| Silverthorn | |
| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Mapsize: | 220px |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Toronto |
| Pushpin Label Position: | none |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Toronto |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 220px |
| Coordinates: | 43.69°N -79.476°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | City |
| Subdivision Name2: | Toronto |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1850 (York Township) |
| Established Title1: | Changed municipality |
| Established Date1: | 1998 Toronto from York |
| Leader Title: | MP |
| Leader Name: | Ahmed Hussen (York South—Weston) |
| Leader Title1: | MPP |
| Leader Name1: | Michael Ford (York South—Weston) |
| Leader Title2: | Councillor |
| Leader Name2: | Frances Nunziata (Ward 5 York South—Weston) |
Silverthorn, often misspelled as Silverthorne, is a neighbourhood and former postal village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The approximate boundaries are the GO Transit Barrie line railway tracks to the east, Black Creek Drive and the CP railway line to the west and the former boundaries of the City of York to the north and south. The neighbourhood west of Keele Street is known as Keelesdale. For demographic purposes, the city breaks the area down into two neighbourhoods Keelesdale-Eglinton West, south of Eglinton, and Beechborough-Greenbrook north of Eglinton. It was originally a postal village to serve the then-agricultural York Township.
The area's name is from the Silverthorn family led by John and Esther Silverthorn whom settled in the area north of Dundas Street and east of Etobicoke Creek in 1786 that later became a village called Silverthorn's and later Summerville.[1]
Silverthorn contained the central commercial district for the former City of York along Eglinton Avenue where the York Civic Centre, which housed York's municipal offices, is located. The area has a large number of Roman Catholics many of whom are Italian and Portuguese by descent. However, Silverthorn is very diverse and includes many Baptists, Buddhists and other Christians. Latin Americans, Blacks and Southeast Asians are also well represented in this area (source: Statistics Canada 2001).
North of Eglinton, nearly two-thirds of the Silverthorn's population resides in rental units, many of them in low-rise apartment buildings. South of Eglinton the area retains its working class character, though the majority of residents are owners (almost 60%). Although the houses are modest they are also single detached and owned. There is an above-average contingency of Romance language speakers including Portuguese, Italian and Spanish. This area contains the western end of Eglinton West.
The hilly terrain of the Silverthorn is comparable to nearby areas but distinguishable compared with the city, which in general slopes south to the lake. One resident described the topography of the neighbourhood as "Toronto's hidden San Francisco," comparing Silverthorn with the famously hilly terrain of San Francisco.[2] The winding and one-way streets make through traffic a non-factor for ball playing.
The area along Castlefield Road from Kincort Street to just west of Dufferin is home to the interior design district,[3] home to furniture retailers, home decor centres, as well as Roots Canada and Art Shoppe.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is an English secular public school board that presently serves the City of Toronto, including Silverthorn. Presently, the school board operates three elementary schools including:
In addition, TDSB operates two secondary schools in the area, including:
In addition to TDSB, three other public school boards also operate in the city. The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), is a public English separate school board; Conseil scolaire Viamonde is a secular French public school board; and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud is a French separate public school board. However, none of the three school boards operate a school in Silverthorn.