Newtonbrook

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Newtonbrook is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the nineteenth century, it was a separate municipality. It is located in the area around Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in the former City of North York between the east and west branches of the Don River. North York was merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998.

It is also the birthplace and hometown of Nobel Prize winner and Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson. Pearson was born at a manse in the intersection of Yonge Street and Hendon Avenue, now the site of the North American Centre. His father was the local Methodist minister and Lester was born in the parsonage.

The area includes Newtonbrook Bowlerama, Newtonbrook Secondary School, Centerpoint Mall, and a series of condominiums and apartment buildings on Tangreen Court.

It is served by the Finch subway station, which is the northern terminus of the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge subway line.

[edit] History

First settled in the early 1800s, Newtonbrook's early industries included saw and grist mills on the east and west branches of the Don River.

The town's Newton Brook Wesleyan Church was named after Reverend Robert Newton.

In 1847, Lieutenant Colonel William S. Durie of the Queens Own Rifles subdivided part of his Newtonbrook property. The resulting subdivision is now Drewry Avenue.

In the 1950s, Newtonbrook was subdivided for a massive residential development. Most of the town's landmarks were removed, except for the Newtonbrook Schoolhouse and the Newtonbrook General Store. Just one house from the original Drewry Avenue subdivision remains.

Chinese is the top (non-English) language spoken in the area and is by far the dominant ethnicity in the area with Korean well behind as the second. Together they make up over 40% of the visible minorities in the area.

The average income in the area is above the average for Toronto and a large majority of residents live is single detached homes, which they own.