Eringate-Centennial-West Deane
Samuel & Ann Mercer House
72 Old Burnhamthorpe Road
*Private property. Please observe the house from the street only. The Samuel & Ann Mercer House is known for its Georgian farmhouse style with vibrant red bricks and a one-metre-thick foundation made of local fieldstone and bricks made onsite. The farmhouse was originally owned by Samuel and Ann Mercer who were early European settlers of the York Mills area that later moved to Etobicoke. Since 1820, the house has stood as a local landmark and the Mercers' farm became one of the largest farms in Etobicoke. Elmcrest Road was originally known as Mercer Road, named after the family. The Mercers had 11 children but only one (their son Seneca) continued to live here through adulthood. Rathburn Road in this area was originally named Seneca Road in honour of him. The Mercer House was restored and has been protected by the heritage designation bylaw since 1976. It remains one of the oldest privately owned buildings in Toronto.
Elmcrest Park
575 Rathburn Road
This 4.3-hectare park follows Elmcrest Creek from Rathburn Road (near Renforth Avenue south) to Burnamthorpe Road. Both banks of the creek are forested and provide shade for the trail that follows the creek and connects to neighbourhood streets. There is a children's playground near the south end of the park.
Centennial Park Conservatory
151 Elmcrest Road
The Centennial Park Conservatory is the perfect place to bask in the beauty of nature. Built in 1970, the conservatory is over 2,400 square metres and features a number of native and tropical plants. It is best known for its seasonal displays with over 300,000 annual and perennial plants that are planted in locations across the city to beautify streetscapes in gardens, hanging baskets and on lamp posts. Some of the most notable plants that can be seen at the conservatory are: the rubber plant native to India, spiky floss-silk tree from Brazil, spear-snake plant from Africa, and ram's horn from the Pacific Islands. Each wing of the greenhouse provides different varieties of plants. For example, the south wing is an arid house that displays unusual cacti and succulents including agave, aloe and opuntia. The north wing is home to a collection of local trees and shrubs.
Etobicoke Olympium
590 Rathburn Road
The Etobicoke Olympium is a multi-use facility that focuses on meeting the recreation needs of the community and developing amateur competitive sports. The centre has the ability to host national and international events in a range of sports and is home to many sports clubs. As a 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games aquatics training venue for swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and diving, the Etobicoke Olympium was renovated. Improvements included a new competition pool and upgraded dive tower - improved mechanical, electrical and filtration systems, improved lighting in selected areas, improved audio systems and shower facilities, new bleachers, and redesigned lobby and administrative areas. The Olympium has also been utilized as a filming location. The pool at the facility was used as a location for the 1998 movie 'Urban Legend', starring Alicia Witt, Tara Reid, and Jared Leto, in a pool scene featuring Rebecca Gayheart's character Brenda Bates.
Centennial Park & Pan Am BMX Centre
256 Centennial Park Road
Centennial Park is Toronto's second-largest park at 212 hectares. It was created in the 1960s to celebrate one hundred years since Canada's Confederation (officially opening in 1967). The park was formerly part of Hiron's Dairy farm, known as one of Toronto's last working farms. The park has many recreational facilities, including a hockey arena, swimming pool complex and a track and field stadium. The park also contains the Pan Am BMX Centre, which was home to BMX cycling competitions at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games. The 350-metre long track consists of four straightaways and three turns and is filled with challenging jumps.
Eringate Park
121 Wellesworth Drive
This 3.8-hectare park features three ball diamonds and a children's playground. The park is also home to the Eringate Outdoor Pool.
Richview Memorial Cemetery
Eglinton Avenue West at Highway 427
*Note: The cemetery can only be accessed from Eglinton Avenue West where it crosses under Highway 427. The historic Richview Memorial Cemetery is now surrounded by highways on all sides. It was originally the cemetery of Richview Methodist Church circa 1850. Several members of Etobicoke's early settler farming families are buried here. The earliest gravestone is dated 1846. When the highway interchange was built in 1954, the church was moved to a new location - but the cemetery stayed here at the insistence of trustees - leaving it to remain in its now strange location. The cemetery expanded significantly in 1970 as graves from two other former Etobicoke cemeteries were moved here. Today, only descendants of those already buried here can buy remaining burial plots. The last person to be buried here was Victor Kimber (the groundskeeper of the cemetery for over 40 years) after he passed away in 2005.
Andrew Coulter House
59 Beaver Bend Crescent
*Note: Private property. Please observe from street only. Underneath the pale yellow siding and white neoclassical portico rests the original home of Andrew and Martha Coulter's Georgian house of red and yellow brick. The actual date of the construction is unknown, but it is considered one of the oldest houses in Etobicoke (built before 1852). The five-bay Georgian-style house was constructed from bricks made onsite and finished with yellow brick quoins (decorative brick on the exterior corners) on a foundation made of boulders and local blue clay. The property passed through many hands over the years and was most notably sold to construction magnate Percy F. Law. Law covered the house with white clapboard siding and added the large neo-classical portico to the front. The Coulter House is currently home to the Neurological Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario. Andrew Coulter is now buried in the Richview Memorial Cemetery.
West Deane Park
19 Sedgebrook Crescent
This 54.8 hectare park near Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road follows the Mimico Creek ravine from Eglinton Avenue West south to Rathburn Road. Many paths connect to the surrounding neighbourhoods as the trail follows the creek. The park features two ball diamonds (including one with lights), four tennis courts, three children's playgrounds, allotment gardens and a picnic area. Also located in the park are the West Deane Outdoor Pool and the West Deane Artificial Ice Rink. The neighbourhood surrounding the park is also colloquially referred to as West Deane Park. The name comes from developer Edmund Peachey, who built the area in the 1960s and named it Deane after his wife's maiden name.
Heathercrest Park
19 Storey Crescent
A 2.3-hectare park near Martin Grove Road and Eglinton Avenue West that features a children's playground surrounded by open green space. The park contains a wooded area in its northeast section that is a mature forest connected to the Mimico Creek watershed, including a small swale (low, marshy strip) that feeds into the creek. The park was owned by the Toronto District School Board, who declared it surplus and attempted to sell it in 2009. Neighbourhood residents organized to fight to save it from being sold off for development. These efforts were successful and the park remains a vital green space in the neighbourhood. The Citizens of Heathercrest Park neighbourhood group continues to host tree plantings and other environmental initiatives at the park, and also advocates for preserving the wider Mimico Creek watershed.
Explore Eringate-Centennial-West Deane
Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.
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Explore FREE Public Art Across the City. Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto's exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.
We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at [email protected].
Neighbourhood Stroll
This vast neighbourhood in western Etobicoke covers a few distinct areas, all of which include lovely heritage homes, fantastic parkland, and captivating hidden gems. The western portion of the neighbourhood is dominated by Centennial Park, which is the second largest in the city, and offers a vast array of amenities to users. The eastern portion of the neighbourhood is divided by Highway 427, with suburban residential areas containing quiet streets and beautiful, leafy parks on both sides. Great local businesses can be found along Eglinton Avenue West, Rathburn Road, and The East Mall.
- Samuel & Ann Mercer House
72 Old Burnhamthorpe Road
*Private property. Please observe the house from the street only. The Samuel & Ann Mercer House is known for its Georgian farmhouse style with vibrant red bricks and a one-metre-thick foundation made of local fieldstone and bricks made onsite. The farmhouse was originally owned by Samuel and Ann Mercer who were early European settlers of the York Mills area that later moved to Etobicoke. Since 1820, the house has stood as a local landmark and the Mercers' farm became one of the largest farms in Etobicoke. Elmcrest Road was originally known as Mercer Road, named after the family. The Mercers had 11 children but only one (their son Seneca) continued to live here through adulthood. Rathburn Road in this area was originally named Seneca Road in honour of him. The Mercer House was restored and has been protected by the heritage designation bylaw since 1976. It remains one of the oldest privately owned buildings in Toronto.
- Elmcrest Park
575 Rathburn Road
This 4.3-hectare park follows Elmcrest Creek from Rathburn Road (near Renforth Avenue south) to Burnamthorpe Road. Both banks of the creek are forested and provide shade for the trail that follows the creek and connects to neighbourhood streets. There is a children's playground near the south end of the park.
- Centennial Park Conservatory
151 Elmcrest Road
The Centennial Park Conservatory is the perfect place to bask in the beauty of nature. Built in 1970, the conservatory is over 2,400 square metres and features a number of native and tropical plants. It is best known for its seasonal displays with over 300,000 annual and perennial plants that are planted in locations across the city to beautify streetscapes in gardens, hanging baskets and on lamp posts. Some of the most notable plants that can be seen at the conservatory are: the rubber plant native to India, spiky floss-silk tree from Brazil, spear-snake plant from Africa, and ram's horn from the Pacific Islands. Each wing of the greenhouse provides different varieties of plants. For example, the south wing is an arid house that displays unusual cacti and succulents including agave, aloe and opuntia. The north wing is home to a collection of local trees and shrubs.
- Etobicoke Olympium
590 Rathburn Road
The Etobicoke Olympium is a multi-use facility that focuses on meeting the recreation needs of the community and developing amateur competitive sports. The centre has the ability to host national and international events in a range of sports and is home to many sports clubs. As a 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games aquatics training venue for swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and diving, the Etobicoke Olympium was renovated. Improvements included a new competition pool and upgraded dive tower - improved mechanical, electrical and filtration systems, improved lighting in selected areas, improved audio systems and shower facilities, new bleachers, and redesigned lobby and administrative areas. The Olympium has also been utilized as a filming location. The pool at the facility was used as a location for the 1998 movie 'Urban Legend', starring Alicia Witt, Tara Reid, and Jared Leto, in a pool scene featuring Rebecca Gayheart's character Brenda Bates.
- Centennial Park & Pan Am BMX Centre
256 Centennial Park Road
Centennial Park is Toronto's second-largest park at 212 hectares. It was created in the 1960s to celebrate one hundred years since Canada's Confederation (officially opening in 1967). The park was formerly part of Hiron's Dairy farm, known as one of Toronto's last working farms. The park has many recreational facilities, including a hockey arena, swimming pool complex and a track and field stadium. The park also contains the Pan Am BMX Centre, which was home to BMX cycling competitions at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games. The 350-metre long track consists of four straightaways and three turns and is filled with challenging jumps.
- Eringate Park
121 Wellesworth Drive
This 3.8-hectare park features three ball diamonds and a children's playground. The park is also home to the Eringate Outdoor Pool.
- Richview Memorial Cemetery
Eglinton Avenue West at Highway 427
*Note: The cemetery can only be accessed from Eglinton Avenue West where it crosses under Highway 427. The historic Richview Memorial Cemetery is now surrounded by highways on all sides. It was originally the cemetery of Richview Methodist Church circa 1850. Several members of Etobicoke's early settler farming families are buried here. The earliest gravestone is dated 1846. When the highway interchange was built in 1954, the church was moved to a new location - but the cemetery stayed here at the insistence of trustees - leaving it to remain in its now strange location. The cemetery expanded significantly in 1970 as graves from two other former Etobicoke cemeteries were moved here. Today, only descendants of those already buried here can buy remaining burial plots. The last person to be buried here was Victor Kimber (the groundskeeper of the cemetery for over 40 years) after he passed away in 2005.
- Andrew Coulter House
59 Beaver Bend Crescent
*Note: Private property. Please observe from street only. Underneath the pale yellow siding and white neoclassical portico rests the original home of Andrew and Martha Coulter's Georgian house of red and yellow brick. The actual date of the construction is unknown, but it is considered one of the oldest houses in Etobicoke (built before 1852). The five-bay Georgian-style house was constructed from bricks made onsite and finished with yellow brick quoins (decorative brick on the exterior corners) on a foundation made of boulders and local blue clay. The property passed through many hands over the years and was most notably sold to construction magnate Percy F. Law. Law covered the house with white clapboard siding and added the large neo-classical portico to the front. The Coulter House is currently home to the Neurological Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario. Andrew Coulter is now buried in the Richview Memorial Cemetery.
- West Deane Park
19 Sedgebrook Crescent
This 54.8 hectare park near Martin Grove Road and Rathburn Road follows the Mimico Creek ravine from Eglinton Avenue West south to Rathburn Road. Many paths connect to the surrounding neighbourhoods as the trail follows the creek. The park features two ball diamonds (including one with lights), four tennis courts, three children's playgrounds, allotment gardens and a picnic area. Also located in the park are the West Deane Outdoor Pool and the West Deane Artificial Ice Rink. The neighbourhood surrounding the park is also colloquially referred to as West Deane Park. The name comes from developer Edmund Peachey, who built the area in the 1960s and named it Deane after his wife's maiden name.
- Heathercrest Park
19 Storey Crescent
A 2.3-hectare park near Martin Grove Road and Eglinton Avenue West that features a children's playground surrounded by open green space. The park contains a wooded area in its northeast section that is a mature forest connected to the Mimico Creek watershed, including a small swale (low, marshy strip) that feeds into the creek. The park was owned by the Toronto District School Board, who declared it surplus and attempted to sell it in 2009. Neighbourhood residents organized to fight to save it from being sold off for development. These efforts were successful and the park remains a vital green space in the neighbourhood. The Citizens of Heathercrest Park neighbourhood group continues to host tree plantings and other environmental initiatives at the park, and also advocates for preserving the wider Mimico Creek watershed.
Accessibility information: Most points of interest on this stroll are viewable from the street. Some parts of Centennial Park and West Deane Park may be unpaved. Heathercrest Park does not have paved paths, but some park amenities can be accessed by crossing grassy areas.
The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.
Soundtracks of the City
From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.
Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.