Yonge Street, Commercial street in Downtown Toronto, Canada
Yonge Street stretches from the waterfront all the way into the northern suburbs, forming one of the longest continuous roads in North America. Shops, restaurants, and office buildings alternate along the roadway, with the densest development concentrated downtown between Union Station and Bloor Street.
Governor John Graves Simcoe ordered this route built in 1794 to create a military link between Lake Ontario and the upper part of the province. The originally narrow forest road was gradually widened during the 19th century and grew into the main commercial axis of the expanding city.
The name comes from Sir George Yonge, an 18th-century British War Secretary, though pronunciation has simplified over time. Today residents gather here after major sporting events and celebrate together on the wide sidewalks.
The subway runs directly beneath the pavement and links numerous stations along the entire route, making it easy to cover longer stretches quickly. On weekends and evenings traffic becomes heavier, while weekday daytimes see sidewalks filled with commuters.
All house numbers in Toronto start at this roadway and count outward east or west from here. This makes the road the city's zero meridian, on which the entire address system is based.
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