Living in Amesbury
Amesbury is a family oriented middle income neighbourhood. Even though this neighbourhood is fairly small in size it has its own schools, community centre, public library and sports clubs. Amesbury is divided in the middle by Black Creek Drive and the Black Creek Valley. The geography of the Amesbury neighbourhood includes pockets of ravine woodlots, many hills and an abundance of mature trees which all contribute to the natural beauty of this neighbourhood.
History of Amesbury
Amesbury’s first settler was John Denison, a United Empire Loyalist who purchased land here in 1804. The Denison family were influential members of the Toronto establishment. They were well regarded for their outstanding contribution to Toronto’s early political and military affairs. The Denison Family also owned large parcels of land in downtown Toronto, Richmond Hill, and along the Humber River south of Lawrence Avenue where Denison Avenue is situated today. Located at the end of Denison Road overlooking the Humber River Valley is St. John’s Cemetery-on-the-Humber, which has been the private cemetery of the Denison Family since 1861. Members of the Denison family continued to own property in Amesbury right up until the early 1930’s. The present day Amesbury neighbourhood was subdivided for residential development in the 1940’s.
Homes in Amesbury
Amesbury, east of Black Creek Drive features curvilinear streets and numerous culs-de-sac that are complimented by well kept bungalows and storey-and-a-half brick houses. There are only a small number of semi-detached houses in this part of the neighbourhood. These houses were built in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The older homes west of Black Creek Drive include smaller two bedroom bungalows, an abundance of semi-detached housing, and a handful of newer homes. The streets circling Harding Park are lined with “Veterans Housing” or “Victory Housing.” These cosy dwellings were built in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s for returning World War II veterans and their families.
Lifestyle in Amesbury
The North Park Plaza situated at the south-east corner of Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue has a Wal-Mart department store, a large supermarket, a popular video store, small independent retailers, fast food restaurants, and professional and medical offices. The Lawrence and Black Creek Plaza includes restaurants, a dry cleaner, a photo shop, and professional and medical offices. Jane Street provides street level shopping with a wide assortment of food stores, retail shops and professional offices.
Recreation in Amesbury
The Amesbury Community Centre at 1507 Lawrence Avenue West is an ultra-modern facility with a gymnasium and meeting rooms. This centre offers kindergym, music, art and dance programs for preschoolers. Some of the other programs offered at this community centre include a Junior Kids Club, Senior Youth Basketball, Family Karate, and country, ballroom and square dancing. Amesbury Park, located adjacent to the Amesbury Community Centre includes sports fields, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a children’s playground. The Amesbury Sports Complex at 155 Culford Drive, is located to the west of the community centre, and has four indoor bocce courts, an outdoor hockey rink, a swimming pool and a basketball court. The newly renovated Amesbury Park Public Library located at 1565 Lawrence Avenue West offers programs for adults, children and preschoolers.
Transportation in Amesbury
Amesbury is well served by public transit with north-south bus routes on Keele and Jane Streets and east-west bus lines on Trethewey Drive and along Lawrence Avenue. There is also a rush hour bus service that runs along Maple Leaf Drive, Culford Road and Gulliver Road. All of the aforementioned bus routes provide connections to either the Bloor-Danforth or the Yonge-University-Spadina subway lines. For motorists, Black Creek Drive runs through the centre of this neighbourhood. This scenic thoroughfare connects commuters to Highways 400 and 401.
