The Bedford Park Neighbourhood is part of the North Toronto Neighbourhood. Bedford Park began as a farming hamlet north of Toronto. This hamlet was a popular stopover for farmers enroute to the Toronto market. This neighbourhood is thought to have been named after the Bedford Park Hotel, which opened in 1873 at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Fairlawn Avenue, just north of Lawrence Avenue. Bedford Park is boundaried by Yonge Street, north of Lawrence Avenue, north to Brooke Avenue on the West side of Yonge Street and Snowdon Avenue to the East of Yonge Street. The Eastern boundary is Roslin Avenue. Adding to the confusion of the boundaries, the City of Toronto defines this Neighbourhood as part of a larger neighbourhood called Bedford Park-Nortown. The border of this larger area extend to Bathurst Street on the west, Highway 401 to the north, Hillhurst Boulevard (just north of Eglinton Avenue) to the south, and zigzags from northeast to southwest along Yonge Street and Avenue Road. The larger area now also encompasses Ledbury Park.
In 1890 Bedford Park was amalgamated with the hamlets of Davisville Village and Eglinton Village to the south and incorporated as the City of North Toronto. At the same time, the Metropolitan Street Railway of Toronto began service to this neighbourhood. Today, Bedford Park is often referred to as North Toronto. Confusing as it seems, this neighbourhood is also considered a part of Lawrence Park North which includes the Teddington Park and Wanless Park Neighbourhoods.
The original homes in the area were constructed between 1890 and 1940. The neighbourhood was a middle class housing development with mid-sized detached and semi-detached homes. The relocation of the Rosedale Golf Club in 1909 to the section of the Don Valley northeast of Bedford Park brought about the development of the exclusive bordering Neighbourhoods of Lawrence Park and Teddington Park. There is a good mix of detached and semi-detached homes, and the award winning Bedford Glen development of Sylvan Valley Way is a complex of low-rise terraced condominium apartments and townhouses in a private ravine setting. As land is becoming scarce in the neighbourhood, many homes are either being renovated or torn down and newer more luxurious homes are springing up within the area.
Bedford Park is known for its quiet streets, mature trees, good schools and parks, and the closeness to the major highways and the Yonge subway line. Shopping along the Yonge Street corridor has a good cross section of restaurants, coffee shops, gift shops, various retail and national chain shops, and gourmet food stores.
Wanless Park is the largest park in the neighbourhood. There are 5 floodlit tennis courts, a basketball court, baseball diamond, tots’ playground and a wading pool. The Bedford Park CommunityCentre is equipped with a gymnasium and indoor pool. The Woburn Parkette, just west of Yonge Street, is a popular destination point for families taking their toddlers and preschoolers to play. It features a tots’ playground and a wading pool.
Public, Private and Catholic Schools abound in the neighbourhood, including the highly rated Bedford Park Public School on Ranleigh Avenue. Bedford Park attracts many families with young children as it is a neighbourhood that is chosen for a safe area to raise children. The George Locke Public Library at the south east corner of Yonge and Lawrence offers year round programs for adults, children and preschoolers. It is next door to Lawrence Park and Alexander Muir Gardens. The Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre (FNC) is a unique venue offering abroad range of programming, from yoga to fitness, to cooking for all ages.
Transportation is easy with the Yonge Street Subway line, and entrances located at Lawrence Avenue, Ranleigh Avenue and Bedford Park and it is a short drive north to Highway 401, or to access downtown Toronto via Yonge Street or even Mount Pleasant Avenue.
