Introduction
West Deane Park is a subdivision located in a traffic-intensive corner of Etobicoke, bordered by Highway 427, Eglinton Avenue West, Martin Grove Road, and Rathburn Road. The neighbourhood was developed between the late 1950s and the early ’60s by Edmund Peachey Limited, “Builders of Distinctive Homes.” Peachey (1902–1978) named the community after his wife, H. Deane Peachey.
Although at the first glance the area may seem the opposite—an unremarkable piece of aging postwar suburbia, where the constant hum of the nearby highway traffic is pervasive—West Deane Park is illustrative of the idealism of the first generation of middle-class residents who chose to settle en masse on the outskirts of the city and envisioned moving to a “good,” (family-oriented) neighbourhood.
“Builders of Distinctive Homes”
The early appreciation for the suburban landscape is evident in the marketing strategy exhibited in the advertisements placed by Peachey’s real estate development company in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail.
This was accomplished by exalting the advantages and the unique characterstics of both the design of the residences and the existing natural landscape, which aimed to convince the prospective buyers that purchasing a house in the neighbourhood was a good investment guaranteeing not only a roof over their heads, but also the long-term well-being and harmony within one’s family.
Edmund Peachey included his photograph in many of the advertisements, attempting to establish a personal connection with the potential residents of his neighbourhood. In the section entitled “A Word from the Builder,” he states:
“Over the years we have learned that you want more than shelter from the weather… You want a home to be lived in and to be part of the family. We build our homes with that thought in mind.”
The promotional materials also explained that the subdivision was carefully planned and the residents would be settling in a house situated in a neighbourhood, not simply on the unplanned, undeveloped outskirts of the city that had already started to appear on the urban fringe:
“This is not an assembly-line sub-division, but a properly planned, completely integrated community laid out strategically in relation to a six-acre central site to include an elementary school, church, and shopping centre.”
The East Mall Plaza was located in the northern part of the neighbourhood at 15 West Deane Park and offered a grocery store (IGA), hardware store, babershop, hairdresser, bank, pharmacy, post office, shoe repair service, laundromat, variety store, and a fish and chips restaurant. The shopping centre was demolished in 2000.
The houses in the neighbourhood ranged from $18,850 to $21,650 in 1957, indicating that the West Deane residents were better of than than the residents of Hunter’s Glen, but not as wealthy as their neighbours living to the south in Thorncrest Village. However, by 1963, the residences were listed in the price range of $17,990 to $18,680.
In the same year, houses designed by Alcan Universal Homes were selling from $21,000 to $28,000 and unlike Alcan’s assembly-line affordable creations, these models included “luxury features,” such as a complete set of Frigidaire appliances and an exterior with baked-enamel alumimum siding.
Real-estate advertisements promoting the homes for sale in the subdivision boasted that West Deane Park was the only community in Toronto where each house was equipped with dual-glass “Twindows” (which were simply double-pane windows manufactured by the Canada Pittsburgh Industry Limited), emphasizing safety and comfort of its inhabitants.
Unlike other suburban neighbourhoods that also contain “Park” in their name, West Deane contained considerable parkland within its borders, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres of green space.
Idea(l) Home
West Deane Park attracted national attention in early September 1958 when one of the model homes erected by Peachey’s company was selected by the editors of Better Homes and Gardens as the one of the annual “idea homes” showcased by the magazine. “The Breezeway,” based on the design created by architect Omer Mithun was a classic, 1,218 square foot-mid-century modern home with three-bedroom, split-level design and a carport, and constructed from vertical redwood siding with brick was profiled in the September issue of the periodical (model 2809-A).
In addition, the model home featured a brick fireplace with a metal hood in the living room. The family room was located in the back of the house and its sliding twin-pane doors led to the patio made of chrome stone.
Betty Grayson, a writer for the magazine attended the opening of the model home on September 5th and was accompanied the Reeve of the Township of Etobicoke, Henry Oscar Waffle. The event was also attended by the members of the media and a detailed description of the exterior and interior of the house was published the following day in an article in The Globe and Mail. Peachey also placed a large advertisement for the model home in the Toronto Daily Star, detailing the design elements of the Breezeway, which appeared in the August 29th, 1959 edition of the newspaper.
Gallery
Explore
Original graphic advertisements promoting the advantages of buying a home in the Park and newspaper articles documenting the milestones in the history of the neighbourhood can be found in Toronto Star Historical Newspaper Archive and Globe and Mail Historical Newspaper Archive (both resources can be accessed with your library card).
The 1965 controversy between the West Deane Home Owners’ Association and the Ontario Housing Corporation regarding the development of affordable housing on Bermuda Court and Robinglade Drive is particularly worthy to explore.
Dave Leblanc compiled a comprehensive biography of Edmund Peachey, documenting the activities of his company, published in an article in The Globe and Mail.
References
1958 Idea Home advertisement. Toronto Daily Star, 29 Aug. 1958, p. 15.
Alcan Aluminum Limited advertisement. Toronto Daily Star, 14 Dec. 1963, p. 37.
“Crowds Visit 1958 Idea Home in Etobicoke.” The Globe and Mail, 6 Sept. 1958, p. 28.
Edmund Peachey Homes Limited advertisement. The Globe and Mail, 5 Nov. 1960, p. 4.
Edmund Peachey Homes Limited advertisement. Toronto Daily Star, 5 Oct. 1957, p. 15.
Harris, Denise. “Canada 150: Key Figures in Etobicoke’s History.” Etobicoke Guardian, 27 June 2017, https://www.toronto.com/community-story/7226959-canada-150-key-figures-in-etobicoke-s-history/. Accessed 28 March 2021.
Leblanc, Dave. “Home Builder a Quiet Man of Quotations.” The Globe and Mail, 7 July 2006, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/home-builder-a-quiet-man-of-quotations/article1105364/. Accessed 28 March 2021.
Might Directories Limited. 1968 Toronto City Directory, vol. 68. Might Directories Limited, 1968. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/torontocitydirectory1968. Accessed 28 March 2021.
West Deane Park advertisement. Toronto Daily Star, 20 Oct. 1962, p. 10.