Baby Point

Baby Point
Neighbourhood
Gates to Baby Point on Jane Street
Vicinity of Baby Point
Location within Toronto
Coordinates: 43°39′27″N 79°29′33″W / 43.65750°N 79.49250°W / 43.65750; -79.49250Coordinates: 43°39′27″N 79°29′33″W / 43.65750°N 79.49250°W / 43.65750; -79.49250
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	York
Settled	1816
Changed Municipality	1998 Toronto from York
Government
• MP	Arif Virani (Parkdale—High Park)
• MPP	Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale—High Park)
• Councillor	Sarah Doucette (Ward 13 Parkdale—High Park)

Baby Point is a wealthy residential neighbourhood in the York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the former City of York before the amalgamation of Toronto in 1998. The area began as two independent municipalities. It is bounded on the west by the Humber River from south of Baby Point Crescent to St. Marks Road, east to Jane Street and Jane Street south to Raymond Avenue and Raymond Avenue west to the Humber. It is within the city-defined neighbourhood of 'Lambton-Baby Point.' More recently, in 2010, local merchants formed the Baby Point Gates Business Improvement Area (a board under the City of Toronto) which runs along Jane St from Montye Ave in the north, to Lessard Ave in the south, and along Annette St from Jane St in the west, to Windermere Ave in the east.

In the 17th century, it was the site of the Iroquois village Teiaiagon, occupied by the Seneca and Mohawk, before the Marquis de Denonville led its destruction.

History

Aerial Photograph of the area, 1942

Baby Point enclave

The Baby Point enclave was originally a Seneca village. James Baby, pronounced 'Bawby', was a member of a prominent Quebec fur trading family and a former politician in Upper Canada. He settled at Baby Point in 1816, after discovering the abandoned village. A lush apple orchard covered the area and salmon swam in the Humber River, giving it an Eden-like quality. Water from a fresh spring nearby was bottled and shipped worldwide.

Baby's heirs lived at Baby Point until 1910, when the government acquired the land with the intention of establishing a military fortress and barracks at the site. The government eventually changed their plans and sold the land to a developer named Home Smith, who began developing a subdivision in 1912. Home Smith would later develop a residential area across the Humber, The Kingsway.

Character

A set of historic stone gates at the intersection of Jane Street and Baby Point Road mark the entrance to the Baby Point enclave, which could be said to be a precursor to modern gated communities. Baby Point is situated on a peninsula of land—or a 'point' -- overlooking the Humber River. It is surrounded by ravines and parkland. The larger homes tend to back onto the Humber Valley ravine and are found along Baby Point Road and Baby Point Crescent, while the smaller homes are found near the Jane Street and Baby Point Road entrance. Most of the homes in the enclave were built in the 1920s and 1930s.

Demographics

In the 2006 census the Baby Point census tract had a population of 4,010 in 1,620 households. Less than one in ten of the population were visible minorities, the largest group being Chinese-Canadians with 90 individuals. Median earnings were at $43,581 per year, well above the Toronto average of $30,350.^[1]

Schools

Humbercrest Public School is a Public Elementary school located on St. Mark's Road. Humbercrest is part of the Toronto District School Board, part of the SW1 Region in Ward 7. It was established in 1915 and provides instruction in both English and French from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. The French Immersion program begins in Senior Kindergarten.

Notable residents

Conn Smythe - owner and manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his family, were long-time residents of Baby Point Road.^[2]
Raymond Souster - Canadian poet (often described as Toronto’s unofficial poet laureate^[3]), lived for many years on Baby Point Road.^[4]

References

Smythe, Conn; Young, Scott (1981). Conn Smythe: If you can't beat 'em in the alley. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-9078-1.

External links

Lambton, Rockcliffe-Smythe

The Kingsway (Etobicoke)

Runnymede

Lambton Baby Point

Old Mill

Swansea (Toronto)

Neighbourhoods in Toronto

Old Toronto	Alexandra Park The Annex The Beaches Bedford Park Bickford Park Bloor West Village Bloor Street Culture Corridor Bloordale Village Bracondale Hill Brockton Village Cabbagetown Carleton Village Casa Loma Chaplin Estates Chinatown Church and Wellesley CityPlace Corktown Corso Italia Davenport Davisville Village Deer Park Discovery District Distillery District Downtown Yonge Dovercourt Park Dufferin Grove Earlscourt East Bayfront District East Danforth East Toronto Entertainment District Fashion District Financial District Forest Hill Garden District Gerrard India Bazaar Grange Park Greektown Harbord Village Harbourfront High Park North The Junction Junction Triangle Kensington Market Koreatown Lawrence Park Leslieville Liberty Village Little Italy Little Portugal Lytton Park Midtown Moore Park Moss Park Niagara North Toronto Norway Old Town Palmerston Parkdale Playter Estates Port Lands Queen Street West Railway Lands Regent Park Riverdale Roncesvalles Rosedale Runnymede St. James Town St. Lawrence Seaton Village South Hill South Core Summerhill Swansea Toronto Islands Trefann Court Trinity–Bellwoods Upper Beaches Uptown Toronto The Ward West Don Lands (Canary District) Wychwood Park Yonge and Eglinton Yorkville

North York	Amesbury Armour Heights Bathurst Manor Bayview Village Bayview Woods – Steeles Bermondsey Bridle Path Clanton Park Don Mills Don Valley Village Downsview Flemingdon Park Glen Park Graydon Hall Henry Farm Hillcrest Village Hoggs Hollow Humber Summit Humbermede Jane and Finch Lansing Lawrence Heights Lawrence Manor Maple Leaf Newtonbrook North York Centre Parkway Forest Parkwoods Pelmo Park – Humberlea Pleasant View Victoria Village Westminster–Branson Willowdale York Mills York University Heights

Scarborough	Agincourt Armadale Bendale Birch Cliff Brown's Corners Clairlea Cliffcrest Cliffside Dorset Park Eglinton East Golden Mile Guildwood Highland Creek Ionview L'Amoreaux Malvern Maryvale Milliken Morningside Morningside Heights Oakridge Port Union Rouge Scarborough City Centre Scarborough Junction Scarborough Village Steeles Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan West Hill West Rouge Wexford Woburn

Etobicoke	Alderwood Clairville Eatonville The Elms Eringate – Centennial – West Deane Humber Heights – Westmount Humber Valley Village Islington-City Centre West Humberwood Kingsview Village The Kingsway Long Branch Markland Wood Mimico New Toronto Princess Gardens Rexdale Richview The Queensway – Humber Bay Smithfield Thistletown

York	Baby Point Fairbank Humewood–Cedarvale Lambton Little Jamaica Mount Dennis Oakwood–Vaughan Old Mill Rockcliffe–Smythe Silverthorn Tichester Weston

East York	Bermondsey Crescent Town Governor's Bridge Leaside O'Connor–Parkview Old East York Pape Village Thorncliffe Park

Italics indicate neighbourhoods now defunct. For information on the evolution of each neighbourhood in general, see History of neighbourhoods in Toronto.

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