Riverdale: East of the Don

US: Dundurn, 2014. Very Good. (Signed by Author) The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. A popular history of the Riverdale area of Toronto, including Playter Estat es north of the Danforth. In its first 50 years, the city of Toronto changed from a rough settlement to a booming city with a voracious appetite for land. The incorporated city of Toronto grew tenfold from 1834 to 1884 -- partly through immigration, b ut also through the annexation of older communities. Among these were the f ormer suburbs of Leslieville and Riverside, which were joined together in 1 884 to become the new Toronto community of Riverdale. Later, the Playter Es tates neighbourhood also became part of this community. Riverdale tells the history of the neighbourhood, starting with the Simcoe, Scadding, Playter, and Leslie families, who shaped the area throughout its early settlement, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. It shows the waves of immigration from Britain, America, Italy, Greece, and China, that made Riverdale one of Toronto's most diverse areas. And it tells the stories written into the map of the neighbourhood, revealing the history on display in its streets and historic buildings.