The Kingsway

The Kingsway area is situated with Bloor Street to the south, Dundas Street to the north, Mimico Creek to the west and the Humber River to the east. Its picturesque streets and beautiful homes are propped against a backdrop of greenery from the Humber River Valley. Stately houses stand bordered by towering maple and oak trees. While the area was first known as “Kingsway Park” popular language drifted to “The Kingsway”. ‘The Kingsway’ is also the name of the main road that winds through the thick of the area.

Built by the developer (and visionary) Robert Home Smith – of Home Smith & Company – many of the houses in the Kingsway feature historical finishings. These include stone exteriors, intricate brick patterns, half-timbering designs, decorative wrought-iron railings, porch lamps, and oriel windows, that were typical of the late 1800s. The oldest homes are found along Government Road. Here you will find Edwardian and Victorian architecture, from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Homes in this area have grown into some of the most valuable real estate in the city, largely a result of large lots laden with spacious ‘tastefully appointed traditional homes’ that Smith marketed on heavily treed and winding streets. Strict instructions were given to avoid damaging the majestic trees in the area, and the homes, largely Arts & Crafts or Tudor Styles, were fashioned often from locally sourced materials such as those found in local quarries in the Humber and Credit River areas.

The Kingsway Village shopping district, on Bloor street west, is also a natural extension of the neighbourhood. It offers painted wrought-iron street lamps, park benches along the street, local specialty shops, and friendly faces. Homes in the area are ideally positioned close to coveted schools, restaurants, parks, fitness/rec centres, arenas, churches, and libraries. In fact, Home Smith Park (accessed off of Dundas street) follows the Humber River and is part of a 10-kilometre paved trail that connects joggers, walkers, and cyclists, to Toronto’s waterfront.