Area Description

Lawrence Park is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto and was ranked the wealthiest neighbourhood in all of Canada in 2011. It is bordered by Yonge Street to the west and Bayview Avenue to the east, and from Blythwood Ravine on the south to Lawrence Avenue on the north. Lawrence Park was one of Toronto's first planned garden suburbs. Began in the early part of the 20th century, it did not fully develop until after the Second World War.

Centred on Mount Pleasant Road, the neighbourhood grew slowly with medium-sized houses on narrow but deep lots. There are few commercial businesses, within a five-minute walk. The closest grocery stores are close to Yonge and Lawrence.

In its early years, the neighbourhood's transportation was served predominantly by the northern section of the Toronto Transportation Commission's Yonge streetcar. When the Yonge subway opened to Eglinton in 1954, the TTC replaced this service with trolley buses on Yonge Street and Mount Pleasant Road, both terminating at the Eglinton station. The trolleys left Yonge when the subway was extended further north in 1973, although a less frequent local bus service remained; the trolleys on Mount Pleasant lasted until 1991, when they too were replaced with diesels.

Demographically, the neighbourhood still retains a largely Anglo-Protestant population.

Lawrence Park is one of Toronto’s most exclusive residential neighborhoods. In 2011, Canadian Business magazine named it the wealthiest postal code in Canada by household net worth, averaged at $3.88 million. The Blythwood cluster of the neighborhood, along Bayview Avenue, has an average household income of $622,238, while the West side centered around Mount Pleasant Road has an average household income of $469,448.

The neighborhood is located in a setting that includes gently rolling hills, several parks, and a ravine. Lawrence Park’s shops, schools and recreational facilities are located on its periphery. Many of the residents belong to The Granite Club, a sports and recreation centre on Bayview Avenue north of Lawrence Avenue.

The high profile shops and restaurants in the Yonge and Lawrence area, are well patronized by Lawrence Park residents. This shopping district includes fashion stores, children’s stores, sporting goods stores, gift shops, bakeries, gourmet dining, casual restaurants plus the ever popular coffee shops.

Notable institutions located in Lawrence Park are Crescent School, Toronto French School, the Rosedale Golf Club, and The Granite Club.