The Beaches Toronto History: Kew, Balmy and the Boardwalk

The Beaches is an east-end Toronto neighbourhood along Queen Street East and the Lake Ontario shore, between Woodbine Avenue and Neville Park. It began as a summer resort in the 1870s, grew around amusement parks and streetcars, and gained its public park and boardwalk in 1932. The Leuty lifeguard station, built in 1920 and designated a heritage property in 1993, is its best-known landmark.

Ashbridge’s Bay and the first farms

The shore here was once a long sandbar beside Ashbridge’s Bay, which the Don River flowed into. Beach Metro, the local community paper, explains that wind and water carried sand from the Scarborough Bluffs westward and formed the strip of land that now holds the beaches. The bay behind it takes its name from the Ashbridge family. The City of Toronto’s walking guide says Sarah Ashbridge, a Quaker widow from Philadelphia, settled here in 1793 with two sons. She received a Crown land grant for a farm in 1799, and the family stayed until the last son died in 1861.

A City heritage report dated 1991 says the first subdivision of land in the area came in 1853, when Lot 4 was divided into 12 large lots south of Kingston Road. By the late 1870s the shore was a summer retreat for city dwellers. Horse-drawn trams and steamers brought visitors, and many stayed the season in tents and cottages. The name of the district is still argued over. Some people say “the Beach” and others say “the Beaches,” and residents have long disagreed about where the western boundary lies.

Resorts, racing and amusement parks

Several private pleasure grounds opened in the 1870s. The heritage report lists Woodbine Park, Balmy Beach Park (dated there to 1876), Victoria Park (1878) and Kew Gardens (1879). The City’s guide dates the Woodbine racetrack to 1874 and says the Queen’s Plate was run there from 1883 to 1955. The track was renamed Greenwood Raceway after the Woodbine track opened in the northwest in 1956, and the old track closed in 1993. The guide dates Balmy Beach Park to 1903 instead, so the sources disagree on that one.

Joseph Williams opened Kew Farms in 1853. In 1879 he turned part of his land into “The Canadian Kew Gardens,” and the City bought the grounds in 1907 and turned them into a public park. The same year saw the Scarboro Beach Amusement Park open. Beach Metro adds that Munro Park ran from 1896 to 1906 and that the Scarboro midway, with its roller coasters and games, drew crowds until 1925. The R.C. Harris Filtration Plant was later built on the site of an earlier amusement park named after Queen Victoria, the City’s guide says.

The Queen streetcar

Streetcars made the resort a place where people could live year-round. Transit Toronto records that the City built double track to a wye at Neville Park, and service began on December 24, 1914. The Toronto Transportation Commission took over the old Toronto Railway Company system on September 1, 1921. By 1923 all Queen Street service ran into a new loop at Neville Park, and the route was renamed BEACH. It ran from the Humber River along Lake Shore Boulevard, a route similar to today’s 501 Queen. On August 2, 1937 the Lake Shore service merged into it and the combined line took the name QUEEN.

The 501 Queen streetcar still runs along Queen Street East between Coxwell Avenue and Neville Park, according to the City’s guide, which recommends a day pass for hopping on and off. Fares and passes change, so check the Toronto Transit Commission before you travel.

Beaches Park and the boardwalk

The City began acquiring private land and water lots in 1921. It demolished more than 200 houses and a number of private boathouses to make room for the new waterfront park, which opened in 1932. The guide notes that boardwalks have existed in the area since the 1850s. The current boardwalk is a 3.5 kilometre path that links the lakeside parks, and it has been repaired, restored and rebuilt many times. The Kew Beach Park boathouse dates from 1932. In 1954 Hurricane Hazel smashed it, and the remains were moved to the north side of the boardwalk.

Woodbine Beach was one of the first beaches in North America to receive Blue Flag recognition, in 2005, the City says. For the wider lakeshore story, see the history of the harbour and waterfront.

Leuty Lifeguard Station

The station at 2 Willow Avenue is the district’s most photographed building. Its history is set out in By-law 414-93, which Toronto City Council passed on July 19, 1993. In May 1919 a fire destroyed the federal life saving station on Ward’s Island. Ottawa then said it would stop the service, and the City took it over under the Toronto Harbour Commissioners in August 1919. The Main Life Saving Station opened at the Western Channel in April 1920. Two auxiliary stations followed in June 1920, one at the Humber River and one at Scarboro Beach. See the history of the Toronto Islands for the island station that burned.

The Scarboro Beach Station, now called the Leuty station, was designed by Alfred Chapman and J. Morrow Oxley. The report gives three reasons for the Leuty Avenue site. A breakwater already stood there, the site was central to the stretch of shore from Woodbine Avenue to the eastern city limits, and it was the centre of the boat-rental business. Staff rescued more capsized boats and canoes than swimmers. The station had one small power boat, two rowing dories and three lookout towers, with four lifeguards and two seamen. The City’s guide says the station has been moved several times as the shoreline changed. In the 1990s residents formed a group called Save Our Station to raise money for restoration, and the guide credits the station with more than 6,000 rescues.

Other landmarks on the map

Kew Williams Cottage, built in 1902 by Kew Williams, the youngest son of landowner Joseph Williams. The City bought it with Kew Gardens in 1907.
The Beaches branch library, a Carnegie library that opened in 1916. It was one of three near-identical branches funded by a $50,000 grant, with the High Park branch and one in Wychwood.
The Fox Cinema, built in 1914 as the Prince Edward Theatre.
No. 17 Firehall, built in 1905 to replace a volunteer brigade that had served Queen and Lee since 1891.
Balmy Beach Club. The City says Sir Adam Wilson deeded the land at the foot of Beech Avenue in 1903 and that the non-profit club opened in 1905. The first clubhouse burned in 1936 and the second in 1963. The current one opened in 1965.
R.C. Harris Filtration Plant, built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style and named for R.C. Harris, the city’s commissioner of public works. Transit Toronto credits him with requiring the lower deck of the Prince Edward Viaduct, as that article explains.

The Beaches today

Queen Street East between Woodbine and Neville Park is the shopping and restaurant strip. The City’s guide, written some years ago, counted more than 400 shops, restaurants and services along it. Streets running south to the lake keep the cottages and large houses from the resort era, and Queen Street connects the district westward to Leslieville. The park system is the draw. Woodbine Park, Ashbridge’s Bay Park, Kew Gardens and Balmy Beach Park form a continuous waterfront walk of roughly an hour and a half, according to the guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is it The Beach or The Beaches?

Both names are used for the same area. Residents and the City have disagreed about the preferred form for decades. The City’s own visitor guide calls it The Beaches.

When was the Beaches boardwalk built?

The City says boardwalks have existed here since the 1850s. The waterfront park, Beaches Park, opened in 1932, and the present 3.5 kilometre boardwalk has been rebuilt several times since then.

When was the Leuty lifeguard station built?

It was built in 1920 by the Toronto Harbour Commissioners and designed by Alfred Chapman and J. Morrow Oxley. City Council designated it as a heritage property on July 19, 1993.

Which streetcar goes to the Beaches?

The 501 Queen route serves Queen Street East to Neville Park. Check the Toronto Transit Commission for current routes, detours and fares before travelling.

What happened to Scarboro Beach Amusement Park?

A City heritage report says it was established in 1907. Beach Metro says the midway drew crowds until 1925.

Sources

City of Toronto, “The Beaches: Urban pleasures, natural beauty,” visitor route map and guide (accessed October 2026)
City of Toronto, By-law 414-93, designating 2 Willow Avenue (Leuty Life Saving Station), with Toronto Historical Board Heritage Property Report (1993), City of Toronto Archives
Transit Toronto, history of the Queen streetcar route and Neville Park (accessed October 2026)
Beach Metro Community News, “Amusement parks, geology and settlers: Ashbridges Bay and the Beach” (accessed October 2026)
Beach Metro Community News, “What’s in a neighbourhood’s name?” (December 5, 2013, accessed October 2026)
Toronto Public Library, High Park branch centenary plaque, text transcribed by Read the Plaque (names the Beaches and Wychwood branches as sister libraries; accessed October 2026)
Ontario Heritage Trust, record for Leuty Life Saving Station, 2 Willow Avenue (accessed October 2026)

Last verified: October 2026

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APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 31). The Beaches Toronto History: From Summer Resort to Boardwalk. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-beaches-toronto-history

MLA: “The Beaches Toronto History: From Summer Resort to Boardwalk.” History of Toronto, 31 Oct 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-beaches-toronto-history. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “The Beaches Toronto History: From Summer Resort to Boardwalk.” Last modified October 31, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/the-beaches-toronto-history.

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