DAVISVILLE VILLAGE WALK 2020

Walk (1-1.5 hrs.) Starting Point – NW corner of Davisville and Mt. Pleasant Site Location Point of interests 1 June Rowlands Park  Davisville Park formed in 1922, renamed June Rowlands in 2004 for city councillor and the first female mayor of in 1991. A plaque is located in the Mt. Pleaseant/Davisville corner area. 2 Mt. Pleasant Road  Originally Alberta Cresent was between Merton and Balliol in 1890. Parkette was formed from the straightening of Mt. Pleasant Rd by 1920’s 3 309 Davisville  “Davis Villa” was the home of Alexander Davis, son of Davisville’s founder John Davis, built in 1879. Victorian style architecture. Heritage listed 1979. 4 Hodgson Public  Named after W.W. Hodgson chairman of the Board of Education. Built with School 8 rooms, it opened in Sept. 1915. Addition wings were added in 1925, 1927 and 1962. The current delivery driveway was the original front entrance of the 1920’s building 5 Laneway  Between Davisville and Balliol; one of the few residential laneways in area 6 Balliol Oak Tree  200 year old oak tree. Sidewalk built to curve around it. 7 387 Balliol  James Mullins House – 1 ½ storey House style built about 1897. Property tax was based on number of stories. Heritage listed in 1979. 8 405, 411, 415, Balliol  Cluster of houses built 1914-1915. Typical of early 1900’s with front porches and small attic window in front gable. 9 495 Balliol  Built in 1913 499 Balliol  Built in 1910 10 505 Balliol  Page House – 1 ½ storey Ontario House built about 1888. Stephen Page was first owner. His son John worked at the Davis General Store on Yonge St. He opened a store in the front of this house from 1924 to 1951. Heritage designation has been under appeal by the owner since March 2018. 11 Foreman/Davisville  Cudmore Creek is a “lost river” that starts at Mount Pleasant & Eglinton and runs underneath Forman Ave. 12 448 Davisville  Home of Robert Lawrence built about 1895. He owned land on both sides of Davisville Ave and was a market gardener. He was also a founding member of St. Cuthberts Anglican Church on Bayview Ave. 13 Davisville/Cleveland  Grocery stores- Northwest corner was a full grocery with butcher into the 1970’s, southwest corner was a convenience store into 1990’s  Note laneway between Davisville and Balliol as walking on Cleveland towards Merton. 14 Cleveland/ Merton  Cudmore Creek crosses under Merton St. on its way to the Don Valley. Merton St. was a major bus route between Yonge St. and the Airfield during World War I . 15 590 Merton  Built in 1905 16 601 Merton  Davisville Pottery moved from Yonge St. to this location in 1916. The pottery went out of business in 1938. Pottery Playground was built in 1976 17 554 Merton  Built in 1900 18 504 Merton  Built in 1900 DAVISVILLE VILLAGE WALK 2020

19 469 Merton  Sunnybrook School was one of ’s first nursery schools. They moved into a triplex at this location in 1960. After several expansions it is now a private elementary school. 20 399 Merton  The Mission Ground Parkette – Orginally was the site Gospel Mission Church built in 1890 and closed in 1970. Dr. Emma Skinner Gordon was a founding member of this church and Women’s College Hospital. In 1977, the Toronto Historical Board placed a plaque in the parkette 21 370 Merton  Built between 1903 and 1913. A store operated in this house during the 1950’s. 22 Merton/Mt. Pleasant  Dominion Coal Elevators - Plaque on site. Built in 1928 for coal storage for delivery to homes for heating. One of the last companies to use the Beltline Railway 23 South east side of  The Beltline Railway was completed in 1892 as commuter train to downtown Merton/Mt. Pleasant Toronto. Because of a recession and debt problem it was bankrupt in 1894. The rails still served commercial businesses on Merton St. for decades. It was also used to deliver the new Yonge St. subway cars in 1954. Today it is the Beltline Trail. N/A Mt. Pleasant  The cemetery opened to the public Nov. 4, 1875. Many families Cemetery such as the Eatons and Masseys and King are buried here. The grounds also has an extensive collection of rare and ususal trees, shrubs, and plants.

Edited April 13, 2020