Thorncliffe Park
Thorncliffe Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former Borough of East York. History. The site of Thorncliffe Park was a farm owned by Robert T. Davies, the wealthy founder of the Dominion Brewing Co. An avid participant in horse racing, under the banner of Thorncliffe Stable, he raced both Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. After Davies' death in 1916 his estate sold the property to a group of investors from Baltimore, Maryland who built the Thorncliffe Park Raceway racetrack. The track was home to thoroughbred horse racing and harness racing from 1917 until 1952 when  it was sold for real estate development. Today, the old racetrack site is commemorated by two streets named Grandstand Place and Milepost Place and the number of buildings that took on racetrack stable names like Churchill, Maple Glen and Wellow Glen. In the 1950s, developers tore down the racetrack and created one of Toronto's first high-rise neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood embodies some standard urban planning ideas of the era – high concentrations of similar housing types, strict separation of retail and residential development, and the assumption that everyone has a car. Low-rise buildings are clustered inside the enclosure created  by Thorncliffe Park and Overlea, while high-rise buildings line the outside of Thorncliffe Park. Retail establishments were concentrated in a single shopping mall, now called the East York Town Centre, between the two arms of Thorncliffe Park Drive at Overlea Boulevard. Smaller retail and service plazas have recently opened along Overlea Boulevard. Many residents on Thorncliffe Park Drive are at considerable walking distance from shops, although this problem is mitigated somewhat, even in winter, by well kept sidewalks and walkways and by frequent bus service. Street names. Some of Thorncliffe Park's street names commemorate a former racetrack located  there, or recognize the Town of Leaside's role in the development of the new community. Geography. It is bounded on the east by the Don River, on the west by Millwood Road, on the north by Wicksteed Avenue and Research Road, and on the northwest by a railway track between Millwood and Wicksteed. The official community planning area named Thorncliffe Park includes the neighbourhood to the north of the railway tracks, east of Laird Avenue, south of Eglinton Avenue, and west of the Don River. Demographics. In 2001, immigrants constituted 66% of the population of the Community Planning Area , and recent immigrants constituted 87%. Twenty-eight per cent of the residents spoke a language other than English or French at home, with the most frequent being Urdu and Gujarati. In Toronto as a whole, immigrants constituted 49% of the population, and recent immigrants 11%; 19% spoke a language other than English or French at home. Median household income in 2001 was $38,404 Cdn.; the median income in the entire city was $45,251. Twelve per cent of the families in the Community Planning Area were officially classified as having low household incomes, while 5% of the families throughout  Toronto were so classified. A Toronto newspaper reported in 2004 that the neighbourhood had a low crime rate. Infrastructure. Transportation. West of Don Mills Road Overlea Boulevard crosses the west branch of the Don River. Built in 1960, the Charles H. Hiscott Bridge was built to serve this area and named for former Mayor of Leaside Charles Henry Hiscott (1956 to 1961). Education. Schools operated by the Toronto District School Board in Thorncliffe Park include Thorncliffe Park Public School, Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy, Valley Park Middle School, and Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute.