Yonge Street

Yonge Street (/jʌŋ/; "young") is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Until 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records repeated the popular misconception that it was 1,896 km (1,178 mi) long, and thus the longest street in the world; this was due to a mistaken conflation of Yonge Street with the rest of Ontario's Highway 11. Yonge Street (including the Bradford-to-Barrie extension) is actually 86 kilometres long. The construction of Yonge Street is designated an Event of National Historic Significance in Canada. Yonge Street was fundamental in the original planning and settlement of western Upper Canada in the 1790s, informing the basis of the concession roads in Ontario today. Long the southernmost leg of Highway 11, linking the capital with northern Ontario, Yonge Street has been referred to as "Main Street Ontario".

The street was named by Ontario's first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, for his friend Sir George Yonge, an expert on ancient Roman roads. Yonge Street is a commercial main thoroughfare rather than a ceremonial one, with landmarks such as the Eaton Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square and the Hockey Hall of Fame located along its length—and lends its name to the eponymous Downtown Yonge shopping and entertainment district.

Minto Midtown

The Minto Midtown is a residential complex on Yonge Street in Toronto in the Davisville neighbourhood near Yonge and Eglinton. The complex consists of two towers, Quantum South and Quantum North. It was developed by Minto Developments Inc.

Quantum I South is 37 stories tall with a total structural height of 118 m (387 ft)and was completed in 2007. Quantum II North is 54 stories tall with a total structural height of 160 m (525 ft). The initial conceptual design was done by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Zeidler Partnership Architects developed the design and completed the project.

The construction of the towers, the tallest in the neighbourhood, was controversial. Minto reached an agreement with city council, after reducing the height by several storeys. The buildings still sparked strong response from a community group named the North Toronto Tenants Network, who appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board. The OMB ruled in favour of Minto. The debate over the towers proved central in the 2003 municipal election. Incumbent city councillor Anne Johnston had helped broker the compromise that approved the towers. She was opposed by Karen Stintz, who took a strong stand against the development and intensification. In a result that surprised many, longtime incumbent Johnston lost by 2,321 votes.

Toronto

Toronto (ⁱ/təˈrɒntoʊ, -tə/,local /təˈrɒnoʊ, ˈtrɒ-/) is the most populous city in Canada, the provincial capital of Ontario, and the centre of the Greater Toronto Area, the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. In the 2011 census, Toronto had a population of 2,615,060, making it the fourth most populous city in North America, after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. An alpha global city, Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, and culture, and is widely recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years. The urban history of the city dates back to 1787, when British officials negotiated the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of the New Credit. They established the Town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by U.S. troops. York was renamed and incorporated as the City of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867. The original borders of Toronto were expanded through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history, the results of which can been seen in the 140 independently unique and clearly defined official neighbourhoods that make up the city.