village of West Toronto Junction was incorporated in June 1887 at which time the population of this portion of York Township was 879. To this was added the Village of Carlton and the Village of Davenport to the northwest on January 1, 1888 doubling the size to 480 acres. Later, on April 22, 1889 it became the Town of West Toronto; however, the name was changed in 1892 to Town of Toronto Junction with the approval of the CPR. It became in 1908, the City of West Toronto and, eventually, in 1909 the expanded City of West Toronto was amalgamated into the City of Toronto.​

Travel between outlaying communities such as the Junction, Weston, Mimico etc. to downtown Toronto was for many years provided by regular steam powered railways as the distances were great for slow moving streetcars first pulled by horses while the automobile was only for the well to do. There were frequent regular CPR trains between the Junction, Parkdale and Union Station as they travelled between cities as far away as London and Owen Sound.​

 

[laudable-logic]

The sign that reads "Roselawn Av Continues at West City Limit" is still there almost a quarter-century since amalgamation.
View attachment 317088
The screenshot was from Apple's Look Around feature, which was just introduced to Canada last December.

What IS the deal with Roselawn and Castlefield being the way they are anyway? Especially as they diverge/join near Dufferin. Here's what that intersection looked like, 65 years ago:

Would be grand to hear any 'historical info' on how that all came to be

 

[Transportfan]

The sign that reads "Roselawn Av Continues at West City Limit" is still there almost a quarter-century since amalgamation.
View attachment 317088
The screenshot was from Apple's Look Around feature, which was just introduced to Canada last December.

That certainly doesn't evoke a notion of being a city limits!

Compared to former Hamilton-Wentworth as an example, the Metro cities were never well defined and never had much of an identity. No traditional downtowns as they simply developed as extensions of Toronto. And street names and address numbering were Metro-wide and ignored municipal boundaries.

You certainly don't see signs like this in Toronto:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.ca