is one of several municipal
urban parks in Etobicoke. Etobicoke has the lowest population density of the former cities and boroughs comprising the city of Toronto. This is mainly due to its expanses of industrial lands along the various expressways. The residential areas are primarily single-family dwellings, although several large multi-story high-rise condominium developments have been built in south Etobicoke near the Humber River over the past few years. The central and northern areas of Etobicoke have many high-density apartment complexes set in the middle of sizable, open fields and parks. The central/southern areas, such as
Markland Wood,
The Kingsway, New Toronto, Mimico and Long Branch, have large green spaces, many parks, and main street shopping areas. Etobicoke has many public parks. Located on the banks of the Humber River,
James Gardens, a popular site for
wedding photography, features seasonal flowers, walkways, a rock garden, streams, and waterfalls. Etobicoke also has
Centennial Park, a large recreational park, and
Colonel Samuel Smith Park and
Humber Bay Park on the lakeshore. Etobicoke has several golf courses.
St. George's Golf and Country Club was ranked in 2007 as one of the three best golf courses in Canada.
Neighbourhoods Etobicoke is generally divided into three large areas roughly corresponding to its political ridings. Each has neighbourhoods, mostly developments of 19th-century '
postal villages' (rural neighbourhoods), that were built at key points along the early roads and railways; especially the three former 'Lakeshore Municipalities' that separated from Etobicoke in the early 20th century and Etobicoke's central Islington community: designed home in
Mimico. The Lakeshore's neighbourhoods were first to urbanize in Etobicoke.
The Lakeshore (
Etobicoke—Lakeshore), along the north shore of Lake Ontario and the "Lake Shore Road" (now Lake Shore Boulevard West), comprises three former municipalities that were the first to urbanize and became separate municipalities during the first half of the 20th century: Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch, and related communities that were never separate from the Township of Etobicoke; namely,
Alderwood (originally a suburb of New Toronto), and
Humber Bay (a historic gateway community connecting to Toronto) which was originally sprawl from the east side of the Humber River that was subsequently split by the construction of Ontario's first motor vehicle 'freeway' in 1938, which cuts across the top of southern Etobicoke; (the Queen Elizabeth Way). Today, the original remnant residential (northern) section of Humber Bay is north of The Queensway, east of Mimico Creek to the Humber River. The commercial, southern section of Humber Bay retains only Christie's Biscuits bakery, as high-rise condominium towers and clustered row housing have forced out virtually all other commercial/industrial employment uses. In the late 1990s, the former McGuiness Whisky factory was converted into a high-rise loft condominium which became the centrepiece of the Mystic Pointe development. Etobicoke's first railway opened through the area in 1855, just north of the Lake Ontario shoreline, leading to the first period of growth as it replaced Dundas Street in Central Etobicoke as the main means of transportation and the industrial centre along its right-of-way. neighbourhood. Development in the Humber Valley Village began in the early 20th century.
Central Etobicoke (Etobicoke Centre); the oldest communities in Etobicoke developed along the first street, Dundas Street, in the south of this area, which crosses the width of Etobicoke on the escarpment formed by the ancient shoreline of Lake Iroquois. This area centres around the
Islington community, the former administrative centre of Etobicoke and later Etobicoke's 'downtown' which is near the central 'Six Points' intersection at its western boundary. The rural
Richview community developed directly to the north of Islington in the 19th century on Eglinton Ave. (formerly Richview Rd.), as did the gateway
Humber Heights communities (connecting to Toronto): Westmount and Humbervale, to the east on Eglinton. Development of the until-then largely undeveloped eastern part of central Etobicoke (originally a forest reserved for the use of government mills as "The King's Mill Reserve"; "Kingsmill"), the "Humber Valley", was largely the work of Robert Home Smith starting about 1900 and including the communities of
The Kingsway and
Humber Valley Village. The Kingsway neighbourhood has attracted many affluent individuals and families (as of 2001, over 50% of households have an income in excess of /year). As Etobicoke developed in the post-war years, low-density residential areas filled in most of the rural areas between the old communities including
Thorncrest Village,
Princess-Rosethorn and
Eringate – Centennial – West Deane as well as the older
Eatonville community to the west of Islington. Central Etobicoke includes Etobicoke's most exclusive neighbourhoods, with fine housing stock and many large treed properties. Along the East and West Mall parallel to
Highway 427 exists a mix of hi-rise rentals, townhouses and post-war bungalows.
Markland Wood is the farthest western community within Etobicoke/Toronto; situated along Bloor Street West, it is predominately single family housing with some mixed hi-rise rentals. . Most neighbourhoods in North Etobicoke were built in the years following
World War II.
North Etobicoke; The 19th-century Etobicoke communities are
Clairville, Highfield,
Rexdale,
Smithfield, Thistletown which grew along two formerly private roads (now Albion Rd. and Rexdale Blvd.) constructed diagonally across farms in Northern Etobicoke as a shortcut for travellers to Peel County (especially modern Brampton). First developed as an urban area by
Rex Heslop in the post-
World War II years around the new
Rexdale (the Elms) community, northern Etobicoke has many apartment buildings as well as a large 'skyway' industrial park to the west, developed after Malton Airport (in nearby Mississauga) became Toronto's main "Pearson International" Airport. ==Demographics==