Yonge Street

Dividing the city from north to south, Yonge Street is Toronto’s main thoroughfare. Designed by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and the founder of Toronto, the street was part of the concession road system planned by the colonial government in Ontario. While it’s known for Canada’s first subway line in 1954, it’s actually a rather funny error that has given it most of its fame. As an extension of Highway 11, Yonge Street was mistakenly granted the title of the longest street in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records—until 1999. Its length was originally thought to be 1,900km – but this figure counted the whole of the highway as well… The street by itself is actually only 56 km long! This amusing mistake led to the removal of a bronze plaque that had previously celebrated this rather unique, albeit incorrect, status. Too bad—it almost went unnoticed!