View source for The Kingsway, Toronto

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{third-party|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Name  ---------------->
| name                   = The Kingsway
| settlement_type        = Neighbourhood
| image_skyline          = TorontoEtobicokeKingswayPillar.JPG
| image_caption          = Entrance to the Kingsway on Bloor Street West
| image_alt              = Stone marker in the middle of a road, marked 'The Kingsway'
| image_map              = Kingsway map.png
| map_caption            = Vicinity of The Kingsway
| pushpin_map            = Canada Toronto
| pushpin_label_position = none
| pushpin_mapsize        = 275
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location within Toronto
| coordinates            = {{coord|43|38|51|N|79|30|41|W|region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = Canada
| subdivision_type1      = Province
| subdivision_type2      = City
| subdivision_name1      = [[Ontario]]
| subdivision_name2      = [[Toronto]]
<!-- History  ---------------->
| established_title      = Established
| established_date       = 1850 [[Etobicoke|Etobicoke Township]]
| established_title2     = Changed municipality
| established_date2      = 1998 [[Toronto]] from City of Etobicoke
| established_title1      = Subdivided
| established_date1       = 1912 ([[Subdivision (land)|Subdivision]])
<!-- Politicians  ---------------->
| leader_title           = [[Parliament of Canada|MP]]
| leader_name            = [[James Maloney (lawyer)|James Maloney]] ([[Etobicoke—Lakeshore (federal electoral district)|Etobicoke—Lakeshore]])
| leader_title1          = [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|MPP]]
| leader_name1           = [[Lee Fairclough]] ([[Etobicoke—Lakeshore (provincial electoral district)|Etobicoke—Lakeshore]])
| leader_title2          = [[Toronto City Council|Councillor]]
| leader_name2           = [[Amber Morley]] (Ward 3 [[Etobicoke—Lakeshore (federal electoral district)|Etobicoke—Lakeshore]])
}}

'''The Kingsway''' is a residential neighbourhood in [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by [[Bloor Street]] to the south, [[Dundas Street (Toronto)|Dundas Street]] to the north, the [[Mimico Creek]] to the west and the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]] to the east. The neighbourhood was officially known as Kingsway Park, which later became replaced by its nickname '''''the Kingsway'''''. In this neighbourhood, ''the Kingsway'' specifically refers to a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street. 

For planning purposes, the neighbourhood is known by the [[Municipal government of Toronto|City of Toronto]] as "Kingsway South" to differentiate it from a more recent extension of the Kingsway road north of Dundas Street. "Kingsway South" is not used by residents, due to confusion with the South Kingsway, a street located east of the Humber River and extending south from Bloor Street. Originally the Kingsway road and South Kingsway were supposed to be one continuous route, however the intended connection (including a crossing of the Humber River) was instead occupied by the westward extension of Bloor Street. South Kingsway consequently acts as a southern continuation of [[Jane Street (Toronto)|Jane Street]], and continues south where it interchanges with [[the Queensway]] before ending at the [[Gardiner Expressway]].

==History==
[[File:EtobicokeLambtonGambleStore.jpg|left|thumb|The Gamble's store was situated in the community of [[Lambton Mills]], on the west side of the [[Humber River (Ontario)|Humber River]], south of [[Dundas Street]], 1893.|alt=Drawing of man walking along dirt road in front of a one-storey wood building]]
The area now known as the Kingsway is a combination of three distinct areas:
* The first area to be built on was south of Government Road, east of Prince Edward Drive which formed the government King's Mill Reserve; a large forested area with the Old Mill at the centre, on Bloor beside the Humber River. This part of the modern Kingsway, now centred on the street the Kingsway, was the least developed area until the neighbourhood was subdivided; it is now the most exclusive (and leafy) part of the Kingsway<ref>Villages of Etobicoke, 'The Kingsway' by James Gunn; Argyle Print. Co., Weston Ont., Pg 31</ref> as well as its namesake; the street the Kingsway beginning at gates beside the Old King's Mill.
* Along Dundas from the Humber River to Royal York was the Etobicoke side of York Township's community of [[Lambton Mills]]. With a second mill on the western (Etobicoke) side, this area was the first to develop but is today the least affluent part of the Kingsway.<ref>Villages of Etobicoke, 'Lambton Mills' by Robert Given; Argyle Print. Co., Weston Ont., Pg 37</ref>
* South of Bloor, west of Prince Edward Drive formed a typical farming community dominated by the Thompson family; sometimes called Thompson Estates by local developers. Today this community is only slightly less affluent than the former Kingsmill, although picturesque along the Mimico Creek which winds through the former Thompson farms. One of the two Thompson homes, Spring Bank Cottage, survives facing Royal York at the top of the hill overlooking Mimico Creek.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.humberbayshores.org/ourcommunity/neighbourhoods.htm|title = Your Goals}}</ref>

===The Kingsway Garden Subdivision===
[[File:EtobicokeKingswayAdvertisementHomeSmith.jpg|thumb|An advertisement for residential development by Robert Home Smith & Company, 1930. Smith designed the Kingsway in adherence to the principles of the [[Garden city movement]].|alt=Large sign in the middle of a farmer's announcing Kingsway development]]
The neighbourhood was first developed by Etobicoke lawyer Robert Home Smith who purchased the old King's Mill (which was renamed the [[Old Mill Inn & Spa|Old Mill]], reopening as a high-end Inn) and began developing land in the early 1900s. The Kingsway emerged from Home Smith's vision of the ideal community and was mostly inspired by the [[Garden city movement|Garden City]] principles, which were originally conceived in parts of [[England]] and the [[United States]] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, Smith was a big fan of everything English, and this inclination instructed his ideas for the neighbourhood. By the 1920s, those ideas culminated into the development, which he named Kingsway Park.

"Tastefully appointed" traditional homes were sited on well-treed and winding streets, to create an air of a wooded retreat. Home Smith also decreed that no owner could build a house without the approval of his staff, and he developed strict regulations against the cutting of trees. Most of the homes were designed in the [[Arts and Crafts Movement|Arts and crafts]] style, which had become popular during that time. Smith insisted on the use of locally sourced materials for the houses in Kingsway Park, such as sandstone quarried from around the Humber River and [[Credit River]] areas.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Cruickshack | first1 = Tom | last2 = de Visser | first2 = John | title = Old Toronto Houses | publisher = Firefly Books | year = 2008 | pages = 26 | edition = 2nd }}</ref>

Kingsway Park was aimed at affluent home buyers. Street names such as Queen Anne Road and Kingsgarden Road emphasized the appearance of English respectability and affluence that Smith was selling. Smith also created the [[Old Mill Inn & Spa|Old Mill Restaurant]] in the community, whose [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival]] facade and well-appointed interior inspired much of the English design in the Kingsway.

Despite its well-intentioned approach to traditionalism, the Kingsway was a neighbourhood built for the [[automobile]], and all houses were built with discreetly placed garages, as per Smith's wishes.

===Recent development===
[[File:KingswayBloorOldTheatre.JPG|thumb|The Kingsway Theatre was reopened on 1 January 2009.|alt=Front of two storey building decorated with lights and large sign saying Kingsway]]
In the 1950s a series of accidents led to the creation of a highway style interchange at Royal York and Dundas, cutting the neighbourhood from the much older community of Islington to the west and the street the Kingsway from its extension to the north. Consequently, the neighbourhood along the Kingsway north of Dundas developed in a radically different way than that to the south had done. The stretch of Bloor east of Prince Edward Drive near the entrance to the street the Kingsway and the Old Mill saw the construction of many apartment buildings in this period.

The community in the Kingsway has been very successful in preserving the style of housing and atmosphere of the neighbourhood as intended by Robert Home Smith; the area contains many of Etobicoke's most prestigious addresses.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

==Transportation==
[[File:Royal York station.jpg|thumb|[[Royal York station]] is a [[Toronto subway|subway]] station located in the Kingsway.|alt=building with red and white bus adjacent]]
The area is served by the [[Royal York station|Royal York]] and [[Old Mill station|Old Mill]] [[Toronto Transit Commission|TTC]] subway stations. The 73 Royal York and 48 Rathburn buses run north from the Royal York station. The 66 Prince Edward bus line run north and south from the Old Mill station.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www3.ttc.ca/ |title=Toronto Transit Commission - TTC |access-date=2009-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027215308/http://www.ttc.ca/ |archive-date=2009-10-27 }}</ref>

===Main streets===
"The Kingsway" road is a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood from [[Bloor Street]] and extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street. Originally the Kingsway road and South Kingsway were supposed to be one continuous route, however the intended connection (including a crossing of the Humber River) was instead occupied by the westward extension of Bloor Street. South Kingsway consequently acts as a southern continuation of [[Jane Street (Toronto)|Jane Street]], and continues south where it interchanges with [[the Queensway]] before ending at the [[Gardiner Expressway]]. 

[[Bloor Street]] is the southern boundary of the neighbourhood and also a major east–west arterial roadway and commercial district. Prince Edward, a two-lane arterial roadway, runs north–south from Berry Road to Dundas Street West. Dundas Street West is the northern boundary of the neighbourhood and also a major east–west arterial roadway. There is some commercial and institutional uses along the roadway within the neighbourhood.

==Education==
[[File:Etobicoke Collegiate Institute.JPG|thumb|[[Etobicoke Collegiate Institute]] is a [[secondary school]] in The Kingsway.|alt=Brick three-storey building with grass and flag pole in front]]
Two [[public education|public]] [[school board]]s operate schools in the Kingsway, the [[Toronto District School Board]] (TDSB), and the [[Toronto Catholic District School Board]] (TCDSB). The TDSB operates one [[secondary school]] in the neighbourhood, [[Etobicoke Collegiate Institute]]. The secondary school was established in the fall of 1928 and is the first and traditionally central school for Etobicoke.

Lambton-Kingsway Junior Middle School is a [[state school|public]] [[elementary school]] on Prince Edward Drive, close to the intersection of [[Dundas Street (Toronto)|Dundas Street West]] and [[Royal York Road]]. The present building opened in January 1993.

Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School is a [[Catholic]] school situated on Montgomery Road near the intersection of [[Bloor Street]] and Royal York Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcdsb.org/ourladyofsorrows/|title=Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School|year=2018|access-date=15 November 2015|publisher=Toronto Catholic District School Board}}</ref> Established in 1942 out of Etobicoke's oldest parish, [[Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, Kingsway]]. Our Lady of Sorrows once served much of the then largely rural, Etobicoke until post war urbanisation led to the creation of many new parishes to the north. Our Lady of Sorrows is now a feeder school for [[Bishop Allen Academy]]. The original school building was demolished from 2001 to 2002, and in 2003 the new school building was completed.

In addition to [[state school|public school]]s, the Kingsway is also home to Kingsway College School, a [[private school]] affiliated with the Anglican Church, located at 4600 Dundas Street West.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcs.on.ca|title=Kingsway College School|year=2018|access-date=15 November 2015}}</ref>

==Institutions==
[[File:Home Smith Park (4578608531).jpg|thumb|Home Smith Park is a municipal park located in the Kingsway.|alt=small road winding through forest along a hillside]]
{{col div}}
*Brentwood Library
*Kingsway Mills Shopping Plaza
*Park Lawn Cemetery
*Home Smith Park
*Kings Mill Park
{{col div end}}

===Churches===
{{col div}}
*Kingsway Baptist Church<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kingswaybaptist.ca/history.htm|title = Kingsway Baptist Church &#124;}}</ref>
*Kingsway-Lambton United Church<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.kingswaylambton.ca/ | title=Kingsway-Lambton United Church}}</ref>
*Royal York Road United Church<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.royalyorkroadunited.ca/ |title = Welcome!}}</ref>
*All Saints Anglican Church<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.allsaintskingsway.ca/ |title = All Saints Kingsway Church}}</ref>
*[[Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, Kingsway|Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church]]
*St.Georges on the Hill, Anglican Church<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.stgeorgesonthehill.ca |title = St George's on-the-Hill – Anglican Church in Toronto, ON}}</ref>
{{col div end}}

==See also==
*[[List of neighbourhoods in Toronto]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns15.htm Kingsway-South neighbourhood profile]

{{Geographic location
| North  = [[Humber Valley Village]]
| Northeast = [[Lambton, Toronto|Lambton]]
| East   = [[Baby Point]]
| Southeast = [[Old Mill, Toronto|Old Mill]]
| South  = [[The Queensway – Humber Bay]]
| West   = [[Islington–City Centre West]]
| Center = The Kingsway
}}
{{Toronto Neighbourhoods}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsway, The}}
[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Toronto]]
[[Category:Etobicoke]]