Long Branch, Toronto

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The former Village of Long Branch is a neighbourhood in the south-west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-west corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke and was a partially independent municipality from 1930 to 1967.

Long Branch
Neighbourhood
Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Lake Shore Blvd. West
Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Lake Shore Blvd. West
Country Canada
Province Ontario
CityToronto Toronto
CommunityEtobicoke-York
Established1884 planned (Subdivision) 'Sea Breeze Park'
1891 (Postal village)
Incorporated1930 (Village)
Changed Municipality1954 Metropolitan Toronto from York County
1998 Toronto from Etobicoke
Annexed1967 into Etobicoke
Government
 • MPBernard Trottier (Etobicoke-Lakeshore)
 • MPPLaurel Broten (Etobicoke-Lakeshore)
 • CouncillorMark Grimes (Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore)

In recent decades, Long Branch has generally referred to the area bounded by Lake Ontario on the south, with western boundary of Dixie Road, Horner Avenue to the north, and eastern boundary of Fourteenth Street. Neighbouring communities consisted of New Toronto (the Village of Port Credit to the west, and Alderwood to the North.

History

Before Long Branch became a village, it was the home to Loyalist Col. Sam Smith, who was one of the earliest settlers in Etobicoke. His cabin was located near Etobicoke Creek and survived into the 1950s.[1] Col. Smith was granted a large tract of land for his service in the Queen's Rifles in 1797, which extended from what is now Kipling Avenue to the original course of the Etobicoke River (now Creek), and south of Bloor Street to Lake Ontario. The southern portion of this tract would include all of Long Branch and the westernmost portion of New Toronto, south of the railway line.

Beginning in 1910, other lots south of Lake Shore Road around Long Branch Park began to be subdivided.

After the incorporation of Long Branch, some of its streets were renamed. In 1931, north-south street names were standardized by continuing the ordinal numbers of New Toronto's streets, picking-up at Twenty-Third Street in the east through to Forty-Third Street in the west. For example; Lansdowne Avenue became Thirty-Third Street and Lake View Avenue became Thirty-Fifth Street. Long Branch Avenue has remained the same (it could have been Thirty-Fourth St.).[2]

Thirty-Seventh St. was formerly called Robert Street, after Robert Eastwood. Today, a drugstore is located at the corner of Thirty-Seventh St. and Lake Shore Blvd. West on the site of the former Eastwood Park Hotel, which Robert Eastwood opened in 1910. Today, other local streets such as James Street still bear names of members of the Eastwood family.

Twenty-third Street was called Government Road even after the 1931 incorporation, and west of the river there was Island Rd. south of Lakeshore Rd.which was a dead end street ending at the lagoon part of the Etobicoke River. It became the site of the Village garbage dump and later part of the park. The Etobicoke River turned and ran parallel to the lake shoreline for about a mile to its mouth. With hurricane Hazel the river broke through to the lake and the houses on that part of Lake Promenade St. and their access were lost at this time.


Incorporation and challenges

Establishment

 
Official Opening of the Streetcar on Lake Shore, 1928

Long Branch was incorporated as a Village in 1930, after the other Lake Shore municipalities, Mimico (1917) and New Toronto (1920) were incorporated as Towns.

A cenotaph was raised on Long Branch Avenue south of Lake Shore in 1933 to commemorate the village's contributions during the First (and later, Second) World War[3] During the Second World War, many industries were opened between Lake Shore Road and the railway to the north as part of the Commonwealth war effort.

One of the largest Orthodox churches in Canada, St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Church (not to be confused with St Demetrius Byzantine Rite Catholic church, also in Etobicoke), was built on Lake Shore Road (now Blvd. West) opposite 27th Street in 1958.[4]

Hazel was particularly destructive in Toronto, as a result of a combination of a lack of experience in dealing with tropical storms and the storm's unexpected retention of power. Hazel had traveled 1,100 km (680 mi) over land, but while approaching Canada, it had merged with an existing powerful cold front. The storm stalled over the Greater Toronto Area, and although it was now extratropical, it remained as powerful as a category 1 hurricane. To help with the cleanup, 800 members of the military were summoned, and a Hurricane Relief Fund was established that distributed $5.1 million (2009: $41.7 million) in aid.

In October 1954, more than forty homes in Long Branch were lost at the mouth of the Etobicoke River by Hurricane Hazel, which caused the largest flood experienced to date. Long Branch's dead from the hurricane were:[5]

  • Mr & Mrs Ed. Crymble and their daughter; Clifford, Patricia & Robert Thorpe; and Mrs. Thorpe's mother, Mrs. Robert Johnston.

To prevent any future floods from having similar disastrous results, cottages and houses from the floodplain and around the mouth of the river were relocated, and the area was turned into a park. In 1959, the park was named for Long Branch Reeve Marie Curtis in recognition for her longstanding municipal service and her efforts to have it built.[6]

The Long Branch Park Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1958.[1] Additionally, it was not uncommon to hear of the occasional residential fire up until the latter part of the twentieth century, particularly in homes that were headed by wood.

Other than that, the area is not known to have had any significant damage caused by fires, nor was it affected by surrounding areas as such, other than audible reports of the Litton Industries bombing that took place in a nearby area of Etobicoke.

In 1967, the Village of Long Branch along with the Towns of New Toronto and Mimico were amalgamated with the Township of Etobicoke to form the Borough of Etobicoke. The Borough became the City of Etobicoke in 1984. In 1998, Etobicoke was merged with five other municipalities and the Metropolitan Toronto government to form the new City of Toronto.

Although Long Branch had originally started as a summer resort with a seasonal population for many decades, the area today is increasingly centered along Lake Shore Boulevard West. It was originally developed as a commercial strip in the 1930s, with an industrial section added during WWII. Lake Shore Boulevard West today is a major thoroughfare and business strip in transition, with plans, some controversial, to change its character from a low-density industrial-commercial corridor to higher-density residential uses including some commercial space.

Transportation services

In 1895 the Toronto & Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company radial railway's single-track service was completed along Lake Shore Road from New Toronto through Long Branch to the Long Branch Loop.[7] In 1927, this line was amalgamated by the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) and double-tracked in 1928. The streetcar line along Lake Shore Road became the 507 Long Branch route. Nowadays, most streetcars from Long Branch run through the Humber Loop along The Queensway and Queen Street into downtown Toronto, with some branching to other lines at Roncesvalles Avenue. The Long Branch Loop has been a local transportation hub since the early 20th-Century. The Long Branch GO Station, which is a stop for GO Transit commuter trains traveling between downtown Toronto and points further west, is located next to Long Branch Loop. The loop is also served by buses operated by the TTC and by MiWay, the transportation agency of the adjoining City of Mississauga. The destination signs of all buses and streetcars that are going to the Long Branch Loop read 'Long Branch'.

Historical Sites

 
Original cottage on the waterfront in Long Branch

The property was bought by James Eastwood from Col. Sam Smith's son, Samuel Bois Smith, in 1871. In 1883 Eastwood sold a portion of his land south of Lake Shore Road (now, Boulevard West) to a small group of financiers from Toronto. It was to be developed as a summer resort called 'Sea Breeze Park', and a plan of subdivision was filed in 1884. In 1886, the site was acquired by Thomas Wilkie and his brother and it was renamed 'Long Branch Park', after the seaside summer resort area of Long Branch, New Jersey where Thomas had vacationed. The central north-south street was originally named 'Sea Breeze Avenue', but was renamed as 'Long Branch Avenue'.[8]

The 'Long Branch Hotel' was set back from the waterfront near Beach Road (now Lake Promenade) and Long Branch Avenue in 1887.

In 1891, the Long Branch post office was opened to serve the Long Branch Park summer resort.

One of the notable residents of Long Branch not mentioned was Sam Wright who owned the Long Branch Hotel and was a Reeve of the Village. His council brought in a programme to sell off village owned lots for $10.00 each with the condition that a house had to be started (I believe within a year), giving the village more property tax income.


The Toronto Golf Club (originated in 1876), is the third oldest golf club in North America. It originated on a parcel of land known as the Fernhill property, located on the Northern side of Lakeshore Boulevard at the western most limit of Long Branch (directly north of historical munitions factory, see 1921 business directory). On this property was a deserted mansion, locally known as “the haunted house”, which was, in 1894, rebuilt and remodeled as a Clubhouse; and this quaint building remained the home of the Club for nearly twenty years.

C.P. Rail Industrial Section

This area spans from Birmingham Avenue to Horner Avenue, and is historically the site of most of Long Branch's heavy industries that utilized the railway around the turn of 1900's until about the 1950-60's. Industries included the recycling of glass, and the manufacturing of tires, fabrics, appliances, automotive parts, textiles, beverages, munitions, and much more.

This section currently is greatly in need of additional information from historians.

The Marina and Water Works

The part of these grounds closest the waterfront was a locally renowned amateur BMX & motocross trail with focal point known as Devil's Ditch, until its transformation into Col. Sam Smith Park.

The Lakeshore Water Works drinking water treatment facility located just south of Humber College at the front of Lake Ontario was one of the first facilities of its type in North America to chlorinate lake water for human consumption. It is still in operation today.

Humber College South Campus

A section of these grounds were used for various odd purposes including the filming of Police Academy (film). The remaining portion of these grounds included an apple orchard on the west side of the property and the extended campuses of Humber College.

Marie Curtis Park and Snag Fishing Area

 
Marie Curtis Park

This section currently is in need of additional information from historians.

Lake Promenade Park and Veteran's Memorial

This section currently is in need of additional information from historians.

Long Branch Aerodrome

The Long Branch Aerodrome has the distinction of being the first Aerodrome in Canada and home to the first flying training school. The aerodrome, situated on a 100 acre property on Lakeshore Road, just west of Dixie Road in Mississauga, opened on 20 May 1915 by Curtiss Aeroplanes and Motors Company for the Royal Flying Corps. Aircraft such as the Curtiss JN-4 soon became a common sight at the airfield, which included 3 aircraft hangars.

In January 1917, the newly designated Royal Flying Corps, Canada, the forerunner to the Royal Canadian Air Force, opened the RFC Training Centre at Long Branch. The Long Branch training centre also provided instruction on flying boats at nearby Hanlon's Point in Toronto Harbour, the first seaplane base in Canada.

By July 1917, the flight school re-located to the Armour Heights Aerodrome. Long Branch became the Cadet Ground Training School for the Royal Flying Corps. Both the school and the aerodrome closed in 1919.

During World War II, the former aerodrome served initially as 21 Non-permanent Active Militia Training centre and then as an army small arms training centre. After the war, the Lakeview Armoury was established on the site, but was demolished in he 1950s.

Not the slightest trace remains of the airfield today. From 1962 - 2005, the property was Ontario Power Generation's Lakeview Generating Station. The only remnants of the aerodrome's facilities are the water tower, a concrete wall (possibly one the backstop for the small arms range) and some wooden walls (possibly part of an obstacle course).

In September 1969, a plaque was erected at the site to commemorate Canada's first Aerodrome.

Source Material: http://www.waynecook.com/apeel.html - Historic Plaques of Peel, information provided by Eric Gibson, The Mississauga Heritage Foundation (2004), the personal recollections of Tim Baetz, resident of Midland area (2004), "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath, Ontario Power Generation web site - www.opg.com/ops/lakeviewfinal.pdf & the personal recollections of the author (2004).

Lakeshore Hospital Grounds

Seldom is it mentioned, of the importance of the Lakeshore region as it pertains to Canada's currency system, particularly the new dollar coin. After the forming of New Toronto, the Humber College South campus grounds were generally designated as within the boundaries of Long Branch.

The now defunct Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital east of Government Road (or 23rd. st.), Mimico Branch Asylum of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum at the time of its opening in 1890 (commonly referred to by the local residents as the Looney Bin), operated in full capacity until 1979, and partially until about 1982 when it closed, after which point the grounds were used for various odd purposes including the filming of Police Academy (film). The west side of the property between Kipling Avenue and the original Humber College South Campus buildings included an apple orchard prior to the land being bought up by Humber College Lakeshore Campus along with many of the once very eerie former in-patient buildings that have since been renovated into what is now Humber's extended college campuses.

Institutions

Local Business Directories

Noteable businesses, current and historical

Schools

School

Points of Interest

 
A shot looking west of TTC's Long Branch Loop looking west in late 2007.

Churches

remains,[9] now used as a Polish church)

  • St Paul's United Church (founded 1924)
  • St James Presbyterian (founded 1914, closed 2001)
  • St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Church
  • Polish Full Gospel Church[10]

Notable Persons

  • Bennet Jacob
  • Herbie Schuster
  • Joseph Polczer
  • Marino D'Alessandro

Additional information from business community, past and present, welcomed here.

Politicians

  • Col. Sam Smith, British Loyalist military officer and administrator of Upper Canada
  • Terry Grier, former NDP M.P. and educator
  • Ruth Grier, former NDP M.P.P., Minister of the Environment & Minister of Health
  • Laurel Broten, Liberal M.P.P., Minister of the Environment
  • Marie Curtis (1954–1962)
  • Leonard E. Ford (1963–1964)
  • Thomas Berry (1965–1966)
 
Long Branch Loop in 1935

See also

References