Alderwood, Toronto
Alderwood is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the western section of Toronto, within the district of Etobicoke. It is bounded by the Etobicoke Creek to the west, the Gardiner Expressway to the north, the CPR railway to the east and the CNR railway to the south. Alderwood is named after Etobicoke, the municipality of which it originally was a part, which is a native word meaning "place where the alder trees grow." History. With Long Branch, Alderwood was originally part of Col Sam Smith's land. In 1850, Archibald Cameron purchased  four farm lots of this land comprising most of the area that is now Alderwood; he built his home 'Ashfield' on what is now Beta Street. In 1874 Archibald Cameron was facing bankruptcy and sold his farm lots to Daniel Horner, who later served as a prominent member of Etobicoke Township's Council; Horner Avenue is named after him. The naming of Alderwood's main street was a hotly debated issue in the early community between the Brown and O'Connor families; today it is called Brown's Line. About 1920 what is now Alderwood was first planned as an extension  of the newly incorporated Town of New Toronto and was originally called 'New Toronto Heights' or 'New Toronto Park ' with the first streets planned in a simple grid pattern with names from the Greek alphabet (Beta, Gamma, Delta). Alderwood was still part of the original Etobicoke township. In 1933 Alderwood became a postal village remaining in Etobicoke Township although closely connected to the independent municipalities Long Branch and New Toronto to the south, but separated by the railway. Although Alderwood did not undergo significant growth until after the Second World War, many industries moved into the area along Brown's  Line during the war years. Alderwood was further disconnected from the rest of Etobicoke Township to the north by the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Way in the 1930s and the industrialisation of much of Etobicoke immediately to the north which cemented Alderwood's closer attachment to the independent municipalities of Long Branch and New Toronto to the south. After the war, increased immigration, particularly from eastern Europe, led to the rapid urbanisation of the area which continued until the end of the 1960s. In 1967 the independent municipalities formed out of Etobicoke Township were re-amalgamated with Etobicoke to  create the Borough of Etobicoke which became a city in 1983. In 1998 the City of Etobicoke was merged with six other cities and the Metropolitan Toronto government to form an amalgamated City of Toronto. With Alderwood remaining an area with only little commercial space and low-rise single homes, the neighbourhood experienced population stagnation and decline as the children of older residents moved out, forcing the Public School Board to close Franklin Horner Middle School and Alderwood Collegiate. Alderwood Collegiate became a Separate (Catholic) High School, 'Fr John Redmond' which has recently moved from the dilapidated site to a  new home in New Toronto. The area has most recently been at the centre of a debate over historic preservation as the Horner's 'Ashfield' home at the centre of the community was demolished. Character. Alderwood is characterized by single family homes, many of which were constructed at the end of the Second World War. Schools in the neighbourhood include École Sir Adam Beck Junior School and Lanor Junior Middle School. The neighbourhood was formerly served by a high school (Alderwood Collegiate Institute, later Father John Redmond Secondary School), but the school is vacant today. Another closed school, Franklin Horner  Junior Middle School, is home to the Franklin Horner Community Centre. The Alderwood Centre is a public complex that houses Sir Adam Beck Junior School, the Alderwood branch of the Toronto Public Library system, the Alderwood Action After School child care centre and the Alderwood Pool, a 25-yard public pool, and is adjacent to an outdoor hockey rink. The south east quadrant of the neighbourhood is zoned industrial and is home to manufacturing and warehousing businesses of various sizes. Among these is a Daimler-Chrysler casting plant.