Runnymede-Bloor West Village
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Runnymede-Bloor West Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada located north of Bloor Street West between Jane Street and Runnymede Road north to Dundas Street West. It is located directly north of the Swansea and west of the High Park North neighbourhoods. Located along Bloor Street is Canada's first 'business improvement area' (BIA), "Bloor West Village."
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[edit] Character
Homes in this neighbourhood are generally two story brick houses, however renovations are becoming popular and many of the traditional homes are being torn down to create larger, more modern homes. The tree-lined streets in this area, which was annexed by the city of Toronto in 1909 make this a popular residential neighbourhood. Much of its development is owed to the creation of a streetcar line along Bloor Street, which the TTC later replaced by the Bloor-Danforth subway line, built in the 1960s with stations at Runnymede and Jane Streets.
The neighourhood's first residents were largely Irish and Anglo-Saxon, followed eventually by immigrants of Eastern European origin.[1] The ethnicity of the area, as recorded in the 2001 Census of Canada is still largely English, Irish and Scottish. The largest Eastern European groups are Ukrainian and Polish.[2] The 2006 Census of Canada estimated the number of residents within the neighbourhood as 9,565.[3]
The major streets are Bloor Street, a four-lane arterial road, running east-west along the south of the neighbourhood. The area is bound by Jane Street to the west, Annette Street to the north and Clendenan Avenue to the east.
[edit] Bloor West Village BIA
Bloor West Village is the world's first business improvement area (BIA), established in 1970. It encompasses all businesses along Bloor Street between Jane Street and Ellis Park Road. It now consists of more than 400 shops, restaurants and services. The organization promotes business activity in the area by holding several annual events and festivals. It also puts efforts into the beautification of the area. The Bloor West Village BIA used to host a Ukrainian Festival, but in 2007 it moved to downtown Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.
The BIA has promoted a healthy shopping district on Bloor Street. One will find retailers such as Trixie's, Max's Market, Signature Shoes and New Balance, as well as world-class restaurants such as Villa, Bloom and Yumi Sushi. Additionally, the area is known for its coffee shops, as it is home to two Starbucks, two Timothy's, a Second Cup and a local coffee enterprise called the Coffee Tree.
[edit] Runnymede Theatre
A great furor accompanied the arrival of a Chapters bookstore in the late 1990s. Aside from discontent about the effect of a large bookstore undermining older local businesses, many residents were upset that the local historic movie theatre was going to be gutted to make room for the new store. However, the arrival of Chapters allowed restoration of the historical Runnymede Theatre. At the time Chapters was the only company willing to make the $5 million investment necessary to restore the building.
[edit] References
- ^ Bloor West Village. Bloor West Village Business Improvement Area. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ Runnymede 2001 Social Profile. Retrieved on 2008-05-07..
- ^ Runnymede-Bloor West Village Social Profile. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
[edit] External links
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Lambton Baby Point | High Park North | ||||||
Runnymede-Bloor West Village | |||||||
Swansea |