North York City Centre

North York City Centre is a busy area in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is found in the part of the city called North York, along a big street named Yonge Street. This area stretches from just below Sheppard Avenue up to Finch Avenue, with a special square called Mel Lastman Square in the middle.

The area grew when the subway line was extended up Yonge Street. In the 1970s and 1980s, the local government built many important places here, like offices, a library, an arts centre, and a swimming centre. A train station called North York Centre station opened near Mel Lastman Square, and a shopping mall and cinemas were added in the 1990s.

Today, North York City Centre is one of the biggest business areas in Toronto, outside the main downtown part of the city. It is mostly inside a neighbourhood called Willowdale and touches another area named Lansing. After North York joined the bigger city of Toronto, all the important buildings stayed and are now used by the whole city.

History

In the 1800s, forests in this area were cleared to make farmland near settlements led by Jacob Cummer and David Gibson along Yonge Street, the main road north from Toronto. This road was later called Provincial Highway 11 from 1920 to 1998. The village of Willowdale grew up here within York County. In 1923, North York Township was formed from York Township.

After World War II, Toronto's suburbs grew quickly. In 1953, North York became a borough. The big Ontario Highway 401, called the Toronto Bypass, was built south of the area, linking it to the rest of Toronto by freeway. By the 1960s, many homes were built, and some tall buildings went up, like a government building and the Sheppard Centre.

In the 1970s, the subway line was extended to Finch, connecting the area to downtown Toronto. After this, the area between Sheppard and Finch Avenues on Yonge Street was chosen to become a central business district. North York built a civic centre with offices, a public square, a library, an arts centre, and a swimming centre.

In 1987, a new subway station called North York Centre station opened to connect the civic centre to the subway. Across Yonge Street, a big shopping and housing place called Empress Walk was finished between 1997 and 2000. Sidewalks were made wider and nicer. The Sheppard subway line opened in 2002. The Sheppard Centre was updated between 2016 and 2021.

Landmarks

The North York Civic Centre and Mel Lastman Square are important spots on the west side of Yonge Street. Across the street, you can find Empress Walk, a shopping place that links to the nearby subway station. Other nearby places include the North York Central Library, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, and the Toronto District School Board offices. The Joseph Shepard Building, where federal workers go, sits one block north of Sheppard Avenue on the west side of Yonge Street. Office buildings, tall apartments, and shops line Yonge Street in this busy area.

Gibson House, a museum that was once a home built in the mid-1800s by David Gibson, a Scottish immigrant, is also here. Nearby is Earl Haig Secondary School. The area has several subway stops, including North York Centre, Sheppard–Yonge, and Finch. Finch station helps people travel from north of Toronto. Yonge Street is very busy with lots of traffic, leading south to the Ontario Highway 401.