Islington-City Centre West

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Islington-City Centre West is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former city of Etobicoke and it is home to the Etobicoke Civic Centre, Etobicoke's former city hall. Its boundaries are Etobicoke Creek to the west from the Gardiner Expressway to Dundas Street and highway 427 north to Rathburn Road on the west, Rathburn Road on the north eastwards to Kipling Avenue. The boundard on the east extends from that point along Mimico Creek to Bloor and southwards along Islington Avenue to the Gardiner Expressway and west to Etobicoke Creek.

[edit] History

The eastern half of this area, known as Islington, was originally known as Mimico. When Mimico-on-the-Lake petitioned the government for a new post office to be called Mimico in 1858, Mimico was renamed Islington, a name suggested by a resident who was born in the English city of the same name (see Islington).

The Toronto Transit Commission's Bloor-Danforth line was extended to Islington in 1968 with the establishment of Islington station at Islington Avenue and Bloor Street West. Not long after the station was constructed, there was a boom in high-density office and residential development.

Dundas Street west of Islington Avenue has been designated a Business Improvement Area known as the Historic Village of Islington.

Montgomery's Inn is also located in Islington, on the south-east corner of Islington Avenue and Dundas Street West. Dating to 1830, the inn is an example of late Georgian architecture. It currently houses the Etobicoke Community Museum and is open to the public.

[edit] Character

It is a very diverse part of the City. It is dominated by the 427, QEW and Gardiner Expressway highways and the railyards of the CPR. Along the highways are a mix of shopping malls and light industrial buildings. There is a mix of single family homes in the south western area with numerous apartment towers along Bloor Street. The area north of the Bloor-Dundas intersection is also known as "Six Points". The Six Points area is a mix of single family bungalows and commercial storefronts along the main streets.

[edit] External links