Railway Towns
In the second half of the nineteenth century, several rail lines were built across the Toronto area. This led to another group of towns being founded as rail lines and rail stations quickly became focal points for the creation of new towns and neighbourhoods. The most important was the Grand Trunk Railway line running along the shore of Lake Ontario. The central Union Station was the meeting point of a number of lines, and this contributed to the growth of industry throughout the area between Queen Street and the lakeshore. East and west of downtown, the major stations were established at Parkdale and Riverside South, they both became centres of activity. Hotels, such as the Gladstone and New Broadview House, opened to serve travellers.
Parts of town that had once been home to small rural communities were transformed by the railway into major industrial areas. To the northwest of the city, the small towns of Carleton and Davenport were subsumed into The Junction and it became the site of many large factories and warehouses. To the east, the towns of Strangford and Mortlake became known as Scarborough Junction.
Further away from town, the railways also altered geography. New communities developed around railway yards and facilities to house the workers. The largest of these was East Toronto, which developed east of the city around the Grand Trunk's main yards. In the eastern part of Scarborough, Irish railway workers built up the town of West Hill. The existing small town of Leaside grew rapidly after a maintenance yard was built nearby.
Read more about this topic: History Of Neighbourhoods In Toronto
Famous quotes containing the words railway and/or towns:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“We do not concern ourselves about being esteemed in towns through which we pass. But if we are to remain a while there, we are so concerned. How long is necessary? A time commensurate with our vain and paltry life.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)