The Junction
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The Junction, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that derives its name from two native trails which intersected in the area prior to European settlement. The name took on additional meaning later, as it was near the junction of four railway lines in the area known as the West Toronto Diamond. The centre of the area is Dundas Street West and Keele Streets.
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[edit] History
Much of the area that is now the Junction once was the site of the Carleton Race Course from 1857-1876. The track was the site of the first Queen's Plate. In the 1880s, the area was developed by Daniel Webster Clendenan, and the two main straightaways of the track are now High Park Avenue and Pacific Avenue.
The Village of West Toronto Junction was founded in 1884 at the intersection of Dundas and Keele Streets.[1] In 1889, it merged with the nearby villages of Carleton and Davenport to become the Town of West Toronto Junction. It grew further, into the Town of Toronto Junction in 1892, then the City of West Toronto in 1908 before it was annexed by the City of Toronto one year later in 1909.
The Junction was a manufacturing community that boomed during the late 1800s. Foundries, mills, wire factories, and industries, such as Canadian Cycle & Motor Co., Dominion Showcase and the Heintzman piano company began moving into the area. Other firms came because land, labour and taxes were cheaper than in Toronto. These factors also attracted many immigrant or second generation Irish Catholics to the area, many of whom moved there from then poor, crowded tenement housing in areas of the city such as Cabbagetown and Brockton Village during the 1880s. Many also came from working-class English industrial cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. They were soon followed by many Macedonian and Croatian immigrants, many of whom worked in the meat industry.
The Junction was prone to booms and busts during its tumultuous history; while the period between 1888 and 1890 was a prosperous one, the period between 1893 and 1900 saw significant poverty in the area due to an economic recession. The Great Depression saw the closing of factories and the end to construction in the area, and the municipality could not support its citizens because of a large civic debt.
Pubs and taverns became permanent fixtures in The Junction, as was the case with many railway and factory workers' towns. By 1903, alcohol was such a serious problem for families and a public embarrassment (as drunks were visible from passing trains), that the town voted to go dry in 1904. This bylaw was not repealed until 1997. It was the last area of Toronto to do so.
Toronto annexed The Junction in 1909 and the two have gradually grown together, though residents have retained their community identity and remained very loyal to the neighbourhood, despite further economic hardship. Indeed, the commercial stretch of Dundas Street was all but abandoned until quite recently. The prohibition law dissuaded restaurants from establishing themselves there, and bars were not permitted
The Junction Triangle (bounded by Keele, St. Clair, and Dundas Streets) was for many decades the location of the Ontario Stockyards. For a time, this was Canada's largest livestock market and the centre of Ontario's meat-packing industry, and reinforced Toronto's nickname as Hogtown. The Ontario Stockyards closed at this site in 1993 (moving to Cookstown, much further north of the city), and most of the meat-packing plants that surrounded it closed shortly thereafter. There are still some meat-packing facilities in the area, however, contributing to a signature odour of the tanning and rendering process. The former Stockyards site is now the location of a large bloc of warehouse-style retail outlets, including Dominion Stores (Ontario), Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Future Shop and Rona, along with several smaller stores, and the name "Stockyards" has evolved to describe this new shopping area. Immediately surrounding the retail core, new residential developments, primarily mid- to upscale- rowhouses, are helping to revitalize this neighbourhood. Various inns and hotels that have since been established in the area also assist economic stimulation in the form of tourism. Many residents now fear continued gentrification, as wealthy or pseudo-poor (middle-class earners who live as and identify with low-income residents) Torontonians move into the area.
Since the early 1920s, the area by Dundas and St. John's Rd. has been known as "Little Malta" (getting signs to that effect in the 1990s) with several Maltese-Canadian businesses present, as well as a distinctly Maltese church. The Maltese-Canadian community has partially spread out to Mississauga and other Toronto suburbs, but still has a visible presence in this area. [2]
As a consequence of the local abattoirs and other industries which produced volumes of toxic waste, the residents of the neighbourhood are highly concerned about pollution issues, and the city of Toronto has put significant efforts into cleaning up former industrial sites.
The elimination of prohibition has had a positive effect on the community, however. Rapid gentrification has meant new chic restaurants and bars have opened up along Dundas Street, attracting young hipsters, while lower rents make the neighbourhood appealing to artists. Some see The Junction as the next big "hip place to live" with a surplus of vacated industrial space and warehouse loft conversion possibilities.
[edit] Events
The Junction hosts a variety of public events during the year including:
- The Junction Arts Festival (September). 2008 marks the 16th Annual Junction Arts Festival.
- Participates in the Toronto city-wide Contact Photography Festival (May)
- Participates in the Toronto city-wide Cavalcade of Lights (December)
[edit] References
- ^ A Brief History of the Junction. West Toronto Junction Historical Society (2005-11-26). Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
- ^ Micallef, Shawn (2005-06-30). ""The Maltese have moved away from Little Malta, but their culture remains"". Eye Weekly.
[edit] External links
[edit] Community groups
- The annual Junction Arts Festival
- The Junction Business Improvement Association
- The West Toronto Junction Historical Society maintains archives of historical documents, pictures and other interesting information about this neighbourhood's rich past.
- The West Bend Community Association
- South Junction Triangle Residents Association
[edit] Historical photos
[edit] Neighbourhood profiles
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