Fashion District, Toronto

Last updated

Fashion District
Neighbourhood
Fashion District Artwork.JPG
Symbols of the garment district.
Fashion District map.png
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Province Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario
City Toronto
Area
  Total0.462 km2 (0.178 sq mi)
Population
 (2021) [1]
  Total9,592
  Density20,762/km2 (53,770/sq mi)

The Fashion District (formerly known as the Garment District [2] ) is a commercial and residential district in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located between the intersection of Bathurst Street to the west, Spadina Avenue to the east, Queen Street West to the north and Front Street to the south. [3] Google Maps extends the district further east of Spadina Avenue to Peter Street. [4]

Contents

History

Historical population
YearPop.±%
20113,949    
20166,506+64.8%
20219,592+47.4%

The district's name is derived from the area's role in the garment industry. In the early 20th century, numerous textile and fabric factories and warehouses were located here due to the proximity and easy access to shipping and rail lines. [3] Garment enterprise owners commissioned the construction of multi-storey buildings to house their manufacturing operations. [5]

Clothing factories and warehouses originally occupied the Fashion District. Many of these buildings were later converted for other uses. Tower Building, Toronto.JPG
Clothing factories and warehouses originally occupied the Fashion District. Many of these buildings were later converted for other uses.

Once 80% of the city's Jewish community lived in the immediate area [2] resulting in the establishment of numerous Jewish delis, tailors, bookstores, cinemas, Yiddish theatres and synagogues. Many from this community worked in the garment industry. [3]

After World War II, much of that Jewish community moved further north, and the factories and warehouses began to be converted into other uses. Since the late 1980s, there has been extensive revitalization of the stretch of the Fashion District along Front Street between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street with disused railway land being reclaimed for high-end condominium, townhouse and retail development. [3]

Today

Today, many former warehouses/shops have been transformed into condos, restaurants, bars, or nightclubs. A prominent example of this is 580 King Street West - a nightclub known as Century Room that sits inside a Historical Building on King Street West. [6] [7] There are several buildings classified as Historical Buildings along King Street West and Queen Street West which builders have petitioned the city various times to demolish and turn into condos.

Future development

Seeing a spillover in condo developments from the adjacent Entertainment District, the Fashion District is starting to see an increase in the number of residential and multi-use developments.

Pemberton Group will develop 543 Richmond Street West on the corner of Portland. While details of the scope of the project have not yet been revealed, an early drawing from the city shows that the multi-phase project will have 476 units and 15 storeys per phase. A podium terrace will hold outdoor amenities which are yet to be determined. Toronto architecture firm Quadrangle will be responsible for the build.

One of the Fashion Districts many historical buildings will be demolished and replaced with condo developments. 73 Bathurst Street which occupies the block from Stuart to King along the east side of Bathurst Street will be torn down and developed by Timbercreek Developments, removing some of the neighbourhoods favourite small businesses including Banknote, and Grand and Clover Cocktail Co. It will still be a couple of years before this development begins but it is coming quickly just like many others.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest Hill, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Forest Hill is a neighbourhood and former village in Midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north of Downtown Toronto. The village was amalgamated into Toronto in 1967 and the area has retained its name as a neighbourhood. Along with other neighbourhoods such as Rosedale and The Bridle Path, it is one of Toronto's wealthiest neighbourhoods, with an average income, among income recipients 15 or older in private households, of $157,600 in Forest Hill South and $89,700 in Forest Hill North, compared to the $59,250 average income in Toronto's Census Metropolitan Area and $54,450 in Canada as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatowns in Toronto</span>

Toronto Chinatowns are ethnic enclaves in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses. These neighbourhoods are major cultural, social and economic hubs for the Chinese-Canadian communities of the region. In addition to Toronto, several areas in the Greater Toronto Area also hold a high concentration of Chinese residents and businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Street, Toronto</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east–west avenues of Toronto's and York County's grid pattern of major roads. The western section of Queen is a centre for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts. Over the past twenty-five years, Queen West has become an international arts centre and a tourist attraction in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbourfront, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Harbourfront is a neighbourhood on the northern shore of Lake Ontario within the downtown core of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Toronto waterfront, Harbourfront extends from Bathurst Street in the west, along Queens Quay, with its ill-defined eastern boundary being either Yonge Street or York Street. Its northern boundary is the Gardiner Expressway. Much of the district was former water lots filled in during the early 1900s to create a larger harbour district. After shipping patterns changed and the use of the Toronto harbour declined, the area was converted from industrial uses to a mixed-use district that is mostly residential and leisure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spadina Avenue</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Street (Toronto)</span> Thoroughfare in Canada

King Street is a major east–west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first streets laid out in the 1793 plan of the town of York, which became Toronto in 1834.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Street (Toronto)</span> Street in Toronto and York Region in Ontario, Canada

Bathurst Street is a main north–south thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It begins at an intersection of the Queens Quay roadway, just north of the Lake Ontario shoreline. It continues north through Toronto to the Toronto boundary at Steeles Avenue. It is a four-lane thoroughfare throughout Toronto. The roadway continues north into York Region where it is known as York Regional Road 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Street (Toronto)</span> Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

College Street is a principal arterial thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Canada, connecting former streetcar suburbs in the west with the city centre. The street is home to an ethnically diverse population in the western residential reaches, and institutions like the Ontario Legislature and the University of Toronto in the downtown core. At Yonge Street, College continues to the east as Carlton Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Front Street (Toronto)</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Front Street is an east–west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First laid out in 1796, the street is one of the original streets of the Town of York. The street was laid out along the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during that time. It remains an important street, with many important uses located along it, including the St. Lawrence Market, Meridian Hall, Union Station and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The eastern section of Front Street, in the West Don Lands, east of Cherry Street, is being rebuilt as a broad tree-lined boulevard, intended to be the pedestrian-friendly commercial spine of the new neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Quay (Toronto)</span> Street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada

Queens Quay is a prominent street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street was originally commercial in nature due to the many working piers along the waterfront; parts of it have been extensively rebuilt in since the 1970s with parks, condominiums, retail, as well as institutional and cultural development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niagara, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Niagara is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located south of Queen Street West; it is usually bordered by Strachan Avenue to the west, Bathurst Street to the east, and the railway corridor to the south, and so named because Niagara Street runs through the centre of it. The eastern portion of this area was first planned as the New Town Extension when Toronto was incorporated as a city. The area was developed as a residential area for the workers of industries located along the CN and CP railway corridors. It remains a working-class neighbourhood that has seen the development of new condominium apartment buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tip Top Tailors Building</span>

The Tip Top Tailors Building, now known as the 'Tip Top Lofts' is a former 1920s industrial building converted to condominium lofts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on 637 Lake Shore Boulevard West just west of Bathurst Street, near the waterfront. It was the former headquarters of Tip Top Tailors Ltd., a Canadian menswear retailer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CityPlace, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Ontario, Canada

CityPlace is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, within the former Railway Lands. When completed, this area will be the largest residential development ever created in Toronto. The area is bordered by Bathurst Street to the west, Lake Shore Boulevard to the south, and Front Street to the north and Blue Jays Way and Rogers Centre to the east. Cityplace is also a five-to-ten-minute walk from King Street West and Liberty Village and a ten-to-twenty-minute walk from Toronto's financial district. The neighbourhood is also home to the Canoe Landing Park, designed by famed Canadian writer and artist Douglas Coupland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Entertainment District</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Toronto Entertainment District is an area in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is concentrated around King Street West between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue. It is home to theatres and performing arts centres, the Toronto Blue Jays, and an array of cultural and family attractions. The area was also home to most of the nightclubs in downtown Toronto. They have mostly moved to King St west of Spadina Av just beside the Entertainment District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery District</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Discovery District is one of the commercial districts in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology. The district is roughly bounded by Bloor Street on the north, Bay Street on the east, Dundas Street on the south, and Spadina Avenue on the west.

The Garment District is a neighbourhood in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located primarily along Chabanel Street in the Ahuntsic neighbourhood of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough. The Chabanel Station (train) is located close by.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Lands</span> Redevelopment district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Railway Lands is an area in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally a large railway switching yard near the Toronto waterfront, including the CNR Spadina Roundhouse and the CPR John Roundhouse, it has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. The lands were owned and maintained by the Canadian National Railway and later transferred to the federal crown corporation Canada Lands Company. The area is bounded by Front Street, Yonge Street, Gardiner Expressway and Bathurst Street. The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the CityPlace neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called South Core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto streetcar system loops</span>

Turning loops of the Toronto streetcar system serve as termini and turnback points for streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The single-ended streetcars require track loops in order to reverse direction. Besides short off-street track loops these can also be larger interchange points, having shelters and driver facilities, or be part of a subway station structure for convenient passenger interchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markham Street, Toronto</span> Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Markham Street is a north–south residential street located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, one block west of Bathurst Street. Its northern end starts in the Seaton Village neighbourhood and it passes through Mirvish Village, Palmerston–Little Italy, Trinity–Bellwoods and ends at West Queen Street West at its south end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Chinatown, Toronto is a Chinese ethnic enclave located in the city's downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersections of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West.

References

  1. GeoSearch
  2. 1 2 City Planning Department. "Queen Street District History" (PDF). City of Toronto. Retrieved 2016-02-25. The section of Spadina between Queen and King Streets is known officially as the Garment District and more informally as home to the "rag trade." Once an area in which 80% of the city's Jewish population lived, Spadina today links the waterfront, with the Rogers Centre (formerly known as Skydome), Chinatown West and the University of Toronto. The area around Queen Street West continues to serve the garment industry.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Fashion District". Property Guide Toronto. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  4. "Fashion District, Toronto, ON, Canada" . Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  5. Dave Lebranc (18 February 2016). "Touring the Garment District designs of architect Benjamin Brown". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  6. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2020/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-156839.pdf
  7. "CENTURY ROOM TORONTO - Best Toronto Clubs" . Retrieved 2024-03-07.

43°38′42″N79°23′53″W / 43.645°N 79.398°W / 43.645; -79.398