Mimico (, ) is a neighbourhood (and a former municipality) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967.
Mimico, which was named after the passenger pigeon, is the oldest of the former Lakeshore Municipalities. The Town of Mimico was established by a plan of sub-division in 1856, but was not sub-divided from the former Township of Etobicoke until 1911. The land area of Mimico originated mainly from three family farms, namely: Stock Estate (North of Portland), Hendry Estate (between Royal York and Queens Ave), Van Every Estate (between Royal York Rd and Dwight Ave). Mimico was an independent municipality until 1967, when it was amalgamated into the new Borough of Etobicoke (later, City of, in 1984), which was itself amalgamated in 1998 into the current city of Toronto.
Today, Mimico is primarily a residential area with two commercial strips; one along Royal York Road and the other along Lake Shore Boulevard West, parallel to the shoreline (from Louisa Avenue to Allen Avenue). There is also a former commercial strip along Mimico Avenue connecting Royal York Road and Lake Shore Boulevard West. Some areas of industrial use exist along the railway corridor. In early 2012, Toronto Life magazine ranked Mimico first on their "Where to Buy Now" list of Toronto neighbourhoods.
Etymology The name 'Mimico' is derived from the Ojibwe word omiimiikaa meaning "abundant with wild pigeons" (cf. 19th century Mississaugas omiimii, "pigeon").Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary The 'pigeon' after which Mimico was named was the Passenger pigeon. It was thought to have been the most numerous species in the world at the time European colonization began in North America and is now extinct.
Boundaries
The former Town of Mimico is bounded by Evans Avenue, Algoma Street and Manitoba Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, a line midway between Fleeceline Road and Louisa Street to the East, with the western boundary along a line through Dwight Avenue (south of the railway mainline) and St. George Street (north of the railway mainline).Town of Mimico, Ward Map (1930) These boundaries for Mimico are defined on City of Toronto zoning maps. See:
Town of Mimico, Ward Map (1930) City of Toronto, Urban Development Services West District, map, Etobicoke Zoning Mimico South Toronto, City Planning West District, map, Etobicoke Zoning Mimico North
The Mimico "neighbourhood planning area" starts at the Humber River to the east, its northern boundary being the Gardiner Expressway as far west as the CPR north-south railway line west of Kipling Avenue. The western boundary follows the CPR railway line south to the CNR railway line. The western boundary then continues along the CNR railway line to Dwight Avenue, then south along Dwight Avenue to Lake Ontario. This planning area includes part of the former Township of Etobicoke (including parts of Humber Bay and Alderwood), and are used for planning purposes (which also match the census tracts for that area). This planning area also includes the recent Humber Bay Shores condominium developments along Lakeshore Boulevard West east of Mimico at the former "Motel Strip" area of Humber Bay, as well as the industrial areas along the rail lines to the west and an area to the north, all of which comprised part of the Township of Etobicoke.
These other areas outside Mimico were never part of the Town of Mimico and are not considered part of the Mimico neighbourhood.
Character
Historically, The Town of Mimico had few municipal buildings and none of these survive. Architecturally, homes in Mimico range from grand lakeside estates to bungalows built in the 1920s to 1940s, and low rise apartment buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s. East of historic Mimico between Mimico Creek on the west and the Humber River to the east, there is a large area of condominium high-rise tower development at the former "Motel Strip" area of Humber Bay along the lake shore. Lake Shore Blvd. West is also home to many Eastern European delicatessen, independent stores and bakeries, giving the area an Eastern European atmosphere.
Businesses in Mimico's commercial strips along Royal York (north of the railway tracks) and Lake Shore Boulevard West (South of the railway tracks) have organised themselves into two Business Improvement Areas: 'Mimico Village' (along Royal York Rd. in northern Mimico) and 'Mimico by the Lake' (the heart of the former 'Mimico Beach' postal area along the lakeshore in eastern Mimico).
Landmarks
Mimico Post Office (Now in a Pharmacy) Original site is now St. Leo's Church, the Postmaster's home (Werden House) is now St. Leo's Rectory Mimico Centennial Library Site of former Mimico Carnegie Library. Mimico GO Station Connaught Masonic Hall, Mimico Mimico Legion Hall (Closed) Joined with New Toronto Legion Hall Hogle Funeral Home (former Methodist Manse)
Although several institutions in Etobicoke derive their namesake from Mimico, such as the Mimico Correctional Centre (former Victoria Industrial School), and the former Mimico Lunatic Asylum are not actually located in the neighbourhood, but are a bit further west, in the neighbourhood of New Toronto.
Churches
Christ Church Anglican (Burnt down) First Church in Etobicoke Wesley Mimico United Church 1927 Union of Wesley Methodist Church (1863) and St. Paul's Presbyterian Church Mimico Presbyterian Church Built 1891, a new church building built beside the old in 1958 Mimico Baptist Church Built 1922 St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church First Catholic Parish in Etobicoke, Also former home of the Lakeshore Beavers, Cubs and Scouts Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church Mimico Gospel Hall Mimico United Pentecostal
History After arriving in the Toronto area, Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of Upper Canada's first Governor and the founder of Toronto, refers to the large number of (passenger) pigeonsSimcoe Diary after which Mimico is named. The area known as "Mimico" was originally located up the Mimico Creek at Dundas Street,Etobicoke Remembered, p.48. where Upper Canada's early highway connecting Toronto to the west and the community of Mimico were located.
One of Etobicoke's most prominent businessmen, William Gamble, opened a sawmill on the west bank of Mimico Creek up from the lake, and a small settlement for the mill workers was built nearby. With Mr Gamble's patronage Etobicoke's first church, Christ Church (Anglican), was opened on Church Street (Royal York Road).The Mimico Story, p.28. At this time, Mimico was in Etobicoke Township, which had been meeting with the other townships in the southern part of the County of York (what would become Metropolitan Toronto) as the Township of York (excluding the Town of York, later City of Toronto). Mr. Gamble eventually moved his business away,The Mimico Story, p.27. but with the addition of a school at the foot of Church St (Royal York Rd), Mimico would not disappear.
Early development (1850–1905) By 1850, after the Union of The Canadas, Etobicoke was formally recognised as a Township. The Great Western Railway (originally chartered as the Toronto & Hamilton Railway) was built through the southern part of the Township.Historical Atlas of Toronto Pg 51 The first Mimico railway station opened in 1855, just north of the tracks beside Christ Church on Church St. (now Royal York Rd.). A plan of subdivision was commissioned with side-streets for the 'Town of Mimico'. Mimico was advertised as being '8 minutes' from TorontoPlan of the Town of Mimico in the Township of Etobicoke & Adjoining the Railway Station, J.O. Browne, 1856, Archives of Ontario AO 1321 (by train), then bordered by Dufferin St. In 1858, a Mimico post office had been opened just south of the Railway Station on Church St. (Royal York Rd.) where St. Leo's Church is today and in 1863, the Wesley Methodist Church was established.The Story of Wesley-Mimico 1864–1964 The United Church of Canada
This prompted the original Mimico area on Dundas St. to adopt a new name; Islington. In Tremaine's 1860 Map of York County, the Mimico subdivision is reprinted with all its side streets, however by 1861, the plan had already failed,Description Page of District 1, 1861 Census, Canada West by William Noble the area largely returning to agricultural use. Mimico's founding families were therefore mostly farmers: the Van Everys (Loyalists), the Hendrys and the Stocks.
Between 1883 and 1893, there were 13 separate annexations to the City of TorontoCity of Toronto Map showing annexations; City Engineering Department, 1967, City of Toronto Archives published in Historical Atlas of Toronto 2008 By Derek hayes which brought the border of that city to the Humber River.City of Toronto (Showing Annexations), City Engineering Department, 1967, City of Toronto Archives Series 727, File 9 In 1890, the Mimico Real Estate Security Company Ltd was formed to divide and sell lots in Mimico. This plan included the subdivision of Mr. Edward Stock's land as far north as the Stock's Side Road (an extension of Toronto's Queen Street, now the Queensway) and a cattle path he had established as a shortcut from Church St. (Royal York Rd.) to Lake Shore Road became Mimico Avenue.
Around that time, the Mimico area was incorrectly shown on some fire insurance plans as extending North of Lake Ontario, West of the Humber River, South of North Queen Street (Delroy Drive) and East of Mimico Avenue (now Kipling Avenue), as the community of Mimico was located in the immediate vicinity of the railway station and post office.Mimico, Etobicoke Township, York County, Province of Ontario, Chas. E. GOAD, 1890 A year later a Presbyterian Church was built on Mimico Avenue.The Mimico Story, p.107. Mimico was expected to grow quickly. A second post office was opened in the Town of New Toronto (established in 1890). A small number of Victorian buildings were built on the newly laid out streets assuring that this time they would not simply disappear. Mimico and the other lakeshore communities west of the Humber River were eventually linked by an independent radial railway line run by the Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company,The Mimico Story, p.54. which originated in the Sunnyside area. This line was originally intended to link with a line started from Hamilton. However, the western end of the T&M was never completed past Port Credit.
The radial railway line brought many of Toronto's wealthy to Mimico's waterfront area, where several large estates were built. First and most impressive of which was the Featherstonaugh Estate which was shaped like a castle at the bottom of Royal York Rd.Etobicoke Remembered Pg 84 This period in which Mimico took shape was also the period in which Mimico's namesake, the passenger pigeon, disappeared from the area, the last known bird dying near the beginning of the next century in the United States. A Mimico resident, Mr. John Kay on noticing the disappearance of this species donated a stuffed passenger pigeon to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto to preserve some of the last evidence of what had been Mimico's namesake.Village of Etobicoke, Mimico by Lynne Haslett Pg 52
Incorporation (1905–1967)
Mimico became a police village in 1905 and the next year the Grand Trunk Railway's Mimico railway yards were opened. Mimico became a village in 1911 electing its first Village Reeve, Robert Skelton.The Mimico Story Pg 74 The same year, a second post office named 'Mimico Beach' was established to serve the southern half of Mimico, located on Lake Shore Road. Mimico became the smallest community to obtain a Carnegie Library in which the town council met at first. The first immigrants began to arrive in Mimico and at this time Etobicoke's first Catholic Church was built in Mimico, St. Leo's.75th Anniversary St. Leo's Parish 1909–1984