Scarborough is a district and former municipality within the eastern part of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Scarborough is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River and the City of Pickering.Over 200 years, Scarborough grew from a collection of small rural villages to become a large city with a diverse cultural community. It was named after the English town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1796 by Elizabeth Simcoe, who was inspired by the Scarborough Bluffs which reminded her of white cliffs near her home. Originally Scarborough Township, it became part of Metropolitan Toronto in 1953, and was renamed as a borough in 1967. Scarborough rapidly developed as a suburb of Old Toronto during the Metro Toronto years and became a city in 1983. Scarborough was amalgamated into the city of Toronto in 1998. The area is an administrative district in the new City of Toronto, and has its own community council composed of Toronto city councillors. The Scarborough Civic Centre, the former city hall, is still used by the municipal government of Toronto.