The Kingsway is an upscale residential neighbourhood in the former city of Etobicoke, Ontario, which has since merged into the city of Toronto. It is located on the western side of the Humber Valley, and is bounded by Bloor Street to the south and Dundas Street to the north. It developed out of the vision of Home Smith, a lawyer by training who began developing land in the early 1900s. The Kingsway became his personal vision of the ideal community and was mostly inspired by the Garden City principles, which were quite popular in England and the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Indeed, Smith was a big fan of everything English and this affected his ideas for the neighbourhood. By the 1920s, his ideas culminated into the development, which he named Kingsway Park.
"Tastefully appointed" traditional homes were to sit on well-treed and winding streets, to create an air of a wooded retreat. Smith also decreed that no owner could build a house without the approval of his staff, and he developed strict regulations against the cutting of trees. Most of the homes were designed in the Arts and Crafts style, which had become popular during that time.
Kingsway Park was a development aimed at affluent home buyers. Street names such as Queen Anne Road and Kingsgarden Road emphasize the appearance of English respectability and affluence that Smith was selling. Smith also created the Old Mill Restaurant in the community, whose Tudor facade and well-appointed interior inspired much of the English design in the Kingsway.
Despite its well-intentioned approach to traditionalism, the Kingsway was a neighbourhood built for the automobile, and all houses were built with discreetly placed garages, as per Smith's wishes.
