Eastern Avenue (Toronto)

Eastern Avenue is an east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It runs from just east of Parliament Street in the downtown to just west of Coxwell Avenue, near the Beaches neighbourhood. Originally Eastern crossed the Don River at the Old Eastern Avenue Bridge, but that bridge was disconnected in 1964.[1] Today, Eastern's east and west halves cross the Don River north of the old alignment via a large bridge with ramps connecting to the Don Valley Parkway, and this viaduct (known as the Eastern Avenue Bypass in some maps) forks out and becomes the eastern terminus of both Richmond and Adelaide streets.

Eastern Avenue

VIA Train Crosses Eastern Avenue.jpg
A Via Rail train crosses over Eastern Avenue near its intersection with Broadview Avenue
Route information
Maintained by City of Toronto
Length4.5 km (2.8 mi)
Major junctions
West endFront Street at Erin Street
East endQueen Street East
continues as Kingston Road
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
Major citiesToronto
Highway system
  • Roads in Toronto

Eastern runs through what was once the heart of Toronto's most industrial area, the region just north of Toronto Harbour and the Port Lands area. Today most of the factories have departed.[2] Some do remain, notably the large Weston bakery. Several film studios have moved into the former industrial areas near Eastern and Carlaw, and this area is today billed as the Studio District. Eastern was also home to the headquarters of the Toronto chapter of the Hells Angels, until it was raided and confiscated by police in April 2007.[3]

At its eastern terminus it now meets up at Kingston Road, once the main cross colonial route linking York to the other major Upper Canada settlement of Kingston.

Prior to 2000, however, Eastern Avenue did not meet up directly with Kingston Road, but at a point a few hundred feet west of the intersection of Kingston Road and Queen Street. Only with the demolition of Greenwood Racetrack was Eastern Avenue extended to flow directly into Kingston Road. The former terminus of Eastern Avenue still exists—it is the small unmarked (and unnamed) street that runs south off Queen Street between Coxwell and Orchard Park Avenues. A small isolated section of Eastern Avenue runs from Sumach Street to Lawren Harris Square.

Almost all the street scenes in the film Hairspray were filmed on Eastern Avenue.[4]

Public transit

The TTC proposed a 150 Eastern bus in 2022, which would operate along the length of the road.[5]

A number of north-south buses use Eastern as the street they loop along before returning northwards. They include the 22 Coxwell, 31 Greenwood, and 72 Pape.[6]

In 2008 bike lanes were added to Eastern, sparking controversy regarding practicality of bike lanes on arterial roads.[7]

Landmarks

Landmarks and notable sites along Eastern from west to east

Landmark Cross street Notes Image
Inglenook Community High School Cherry St Historic school building
Dominion Wheel & Foundries Limited Rolling Mills Road Abandoned site of a former rail parts manufacturer; includes four buildings of heritage significance[8]
Old Eastern Avenue Bridge Don River Abandoned bridge
Sunlight Park Don River First baseball park in Toronto, demolished 1896
Broadview Lofts Broadview Former warehouse converted into lofts
Toronto Film Studios Carlaw
Weston Bakery Carlaw One of the remaining, operable factories
Russell Carhouse Greenwood TTC streetcar yard
South Central sorting plant Greenwood Main Canada Post facility for central Toronto
Greenwood Raceway Greenwood Racetrack demolished in the 1990s

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eastern Avenue, Toronto.
  1. "Dead little bridges, like the steel truss-strengthened span on Eastern Avenue, can put an urban explorer in a melancholy mood." John Bentley Mays. The Globe and Mail. Feb 15, 1995. pg. C.3
  2. "Hoping for gold: Can the Olympics turn around a forgotten neighbourhood?" Malcolm Kelly. National Post. Dec 9, 2000. pg. G.1.FRO
  3. CTV Toronto - Hells Angels clubhouses raided in three provinces - CTV News, Shows and Sports - Canadian Television
  4. Shankman, Adam (Director) (2007-11-20). Hairspray: Commentary with Director Adam Shankman and Nikki Blonsky (DVD). New York, NY: New Line Cinema. Event occurs at 1:17:08-1:17:19. Retrieved 2017-11-24. ...this is back on that street that [Nikki Blonsky] rode the garbage truck down... Eastern Avenue. We shot everything on Eastern Avenue.
  5. Murno (2022-02-07). "TTC 2022 Service Plan Update". Steve Munro. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  6. "TTC Route Map Archived 2011-02-16 at the Wayback Machine" Toronto Transit Commission
  7. "New bike lanes spark some four-wheel fury." Jack Lakey. Toronto Star. Jul 19, 2008. pg. A.13
  8. "City of Toronto's Heritage Property Search".
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