Humewood-Cedarvale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Humewood-Cedarvale is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, historically part of York. The neighbourhood is bordered by Bathurst Street to the west, Eglinton Avenue to the north, Arlington Avenue to the west and St. Clair Avenue to the south. The neighbourhood is often referred to by each distinct name with the north-east half of the neighbourhood represented by Cedarvale and the south-west as Humewood.
Humewood is a middle class, very family oriented neighbourhood. The tree lined (and one way) streets provide a lovely accent to the kids who can enjoy very little through traffic. Humewood Park was once part of the estate of William Hume Blake, now used as social housing, which is the neighbourhood's namesake. Cedarvale is a wealthy community, and includes multi-million dollar homes facing the Cedarvale Ravine.
Cedarvale and Humewood are separated by Vaughan Road, however just slightly further east is the huge Cedarvale ravine, which was once proposed to be an expressway, which would have been the extension to Allen Road. At the intersection of Claxton Blvd. and Bathurst St., there is an imposing gate, built in the 1910s, which symbolized its wealth and it was originally intended to be a gated community. However, due to decreased demand for real estate during World War I, and the decreasing fortune of Sir Henry Pellatt, who could not pay the bills for the nearby Casa Loma and supervised the community's construction, the gates were never completed, causing this to be an open community, but the columns are still there. Additionally, Claxton Blvd. was to be named Connaught Ave., but only a small street connecting Vaughan Road is named that (Claxton Circle), where there is a bench in the circular parkette that some Cedarvale couples are believed to fall in love with each other.
There are two elementary schools in this area: Humewood and Cedarvale Community Schools, which represent the namesake portions of this neighbourhood. Arlington Middle School is also located in this community. However, there are no publicly-funded secondary schools in this neighbourhood, but one can attend the nearby Vaughan Road Academy, Oakwood Collegiate Institute, or Forest Hill Collegiate Institute. These schools are all run by the Toronto District School Board. Near St. Michael's College School, there is an apartment building that Ernest Hemingway lived during his stay in Canada, which is now called "The Hemingway." Additionally, there are no public libraries in this neighbourhood, but one may use the Oakwood Village, the Maria Shchuka, or the Wychwood public libraries.
There is a large Jewish community in Humewood-Cedarvale (although more so in Cedarvale) at over 23% of residents with several key religious sites within walking distance (Holy Blossom Temple and Beth Tzedec Synagogue). In Cedarvale itself, Jews make up about two-thirds of the population, the highest proportion in Toronto, according to the 2001 Census, hence the lack of any Catholic schools in the area except for the nearby St. Alphonsus Catholic elementary school.
When Eglinton Avenue and St. Clair Avenue enter this neighbourhood, there are many trendy restaurants, cafés, and bars along these thoroughfares, including Starbucks at both ends of the neighbourhood.
This community has some access to public transportation since it touches two subway stations: Eglinton West and St. Clair West, and the Vaughan bus route passes through this neighbourhood.
