Living in Davisville Village
This centrally located neighbourhood has always been popular with singles, young couples and families. The Davisville neighbourhood is known for its excellent recreational facilities, outstanding shopping districts, and active nightlife, which includes bars, restaurants and movie theatres.
History of Davisville Village
Davisville Village is named after John Davis, who immigrated to Canada from Staffordshire, England in 1840. John Davis served as Davisville’s first postmaster and helped found the Davisville Public School. He also operated the Davis Pottery, which became the Village’s largest employer. The south part of Davisville was subdivided in the 1860’s on land owned mostly by the Davis family. The north part of the Village belonged to the Church. This latter tract of land, known as the Davisville Glebe, remained undeveloped until 1911 when it was sold to the Dovercourt Land and Building Company, the same company that oversaw the development of the Lawrence Park neighbourhood.
Ed Note. The former Davisville Post Office was run by John Davis’ grandson Jack. This two-storey building is still standing on the north-east corner of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue.
Homes in Davisville Village
The majority of Davisville houses were built in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The houses west of Mount Pleasant Road are mostly large two and three-storey English Cottage and Edwardian-style homes. There are also a number of duplexes and walk-up apartment buildings in this area. The houses east of Mount Pleasant Road are made up primarily of smaller detached houses, semi-detached houses and bungalows. This part of the neighbourhood also contains a handful of historical homes from the late 1800’s, and a growing number of new custom built homes. Davisville Village also contains a number of newer condominium apartment buildings located mostly on Merton and Balliol Streets and along Eglinton Avenue. A plethora of rental high-rise apartment buildings are situated on Davisville Avenue.
Lifestyle in Davisville Village
Davisville Village’s main shopping district is on Mount Pleasant Road. This shopping district is known as Mount Pleasant Village where you will find some of Toronto’s best restaurants and cafes as well as specialty food shops. This stretch of stores is also highlighted by a large group of antique and collectable shops that attract people from all over the city. Home decorating stores, children’s clothing and toy stores, a neighbourhood library and an old fashioned movie theatre all add to the ambience of this street. Davisville Village residents also enjoy shopping along Yonge Street, Eglinton Avenue and Bayview Avenue. These shopping areas contain a plethora of gift shops, clothing and accessory stores, bakeries, cafes, and coffee shops. Professional and medical offices proliferate in the small commercial buildings along these corridors.
Recreation in Davisville Village
Davisville Park is the social and recreational centre of this neighbourhood. During the day, it is a beehive of activity with preschoolers enjoying the Davisville Park playground and wading pool. Davisville Park’s six tennis courts are used by the Davisville Tennis Club on evenings and weekends. This club has an active house league and tournament schedule. Adjacent to the tennis courts is the Davisville Park baseball diamond, which is extensively used by children and adult baseball leagues. Davisville also has an active nightlife with many pubs, restaurants, and movie theatres.
Transportation in Davisville Village
There is local bus service on Mount Pleasant Road, Yonge Street, Davisville Avenue and Eglinton Avenue. These bus routes connect passengers to the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line. The Davisville and the Eglinton subway stations at Yonge Street are within a reasonable walking distance of this neighbourhood. This area offers motorists quick access to downtown Toronto via either Mount Pleasant Road or Yonge Street. Toronto’s highways and expressways are located within a twenty minute drive of Davisville Village.
