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 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,
Your support is essential to make it through the pandemic, and also to ensure heritage has a strong voice when Toronto begins to rebuild. If you enjoyed this tour and would like to see more digital programming like it, please make a donation today.
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.
