Yorkville, Toronto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yorkville is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, well known for its shopping. It is a former village, annexed by the City of Toronto. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, and is considered part of the 'The Annex' neighbourhood officially.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1830 by entrepreneur Joseph Bloor (after whom Bloor Street, one of Toronto's main thoroughfares, is named), the Village of Yorkville began as a residential suburb. Its Victorian-style homes, quiet residential streets, and picturesque gardens survived into the 20th century, when it was annexed by the City of Toronto.
In the 1960s, Yorkville flourished as Toronto's bohemian cultural centre. It was the breeding ground for some of Canada's most noted musical talents, including Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot, as well as then-underground literary figures such as Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen and Dennis Lee. Yorkville was also known as the Canadian capital of the hippie movement. In 1968, nearby Rochdale College at the University of Toronto was opened on Bloor Street as an experiment in counterculture education. Those influenced by their time in 1960s-70s Yorkville include cyberpunk writer William Gibson.
[edit] Transition into high-end shopping district
After the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway the value of land nearby increased as higher densities were allowed by the City's official plan. Along Bloor Street, office towers, the Bay department store and the Holt Renfrew department store displaced the local retail. As real estate values increased in the 1980s and the 1990s, the residential homes north of Bloor along Yorkville were converted into high-end retail, including many art galleries, fashion boutiques and antique stores, and popular bars, cafes and eateries along Cumberland Street and Yorkville Avenue. Many buildings were demolished and condominium developments built. The counter-culture moved to the Queen Street West neighbourhood which had much lower rents and real estate values.
Today, some of the city's most exclusive retail stores line its streets, including Prada, Gucci, MAC Cosmetics, Hugo Boss, Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Holt Renfrew, Tiffany & Co., Ermenegildo Zegna, Cartier SA, Harry Rosen, Escada, Calvin Klein, Cole Haan, Vera Wang, Lacoste, Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Williams-Sonoma, Swarovski and other upscale designer boutiques.
In recent years, mid-market retailers have also begun to locate along the strip. In 2005 Winners and La Senza opened stores in prime locations on the strip, later followed by fcuk and H&M.
Yorkville is known for upscale shopping, restaurants, and the first five star hotel in Canada. Due to this, it has historically been an excellent place for celebspotting, especially in the Hazelton Lanes shopping complex. Since this became known, the celebrities once seen during the Toronto International Film Festival have migrated elsewhere and are now most often spotted in the entertainment district bars and after-hour clubs near the CITY-TV building.
Famed restaurant Sassafraz, which was situated in the heart of Yorkville, burned down on December 13, 2006. It underwent a full restoration and reopened in September 2007.
Yorkville is also home to some of Toronto's most expensive condominium most starting at over one million dollars, including: The Prince Arthur, Renaissance Plaza, 10 Bellair, One St. Thomas, Windsor Arms Hotel,The Hazelton Hotel & Residences,Hazelton Lanes and 1166 Bay St. Several new projects are underway in the area including the flagship Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residencesas well as a landmark development at the corner of Bloor and Yonge Streets known as 1 Bloor which, at 80 stories in height, will be the tallest residential building in Canada.
- Bloor Street Transformation Project
Beginning in 2008, the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area will update the street-scape from Church Street to Avenue Road. The objective is to create an enhanced pedestrian experience with widened sidewalks, mature trees, flower gardens, modern lighting and public art. Details of the project can be found at Bloor Street Transformation.
[edit] Gardens
Yorkville Park is a series of unique gardens located on the south side of Cumberland stretching west from Bellair. It was designed by Oleson Worland Architects in association with Martha Schwartz / Ken Smith / David Meyer Landscape Architects to celebrate the surrounding neighbourhood and reflect the diversity of the Canadian landscape.
At one end, a paved square of land is dotted with Scot's pines growing out of circular benches. Further west, is a set of metal archways among a row of crabapple trees. Next, there's a marshy wetland. A silver-coloured metal structure houses a waterfall bordering one side of a courtyard filled with benches and chairs, while a 650-tonne hunk of billion-year-old granite, cut out of the Canadian Shield and transported to the park in pieces, forms the other border.
The park has received the American Survey of Landscape Architects Award.
[edit] Events
Bloor-Yorkville has also become the home of some of Toronto's most exciting and dynamic events.
[edit] Shopping Centres
- Cumberland Terrace
- Hazelton Lanes
- Holt Renfrew
- Hudson Bay Centre
- Manulife Centre
[edit] Hotels
- Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
- Park Hyatt Toronto
- The Residence on Bay
- The Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto
- Marriott Toronto Bloor Yorkville
- The Hazelton Hotel & Residences
- InterContinental Toronto Yorkville
[edit] Restaurants
- ONE
- Prego Restaurant
- Sassafraz
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Annex neighbourhood profile
- "Yorkville, a hippie haven" - video clip from CBC Archives, first aired September 4, 1967
- Bloor Yorkville - business listing
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Forest Hill, Toronto |
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Rosedale, Toronto | |||||
 Yorkville, Toronto  |
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