Leslieville
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Leslieville is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, bounded by the Canadian National railway line, and Carlaw, Eastern, and Coxwell Avenues, just east of the Don River. This quiet east-end neighbourhood forms a part of the broader neighbourhood of South Riverdale.
The neighbourhood began as a small village in the 1850s, which grew up around the Toronto Nurseries owned by George Leslie and sons, after whom the community is named. Most of Leslieville's residents were gardeners or were employed at one of the brick-making factories in the area.
Alexander Muir, the composer of The Maple Leaf Forever, was the first principal of the Leslieville Public School, one of the first buildings in the village. Muir was inspired when a brilliant maple leaf fell on his jacket from a Leslieville tree. That tree is still standing today and has become a famous landmark in the community.
For decades, South Riverdale was home to light industry, particularly along Eastern Ave. south of Queen St. Metal processing and tanning were notable industries which, along with other industrial activity, left Leslieville and South Riverdale with a legacy of contaminated land. In 2000, the A.R. Clarke Tannery went up in flames, burning for days and unleashing toxic ash on the neighbourhood.
Leslieville is home to a number of large film studios, including Cinevillage and Shoreline Studios, which, as of 2004, have reduced business. Leslieville is, moreover, the neighbourhood in Toronto in which to shop for used (particularly mid-century) furniture.