Results tagged “donmills”

For North York during the 1960s, the explosion in population and industry that the previous decade had seen showed no signs of stopping. By the end of the sixties, almost two hundred thousand people were added to the citizen roll. Quiet rural intersections saw farms and villages give way to apartment blocks, factories, schools, and shopping plazas. Traffic problems arose and required immediate solutions. The municipality's status changed from township to the more dignified "borough."

Once symbols of post-war economic affluence, the suburbs are now often seen as havens of cookie-cutter culture and lacking history or distinct identity. The stereotype has been more fuelled by movies and literature than reality, but it's still odd to imagine historical markers erected to the suburbs. Yet that's exactly what Heritage Toronto did last week. While most heritage plaques located in the suburbs commemorate what came before—a country estate or a general store at an important rural crossroads—Heritage Toronto will be commemorating the patient-zero of the Canadian post-war suburban experience: Don Mills. Perhaps the most significant real estate development in Canadian history, Don Mills had a tremendous influence not only on the form and style suburban sprawl assumed but also on the business practices of the developers who built them.

In her ambitious new book, The Walkable City (Véhicule Press, 2008), Mary Soderstrom writes: "The walkable city, the oldest kind of city is going to be the key to whatever success we have in meeting the challenges of the future."

Shouldn't every mall should include a place to pose against an elegant concrete wall with your favourite magazine or a romantic hidden spot to meet that lawyer you're having an affair with while their spouse shops?

Discovered going eastbound towards downtown on an old, very packed, and very hot subway car at 8:30 on a Monday morning: an old route map, sans Sheppard line subway stations; and an old ad advising riders against the gravest of transit crimes––leg extension.

While most people hid inside during yesterday's deep freeze, the few who chanced the icy sidewalk of the Overlea bridge near Don Mills Road received a little smile if they happened to look down: some overly cheerful person had stomped out a big happy face between the cross-country ski tracks in the Don Valley 30 metres below the bridge. Although we can't condone overt cheerfulness—especially when the wind chill is minus a jillion—we'll admit to briefly twitching a frozen cheek in approval at the sight.

Will people ever appreciate the fine architecture or heritage value of such widely-detested buildings as Robarts Library or the Sheraton Centre? If history is any guide, they will—but only if the buildings manage to survive our collective hatred (or apathy) for another 40 years or so.

Most people wouldn't associate Toronto with abandoned roads, but a few of them dot the city if you know where to look. One of the better examples is this surviving portion of old Don Mills Road as it climbs north out of the Don Valley. The current Don Mills Road is to the right in the picture above. The original road was realigned and widened in the 1950s to connect the new community of...

A few weeks ago, we wondered about the presence of electricity meters placed randomly around the city, measuring power consumption for, well, something or other. We'd grown so perplexed by these meters that we felt compelled to ask Toronto Hydro for more information.

If you loved (or hated) MasterCard skating to the rescue of Toronto's outdoor rinks this winter, you'll love (or hate) one of the city's other sponsorship innovations: traffic signals. Yes, Toronto allows—encourages—corporations to pay for the installation of audible pedestrian signals (APS) at the intersections of their choice. In return, companies receive free advertising space at each location declaring their largesse and the city's poverty.

Quick–name the first department store chain to locate in suburban Toronto.

"Hey kids, let's dig out that cowboy gear we bought for Halloween last year and hum the theme to Bonanza on the way to the Western Days hoe-down in Don Mills! Don't forget the toy gun, pardner!"

When searching for a new place to live, what is the first thing you look for? Location? Lifestyle compatibility? Enticements? A blank slate to shape in your unique style? Groovy wallpaper?

When I was thirteen, I went to visit my aunt and uncle in Halifax. In the maritimes nine years ago, the Atlantic Superstores were way bigger than anything in Toronto, and they sold clothes! Needless to say, I was impressed - that is, until I tried on several pairs of ill-fitting pants and realized that Superstore clothes sucked.

Torontoist, are available in the 69 Photoset on Flickr.

This summer is looking as bloody as last summer. Early this morning a man was shot dead on a rooftop patio in the club district. Two others were wounded.

There were four shootings this weekend including a fatal one near Don Mills and Eglinton. Police say they're also encountering resistance from witnesses and victims which is making their investigation much harder.

, to trick car drivers who would otherwise feel shame riding in the common people’s chariot.

Tough #1: Sic, man.

There have been rumours coming outta Don Mills for a while. At CanWest's York Mills hub, a chunk of second floor space has been painted hip, youthful colours, and installed with open-concept Ikea carboard. It all spells freebie commuter rag, this one to be given the unfortunate name of Dose. According to the Star, the paper will be available in five cities, and aims to target 18-34 year olds who like bite-size news, and sections with names like 'people like us,' and 'live better.' Sounds a bit scary, but we'll reserve judgement until the paper comes out on April 4th. That's if we can find it amidst the metastasizing newspaper boxes that dot our subway stop.