Riverside (Toronto)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Riverside District, formerly known as the Queen Broadview Village is a small neighbourhood located within the larger neighbourhood of South Riverdale. Definite boundaries have never been drawn for Riverside, but according to the Riverside Business Improvement Area Plan's definitions it can be assumed that the borders are the Don River to the west, Gerrard St. East to the north, Logan Ave. to the east and Eastern Ave. to the south.
Riverside is a mixed income and largely multicultural neighbourhood currently experiencing a trend of gentrification along Queen St. East and Broadview Ave. While it is a small neighbourhood it's home to several places of note such as the former Don Destructor Toronto's only garbage incinerator and Don Mount Court a social housing project that was demolished in the fall of 2004 to make way for the planned community of Rivertowne. Unquestionably, the biggest landmark in the neighbourhood is the New Broadview House Hotel, a romanesque hotel constructed in 1893 that was the tallest structure in South Riverdale for several decades. Another major landmark for the neighbourhood is Toronto's East Chinatown (arguably a neighbourhood in itself) that encompasses the intersection of Broadview and Gerrard.
The area was once home to a large young population which is evident in the cluster of schools just east of Broadview Ave. Dundas Jr. Public School is the resident school for children in kindergarten through to fifth grade, after which they are transferred over to Queen Alexandra Sr. Public School which sees students through to eighth grade. It is also home First Nations School of Toronto, a cultural survival school that places heavy emphasis on aboriginal values and culture, and the current location of SEED Alternative Secondary School, Canada's first public alternative school.
