West Hill, Toronto
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West Hill is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern end of the city, in the former city of Scarborough. Scarborough was merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998. It is roughly bounded by Scarborough Golf Club Road on the west, the CNR railway tracks on the south, and Highland Creek on the north-east. The name comes from its elevated position on the west side of Highland Creek, a deep glacial ravine.
Due to its position on the main road from Toronto to Kingston, there was a post office named "West Hill" from the mid 19th Century until the 1990s. From 1906 until the closing of the line in 1936, West Hill was the eastern terminus of the Toronto and Scarborough Electric Railway, a street-car line. West Hill Public School is one of the oldest in Toronto, a school having been built on the present site in the 1880s, although the original building was replaced by a modern facility in 1994. West Hill Collegiate Institute is also one of the oldest high schools in Scarborough, having been opened in 1955. The main routes through West Hill are Kingston Road (part of the former King's Highway #2), Morningside Avenue and Lawrence Avenue East.
Before the completion of Highway 401 in the 1960s, West Hill was one of the major shopping areas in the region. In the 1950s, it served communities as far away as Oshawa. However, as development spread east and north along the new highway, major commercial developments became less viable. The major shopping centre, Morningside Mall, built in the late 1970s, is now without a major tenant, as Wal-Mart, Dominion Super Market, and Shoppers Drug Mart have all abandoned the mall. Current commercial developments now cater to the local clientele and the Morningside Mall site is now slated for re-development. As of February 2006, the Mall's underground parking lot and the portion of the building where Wal-Mart was located have been demolished. The remaining tenants of the mall are required to vacate the building by Spring 2006.
Another change occasioned by the building of Ontario Highway 401 was a drop in business for the large number of motels lining Kingston Road. Most of the motel sites have been redeveloped as commercial sites, and most of the remaining motels serve as temporary housing for Toronto's homeless.
Along with the traditional British, Irish and Scottish influence, there are many people of West Indian heritage living in West Hill, especially in the Morningside and Lawrence area.
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