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85-787: The Toronto section was surveyed in the 19th century as the Fourth Concession Road (with the first being Queen Street ). It was historically known as Richview Sideroad in Etobicoke and Lower Baseline in Mississauga. It was also designated Highway 5A (and later Highway 109) in Scarborough . There are two sources for the naming of Eglinton Avenue. Henry Scadding in an early history of the city wrote that it originated from Eglinton Castle in Scotland , itself named for

170-491: A continuous raised bicycle lane that would be the longest bike lane in the city. The initial implementation of the redesign would be carried out with the reconstruction at Crosstown line station locations that would be funded as part of the Crosstown line project. Reconstruction between stations will be funded by the city and is proposed to be carried out after completion of the Crosstown line so that it does not interfere with

255-544: A day comparison shopped between Eaton's and Simpson's. Today, Eaton's is gone, but the Toronto Eaton Centre still remains at the same location, one of Canada's largest office and shopping complexes. Simpson's is also gone, but the historic department store building remains on the south side of Queen Street, occupied by the Hudson's Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue stores. Further west, this stretch of Queen Street

340-454: A family connection, despite the slight difference in spelling. The wagon trail connecting to Yonge Street between the third and fifth concessions ( St. Clair and Lawrence Avenues respectively) soon adopted the name of the village and was gradually improved over the years near Yonge Street. In 1890, the area was incorporated as North Toronto , and in 1912, it was annexed to Toronto itself. In 1953, Metropolitan Toronto (commonly known as Metro)

425-399: A host of others. In the 1960s and into the early 1980s, this stretch of Queen Street West was an aging commercial strip, known for "greasy spoon" restaurants and inexpensive housing in the area. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the area was transformed by local students, including those of the nearby Ontario College of Art & Design , and the area developed an active music scene which was one of

510-1057: A jog was eliminated in the 1990s. It lies just east of the linking segment where it continues south as Signet Drive (built as a southerly extension of the offset York Region section), and ends at a T-intersection with Weston Road two blocks north of Steeles. Thirteen bus routes serve Weston Road: 36F Finch West, 41 Keele, 59 Maple Leaf, 71 Runnymede, 73CD Royal York, 84A Sheppard West, 89 Weston, 161 Rogers Rd, 165 Weston Rd North, 171 Mount Dennis, 341 Keele Blue Night, 941 Keele Express and 989 Weston Express. The 89 Weston serves Weston Road from Albion Road and Walsh Avenue to St. Clair Avenue West , then via Keele Street to Keele subway station . The 165 Weston Road North serves Weston Road from Steeles Avenue West to Albion Road and Walsh Avenue, then via east on Walsh Avenue and Wilson Avenue to Wilson station , then east to York Mills station . The 41 Keele, 341 Keele Blue Night and 941 Keele Express only serve Weston Road travelling southbound, serving Old Weston Road and Rogers Road travelling northbound. Unlike

595-484: A large number of independent specialty stores. The stores along Queen are known to change tenants quite often causing the streetscape to change from year to year, sometimes drastically. East of Woodbine Avenue, Queen street has less traffic and is effectively reduced to one lane each way (the outer lanes are used for on-street parking). The centre lanes are used by the 501 streetcar . The first few blocks from Fallingbrook Rd. to Victoria Park Ave. are located in Scarborough ,

680-449: A major renovation and community consultation process. Artscape's $ 17 million transformation of the building, the former Shaw Street School, was completed just before the centenary of its construction in 1914. Artscape Youngplace is a 75,000 sq. ft. centre for creative collaboration housing a diverse mix of creators working in a variety of disciplines, as well as arts, community and social mission organizations. The Queen West Art Crawl (QWAC)

765-478: A northwesterly direction as a contour road to St. Phillips Road, passing through Mount Dennis at Eglinton Avenue , and Weston at Lawrence Avenue. North of St. Phillips, it becomes a north-south artery but does not align to the grid proper until south of Sheppard Avenue . It runs parallel to Highway 400 from north of Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue and into Vaughan in York Region. Most of Weston Road

850-637: A trend of gentrification along Queen Street East. Queen is home to a number of landmarks in this area, including the New Edwin Hotel , New Broadview House Hotel , The Opera House, and the Ralph Thornton Community Centre . The Queen Street Viaduct, along with the surrounding bridges, carry traffic on Queen Street over the Don River . The bridge was originally constructed in 1803 as a wooden bridge. The current bridge

935-480: Is a four-lane principal arterial road through residential areas, except for the northern section which is mostly industrial. The speed limit south of Finch Avenue is 50 km/h (30 mph), which increases to 60 km/h (35 mph) between Finch and Steeles. North of the Toronto city limits at Steeles Avenue, Weston Road enters York Region, where it is designated as York Regional Road 56 . It passes through

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1020-411: Is an annual three-day festival celebrating the arts on Queen Street West and featuring the artists, arts organizations and businesses on the thoroughfare. It is produced by the not-for-profit Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation. The area between Trinity Bellwoods Park and Roncesvalles Avenue has been referred to as "Queer West" or "Queer Street West", an LGBTQ enclave in Toronto similar to

1105-452: Is an east–west Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar route, running on Queen Street. The 501 Queen streetcar remains one of the TTC's busiest and longest streetcar routes; it runs every six minutes in each direction (traffic permitting). Queen Street West is also served by Osgoode station at University Avenue. Service is provided 24 hours a day, though overnight service between 1 am and 5 am

1190-482: Is both a contour street and a north–south street in western Toronto and western York Region in Ontario , Canada. The road is named for the former Village of Weston , which was located near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West , in the present-day neighbourhood of Weston. In the south, Weston Road begins at St. Clair Avenue opposite the north end of the southern leg of Keele Street . The southernmost 55 metres of

1275-559: Is called Riverdale. Since its amendment to the City of Toronto in 1884, the area has developed a stature as a neighbourhood of independent arts, with several independent galleries located along Queen Street East. The residential landscape within Riverdale is made up primarily of Victorian and Edwardian style homes, constructed in the 1800s as boarding rooms for the working-class. It is a mixed income and multicultural area, currently experiencing

1360-480: Is dominated by institutional and cultural buildings such as Old City Hall , Toronto City Hall , Osgoode Hall and the Four Seasons Centre . The area between University and Spadina Avenues was a cultural nexus in the 1980s known for its cheap restaurants, clubs, eclectic mix of musicians and artists and was a haven for the punk rock scene with its famous club kids such as Kinga, Seika, Wanda and

1445-409: Is in parts of two neighbourhoods, Upper Beaches and The Beaches . From Woodbine to Kingston Road , there's a mix of newer commercial/residential buildings. The northern half is covered with various modern looking stores, with the southern half covered by a retail development by The Behar Group , consisting of 5 residential condos, with ground floor retail spaces. The section of Kingston to Coxwell

1530-486: Is located at the corner of Queen and John Streets in this area. By the mid-1990s MuchMusic become associated with Queen Street's culture; the station's VJs have often broadcast their segments live from outside the building, and programs such as Electric Circus and the MuchMusic Video Awards have regularly taken place on the street. St. Patrick's Market , at 238 Queen Street West, was founded in

1615-664: Is operated as one of three streetcar routes on the TTC's Blue Night Network under the route number 301 Queen, with less frequent service. Beneath Queen Street West is a little-known urban artifact. In the 1940s, the Toronto Transit Commission proposed to construct, in addition to a rapid-transit subway under Yonge Street, a second tunnel under Queen Street that would allow the PCC streetcars from certain routes to avoid other traffic as they ran through central areas. The Queen subway would run from Trinity Bellwoods Park in

1700-422: Is residential, for the most part, though it becomes a major commercial area from Allen Road to Don Mills Road . The Eglinton West or " Little Jamaica " area, which stretches from Marlee Avenue / Winona Drive to Keele Street , is home to a number of Caribbean stores. Eglinton Avenue is one of the few east–west routes north of Bloor Street that cross Toronto uninterrupted in a more or less straight line across

1785-544: Is similar in design, but without the retail development on the southern side, including the Alliance Cinemas The Beach location. A little to east of the Queen/ Eastern /Kingston intersection there is the northern border of Woodbine Park , used for outdoor events. The area from Greenwood to Logan is known as Leslieville. Queen passes underneath the elevated CN railway tracks, and this marks

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1870-485: Is supplied by 332 Eglinton West Blue Night (between Eglinton Station and Pearson Airport) and 334 Eglinton East Blue Night (between Eglinton Station and the intersection of Finch Avenue and Neilson). In Mississauga, MiWay route 35 Eglinton serves most of the street corridor within the city, while routes 7 Airport, 9 Rathburn, 68 Terry Fox, and 74 Explorer also serve some sections of the road. Eglinton West (at Allen Road ), Eglinton (at Yonge Street ), and Kennedy (at

1955-599: The Cameron , the Horseshoe Tavern and The Rivoli have remained and changed little, the strip is now cluttered with mid- and higher-end international chain stores such as H&M and Zara , the antithesis of what the area was about in the 1970s and 1980s. The broadcast hub at 299 Queen Street West (formerly called the CHUM-City Building), housing a number of Bell Media 's television operations,

2040-643: The Church-Wellesley Village . The community started to form in the 1970s thanks to the General Idea artistic collective and their contributions to FILE Megazine . In the 1980s, the Operation Soap police raids affected some of the gay bathhouses in the community like The Barracks. As the area developed in the early 2000s, plans for condo expansions stirred gentrification concerns, leading to local "queer kiss-in" protests. Over

2125-718: The Earls of Eglinton . Several early settlers, impressed by the Eglinton Tournament of 1839 hosted by the 13th Earl , named the hamlet developing in the area as the Village of Eglinton after the Earl. More likely is the humbler story that it was named by the tavern keeper John Montgomery who settled in the area in 1830 and named the village after the Earl of Eglinton of the Montgomerie family, to whom he believed he had

2210-572: The Eaton's and Simpson's department stores faced each other across Queen Street, with the rivalry between the two stores at one time as central to Toronto retailing as the Macy's / Gimbel's competition was to New York City 's retail history. The pedestrian crosswalk on Queen Street, just to the west of the intersection with Yonge Street, was for years one of the busiest in Canada, as thousands of shoppers

2295-1344: The Erin Mills Town Centre , Centennial Park , Planet Bowl , the Eglinton Flats sports park, Eglinton Park , Little Jamaica and Reggae Lane , Yonge Eglinton Centre , the Canada Square Complex and the TVO Headquarters , Sunnybrook Park , the Ontario Science Centre , the Eglinton Square Shopping Centre, The Golden Mile , and Toronto East Detention Centre . The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates bus routes 32 Eglinton West (between Eglinton subway station and Renforth MiWay Terminal ), 34 Eglinton East (between Eglinton and Kennedy stations ), 51 Leslie, 54 Lawrence East and 56 Leaside (between Eglinton station and Leslie Street). East of Kennedy station, routes 86 Scarborough, 116 Morningside, 905 Eglinton East Express, and 986 Scarborough Express provide regular all-day service (until 2014, 34 Eglinton East provided service east of Kennedy station). Overnight service

2380-410: The 'Milky Way.' There is a business improvement association in this area, grouping businesses in the area under the 'Parkdale Village' banner. The Parkdale Library is located at Cowan Avenue, and Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre is located just south of Queen Street on Cowan. Parkdale has a higher proportion of lower-income residents and there are several support agencies located along Queen. The 501 Queen

2465-472: The 1850s, the roads were assumed by the township and its municipalities. Additionally, there are two bypassed "Old Weston Roads"; the first being located in the environs of the southern terminus. It begins as a minor stub running north from intersection of Dundas , Dupont and Annette Streets, and breaks at the Canadian Pacific tracks, which were bridged until the 1970s. It resumes just south of

2550-763: The 1960s. Until reaching Jarvis Street, the north side is the Moss Park neighbourhood, with the park and Moss Park Armoury along the street. South of Queen is the Corktown neighbourhood. In the east side of downtown it passes St. Michael's Hospital and Metropolitan United Church . At Yonge Street in the downtown core, the street is in the Financial District and at the Eaton Centre . Since the 19th century, Queen Street West at Yonge Street has been one of Toronto's primary shopping destinations. Originally,

2635-934: The 1990s, some of the space was reused for a pedestrian passage when the subway station was being made wheelchair-accessible, but the rest of the station shell remains empty to this day. In more recent transit planning, the Ontario Line is proposed to run below Queen from Spadina Avenue to Parliament Street, connecting to the Yonge-University Line at Osgoode and Queen stations while also serving three other stations on Queen Street: Queen-Spadina (one stop west of Osgoode station; underground), Moss Park (one stop east of Queen-Yonge station; underground), and Riverside-Leslieville (three stops east of Moss Park station; elevated). 43°38′59″N 79°23′33″W  /  43.649584°N 79.39241°W  / 43.649584; -79.39241 Weston Road Weston Road

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2720-530: The Metrolinx construction activity. A planning process called Eglinton Connects drew on public consultation to evaluate options for the redesign. Queen Street, Toronto Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for

2805-629: The Toronto and York Roads Commission, later the Metropolitan Toronto Commission of Roads. In 1943, city planner Norman Wilson indicated the possible future need for a new urban highway to connect Eglinton Avenue with the Richview Sideroad. These plans would mature into the Richview Expressway with the formation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954. Part of the requirements for the Richview Expressway

2890-483: The amenities of modern cities such as Kingston to take up residence in the forests north of Lot Street. These 40 hectares (99 acres) lots were placed along the south side of the first east–west road laid in York, Lot Street. In the 1840s, Lot Street was renamed in honour of Queen Victoria . "Queen West" is local vernacular which generally refers to the collection of neighbourhoods that have developed along and around

2975-426: The area drives up prices. Like other gentrified areas of Toronto, the original "Queen West" —the stretch between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue — is now lined with upscale boutiques, chain stores, restaurants, tattoo parlours and hair salons. Perhaps the best-known landmark on this section of Queen West is the broadcast hub at 299 Queen Street West , formerly the headquarters of Citytv and MuchMusic and earlier

3060-522: The border of Leslieville. Queen Street East is the commercial hub of Leslieville. In Leslieville, Queen is home to many small stores and restaurants. From Greenwood (Vancouver Avenue) to Woodfield, the northern side of the street is beside the Ashbridge Estate , a large historic estate. The Russell Carhouse is also on this stretch of Queen Street. The place between Logan and the Don River

3145-497: The cancellation of Transit City on the day that he took office. The redesigned Eglinton–Scarborough Crosstown line along with a Line 4 Sheppard extension was announced four months later, with the support of Metrolinx and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty . The redesign put the 19 kilometres (12 mi) Eglinton portion completely underground, integrated the Line 3 Scarborough portion (which has since been decommissioned due to age and

3230-470: The cheaper rent, an area at the time which was desolate after working hours. The push continued into the mid- and late 2000s and into Parkdale until that area also became associated with trendy businesses, and now condos. By the mid-1990s with the opening of mainstream stores such as Le Château , probably the first chain store on the strip, the name "Queen Street" became synonymous with terms such as "trendy", "hip", and "cool". While original businesses such as

3315-466: The city of North York successfully lobbied for the Sheppard line . The underground subway line was approved despite the official transit plan only recommended a bus rapid transit line for the road in the near future. The Eglinton line was abandoned by Rae's successor Mike Harris after construction had started at Eglinton West station and underground excavation was filled in. The Eglinton Crosstown LRT

3400-407: The city only the year before. Toronto Fire Services' "active incidents" website reported the fire as six-alarm intensity, with over 14 separate units dispatched to the scene throughout the day. Several neighbourhood businesses and apartments were destroyed in the blaze. In some cases, the destruction caused by the fire gave rise to additional angst over the changing character of Queen Street West and

3485-505: The city. Eglinton Avenue was also the only street to cross all six of the municipalities that eventually amalgamated to form Metro Toronto : East York , Etobicoke , North York , Scarborough , Toronto , and York . The section between the Etobicoke Creek and Renforth Drive forms part of the city limits of Toronto and Mississauga. There are many notable sites and landmarks along Eglinton Avenue; from west to east, they include

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3570-600: The developer Urbancorp applied to demolish the MOCCA and the adjacent buildings housing the Edward Day and Clint Roenisch Gallery and replace them with the nine-story "MOCCA Condo". The museum moved to a former factory building on Sterling Road north of Dundas Street West. In 2014, Vogue Magazine ranked the neighborhood second in their compilation of the world's top 15 hippest neighborhoods, second only by Shimokitazawa , Tokyo . Another cause of this gallery conglomeration

3655-405: The dominant centres of Canadian music in its era. The late 1980s saw the relocation of CityTV to 299 Queen Street West which gentrified the area almost overnight. A more mainstream culture soon attracted other artists, wider audiences, and wealthier businesses to the area. Small independent businesses started to move further west on Queen Street West past Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street for

3740-490: The dump was once site of hangar for Leaside Aerodrome ) and resumed at Victoria Park Avenue (then known as Dawes Road). This break resulted in a bypassed eastern stub at Bermondsey Road signed as Old Eglinton Avenue . The Department of Highways relinquished control of Highway 109 to the newly formed Metro government. Metro built the new section of Eglinton Avenue, first between Dawes Road and Don Mills Road in 1955, and later between Don Mills Road and Leaside in 1956. In

3825-574: The east end of Mississauga, just south of Toronto Pearson International Airport . Renforth Station is a terminal hub for TTC, GO Transit , and MiWay buses; meanwhile, the other three are exclusively served by MiWay. The provincial government of Bob Rae started work on the Eglinton West line of the Toronto subway in 1994 as a way of appeasing politicians in Etobicoke and York who demanded rapid transit expansion in their constituencies after

3910-696: The eastern portion of the street, the Gallery District contains an abundance of space available for special events. The Camera Bar—originally established by film director and producer Atom Egoyan —is now operated by the Stephen Bulger Gallery as a rental space that offers a bar and film/video screening venue. West Queen West has undergone rapid transformation in the past couple of years. Rents have increased dramatically and many galleries have left. Recent departures include Sis Boom Bah, Luft Gallery, Burston Gallery and Brackett Gallery. At

3995-559: The eastern terminus of Line 2 Bloor–Danforth ) stations of the Toronto subway system are located on Eglinton, where the respective lines cross it. In Mississauga, a portion of the Mississauga Transitway , a grade-separated bus rapid transit line, follows Eglinton Avenue stopping at: Etobicoke Creek, Spectrum, Orbitor and Renforth. All of these stations are located at the Airport Corporate Centre at

4080-509: The easternmost part of Toronto, where Queen is only a minor residential side street, which continues west to the Neville Park streetcar loop , the eastern end of the 501 route, before widening into a thoroughfare. Around the intersection with Victoria Park, the south side of the street is beside the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant , a crucial water treatment plant for both Toronto and York Region . From Woodbine to Coxwell, Queen Street

4165-471: The former Etobicoke in 1947 to avoid confusion due to the break. The other sections were a stub of the street continuing west of Roncesvalles and ending at Colborne Lodge Drive by High Park , and a short side street in Swansea running west from Ellis Avenue. When The Queensway was extended east in the 1950s, the latter two section where absorbed into it, rather than having the name "Queen Street" restored to

4250-463: The former Queen Street Mental Health Centre, now part of CAMH ), a combination that has led to the district being named one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world both in 2015 and 2016. The Stephen Bulger Gallery, founded in 1994, is also located on Queen West, as was the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), which relocated to the area in 2005. MOCCA moved out of the area in 2018. In 2013,

4335-404: The ground-floor and residences above. Many of the buildings date to the 1880s era when Parkdale was an independent village. There are numerous bars and restaurants along this section. There is also an increasing number of storefront art galleries, part of an increasing number of artists locating in the area. The lane way parallel to Queen on the south side is decorated with murals, and is nicknamed

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4420-429: The late 1830s. The current building dates from 1912. This property is currently home to a communal food market, currently undergoing renovations the property is slated to re-open in 2018. From Spadina to Bathurst, Queen Street is lined with street-level retail, with upper level apartments. Bates and Dodds, Toronto's oldest operating funeral home is at 931 Queen St. West, across from Trinity Bellwoods Park and has been in

4505-493: The neighbourhood's unique commercial establishments. Its vision is to retain the unique character of the West Queen West business community in the midst of renewal and growth, while attracting visitors/tourists to an area known to boast high concentrations of art and culture. The BIA promotes the West Queen West neighbourhood as a distinct destination for residents and tourists. Until November 2010, Dufferin and Queen

4590-470: The now-continuous street, likely due to the Borough of Etobicoke desiring a counterpart to another street called The Kingsway. A legacy of The Queensway being formerly part of Queen Street is still evident in a parallel street known as North Queen Street north of Sherway Gardens , which was once a jogged section of Queen St./The Queensway west of Kipling Avenue , later bypassed by a direct extension of

4675-635: The original east–west avenues of Toronto's and York County's grid pattern of major roads . The western section of Queen (sometimes simply referred to as "Queen West") is a centre for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts. Over the past twenty-five years, Queen West has become an international arts centre and a tourist attraction in Toronto. Since the original survey in 1793 by Sir Alexander Aitkin , commissioned by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe , Queen Street has had many names. For its first sixty years, many sections were referred to as Lot Street , section west of Spadina

4760-450: The potential nature of the new development that would eventually replace the burned buildings. Between Bathurst Street and Gladstone Avenue is West Queen West, also known as the Art and Design District. For this two-kilometer stretch, nearly every storefront on the north side is either a gallery, bar, or nightclub (the south side of the street is largely taken up by the buildings and grounds of

4845-455: The proposed Expressway are high-speed ramps from Eglinton Avenue to Highways 401 and 427 at a massive interchange near Renforth station . At a signalized intersection this results in westbound Eglinton traffic defaulting to the on-ramps for 401 and 427 as drivers wishing to continue on the Eglinton routing have to make a left-turn. Eglinton Avenue runs through a number of neighbourhoods and

4930-649: The route was bought by private interests and it became the "Weston Plank Road", a toll road of planks. The Weston Plank Road extended from Dundas Street north to Musson's Bridge over the Humber, where Albion Road began. The company built its headquarters at St. Phillips Road and Weston Road. The building exists today at 2371 Weston Road. In 1846, the Weston Plank Road Company built Albion Plank Road from Musson's bridge northwest to Clairville where one could continue north to Bolton via Indian Line . In

5015-415: The same area as the gentrification of the district continued. In the 2000s, the changing character of Queen Street West gave rise to concerns in some quarters over the pace and implications of gentrification. On February 20, 2008, a large fire destroyed several buildings on the south side of the street, between Bathurst and Portland Streets. The block had been declared a heritage conservation district by

5100-494: The same location since 1884. As rents rose, most artists began moving westward to this section of Queen. In the early 1990s, the newly vogue area became associated with nightclubs such as the Bovine Sex Club and several antique shops. Occupying the same area, between Spadina Avenue and Trinity Bellwoods Park south of Queen Street, is Toronto's Fashion District . In the later 1990s, high-priced clothing stores opened in

5185-482: The same time as galleries have closed, many new bars have opened. Many attribute this sudden shift to the development spearheaded by the Drake Hotel , a former flophouse recently renovated and converted to a boutique hotel at a cost of $ 6 million. The Gladstone Hotel is one of a few pre-existing businesses in the area that has been able to capitalize on the recent boom. This grand old railroad-era hotel had over

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5270-485: The site of the Ryerson Press, now housing the broadcast operations of a number of television outlets owned by Bell Media . Queen Street East, though not as famous as Queen Street West, is known for its shopping, especially in nearby neighbourhoods. Until the 1940s and 50's Queen Street extended west (in several sections) along what is today The Queensway, with the name changed through the westernmost segment though

5355-399: The southern end of a thriving Chinatown in the 1930s. From the 1920s to the 1950s, the area was also the heart of Toronto's Polish and Ukrainian communities. From the 1950s through the 1970s, many immigrants from Portugal settled in the area. Gentrification over the past twenty years has caused most recent immigrants to gradually move to more affordable areas of the city as desirability of

5440-402: The street north of St. Clair, where the roadway diverted to the west off its straight baseline, was formerly a part of Keele, which officially breaks here and is cut off from its short mid-section. Weston Road formerly began at the diversion, but this stretch of Keele St was redesignated as part of Weston Road in 2006. Weston Road then travels diagonally across the general arterial road grid in

5525-540: The street's southern baseline to connect to The Middle Road , the precursor to the Queen Elizabeth Way . During the 1982 Toronto municipal election candidate Deanne Taylor established headquarters at The Cameron House - performing nightly with the Hummer Sisters west of Spadina. The commercial district of Queen Street East lies at the heart of The Beaches community. It is characterized by

5610-423: The street. In 2014, the municipal government of Toronto released a report proposing a redesign of the street to provide generally a four lane roadway over the underground LRT, with a three lanes (two traffic and centre turning lane) between Avenue Road and Mount Pleasant Road. The variation in number of lanes is based on lower car traffic volumes near Yonge Street. The redesign would also provide wider sidewalks and

5695-520: The subway. While the Queen line remained on the list of proposals into the 1970s, it was never again a priority. When the Yonge subway was being constructed in the early 1950s, the shell of an east–west station for the Queen line, sometimes called Lower Queen, was built under its Queen station, and passenger flows within the station were laid out on the assumption that it would eventually be an interchange. In

5780-519: The thoroughfare. Many of these were originally ethnically-based neighbourhoods. The earliest example from the mid-19th century was Claretown, an Irish immigrant enclave in the area of Queen Street West and Bathurst Street . From the 1890s to the 1930s, Jewish immigrants coalesced in the neighbourhood known as " the Ward ", for which Queen Street between Yonge and University served as the southern boundary. The intersection of Queen and Bay Streets also served as

5865-480: The two western municipalities of York Region, Vaughan in the south and King in the north. The speed limit through the urbanized parts of Vaughan is 60 km/h (35 mph), while the limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) in rural Vaughan and King Township. The northern terminus of the road is at Highway 9 in the Holland Marsh . In Toronto, the speed limit is 50 due to the unposted speed limit. Weston Road

5950-457: The unavailability of new rolling stock), and would run contiguously from Black Creek Drive in the west to McCowan Road in the east. The redesign has since been shelved with construction plans reverting to the original design. Once the first phase of Line 5 Eglinton is completed by Metrolinx in 2024, the existing bus lanes on Eglinton between Black Creek Drive and Kennedy Road will be significantly reduced, providing an opportunity to redesign

6035-414: The west to Broadview Avenue in the east. This two-line plan was approved by referendum in 1946, but when hoped-for funding from the government of Canada did not materialize, the Queen line was postponed. In the 1960s, the TTC decided that a subway to replace the crowded Bloor Street streetcars would be more valuable, as after the construction of the Yonge line most of the passenger traffic had moved north with

6120-591: The west, the street ended at the Humber River until 1970. On the opposite side in Etobicoke, the Richview Sideroad followed the same alignment as far as the Metro Toronto–; Peel boundary. That year, the river was bridged to connect the Richview Sideroad segment as an extension of Eglinton Avenue. At about the same time, when the Highways 401 and 427 interchange was reconstructed, the street

6205-455: The western terminus of Davenport Road , widens to four lanes, passes through the neighbourhood of Silverthorne, and ends at Rogers Road, the westernmost section of which also formed part of the original Weston Road, before the construction of the new Weston Road course south of Rogers Road's present terminus. The second is located in Vaughan, just north of Steeles Avenue, and was created when

6290-467: The years fallen into disrepair and maintained itself by renting boarding-house-style accommodation. Now gentrified, the tavern on the first floor is home to a weekly "Art Bar", where locals from the arts community converge to socialize. In 2005, it underwent a major renovation spearheaded by the Zeidler family . In 2013, Artscape Youngplace opened at 180 Shaw Street, just north of Queen Street West, after

6375-592: The years, the area has been home to various LGBTQ-friendly bars , restaurants, stores, and venues. The Queer West community suffered several closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The businesses on the stretch of Queen West from Bathurst to Gladstone Ave. have organized the West Queen West Business Improvement Area, which is mandated to undertake streetscape improvement projects, organize community events and promote

6460-444: Was a staged construction of a parallel arterial road. This was approved in 1963, and construction began on Eglinton Avenue from west of Weston Road to Royal York Road . With its completion in 1970, the four-lane Richview Sideroad was renamed Eglinton Avenue West. In Toronto, the right-of-way to construct the Richview Expressway remains but in the face of Local opposition the project has never come to fruition. The only built part of

6545-539: Was a two-legged intersection broken up by the Queen Street subway (a historic CN railway bridge underpass first built in 1898) in the 1200 block, but due to major re-construction, this is now a four-way intersection. Once past there, Queen Street West makes its way through Parkdale . Parkdale is one of Toronto's oldest neighbourhoods, and a former independent village, and Queen Street is its main commercial strip, with two and three-storey mixed use buildings, retail on

6630-553: Was conducted in 1910 and is a steel truss bridge . The surrounding bridge goes east to Davies Avenue and west to River Street, splitting into Queen Street and King Street just west Bayview Avenue (east of River Street). The section for the Don River to Yonge Street is located in Downtown Toronto . East of Parliament Street is the Trefann Court area that was the site of a major debate over development in

6715-606: Was connected to Lower Base Line, extending the street even further west into Mississauga. West of Mississauga, in the Regional Municipality of Halton , it is a rural road and is still named Lower Base Line (the corresponding Upper Base Line being present-day Steeles Avenue ). The structure over the Richmond Hill line and East Don River is known as the Harvey C. Rose Bridge, and honours the chief engineer of

6800-399: Was first laid out in the first decade of the 1800s to connect Dundas Street to the village of Weston. This followed the route of what is today Old Weston and (west of Watts Avenue) Rogers Roads , then the route of the current Weston Road north to Weston. The old routing was renamed in 1948. Between 1810 and 1820, it was extended north to Vaughan Township by following Sixth Line West. In 1841,

6885-577: Was formed. Seeking to build new connections to the rapidly developing suburbs, Metro widened and interconnected Eglinton Avenue to its current form through the decade. The eastern segment through Scarborough was known as Highway 5A between 1937 and 1953; this number also appeared on St. Clair Avenue West until 1952 when the Toronto Bypass, (the precursor to Highway 401 ), opened between Weston and Highway 11 (Yonge Street). The two pieces of "Highway 5A" were never connected. In 1953, what remained

6970-452: Was named Egremont Street until about 1837. East of the Don River to near Coxwell Avenue it was part of Kingston Road (and resuming as Queen Street thereafter), and was the westernmost section of that historic route to Kingston, Ontario , whose western terminus today is just east of Coxwell. The first park lots laid out in the new city of York (which would be renamed Toronto in 1834) were given to loyal officials who were willing to give up

7055-532: Was renumbered as Highway 109 ; a year later, the road was removed from the provincial highway system. Because of its time as a provincial highway, the road through Scarborough was widened considerably. A right of way was also acquired to bridge the gap in Eglinton Avenue. Until the mid-1950s, Eglinton Avenue did not cross either of the valleys of the Don River . The road ended at Brentcliffe Road (unassigned path beyond Laird Drive towards Brentcliffe Road and

7140-414: Was the conversion of a former police building ( Art-Deco building for Metro Toronto Police 6 Division built in 1931 and closed in the 1990s) into Gallery 1313, with extensive financial assistance by the city. A large amount of gallery space, including such galleries as Loop and Fly, allowed Toronto artists of all levels of ability to show their work at a low cost. Unlike the boutique-oriented storefronts of

7225-550: Was unveiled as part of the TTC's Transit City light rail expansion program in 2007, which proposed an underground line to run from Jane Street to Laird Drive, with above ground sections running to Pearson International Airport in the west and to Kennedy station in Scarborough in the east. The provincial government's MoveOntario 2020 capital funding announcement in June 2007 funded the line. Toronto mayor Rob Ford announced

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