Downsview

For the subway station, see Downsview (TTC).
Downsview
Neighbourhood

Downsview area, including Downsview airport

Position of Downsview

Downsview is an area in the north end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district of North York. Downsview was originally a farm located in the 1870s near the present-day intersection of Keele Street and Wilson Avenue. It now extends beyond the intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Dufferin Street. The area includes several large post-WWII subdivisions. Within the area is Downsview Airport, the former site of Canadian Forces Base Downsview, which has since been largely converted following the end of the Cold War into an urban park known as Downsview Park. However, the airport is still used as a manufacturing and testing facility for Bombardier Aerospace.

Demographics

Downsview has large Italian (14%), Black/Afro-Caribbean/West Indian (11%) and Latin American (10%) populations.

History

The area is named for the farm settled by John Perkins Bull called Downs View in 1842 near Keele Street and Rustic Road.[1]

The military base and the de Havilland company, including the runway and all buildings, was closed and sold to Bombardier Aerospace in 1994. Bombardier has been manufacturing and testing commercial aircraft on the site since then.

Most of the houses were built immediately post-war and into the 1960s, though some houses and condos have been recently built near Downsview station. The subway ride south to downtown Toronto is approximately 30 minutes.

The east side of Dufferin Street is primarily residential, while the west side is industrial. This street has been relegated to a quiet service road in the adjacent neighbourhood of Bathurst Manor. Immediately beside Dufferin Street, William R. Allen Road brings large traffic volumes from the Ontario Highway 401 exit just a minute south.

2008 Propane Facility Explosions

On August 10, 2008, just before 4 a.m., massive explosions occurred at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases propane facility, at 54 Murray Rd., located immediately north-east of the intersection of Keele Street and Wilson Avenue. An employee of the facility and a firefighter were killed as a result of the explosions. Mayor David Miller had publicly expressed his condolences to the families of the victims shortly thereafter.[2]

Parks and recreation facilities

Downsview Dells Park

Cummunity centres and larger City of Toronto maintained parks in Downsview are:

Education

The Toronto District School Board operates Anglophone and secular public schools. The Toronto Catholic District School Board operates Anglophone Catholic public schools. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde operates Francophone and secular public schools. The Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud operates Francophone Catholic public schools.

Public Catholic schools in Downsview include:

Notable sites

Jane-Exbury Towers
Looking west over Downsview from Downsview Park
Looking west over Downsview from Downsview Park

References

  1. http://downsviewlandscommunity.org/pb/wp_d8ad7c2f/wp_d8ad7c2f.html
  2. "Thousands Returning Home After Massive T.O. Fire". CTV News. August 10, 2008.
  3. "Ancaster Community Centre". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  4. "Chalkfarm Park". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  5. "Chalkfarm Community Centre". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  6. "Downsview Dells Park". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  7. "Downsview Dells". City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  8. "Roding Park". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  9. "Roding Community Centre". Parks, Forestry & Recreation. City of Toronto. Retrieved April 2014.
  10. "Jane Towers". TO Built. Retrieved April 2014.
  11. "1201 Wilson Avenue - Rezoning and Plan of Subdivision Applications - Preliminary Report" (PDF). City of Toronto. April 27, 2009.

Coordinates: 43°44′35″N 79°28′01″W / 43.742918°N 79.46703°W / 43.742918; -79.46703

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