Playter Estates | |
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Neighbourhood | |
Looking east down Hurndale Avenue, a residential street in Playter Estates.
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Vicinity |
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Location within Toronto | |
Coordinates: 43°40′41″N 79°21′20″W / 43.67806°N 79.35556°WCoordinates: 43°40′41″N 79°21′20″W / 43.67806°N 79.35556°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Toronto |
Playter Estates is an area in the east end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada bounded by Jackman Avenue to the east, the Don River Valley to the west, Danforth Avenue in the south, and Fulton Avenue in the north. The neighbourhood is built on land once owned by the Playter family for whom two streets in the area are named. The old farmhouse of the Playter household at 28 Playter Crescent is now the Playter Mansion, which is often used for various films, television shows, and commercials.
The neighbourhood is historically Greek, but is increasingly popular among artists and business professionals. The advent of Taste of the Danforth, a weekend long celebration of Danforth Avenue cuisine and culture, has made the area far more popular in recent years.
Although the increasing home prices in the community cater to the upper-middle class, the neighbourhood still tends to lean to the left of the political spectrum, mainly supporting New Democratic Party candidates in provincial and federal elections. The area is also home to comedian and CBC series host Rick Mercer.
In a 2015 article in Toronto Life, Playter Estates was named Toronto's third-best neighbourhood to live in (based on several criteria, weighted by the magazine writers themselves).
George Henry Playter was born around 1736 in Surrey and died around 1820-1822 in what is now Toronto. He emigrated from England to Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabeth Welding. During the American Revolution, he seized military documents for the British and was granted a commission as a Loyalist captain. He moved with his family first to Nova Scotia, then Kingston in 1783, then finally to Toronto in 1793, where Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, to whom he may have been related by marriage, granted him 2000 acres (8 km²) of land in York Township. He built a house, Drumsnab, on what is now Drumsnab Road near about Castle Frank.