Travel Toronto - Mansions in Forest Hill

In my quest to highlight different parts of Toronto I went out on a driving tour through some of my favourite neighbourhoods in Toronto. From the Yonge and St. Clair area I made my way westwards through Forest Hill, one of Toronto's most desirable and upscale neighbourhoods, a place of residence for many wealthy and prominent Torontonians. After a quick stop at Upper Canada College, one of Canada's most prestigious private schools (for boys only) my drive continued westwards on St. Clair through areas such as Hillcrest Village and Corso Italia. Both these areas are full of small retail shops, cafes and restaurants, and Corso Italia is a popular entertainment area featuring a variety of culinary establishments.

Continuing south on Keele Street we finally arrived at High Park, Toronto's largest park, and went eastwards on Bloor to Roncesvalles Avenue, a popular commercial strip running south of Bloor Street to Lake Ontario. Originally settled by immigrants from the British isles, Roncesvalles became a magnet for Polish immigrants in the postwar years, and to this day Polish owned cafes and retail stores have a great presence on this popular shopping street. Roncesvalles has been the centre of Toronto's Polish community for many years now. Kielbasa / kolbasa is still a staple in this area, and there is even a wholesale outlet for this Polish sausage delicacy, along with a variety of bakeries, butcher shops and delicatessens that sell Eastern European specialties.

One of the most treasured architectural jewels on Roncesvalles is the Revue Cinema, a movie house and designated heritage building dating back to 1911 that continuously operated until 2006 when it was shut down. Neighbourhood rallied to save the movie house and it was purchased by local residents Danny and Letty Mullin. Today it has re-opened and operates as a non-profit organization.

For more of my travel stories visit www.travelandtransitions.com, my recently published travel books are available at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/ebooks.html.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Toronto
• Canada
• Forest
• Hill
• St
• Clair
• Roncesvalles

[Rosco6767]

I like the older mansions better than the newer ones they put up. And most of the time all the trees have grown up magnificently and really adds to the feel of the neighborhood. Nice video, thanks for sharing.

[travelandtransitions]

@Rosco6767 : Thanks for your kind comments. Forest Hill has a lot of beautiful architecture. I am also a big fan of the older historic architecture. Let's hope most of it doesn't get destroyed.

[travelandtransitions]

MrChaosDaz made the following comment and I accidentally erased it:

HELLLO CANADA all the way from ENGLAND im coming to canada soon by myslef to live either in toronto or vancouver. just wondering if anione can give me ani tips on where to stay at so on and soo pleaaaase

[antuanecita97]

where does drake live?

[Langtry613]

THIS MUST BE CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN T.O. THERE ARE MUCH NICER NEIGHBORHOODS IN TORONTO THEN THIS. IF YOU KNOW OTTAWA, ITS PROBABLY EQUIVALENT TO ROCKCLIFFE PARK IN OTTAWA.

[gljohnson33]

i recall sitting on the curb in the fall of 1994 doing a pencil drawing of one of these houses on the street this is recorded on. it was a beautiful and restful place then and looks exactly the same. i miss TO

thanks for sharing

[Sinco1967]

@MrJuandiego1988 lol thats what I'm Saying. I hear him rap and then think about his neighborhood lol.

[marzipin]

@bs4e LOL, that's true.

[bs4e]

@marzipin lmao! hahah they don't need sidewalks cause they dont walk; they have cars and drivers. hhahahaa. that's funny.

[lightningshock12]

Yay! I live in Forst Hill also!

[TrinaShannel]

Drake use to live here, wow nigger got it good from the start

[possession2]

This is not the real Forest Hill, the real Forest Hill is in England, South East London. I want to say this is a cheap imitation, but i can't. D;

[TheNewProjectt]

My house! At 1:23 . Awesome!