A community grows
During the First World War (1914-1918), the City of Toronto expanded as new factories were built to meet the needs of Canada's war effort. In 1916, the Ford Motor Company built a factory at the corner of Dupont Street and Christie Street. The following year, Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd., opened the largest aircraft factory in the British Empire at Dupont Street and Dufferin Street.
The people working in these factories needed homes to live in. Brick homes - both detached and semi-detached -- were built in the Regal Heights neighbourhood for both workers and executives. Many homes featured porches, while their interiors were graced with wood paneling, and leaded and stained glass influenced by the arts and crafts movement.
Building these homes was relatively easy because during the term of Toronto Mayor George Geary (1910-1912), streets were laid out and construction started on two schools, Regal Road elementary and Oakwood Collegiate Institute. Davenport Road was paved, making it a safe, swift link between the neighbourhood and downtown Toronto.
During this period, Toronto artists were attracted to the scenery and the colour of a growing community. Before he became a leading member of the Group of Seven, Lawren Harris painted pictures of the homes and temporary shacks of residents in the Bathurst St. and St. Clair Avenue West area.
In 1926 and 1932, George Agnew Reid and Doris McCarthy painted murals in the Dufferin/St. Clair Branch of the Toronto Public Library. Although these art treasures were painted over in 1964 and considered lost forever; they were restored in 2008 as part of an expansion of the branch by the public library board. The illustration below is "The Family", one of a series of panels painted by Reid who descibed his goal to present community life in an idealistic fashion through a series of pastoral landscape. The murals include the names of 12 British authors and eight literary themes throughout the composition.
McCarthy's murals were painted in the children's club room in 1932 and feature bright, energetic scenes from familiar British and American fairy tales, such as Jack the Giant Killer, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella.
Prior to the expansion of the branch library, local residents David Self and John McAuley worked with the local librarian and the library board to develop a strategy for restoring the murals and recruited conservationist Laslo Cser to show how this could be done. The Regal Heights Residents Association raised funds to support this work and was recognized for its effort by Heritage Toronto in the 2008 heritage awards. The restoration of the murals is a symbol of the community's active involvement in the creative arts, encouraged by local organizations such as Art Starts.
Regal Heights thrived during the 1920s. In the 1940s, the demand for housing grew quickly and some of the larger homes were subdivided to provide privacy for individual members of extended families, or extra income for the owner.
The population of Regal Heights changed in the postwar years from British immigrants, to newcomers from Italy, to, in recent years, a mix of people from different parts of the world. Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world.
An active neighbourhood in Canada's largest city, Regal Heights provides the kind of environment that encourages people to do their best. Nathan Phillips, a Mayor of Toronto, lived in Regal Heights during the 1940s and '50s.
Marilyn Bell, the first swimmer to conquer Lake Ontario, lived in the neighbourhood as a child and swam in a pool now occupied by the parking lot for a local supermarket. Charmane Crooks, a successful amateur athlete who has represented Canada at the Olympics, the Pan-American Games and the Commonwealth Games, grew up in Regal Heights.
Since the 1970s, the Regal Heights Residents' Association has helped neighbours work with neighbours to make our community a good place to live and work. In 2000 and 2001, the Association's garden committee won awards from the City of Toronto's Green Committee. Residents take pride in the many people who have contributed to the growth of Regal Heights, and are inspired by their example to make the neighbourhood the best it can be.
David Raymont
Resident of Regal Heights since September 1984.
Director, Heritage Toronto.
(This postcard is from a private collection.)
In the 1920s, small businesses on Davenport Road and St. Clair Avenue West served a variety of local needs.
(The advertising blotters are from a private collection.)
Links:
|
Home
