Introduction

The curving streets of Hunter’s Glen, a typical 1950s-Scarborough residential subdivision, appear to be an ordinary collection of the common split-level, picture-window and carport houses that can be easily be found elsewhere in the east end of Toronto. It is located southwest of Brimley Road and Lawrence Avenue East, bounded by Haileybury Drive to the west and north, Deerfield Road to the south, and Brimley Road to the east.

Constructed in 1955 and financed under the National Housing Act to control the price of the modest houses that line its streets and to provide their owners with mortgage insurance, the architecture of Hunter’s Glen deserves a closer examination. The subdivision was part of the first wave of mass residential development in Scarborough. Although not as prestigious or notable as Midland Park to the north, it is one of the oldest tract housing projects in Scarborough, representing the decade’s social orientation toward domesticity and homeownership.

Advertising the Canadian Dream

Like many other suburban developments that were named after historic villages and towns they replaced, Hunter’s Glen derived its name from the Hunter family, who had farmed the same land that was later acquired by the developer, surveyed, and divided into lots. Their nineteenth-century farmhouse still survives at 718 Brimley Road, next door to the Jing Yin Temple. Hunter’s Glen is situated within the historic village of Bendale.

Homelands Realty Limited was the developer of Hunter’s Glen and the houses were erected by Barton Construction and Gotham Construction. The first descriptive advertisement for the planned subdivision appeared in the Toronto Daily Star on July 30th, 1954:

“COME direct to Homeland Realty field office, located on Brimley Rd. between Eglinton and Lawrence arrows to show the way and see our terrific selection of 1 1/2 storey, split levels, square plan centre hall and ranch type.

Down payment as low as $2,200. Very low carrying charges. We also have a great assortment of non-NHA houses with low down payments.”

This type of low-rise affordable residential development was encouraged by Oliver E. Crockford, Reeve of the Township of Scarborough between 1948 and 1956. Determined to usher the far-flung cluster of scattered village outposts east of Toronto into the modern age, Crockford attracted large-scale industrial development in the Golden Mile area and was also instrumental in securing deals for housing developers who constructed thousands of inexpensive “starter homes” scattered throughout the township.

Hunter’s Glen was intended to attract homeowners who were middle-class, but most of the residents were the lower end of this income level. Real estate ads proclaimed that there were “no salary requirements” associated with a purchase of a house in the subdivision. The developer introduced a number of measures during the planning process to keep the prices of the real estate affordable.

Living in (Suburban) Style

A number of house types in a variety of prices were offered to prospective buyers as described in the advertisement. A one-and-a-half storey bungalow (43 and 45 Shediac Road) was the most expensive option. A ranch was mid-range (a fine example is located at 46 Shediac Road) and could be secured with a down payment of $2,590. The split-level design (20 Shediac Road) required an amount of $1,450 to take possession and was the least expensive offering. The full price of the houses ranged between $11,900 and $14,040 (approximately between $116,000 and $136,500 today, adjusted for inflation). Mortgages carried an interest rate of 5.25% and were amortized over a twenty-five year period. Other styles included a two-storey house, but only few were constructed.

The pioneering generation of the suburbanites who eventually settled in Hunter’s Glen overwhelmingly chose the split-level carport bungalow with an unfinished basement. The prevalence of this style in the neighbourhood indicates that most homeowners were conscious of the money they were investing in their purchases. By late September of 1955, a real estate advertisement claimed that these houses were selling quite well, with only the last four houses remaining for sale. Some financial controls were also taken into consideration while planning the infrastructure. The subdivision contained paved streets, gravelled driveways, front lawns with sod (but no grass), curbs, sewers, and hydro lines, but there are no sidewalks.

However, the cost-cutting measures did not necessarily translate into repetitive, uniform, or drab residential design associated with the typical “cookie-cutter” or “strawberry-box” subdivisions. Potential buyers were able to select not only from the three basic designs, but also from sixteen different styles that determined the colours and materials of the exterior. In addition, twenty different configurations of the floor plan were available, some with fireplaces. The model homes were constructed on Shediac Road and made available for inspection in March of 1955.

All houses were equipped with electric light fixtures. The L-shaped living rooms in the split-level houses were decorated with swirl ceiling, cornice, and built-in valance. A number of different floor plans were available and the placement of the rooms varied between houses. The picture windows exhibit a multitude of styles and shapes and carports.

The variety in the exterior design of the houses reflect the developer’s attempt to break up the monotony of the typical suburban streetscape, with the result that no two houses look the same from the outside. In a subdivision consisting of two hundred houses, this was a notable achievement. The lots on which the houses were constructed are narrow, but set back in differing patterns from the street. As a result, some houses have larger front yards than others (and conversely, smaller backyards), while for other houses, the opposite is true.

Features of the existing natural landscapes were incorporated into design of the subdivision. The former Canadian Northern Railway right-of-way was partly preserved to create a local park and was also incorporated into the layout of Haileybury Drive, which marks the boundaries of the neighbourhood. The beautiful pine trees that adorn the front and backyards of many houses are still visible.

Conclusion

The lifestyle associated with subdivisions like Hunter’s Glen has been criticized for its social conformity, dependency on the automobile, physical and cultural isolation from urban centres, and insularity. On the other hand, these places serve as a reminder of a time when many Canadians aspired to achieve a quiet, respectable, and secure life for their families.

Many were ultimately successful in this endeavour. Although others inevitably experienced disillusionment with the postwar version of the Canadian dream, Hunter’s Glen (and many other suburban neighbourhoods like it) placed the dream within the reach of more people than had been possible in the earlier decades.

Explore

Bendale: About Place is an online exhibition comprised of photographs, first-person narratives, and essays about the history of the village from 1798 to the early twenty-first century. A substantial part of the website is devoted to information on the early experiences of the residents who settled in the newly developed suburban neighbourhoods in the former village.

Archival maps of the neighbourhood and its vicinity can be accessed from the University of Toronto Map and Data Library, while aerial photographs are available from the City of Toronto Archives.

Classified ads placed by the developer and real estate firms which promoted houses for sale in the subdivision can be accessed from from Toronto Star Historical Newspaper Archive and Globe and Mail Historical Newspaper Archive (both resources can be accessed with your library card).

References

Bélec, John. “Underwriting Suburbanization: The National Housing Act and the Canadian City.” The Canadian Geographer, 2015, vol. 59, issue 3, pp. 341–353.

Clark, S.D. The Suburban Society. University of Toronto Press, 1966.

Coutts, Jane. “No Room for Nostalgia.” The Globe and Mail, 4 Jan. 1991, A11.

“Hunter’s Glen, $2,590 Down.” Toronto Daily Star, 30 July 1954, p. 25.

“Hunter’s Glen, $3,500 Down—Trees.” Toronto Daily Star, 28 Nov. 1956, p. 31.

“Hunter’s Glen, NHA.” Toronto Daily Star, 30 July 1954, p. 25.

“Only Four Left!!” Toronto Daily Star, 30 Sept. 1955, p. 41.

“Open for Inspection: Spring Festival at Hunter’s Glen” Toronto Daily Star, 26 Mar. 1955, p. 34.

Rolph Clark Stone Ltd. Map of Metropolitan Toronto. 1955. University of Toronto Map and Data Library, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. mdl.library.utoronto.ca/collections/scanned-maps/metropolitan-toronto-0. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.

“Sacrifice Sale.” The Globe and Mail, 20 Nov. 1955, p. 36.

Scarborough Historical Museum. “A Walk Through Early Bendale.” Bendale: About Place. Virtual Museum of Canada, http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_stories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line&lg=English&fl=0&ex=00000654&sl=5319&pos=1. Accessed 29 Mar. 2020.

“Scarboro’s Schedule 10,000 Home in 1953.” The Globe and Mail, 24 January 1953, p. 5.

“See These Holiday Homes in Knob Hill and Hunter’s Glen” Toronto Daily Star, 21 May 1955, p. 33.