South Eglinton-Davisville

Cowbell Lane
Southeast corner of Eglinton Avenue East and Cowbell Lane
This laneway was named Cowbell Lane in honour of this area's heritage. The area of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue East has come a long way from the dense old forest it once was. By the 1870s, the only significant development in the area were the construction of roads that, even then, didn't attract much residential growth. At the end of the nineteenth century, the area became part of the largest cattle grazing region in Upper Canada. The area was the first in North America to extend the use of cowbells to all cattle. The standard at the time had been to only have a bell on the best cow in the herd.

Storefronts of Yonge Street
2019-2039 Yonge Street
Numerous commercial buildings like these line Yonge Street all the way from Davisville to up past Eglinton Avenue. This row of 11 store fronts between 2019 - 2039 Yonge Street have cultural heritage value for their design. The properties are representative of commercial buildings built on Main Street Rows, and were built in three phases from 1916-1926. They feature commercial space at street level with private residential units above. They were originally built using red brick cladding with brick and stone detailing, though several of these storefronts have since been painted or stuccoed. The modest classical detailing with the corbelled brickwork is typical of buildings dating to the interwar era in North Toronto.

Bareket Kezwer Artbox
Southeast Corner of Yonge Street and Belsize Avenue
This design is motivated by the artist's desire to spread joy, nurture present minded living, cultivate gratitude, and foster new social interactions. The artist's mission to connect with people through art and grow the collective conversation about the power of optimism feels closely aligned with CAMH's vision, mission, and goals.

June Rowlands Park and Sharon, Lois and Bram Playground
220 Davisville Avenue
This park, originally named Davisville Park, was renamed in 2004 in honour of June Rowlands who was a woman of many firsts. June was born in Saint-Laurent, Montreal but grew up in Toronto, attending school at both Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and University of Toronto. During her long career in municipal politics she served as the first woman Mayor of Toronto (from 1991-94), the first woman to head the Toronto Transit Commission, the first woman to head the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, and the first woman to serve as the City's budget chief. She was a strong advocate for the elderly, developmentally challenged, the impoverished, and victims of domestic violence. The musical themed playground located in the park is dedicated to children's entertainers Sharon, Lois and Bram. The Canadian trio became incredibly successful internationally, selling millions of copies of their albums and winning three Juno Awards. The three were given the Order of Canada in 2002 and served as Canadian ambassadors for UNICEF.

Former Davisville General Store and Post Office
1909 Yonge Street
This heritage-designated building has been a local landmark since it was constructed in the 1890s. It was a key building in the Davisville community, which was founded in the 1840s by John Davis, an immigrant from Staffordshire, England. John Davis was the first postmaster, with his grandson Jack taking over the post and moving it to this building, where he also ran a general store, in the 1890s. The building continued to serve as a post office and general store for the community in the early twentieth century. The Davisville community was merged into the Village of North Toronto, which itself was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1912. This building is among the few remaining buildings that represents the development of the Davisville community in the late nineteenth century.

Al Green Sculpture Park
Behind 33 Davisville Avenue
This park is named after Toronto sculptor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Al Green, who was born in Toronto in 1924. He dedicated his professional career to Greenwin, the company co-founded by his father. Green oversaw the construction of tens of thousands of houses, rental units and condos across Toronto. He also established the Al Green Theatre, co-founded the Lipa Green Centre for Jewish Community Services, Al Green Resources Centre and the Al and Malka Green Artists' Health Centre in Toronto Western Hospital. This park space came about after the construction of several Greenwin properties in this area in 1974. Green gave the park to the City until its ownership expired in 1999. After that, he created a sculpture park by acquiring works from his sculptor friends Maryon Kantaroff and Sorel Etrog, placing them and several of his own works throughout. Al Green was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2002, and passed away in 2016.

Girl Guides of Canada Building
50 Merton Street
This heritage-designated building has been the headquarters of Girl Guides of Canada since 1962. Girl Guides of Canada was officially founded in 1910 in St. Catharines, Ontario by Mary Malcomson, intended to empower girls and women to make a difference in the world. Much of the organization's funding comes from its sale of cookies, an idea pioneered by a Girl Guide Company in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1927. A significant portion of the money that financed the construction of this building came from the incredible fundraising efforts of young Girl Guides, who raised over $125,000. The building was opened in May 1962 by Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Ellen Fairclough, Canada's first female Cabinet Minister. Today the Girl Guides of Canada counts about 95,000 girls as members, as part of a global network of 10 million Girl Guides in 145 countries.

Janet M. Magee Manor
71 Merton Street
*Note: Private property. Please observe the building from the sidewalk only. This senior citizen apartment building was built here thanks to community worker Janet Magee. The proposed plan for the site was for a high-rise building but Magee fought the plan and led the crusade for the construction of this senior's residence instead. Magee was no stranger to the area as she had lived nearby since moving to Toronto in 1918. During her life she was the founder of the Meals on Wheels program in Toronto and organized a walk to save the Belt Line from demolition.

Former War Amps Building
140 Merton Street
This heritage-designed building was the headquarters of War Amps from 1960 until 1994. War Amps was originally founded in 1918 by veteran and amputee Lieutenant Colonel Sidney Lambert, intended to help those who suffered amputations in war with practical assistance and counselling. They created their now famous key tag program in 1946 as a way to assist veterans achieve independence through employment while helping to return over 1.5 million lost keys. They have since expanded their programs to assist all those who have lost limbs. The building was designed by architect Charles Dolphin, who is perhaps best known for designing the Postal Delivery Building that is now part of Scotiabank Arena. In 2022, the City of Toronto announced a new project with the Missanabie First Nation that will see the building converted to 184 rental apartments for Indigenous seniors, the first ever Indigenous-led housing development for seniors under the City's 'Housing Now' initiative.

170 Merton Street
170 Merton Street
This building is distinctly representative of the post-war style called Late Modernism, a style characterized by the octagonal turret and the use of concrete brick and mortar. It was designed by architect Leslie Rebanks, a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. This building was once the former headquarters for the Visiting Homemakers Association (VHA), which was a Toronto-based social-welfare agency, founded in 1925. The agency assisted underprivileged families, the sick, the elderly and people living with intellectual disabilities and homelessness while also researching the co-relations between poverty, health and low wages.

Dominion Coal and Wood Plaque
379 Mt. Pleasant Road
Note: Private property. Please observe this point of interest from the sidewalk only. Where these condo buildings now stand is the same place where the nine silos of Dominion Coal and Wood once stood. Dominion Coal and Wood was founded in 1912 and, although it was originally located on Danforth Avenue, the facility moved to this site in 1929. Its proximity to the Belt Line Railway facilitated distribution of wood and coal across Canada, and then sold as heating fuel to local businesses and homeowners. The site closed in 2009 and the property was rezoned for residential use. A Heritage Toronto plaque near the stairs leading from the west side of Mt. Pleasant Road down to the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail notes the history of the site. Down the steps and on the left, there's a mural painted by the students of Greenwood School in 2014. The three elements in the mural represent the neighbourhood, the trains that used to run along the Belt Line Railway, and the Dominion Coal and Wood silos.