Some History of the St. Andrew's Area

Plan of Subdivision, 1947

As shown in this map from 1878, the farmland owned by Thomas Breen became a subdivision soon after 1947 according to this Plan of Subdivision.

Looking at the west half of that, we can see the following:

• That is was initially planned to have a linear parkette between the backyards of those houses on the south side of Owen Boulevard and the north side of Gordon Road. These were apparently later sold to the adjoining land owners, making the lots as deep as the rest of the neighbourhood.
• What is now Upper Highland Crescent was here called Highland Crescent. Cedarwood Avenue was here called Cedarwood Street. Fenn Avenue was here called Willowdale Boulevard (even though Willowdale Avenue is actually more in-line with Seneca Street, as you can see here)
• Along the top it is noted there is an "old fence", this would be the boundary to the St. Andrew's Golf Course.

Looking at the east half of that, we can see the following:

• What is labelled Community Centre is now Owen Park, and the planned lots to the west of that are Owen Public School (which was originally built on the Seneca Street side), but when the school was rebuilt in about 1993, it was built in what was the school yard so is now on the east side of the property.
• What is here called Tarleton Street is now Glenridge Avenue.
• What is here labelled as Munro Avenue and shown as extending out to Bayview Avenue is now called Munro Boulevard, and does not connect to Bayview Avenue.
• The section of Owen Boulevard which is shown here curving directly south, now is on an angle, and continues to the dead-end running south off the east end of Munro Boulevard (and now continues farther south than shown here).
• The little-known cut-through from Owen Boulevard (between street addresses 196 and 200) through to the ravine is shown here as between lot numbers 249 and 252.
• The river running through the ravine (it now runs through a buried concrete pipe, exiting as a river south of York Mills Road, beside Bayview Arena).