East Toronto

East Toronto was an incorporated community, later annexed into Old Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. It covered much of the present day neighbourhood, the Upper Beaches, stretching up to Danforth Avenue in the north. The central street in the community was Main Street, running between Danforth Avenue to Kingston Road. The commercial center of the town was located at the intersection of Main Street and Lake View, which is present-day Main Street and Gerrard Street. Following the annexation of East Toronto, Main Street retained its name despite Toronto's "Main Street" being historically considered as Yonge Street.
The area, after being colonized by British settlers, was occupied in about 1850, when it was a considerable distance from the city of Toronto. It was incorporated as a village in 1888 when there were about 800 people living in the area. The area began to grow rapidly and in 1903 it was elevated from a village to a town. The southern part of the community by the lake became one of Toronto's most popular travel destinations, and became home to hotels and amusement parks. The northern section, by contrast, was an industrial centre, home to the Grand Trunk Railway's main yards. These facilities stretched along most of Gerrard Street, and employed several hundred workers.

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