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BEDFORD PARK
OVERVIEW
The Bedford Park neighbourhood is geared toward families with young children. It has an excellent selection of public, private and separate schools, many parkettes and playgrounds, a community centre, a library, and convenient access to Toronto's transit system.
HISTORY
Bedford Park began as a farming hamlet centred around the crossroads of Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue. This village was a popular stopover for farmers travelling to and from the markets in Toronto. It is likely that Bedford Park is named after the Bedford Park Hotel which opened in 1873 at the south west corner of Yonge Street and Fairlawn Avenue.
The residential development of Bedford Park was linked to the Metropolitan Street Railway which began service to this area in 1890. That same year Bedford Park amalgamated with the former Town of North Toronto which was then annexed by the city of Toronto in 1912. To this day Bedford Park is commonly referred to as North Toronto.
Ed Note: The former Bedford Park General Store and Post Office building is still standing at the south-west corner of Yonge Street and Bedford Park Avenue.
HOMES
Another home successfully marketed by Marian Neal & Carver Fraser
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.
SHOPPING
Yonge Lawrence Village is a family oriented shopping district with a good cross-section of stores. It also features a good selection of coffee shops, bakeries and restaurants.
The Avenue Road shopping district, north of Lawrence, has a diverse mix of shops and restaurants including national chain stores, home decorating stores, fast food restaurants, gift stores and gourmet food shops.
RECREATION
 
Wanless Park is the largest park in the neighbourhood. It has five floodlit tennis courts, a basketball court, a baseball diamond, a tots playground and a wading pool. Wanless Park is close to the Bedford Park Community Centre. Located at the Bedford Park Public School this Community Centre includes a gymnasium and an indoor pool.
The Woburn parkette, west of Yonge street, is a popular destination point for neighbourhood parents with toddlers and preschoolers. It features a new tots playground and a wading pool. A few blocks north of the Woburn Parkette is The Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre, which operates out of the Fairlawn Heights United Church. This centre includes seasonal programming for residents of all ages.
The George Locke Public Library at the south-east corner of Yonge and Lawrence, offers year round programs for adults, children, and preschoolers.
TRANSPORTATION
The Lawrence subway station off Yonge Street is within reasonable walking distance of all the homes in this neighbourhood. There is also regular bus service on Yonge Street, as well as limited service on both Avenue Road, and Mount Pleasant Road.
Motorists are twenty minutes from downtown and approximately five minutes from the Yonge Street on-ramp to Highway 401.
The Toronto neighbourhood text profiles, sketches and maps displayed on this website were published in ³Your Guide to Toronto Neighbourhoods², are copyright Maple Tree Publishing and have been reproduced by the Toronto Real Estate Board under license. www.torontoneighbourhoods.net
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