Parkdale, Toronto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parkdale | |
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| City | Toronto |
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| Province | Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Settled | ca 1850 |
| Incorporated | 1879 |
| Annexed | 1889 into City of Toronto |
Parkdale is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. It is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Fermanagh Avenue from Roncesvalles on the west to the rail lines leading south-east to Dufferin Street, where it meets the railway at Queen. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street leading to the south, and on the south by Lake Ontario. This section is roughly one square kilometer in area.
It was founded as a village in 1879, joining Toronto in 1889. It was an upper income residential area for the first half of the 20th Century, with several notable mansions. The area changed dramatically with the building of the Gardiner expressway, creating a barrier between the neighbourhood and the lakeshore. This led to both an outflux of prosperous residents west, and a decline in the economy. Most of the residential buildings remain, but the composition of the residents is much different, including a higher proportion of lower incomes. Today, it is a working class neighbourhood, having problems associated with poverty, but is also an area of considerable artistic activity.
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[edit] Main Streets
Queen Street West running east-west is the primary commercial street of the neighbourhood. It is four lanes and the buildings are predominantly 2-3 storey buildings, often with apartments on the upper floors. It ends at Roncesvalles, meeting King Street and the Queensway at the 'Sunnyside' intersection. It continues to the east to downtown. The Parkdale section of Queen Street has a Business Improvement Association and has named section the "Parkdale Village."
King Street West, running east-west is a major street continuing to the east to Toronto's downtown, ending to the west at Sunnyside. From Roncesvalles east, it curves along the original shoreline, which is about 30 feet above and 100 yards inland from the current shoreline. The south side in that area is open, with views of the Lake. It is predominantly residential, with a commercial section around the intersection with Dufferin Street.
Dufferin Street, running north-south is a major street starting from the CNE to the south, north to Queen Street, where it intersects the railway. The street continues one block to the north and continues north to north of Toronto. It is mixed commercial and residential. South of King along the east side is an old industrial area with loft-type industrial buildings.
Lansdowne Avenue, running north-south from Queen Street north to St. Clair Avenue. It is predominantly a residential street.
Jameson Avenue, running north-south from Queen Street south to Lakeshore Boulevard. It is predominantly a residential street of apartment buildings. There are two schools located on Jameson, Parkdale Collegiate, near Queen, and Queen Victoria Public, just south of King Street.
[edit] Public Transit
There are several routes serving Parkdale. Along Queen and King Streets, streetcars provide service. Along Lansdowne Avenue and Dufferin Street, bus service is provided, connecting to the Bloor-Danforth subway to the north. The 504 King streetcar route along King Street connects to Dundas West station via Roncesvalles Avenue.
[edit] History
The Village of Parkdale was founded in 1879, but settlement of the area predated its foundation, starting with the rail line built along the lake in the 1850s and a train station at the intersection of Springhurst and Jameson Avenues. A census of residents showed 783 residents of the area, more than enough for the legal requirement of 750 at the time. A local legend is that Gypsies were signed up as local residents to provide enough numbers. Parkdale's status as an independent village was controversial at the time, and was opposed by the City of Toronto and the York County councils.
It was purely a residential suburb, home to large Victorian mansions and views of Lake Ontario. In 1884, the Village council passed a bylaw to join Toronto, to be annexed by the City of Toronto, as the village was in fact surrounded by the city of Toronto. The act did not take place immediately as the Village's finances were not in order. Liabilities of the village were not clearly stated in the village's financial statements. On October 27, 1888, another vote was held and the annexation was upheld. The village was annexed by the City of Toronto in March 1889.
Good examples of Victorian housing can still be found on Cowan Avenue and Dunn Avenue, south of King Street. Victorian row homes with original gaslights can also be seen on Melbourne Place.
The area was served by two rail lines and two rail stations. The first station of the Great Western line close in 1909 to open the larger 'Sunnyside' station at King and Queen Streets. At Queen and Dufferin streets, the Canadian Pacific operated the Parkdale station.
[edit] 'Sunnyside Years'
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Parkdale's desirability stemmed from its proximity to the lake, the Canadian National Exhibition to the east and the popular Sunnyside Beach at the foot of Roncesvalles to the west. From 1911 to 1992, the Toronto Harbour Commission improved the lakefront extending the shoreline from the rail line 100 metres south, with a breakwater and boardwalk.
Sunnyside Amusement Park was opened in 1922, providing a popular day vacation for Torontonians. Cottage industries sprung up in the neighbourhood, creating a vital economic region. Movie theatres were opened, such as the Brighton on Roncesvalles and the Odeon on Queen Street to the east of Roncesvalles. Hotels like the Edgewater flourished.
In 1905, the Parkdale Canoe Club (today known as the Boulevard Club) opened. When built, it was on a pier extending out into the lake. As part of the infill project, it became situated inland. To the east of the current building, a baseball and lacrosse field existed. It was the site of a popular women's softball league for many years.
The Palais Royale at the eastern edge of Sunnyside Beach opened in 1922 as a canoe factory and dance hall. Many important big bands played there in the 1930s and the 1940s, and this attracted a large youth patronage. Many war generation Torontonians courted their future partners in this building. The Palais Royale operates today as a special occasion hall and is a favourite venue for bands, including the Rolling Stones, who played a 2002 concert there, and has been the location for live recordings by Sloan and Downchild Blues Band.
[edit] 1950s - 1970s Gardiner Expressway and Urban Changes
In 1955, the city began work on the Gardiner Expressway, a limited access highway. The Sunnyside Amusement Park was demolished, except for the Bathing Pavilion and the Palais Royale hall. The southern section of Parkdale to the west of Dufferin, south of the Great Western railway was also demolished. Parkdale was now separated from Lake Ontario and Sunnyside Beach and the expressway effectively halved the amount of usable lakeside parkland. A reorganization of the area's residential streets was also done. Patronage of the beach declined rapidly.
Both the Parkdale and Sunnyside train stations closed during the 1970s. Since this time, Exhibition station at the CNE is the only train station operating in the neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood changed greatly after the highway was completed and the park closed. Population density increased with the building of numerous apartment buildings. Jameson Avenue, which became the conduit to the highway changed from single family homes to a street of apartment buildings, many cheaply built. Nearby, many of the mansions and large houses became makeshift low-rise 'bachelorette' apartment buildings and rooming houses. Several had operated as tourist hotels for visitors to Sunnyside and the CNE. Industrial activity declined along the railways. One former industrial site on West Lodge Avenue became a two-tower apartment complex that has repeatedly been cited by the City for various by-law infractions. Businesses suffered during the transition, with leisure-type businesses compatible with the Park, such as the Brighton and Odeon theatres closing. Along Queen Street, which saw traffic decline substantially, saw many businesses close or change hands.
[edit] 1980s: Absorption of Out-patients
In the mid 1980s, the Ontario provincial government decided to release many long-term care mental illness patients from its Queen Street and Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital facilities as a cost-cutting measure. The old Victorian mansions of Parkdale had long been converted to boarding houses, and were only a short distance away from both hospitals. The inexpensive rental stock of Parkdale soon became home to many of the released patients. While this migration did not create any significant problems, the news drew greater negative attention to the area.[citation needed] By the late 1980s, "Parkdale" became synonymous with poverty, crime, drugs, homelessness, and large numbers of people living with mental illness. Parkdale Village is still home to some soup kitchens and day centres for the homeless. A pilot programme for a needle exchange is new to the area.
[edit] Challenges of Today
Parkdale is one of the most diverse areas of the city, with many new immigrants finding their first homes here, due to the lower rents. The presence of a large immigrant community has done much to create the vibrancy that Parkdale is known for. This may be a fact of the streetscape in Parkdale, but it remains an area rife with substandard rental apartment buildings (a large percentage of Parkdale residents are renters) run by landlords who are considered slumlords by many local residents. Perceived inaction by different levels of government has prevented the situation from improving; in fact, conditions are deteriorating as the buildings get older with each passing year. Unlike Regent Park, which is located on the east side of downtown, there is no urban renewal project in the works for Parkdale.
However, Parkdale is seeing increasing signs of gentrification, as Queen Street West's sphere of influence extends further westward. "Hipster" cafés, lounges, restaurants, condominiums, shops and art galleries are cropping up, and former "dive" hotels such as the Drake and the Gladstone have recently been purchased and renovated in a trendy manner. Local taverns have begun receiving new patronage from artists and urbanites seeking refuge from the fashion boutiques further east on Queen Street West. The area is also becoming a new gay village. The gentrification is in part fuelled by local area gay couples coming into the area to buy and renovate the properties. As a result, the area has the alternate nickname of "Queer West Village". [1] Real estate prices in Parkdale are booming, and the area is one of the hottest markets in the downtown core, with buyers attracted to its downtown location, parks, and proximity to Lake Ontario and the Gardiner Expressway.
The area that extends northward along Roncesvalles Avenue has seen a turnover to a mix of residents with a younger average age and higher proportion of families compared to the neighbourhoods to the west. A significant amount of renovation of the older homes has occurred and property values have risen accordingly. Some of the older, family-run businesses have closed, and new restaurants, bars and shops have opened up in their place.
[edit] Notable Events
- 1750 - building of Fort Rouillé by French troops at foot of Dufferin Street, in modern-day CNE lands
- 1759 - Fort Rouillé is abandoned and destroyed at end of Seven Years War
- 1793 - Toronto, then known as York, is established by John Graves Simcoe
- 1853 - construction of Great Western railway along waterfront and first train station
- 1879 - incorporation of Village of Parkdale
- 1879 - founding of House for Incurables on Dunn Avenue
- 1881 - founding of Parkdale's first library at St. Mark's Church on Cowan Avenue
- 1885 - Parkdale train station built at Queen and Dufferin
- 1887 - Parkdale Municipal Building built at Queen and Cowan
- 1888 - founding of Parkdale Collegiate, Queen Victoria Public schools
- 1889 - annexation of Parkdale into City of Toronto
- 1898 - opening of Masaryk Hall
- 1909 - Sunnyside train station opens at Queen and Roncesvalles
- 1912 - founding of Canadian National Exhibition
- 1922 - opening of Sunnyside Beach and Amusement Park
- 1953-57 - construction of Gardiner Expressway, 170 houses are demolished in Parkdale, demolition of Sunnyside Amusement Park
- 1998 - opening of new Parkdale Community Health Centre at Queen and Gwynne
- 1998 - opening of Parkdale Arts and Cultural Centre at 1313 Queen Street
[edit] See also
[edit] References and Notes
- McLeod, Peter and McNeil, Malcolm, eds. (1979). Parkdale: A Centennial History.
- Laycock, Margaret (1991). Parkdale in Pictures: Its development to 1889. Toronto Public Library Board.
- Parkdale History. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
- PLEDC timeline. Retrieved on 2007-10-24.
[edit] External links
- Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation
- Roncesvalles MacDonnell Residents Association
- Parkdale Residents Association
- Parkdale history
- Parkdale Collegiate Institute
- West Lodge Parkdale Tenants Association
- The Former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital Project
- Parkdalian
- Toronto's Housing Projects (including pictures of Parkdale)
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