Central Toronto Neighbourhood: Davisville Village

This centrally located neighbourhood has always been popular with singles, young couples and families.

The Davisville neighbourhood is known for its excellent recreational facilities, outstanding shopping districts, and active nightlife, which includes bars, restaurants and movie theatres.

Davisville Village is bound to the west by Yonge Street and to the east by Bayview Avenue.

Davisville Village is named after John Davis, who immigrated to Canada from Staffordshire, England in 1840. John Davis served as Davisville's first postmaster and helped found the Davisville Public School. He also operated the Davis Pottery, which became the Village's largest employer.

The south part of Davisville was subdivided in the 1860's on land owned mostly by the Davis family. The north part of the Village belonged to the Church.

This latter tract of land, known as the Davisville Glebe, remained undeveloped until 1911 when it was sold to the Dovercourt Land and Building Company, the same company that oversaw the development of the Lawrence Park neighbourhood.

By Public Transit (TTC)

There is local bus service on Mount Pleasant Road, Yonge Street, Davisville Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. These bus routes connect passengers to the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line. The Davisville and the Eglinton subway stations at Yonge Street are within a reasonable walking distance of this neighbourhood.

GETTING AROUND By car

This area offers motorists quick access to downtown Toronto via either Mount Pleasant Road, Yonge Street or the Bayview Extension. Toronto's highways and expressways are located within a twenty minute drive of Davisville Village.

Davisville Park is the social and recreational centre of this neighbourhood. During the day, it is a beehive of activity with preschoolers enjoying the Davisville Park playground and wading pool.

Davisville Park's six tennis courts are used by the Davisville Tennis Club on evenings and weekends. This club has an active house league and tournament schedule. Adjacent to the tennis courts is the Davisville Park baseball diamond, which is extensively used by children and adult baseball leagues.

Davisville also has an active nightlife with many pubs, restaurants, and movie theatres.

Editors Note: The former Davisville Post Office was run by John Davis' grandson Jack. This two-storey building is still standing on the north-east corner of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue.

Bedford Park has a good mix of detached and semi-detached homes. The original housing stock was built between 1890 and 1940. However, many of the bungalows in the neighbourhood have recently been torn down and replaced with custom designed houses.

The award winning Bedford Glen development on Sylvan Valley Way, is a pretty collection of low-rise terraced condominium apartments and townhouses in a private ravine setting.

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