Victoria Village

Victoria Village
Neighbourhood
The area south of Eglinton is only sometimes considered part of the neighbourhood
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto
Community	North York

"Victoria Village" redirects here. For the Australian precinct, see Queen Victoria Village. For the Newfoundland town formerly known as Victoria Village, see Victoria, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Victoria Village, sometimes referred to as Sloane (after the main street within the area), is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada bounded on the west by the Don Valley, on the north by Lawrence Avenue East, on the east by Victoria Park Avenue, and on the south by Eglinton Avenue East, although there is a small area south of Eglinton to Sunrise Avenue that is sometimes included. It is located in the southeast of the North York district. Its population is diverse in ancestral backgrounds with a larger proportion of South Americans than most of the city.

History

Much of the neighbourhood was originally owned by the Heron family, who operated an orchard on the property. Many apple trees can still be found in the neighbourhood. The area was developed in the 1950s by a group of investors led by Progressive Conservative MP Robert Henry McGregor.

Character

The neighbourhood has many high- and low-rise buildings, which provide affordable living and are located on the edges of the neighbourhood, with mostly bungalows, some semi-detached homes, and some two-storey detached (either rebuilt bungalows, or built after the initial period of construction, which occurred mostly from the late 1950s-1960s). Because the neighbourhood borders the Don River some of the homes have stunning views overlooking the Don Valley. A significant portion of the single detached homes in the area abut valley areas, notably the Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve.

Most of the houses built in the area are bungalows. The apartments and condos are mostly located on the borders of the area, Lawrence, Eglinton and Victoria Park Avenues.

Schools

École élémentaire Jeanne-Lajoie

Jeanne-Lajoie is a French first language elementary school located on Carnforth Road. It serves the French population of the GTA.

Victoria Village Public School

Victoria Village Public School is located at 88 Sweeney Drive.

Sloane Avenue Public School.

Sloane Avenue is located on the collector street of the same name.

Historically the area was served by Herron Valley Junior High School, now closed. The name Herron Valley comes from the Herron family who historically owned land in the area. The original home is still standing and is located on Woodthorpe Road close to Victoria Park Avenue. There remain stands of apple trees (now wild) in the valley area near Anewen Drive and Sweeney Drive, which are remnants of orchards that were once owned by the Herron family.

Institutions

Victoria Village is also home to the Victoria Village branch of the Toronto Public Library, located at the intersection of Sloane Avenue and Sweeney Drive. This library branch was founded in 1967 as a branch of the North York Public Library, and was renovated in 1996. Its collection exceeds 30,000 items, and its library floor space exceeds 5,000 square feet (460 m²).

Victoria Village Public Arena is the local skating and hockey arena for Victoria Village. Although located just south of Eglinton Ave (This area is usually not considered a part of the community), it is the arena of the neighbourhood. This arena offers skating lessons and also includes a new gymnastics gym wing.

Transportation

The main streets are Victoria Park Avenue, a major north-south arterial road to the east, Eglinton Avenue East, a major east-west arterial road to the south, and Lawrence Avenue East, a major east-west arterial road to the north. TTC bus routes that serve the community are 24/A/D Victoria Park, 34/C Eglinton East, 54/A Lawrence East, 70A/B O'Connor, and 91/C/F Woodbine. The Eglinton LRT known as Eglinton Crosstown line, which is to be completed 2015-2017, is also set to run through the community.