Oakwood Collegiate Institute
A large field greeted Toronto Board of Education officials who needed to build a school in 1908. Oakwood Collegiate finally opened in 1912. Students moved from the school's temporary location of King Edward Public School on Bathurst Street to the stately building at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and St. Clair Avenue West.
The school stood alone though. Concerned parents didn't want their children trekking over half a mile to school from the TTC car lines. A school trustee said the walk would "do them good."
Students walked on wooden-planked sidewalks to what would become one of the largest schools in Ontario by 1920. Shops, restaurants, houses and the TTC car lines soon enriched the neighbourhood, which had Oakwood Collegiate at its heart. Graduates made their mark in the arts, science, sports, and in two world wars.
Community members still cheer on Oakwood's teams, marvel at students' plays, concerts and fashion shows, and hope for the best during final exams. Preston McLeod, the 1921 valedictorian, illustrated the Oakwood experience at commencement: '...When the name of O.C.I. shall be clarioned forth...we of a humbler day shall be proud and ready to proclaim to all the world, "We went to that school!"'
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Toronto Plaques. Full page here.