ABOUT THE OUR COMMUNITY

THE CORONATION COMMUNITY OF WEST HILL IS LOCATED IN THE WEST HILL REGION OF TORONTO NORTH OF THE RAILWAY TRACKS AND SOUTH OF MORNINGSIDE PARK, BETWEEN THE GUILDWOOD GO/VIA STATION TO THE WEST AND ELI SHACKELTON-DEEKSHILL-SHOREVIEW DRIVES TO THE EAST IN THE FORMER CITY OF SCARBOROUGH.

Neighbouring Community Associations are the Manse Valley CA (east of Homestead) and the Guildwood CA (south of the tracks). Our population, with well over 4500 homes, is approximately 13500 people in size lying along and to either side of Coronation Dr. which winds its way through the heart of our community. We have four churches, St. Matin de Porres Roman Catholic, the Scarborough Seventh Day Adventist, the West Hill Gospel and the historic St. Margaret's in the Pines. Eight schools are located within our area: East View PS, Peter Secord PS, St. Martin de Porres Catholic, Galloway PS, St. Margaret's PS, West Hill CI, Sir Robert L. Borden Business and Technical Institute and Maplewood High School.We are a heavily treed bedroom suburban community with most of our population working in the Greater Toronto Area outside our boundaries. There are no industries within the Coronation Community. While there is a smaller shopping centre at the intersection of Coronation Drive and Morningside Avenue, the majority of the shopping can be found strung along the busy Kingston Road, particularly where it intersects with Lawrence. Morningside Crossing is by far the area's largest shopping centre.For the most part, we are that rarity among suburban neighbourhoods, a walkable community. 80% of our food and shopping needs can be found within a few minutes walk and we boast many doctor, dentist and legal offices. The small plaza at the centre of the Coronation Community contains two restaurants, two variety stores, a hairdressers, a laundry and a pet shop. We have five parks within the Community and access to many more, including the various parks along the Highland Creek Valley and all of lake Ontario, within an easy walk.

In August of 2006 our Executive voted to consider a merger with the West Hill Neighbourhood Association whose boundaries were Lawrence to the South, Mornigside to the East, and Highland Creek as it flows to the North and West. The West Hill area included West Hill and Morningside Parks along with West Hill Collegiate. In population this area contains over 500 homes with a population of 1500 people. As with the Coronation Community, West Hill's major commercial centre was the Kingston Rd. The merger was ratified by more than the two thirds majority required to change our Consitituion at our first Annual meeting on October 25, 2006.Originally our two areas were the densely forested hunting ground of the Iroquois nation whose many camps sites have been found along the banks of the Highland Creek, and whose ancient burial mound can be seen at Tabor Hill. The largest Iroquois settlement was in what are now the grounds of the Scarborough Golf Club. The last remnant of that vast primal forest can be still seen at Deekshill Park, just off Link Road.Our earliest European settlers were Irish immigrants from the County of Cork, who arrived here in the 1840's seeking refuge from the potato famine in their homeland. They settled mostly in modest two-room homes in the Morningside and Lawrence Avenue area, which for a time was called "Corktown". Many of these new Canadians found work in the building of the Grand Trunk Railway along Toronto's waterfront in 1856. The area later became the homestead and then the farms of the Galloway and Young families. The Young farm's extensive apple orchard once covered much of our community. The last trace of the Young orchards can still been seen in northern corner of East View Park. The geographic name of West Hill first achieved a degree of official recognition when John Richardson, one of the new Irish immigrants, was successful in obtaining a post office, in 1879, for the area on the west side of the Highland Creek valley. In 1906, the radial streetcar line connected West Hill to the rest of Toronto. The streetcar attracted many families to this area, which culminated in the opening of the West Hill Public School in 1921. The present day neighbourhood was developed largely between the 1940's and 1960's. When Scarborough celebrated its Bicentennial in 1996, both Highland Creek and West Hill were officially recognized as community names, separated by the river valley which gave the combined community its original name more than 200 years ago. Please consider becoming a member and helping us with our work in your community. Membership cost only $10 per household per year.Become a Member