Humber Bay is a quaint, middle-income neighbourhood bound on the west by the Mimico Creek and on the east by the Humber River Valley. These natural boundaries have shaped the topography of this area, which features rolling hills and many mature trees.
Neighbourhood landmarks include the motel strip along Lake Shore Blvd., with major redevelopment now taking the form of a luxury condominium community called Humber Bay Shores. Some other notable landmarks located on the periphery of this neighbourhood include the giant Ontario Food Terminal, situated just south of the Queensway, and the Humber Sewage Treatment Plant discreetly tucked away north of the Queensway next to the expansive Humber River Valley parkland.
History of Humber Bay & Humber Bay Shores
The history of the Humber Bay neighbourhood began in 1888 with the opening of the first Humber Bay schoolhouse on High Street. Approximately thirty-five children attended the school in its first year. The Humber Bay school was gradually expanded and eventually became the focal point of this community, hosting ratepayers meetings, school concerts, movies and a variety of sports activities.
When the Humber Bay schoolchildren were not cracking the books they were tending to their families’ market gardens. Humber Bay farmers grew mostly vegetables but there were also a few apple and pear orchards and the occasional strawberry and raspberry patch. It was appropriate that the first Farmers Market for the Toronto area began in Humber Bay at Parklawn Road and the Queensway where the Ontario Food Terminal is situated today.
By the 1920’s, Humber Bay had grown to include a brick yard, a cement block factory, a piggery, a library association, a volunteer fire brigade, and a couple of churches. There was also an eighteen hole golf course where the Humber Sewage Treatment Plant and South Humber Park are located today.
In 1986 the old Humber Bay school was demolished to make room for a new housing development, yet while the cornerstone of this neighbourhood was lost its sense of history and community spirit live on
