Fairbank, Toronto
Encyclopedia
Fairbank is a neighbourhood located in the city of Toronto. It covers a large central portion of the former city of York, Ontario
centered on the intersection of Dufferin Street
and Eglinton Avenue
. The western border is the CNR lines
. The northern and southern borders are the former borders of York and the eastern border is most often Oakwood Avenue.
(an early settler's street crossing though farmland on the way to Vaughan Township) at Eglinton and Dufferin Street. St Hilda's Anglican church (St. Hilda's Retirement Residence, added in 1975) was built at the Fairbank intersection, although a cul-de-sac was later created at the northern end of Vaughan Road to simplify the Eglinton and Dufferin intersection when Eglinton Avenue began to develop as a commercial street with many mid-rise apartment buildings.
bus routes
that serve this neighbourhood include the 29 Dufferin, 32 Eglinton West, 47 Lansdowne (along Caledonia Road), and the 109 Ranee (along Marlee Avenue) during regular hours, and for night service
, 307 Eglinton West and 329 Dufferin. Though there are no subway stations
within the neighbourhood, they are within walking distance from its boundary; the two nearest stations are Glencairn station
and Eglinton West station
.
and Italian
.
York, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
centered on the intersection of Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street is a major north-south street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions west of Yonge Street. The street starts at the foot of Lake Ontario, continues north to Toronto's northern boundary with some discontinuities and continues into York Region where it...
and 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...
. The western border is the CNR lines
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
. The northern and southern borders are the former borders of York and the eastern border is most often Oakwood Avenue.
History
The area began as the Fairbank Postal Village at the intersection of Vaughan RoadVaughan Road
Vaughan Road is a road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a contour collector road that is parallel to a buried creek to the north called Castle Frank Brook. Vaughan Road begins on Bathurst Street south of St. Clair Avenue West, then it becomes a north-south street, hence its address numbering...
(an early settler's street crossing though farmland on the way to Vaughan Township) at Eglinton and Dufferin Street. St Hilda's Anglican church (St. Hilda's Retirement Residence, added in 1975) was built at the Fairbank intersection, although a cul-de-sac was later created at the northern end of Vaughan Road to simplify the Eglinton and Dufferin intersection when Eglinton Avenue began to develop as a commercial street with many mid-rise apartment buildings.
Character
The neighbourhood has many rolling hills and steep, climbing streets. To the west, Prospect Cemetery separates Fairbank from development along the railway. Most of the neighbourhood as it exists today was planned in the in interwar years (1920s & 1930s) with mostly small single family 2 and 1½ storey detached homes on north-south residential streets. The businesses along St. Clair Avenue to the south are organized into two BIAs: 'Corso Italia' and 'St. Clair Gardens'.Districts
This neighbourhood contains several named areas.- Caledonia covers the area along Caledonia Rd west of Prospect Cemetery and east of the railroad tracks. For demographic purposes the city has titled this neighbourhood Caledonia-Fairbanks.
- North Fairbank the area north of Eglinton and west of Dufferin
- Belgravia the portion of the neighbourhood east of Dufferin, north of Eglinton, and south of the former Belt Line, where the tracks have been removed as part of the York Beltline Trail.
- Briar Hill the area north of Belgravia and the Belt Line. Briar Hill and Belgravia are both modest areas with house values and average incomes in the lower quadrant compared with the Toronto average. The area's inhabitants are diverse; there is a very large Roman CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
base, and ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, and PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
are widely spoken as home languages. More than half of the immigrant population of Briar Hill-Belgravia arrived after 1981, with a majority of immigrants in 1996 and 2001 arriving from the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, with 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...
becoming a major immigrant language of the neighbourhood. - York-Eglinton is the name the city gives for the Business Improvement Area at Eglinton and Dufferin.
- Little JamaicaEglinton WestEglinton West, also known as Little Jamaica, is a neighbourhood and retail district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada situated along Eglinton Avenue West from Allen Road to Keele Street, in the former borough of York. There are a large number of Jamaican businesses along this strip. There are also...
a stretch of Jamaican and West Indian stores and restaurants along Eglinton.
Transportation
The Toronto Transit CommissionToronto 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:...
bus routes
Toronto buses and trolley buses
Toronto Transit Commission buses are transit buses used for public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Buses are owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . With over 140 routes in operation, the TTC attracts over 400 million riders each year. Each route is further divided into branch...
that serve this neighbourhood include the 29 Dufferin, 32 Eglinton West, 47 Lansdowne (along Caledonia Road), and the 109 Ranee (along Marlee Avenue) during regular hours, and for night service
Blue Night Network
The Blue Night Network is the overnight public transit service operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The network consists of a basic grid of 22 bus and 2 streetcar routes, distributed so that almost all of the city is within 2 km of at least one...
, 307 Eglinton West and 329 Dufferin. Though there are no subway stations
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
within the neighbourhood, they are within walking distance from its boundary; the two nearest stations are Glencairn station
Glencairn (TTC)
Glencairn is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on William R. Allen Road at 785 Glencairn Avenue....
and Eglinton West station
Eglinton West (TTC)
Eglinton West is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Allen Road/Everden Road at 1300 Eglinton Avenue West....
.
Landmarks
- Fairbank Memorial Community School,
- FH Miller Junior Public School, and
- Fairbank Middle School (DB Hood Community School is converted to a private Jewish school, as well as Lycée Français de Toronto, which is a private French languageFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
school). - The main park is the Fairbank Memorial ParkFairbank Memorial ParkFairbank Memorial Park is a park located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Description:The park's official address is 2213 Dufferin Street. It is bordered on the west by Dufferin Street, on the north by Keywest Avenue, and on the south by Gibson Street. It consists of of ground, which contain the...
. - Prospect Cemetery
Demographics
According to the 2006 census, the majority of the neighbourhood's population is Roman Catholic (over 65%) and there are a large number of people who speak PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.