Central Toronto Neighbourhood: Allenby

Overview of the Allenby area

Allenby is very popular with families that have young children. This neighbourhood's biggest drawing card is the Allenby Public School which has an excellent reputation, built around its French Immersion program for students in grades one through six.

Eglinton-Lawrence Federal Electoral District* includes the following neighbourhoods: Cricket Club, Caribou Park, Lawrence Heights, Lawrence Manor, Bedford Park, Allenby, Lytton Park, Glen Park, Ledbury Park

Allenby is bounded westerly by Latimer Avenue and easterly by Avenue Road. It's northern boundary is Briar Hill Avenue and Eglinton Avenue West marks it's southern limit.

History of Allenby

Allenby was first settled in the 1400's by the Huron Tribe which had a village here until sometime in the early 1700's.

This village is described in Lyman B. Jackes Tales of North Toronto as "a well organized and extensive community that had its centre in an artesian spring of pure water. The spring flowed where the modern water tower rears its head on Roselawn Avenue, just to the west of Avenue Road. The great tribal huts were on the site of the present day Allenby Public School."

Jackes goes on to say that the Allenby school hill is not natural but was man-made, the result of the Huron's practice of burrowing food stocks underground.

The present day neighbourhood was developed when Allenby Public School opened in 1927. The school was named after Lord Allenby, a British World War One hero.

Mr. Allenby with group of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, [192-?]
City of Toronto Archives, Series 1057, Item 2275

Roads & Transit near Allenby

By Public Transit (TTC)

Regular bus service on Eglinton Avenue and on Avenue Road connect passengers to the Eglinton station on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line.

GETTING AROUND By car

Motorists are ten to fifteen minutes from the Allen Expressway and approximately fifteen minutes to the Avenue Road on ramp to Highway 401. Toronto's downtown business and entertainment districts are within a twenty minute drive of this neighbourhood.

Parks and Recreation around Allenby

The ultra modern North Toronto Memorial Community Recreation Centre, on Eglinton Avenue west, has an indoor and outdoor pool, a gymnasium, a walking track, aerobic and weight rooms, and two artificial ice rinks that are used as tennis courts in the summertime.

The Centre is located next to Eglinton Park which has a baseball diamond, sports field and a wading pool. Allenby residents are also close to the Beltine trail, a popular seven kilometre leisure and exercise path that winds through the central part of the city.

There is local access to the Belt Line, south of Eglinton off Chaplin Avenue and at Oriole Parkway.

Homes in Allenby

Allenby's tudor style houses were built in the 1930's and 1940's. They include a mix of detached two storey homes and bungalows. Overall, Allenby's lot sizes are above average, with 25 to 35 foot frontages being typical. All Allenby houses have either a mutual or private driveway.

Much of Allenby's housing stock has undergone extensive renovations by new owners who have been careful to preserve the original wood detail and decorative accents found in many of the houses in this neighbourhood.

Homes in the Allenby area typically range from $300,000 to over $1,000,000.