Silverthorn, often misspelled as Silverthorne, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the former City of York before the amalgamation of Toronto in 1998. The approximate boundaries are the GO TransitBarrie linerailway 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 Black Creek Drive 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.
History
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.
Character
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. 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. 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. The winding and one-way streets make through traffic a non-factor for ball playing.
Castlefield Design District
The area along Castlefield Road from Kincort Street to just west of Dufferin is home to the interior design district, home to furniture retailers, home decor centres, as well as Roots Canada and Art Shoppe.
