Cabbagetown, Toronto

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Buildings in Cabbagetown
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Buildings in Cabbagetown

Rich in culture and history, Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood located on the east side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in North America", according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association.

Cabbagetown's name derives from the Irish immigrants who moved to the neighbourhood beginning in the late 1840s, said to have been so poor that they grew cabbage in their front yards. Canadian writer Hugh Garner's most famous novel, Cabbagetown, depicted life in the neighbourhood during the Great Depression. Garner called Cabbagetown "the largest Anglo-Saxon slum in North America".

Much of the original Cabbagetown was razed in the late 1940s to make room for the Regent Park housing project. The Cabbagetown name came to be applied to the Victorian neighbourhood a few blocks to the north, previously known as Don Vale. Corktown, to the south of Regent Park, dates to the 1820's and now includes some of the original Cabbagetown.

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[edit] Gentrification

Cabbagetown was gentrified by affluent professionals, beginning in the 1970s. Many restored small Victorian row houses and became community activists. Today, wrought iron fences, stone walkways and beautifully kept gardens are common in some parts of Cabbagetown. There is an actual working, victorian farm on the western most border sharing the green space with Riverdale Park West. Once a week (Tuedays from 1500 - 1900hrs.) a farmer's market featuring organic and mostly local products is held approaching the entrance to the farm. Moreover, some traces of a 1960s counter-culture feeling are evident in vintage clothing stores, a gestalt therapy clinic and an adventure travel agency. The gritty Cabbagetown Boxing Club is a reminder of an earlier, and rougher, past. In recent years, many members of the gay community, including businesses from the nearby "gay village" of Church and Wellesley, have relocated to the area attracted by cheaper commercial rents.

Despite gentrification, Cabbagetown is still home to some of the poorest of the poor in Toronto. Welfare recipients from public housing projects mingle with affluent professionals at a discount supermarket and a community medicine clinic. Panhandling and drug-dealing are part of the urban landscape; so are gourmet shops, upscale boutiques and arts festivals. An evening of wine-tasting at local restaurants was added to the annual Cabbagtown Festival in 2006. A restaurant review in a September 2005 community newspaper captures something of the neighborhood's dichotomy: "Cabbagetown might be one of Toronto's most exclusive neighbourhoods but you'd never know it from strolling down its main drag. A jumble of discount stores and cheap coffee shops that attract the down-on-their luck and the just plain unlucky, Parliament (Street) is the polar opposite of the leafy avenues lined with million-dollar piles only a block away."

[edit] Residents

Predominantly liberal, the neighborhood is home to many artists, musicians, journalists and writers. Other residents include professors, doctors and social workers, many affiliated with the nearby University of Toronto. Former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney railed against his trendy Cabbagetown opponents on The Secret Mulroney Tapes -- conversations with journalist Peter C. Newman.

Celebrities who have at some time been residents of Cabbagetown include:

As part of a project called 'Cabbagetown People', historical plaques have been placed on noteworthy homes. A map of the locations has been erected in Riverdale Park West, and an indexof the addresses, with the names of the former residents, is posted on a website devoted to this project. The people listed include:

[edit] Original boundaries

The original boundaries of Cabbagetown were:

  • Gerrard Street to the north
  • Queen Street to the south
  • Parliament Street to the west
  • the Don River to the east.

[edit] Current boundaries

Cabbagetown's current boundaries may be broadly defined as:

  • Gerrard Street to the south (east of Parliament)
  • Shuter Street to the south (between Sherbourne St. and Parliament St.)
  • St. James Cemetery to the north (east of Parliament St.)
  • Wellesley Street East to the north (between Sherbourne St. and Parliament St.)
  • Sherbourne Street to the west
  • the Don River to the east.

The inclusion of the area west of Parliament Street is disputed by some.

[edit] Community Associations

[edit] Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association

The Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association (DVCRA) was originally established in 1967, according to its website. It states its purpose to be protecting and improving the general quality of life and character of the community. The association defines its western boundary as Parliament Street.

[edit] Cabbagetown South Association

The area between Sherbourne St. and Parliament St., from Shuter St. to Carlton St. has its own residents' association, Cabbagetown South Association, which leaves the area north of Carlton Street and west of Parliament Street without representation. Cabbagetown South Association was formed in 2002 from the amalgamation of Central Cabbagetown Residents Assocoation (CENTRA), which previously represented the part of Cabbagetown South that is north of Gerrard Street E., and the Seaton Ontario Berkeley Residents Association (SOBRA), which previously represented those streets south of Gerrard Street E.

[edit] Cabbagetown Preservation Association

The Cabbagetown Preservation Association (CPA) was founded in 1988 to preserve the architectural integrity and historic character of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood, and initiated the establishment of the Heritage Conservation District (see below).

[edit] Old Cabbagetown Business Improvement Area

Old Cabbagetown Business Improvement Area (OCBIA) is an association of local businesess that describes its mission as:

  • To serve our members and our community
  • To encourage specialized & profitable business appropriate to our community
  • To preserve and enhance our historic streetscapes

They are the prime organizers of the fall Cabbagetown festival.

[edit] Heritage Conservation District

In 2004 part of Cabbagetown became a Heritage Conservation District, protected by municipal bylaw. The district was established in two stages: first an area centred on Metcalfe, and later areas to the north and east of the initial area.
The boundaries of the combined district are currently:

  • St. James Cemetery to the north
  • just east of Parliament Street to the west (i.e. excluding Parliament Street itself)
  • Carlton Street to the south, including the south side
  • Wellesley Park, the Necropolis and Riverdale Park to the east

The area south of Carlton Street and north of, but excluding, Gerrard Street, is under consideration for future inclusion.

[edit] Cultural activities

[edit] Facilities

A heritage-designated renovated church on Winchester St. houses both Toronto Dance Theatre and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and close by on Parliament St, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, and TILT Sound + Motion share a large renovated building that formerly housed CBC recording studios.

[edit] Forsythia festival

The first Sunday in May sees the annual Forsythia festival organized in large part by the Cabbagetown Preservation Association. The festival includes a small parade from Riverdale Park West to Wellesley Park, where games and family entertainment are held.

[edit] Cabbagetown festival

The second week-end in September sees the annual Cabbagetown festival, which is a two day event, with an arts and crafts fair both days in Riverdale Park West. Vendors come from far afield for this event. The highlight of the festival is the parade on Saturday morning, which usually starts at 10:00 a.m. at Riverdale Park West, though the route may vary from year-to-year. Parliament Street between Wellesley Street East and Carlton Street is closed to traffic for the week-end. Organization of the festival is coordinated by the Old Cabbagetown Business Improvement Area (OCBIA) association. The festival also includes a 'Tour of Homes', in which several local homes are opened to a paying public. Tickets are limited and usually sold out ahead of time.

The Annual Cabbagetown Short Film & Video Festival showcases eighteen short films from around the world, and is part of the festival. Actress, producer, writer Gina Dineen, founded the festival fifteen years ago, and since then it has grown into an impressive international juried screening, showcasing Canadian filmmakers John Fawcett, Vincenzo Natali, Michael Dowse, and Sarah Polley. The 2006 programme, selected from 300 submissions received from Toronto, Australia, India, South Korea, and Kazakhstan, covered a full range of genres including animation, documentary, dramatic narrative, comedy, experimental and music. None of the productions run longer than 15 minutes, with the shortest clocking in at 0:54 seconds.

A jury of Canadian film industry professionals including Barbara Willis-Sweete (Rhombus Media), Zach Feldberg (Showcase), Mike McConnell (Magnetic North) and Jasper Graham (Futureshorts Canada) selected the festival award recipients.

[edit] Books about Cabbagetown

  • Cabbagetown, Hugh Garner (novel)
  • Cabbagetown Store, J.V.McAree (short stories)
    • Ryerson Press (1953) (113 pages)
  • Cabbagetown: The story of a Victorian neighbourhood, Penina Coopersmith

[edit] See also

[edit] External links



NW: St. Jamestown North:Rosedale NE: Greektown
West: Church and Wellesley Cabbagetown East: Riverdale
SW: Moss Park South: Regent Park, Corktown SE: South Riverdale
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