De Grassi Street

De Grassi Street is a sidestreet located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named after Captain Filippo "Philip" De Grassi, an Italian-born soldier who emigrated to Canada with his family in 1831 and settled in York, Upper Canada. He later became a member of the Family Compact.^[1]

De Grassi Street is located in south Riverdale, and has a residential character. It runs one-way northbound from Queen Street East to Gerrard Street, approximately halfway between Broadview and Carlaw Avenues.

Neighbourhoods

• Queen-Broadview Village — at Queen Street
• East Chinatown — at Gerrard Street.

Attractions

• Jimmie Simpson Park - named after former Toronto mayor James Simpson
• Bruce Mackey Park - named after a Toronto District School Board educator whose house was used in the Kids of Degrassi Street.
• First Nations Public School
• Eastdale Collegiate Institute

In fiction

The street was made famous by the Degrassi series of television shows for youth. Producers of the show slightly altered the spelling of the street's name. The first Degrassi series, The Kids of Degrassi Street on CBC Television, was set on the street with some exterior shots in the actual neighbourhood, but was filmed elsewhere:

• 68 Daisy Avenue - Vincent Massey School in Mimico - Degrassi Junior High
• Centennial College - 951 Carlaw Ave (Centre for Creative Communication) - Degrassi High

The current Degrassi series, Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is largely shot on a studio backlot, is seen on CTV (first run 2001-2009; syndication 2001–present), CTV Two (syndication), and MuchMusic (first run 2010–present) in Canada, and on TeenNick (formerly The N; entire run) and MTV (syndication) in the United States.

References