Donate
Black and white slightly aerial photograph looking east along Eglinton Avenue East through the Golden Mile from Victoria Park Avenue. Shopping plazas and surface parking lots cover the landscape.

Eglinton East: The Golden Mile

Once a small farming township, discover this Scarborough community’s surprising history, which includes a secret WWII munitions plant, and its postwar status as the epicentre of Canadian industrial growth.

Explore postwar prosperity and the suburban dream as we travel to the Golden Mile – Scarborough’s mid-century manufacturing hub.

Explore the map below from the comfort of your home or take it with you on a walk through this section of Eglinton Ave. East. You’ll discover a distinct community with an industrial past transformed by wartime production, and fueled by postwar optimism and manufacturing growth.

This online tour was developed by emerging historian Shannon Hamilton, and made possible by the generous support of Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family, and TD Bank and The Ready Commitment,

Choose a marker to begin your tour

If you’re exploring on a mobile device, please abide by all traffic and safety rules. Only look at your device when you are standing stationary in a safe location!

General Sources

Bradburn, Jamie. “Golden Mile Plaza.” Jamie Bradburn’s Tales of Toronto, June 20, 2020.

Dickson, Barbara. Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo. Toronto: Dundurn, 2015.

Gillmor, Don. “The Scarborough Curse.” Toronto Life. December 1, 2007.

Hurmuses, Gayle. “Extended Family: Photographs of the GM Scarborough Van Plant.” May 1, 1995.

LeBlanc, Dave. “Not much remains of Scarborough’s Golden Mile.” The Globe and Mail. July 28, 2006.

Myrvold, Barbara. The People of Scarborough: a history. Toronto : City of Scarborough Public Library Board, 1997.

Support Our Program

Make an ongoing investment in Heritage Toronto’s mission and future: become a monthly donor today.

Donate