My grandmother remembers the Danforth of her childhood. By Christa Johnston In 1913, my great-great-grandmother Lucy moved to Toronto from her home in South England, bringing her sons, two of her three daughters, and two of her granddaughters with her. The family was quite happy with their new home in Canada, and they encouraged Lucy’s second eldest daughter, Florence, to bring her family to Canada as well. The following year, Florence packed up and moved her family—including my grandmother, Irene—to Toronto. Irene was just a child when she arrived, but even now, nearly a century later, she still remembers the growing city of her youth. In the 1920s, her Granny,…

By Lindsay Benjamin It has been 90 years since the Bloor Street Viaduct was completed and the east and west ends of Toronto were united. Now linked to the rest of the city, the Danforth area has evolved from its humble beginnings into a unique and vibrant Toronto neighbourhood.Historically, Danforth Avenue was a sleepy dirt road spanning open fields—a place where Torontonians ventured for a weekend escape. It was named after Asa Danforth, an American contractor. In a personal interview, Miller noted that "[Danforth] was commissioned in 1799 to build a military road linking the Town of York to the Bay of Quinte." Danforth Avenue was envisioned as a "route…