Leaside
Leaside was first settled by John Lea a pioneer farmer who emigrated to Canada from Philadelphia in 1819. In the 1850's, Lea's oldest son William built an eight-sided octagonal shaped house - appropriately named 'Leaside' - near the present day site of Leaside Memorial Gardens. This neighbourhood has been called Leaside ever since.
Leaside is in especially high demand with upper middle income families who value this neighbourhood as an ideal place to raise children. In light of its high profile, it is not surprising that Leaside is also one of the more expensive real estate districts in Toronto. Leaside has abundant green space and parkland, a fine selection of schools, one of Toronto's best shopping districts on Bayview Avenue, and excellent access to public transit.
Present
Past
The typical Leaside house is situated on a generous size lot with a private drive and a garage. Most of the houses contain beautiful wood trim, hardwood floors and a working fireplace.
Leaside's Tudor-style houses were built largely in the 1930's and 1940's. There is a good mix of two-storey detached homes, bungalows and semi-detached houses. A growing number of Leaside bungalows have had second storey additions, while others have been replaced by new custom designed homes.
During the 1990's a handful of exclusive condominium and townhouse projects have been built on the periphery of the neighbourhood. Leaside also contains some of Toronto's nicest rental apartment buildings, located on the east side of Bayview Avenue and on Leacrest Road overlooking the Don Valley Ravine.
Information from Wikipedia.org
