Danforth Avenue

"The Danforth" redirects here. For other uses, see Danforth (disambiguation).
Street signs from various eras for Danforth Avenue in Toronto
Map of Danforth Avenue (Red) and Danforth Road (Green)

Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) is an east-west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its western end begins in Old Toronto from the Prince Edward Viaduct as a continuation of Bloor Street and continues for about six kilometres east through old Toronto, about 350 metres of old East York, and a further five kilometres in Scarborough until intersecting with Kingston Road. West of Warden Avenue, Danforth Avenue intersects with Danforth Road, which runs diagonally north-east until south of Lawrence Avenue, where it continues as McCowan Road.

Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway runs just north of Danforth Avenue from the Don River as far as Main Street Station, before gradually veering north as it heads east.

History

Danforth Road was named for contractor Asa Danforth Jr., who built portions of what would become Queen Street and Kingston Road. He started work in 1799 on Danforth's Road as (originally) a hundred-mile route from Scarborough to the Trent River. That road was completed 1801 but soon fell into disrepair and was largely replaced by the 1817 Kingston Road stagecoach route.

Danforth Avenue, named because it was created to connect Toronto to Danforth Road, was officially built by the Don and Danforth Plank Road Company in 1851 to Broadview Avenue, as well as connecting to Kingston Road.

In Scarborough, Danforth Road is a separated route that connects Danforth Avenue with McCowan Road. It is possible, therefore, to stand at the intersection of "Danforth and Danforth", i.e. Danforth Avenue and Danforth Road. Local references, therefore, are careful to note whether it is the Avenue or the Road being referred to—although the term "the Danforth" always refers to Danforth Avenue, and never to Danforth Road.

Warden Avenue and Birchmount Road in Scarborough are two of the four routes to intersect with both Danforth Avenue and Danforth Road (the others being residential Scotia and Medford avenues). With other routes, the distinction is unnecessary; for example, "Victoria Park and Danforth" means Danforth Avenue, while "Kennedy and Danforth" means Danforth Road.

Previously, Danforth Road continued around the Highland Creek along local residential roadways now known as:

Route description

The west end of the road spans the Don River valley, the Don Valley Parkway and Bayview Avenue via the Prince Edward Viaduct. West of that bridge, the street continues as Bloor Street East.

The Bloor–Danforth subway line runs parallel to most of the road's route, offset to the north some 50 metres. The subway follows Danforth from the Viaduct west of Broadview Station to Main Street Station. Danforth GO Station, just off Main Street, takes its name from the avenue, where the commuter rail line intersects with it, on the Lakeshore East route. Danforth is served by Toronto Transit Commission buses only east of Main Street Station. Routes 16 McCowan and 113 Danforth serve the road during the day and 302 Danforth-McCowan run during the night.

Danforth Avenue was formerly designated as Ontario Highway 5 from the Don River (at Bloor Street) east to Kingston Road. Like many urban stretches of provincial roadway, it was formally decommissioned as a provincial route on January 1, 1998.

Points of interest

Many street signs along the western Danforth are in both English and Greek.

On Christmas Eve 2001, the Woodbine Building Supply fire occurred. The hardware store was located at the intersection of Danforth and Woodbine. It was one of the biggest fires in Toronto's history, as 170 firefighters were required to bring the six-alarm blaze under control. The building was less than 50 metres (160 ft) from residences in the neighborhood and more than fifty families had to evacuate their homes on Christmas morning. One person was killed and another was severely disfigured. Police and insurance quickly suspected arson and several people have since been convicted. The Magno family has since built a 12-storey condo building on the site.

References in pop culture

Major intersections

"Taste of the Danforth" attracts one million visitors over three days every August.

Major streets in Toronto which intersect with Danforth Avenue (west to east):

Major streets in Toronto which intersect with Danforth Road (west to east):

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Danforth Avenue, Toronto.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/7/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.