Palmerston-Little Italy | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
Coordinates: 43°39′30″N79°25′00″W / 43.65833°N 79.41667°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
City | Toronto |
Population (2021) [1] | |
• Total | 13,120 |
• Density | 9,601/km2 (24,870/sq mi) |
Palmerston-Little Italy is a neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its boundaries, according to the City of Toronto, are by Bathurst Street to the east, Bloor Street to the north, Dovercourt Road to the west and College Street to the south. It is a mature downtown neighbourhood. Within this official neighbourhood of the City of Toronto are two neighbourhoods, Palmerston and Little Italy and the commercial enclave of Mirvish Village.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Ontario provincial and Metropolitan Toronto governments proposed running a six-lane north–south expressway to the east of Grace Street. This was an extension of Highway 400 and would have gone from a proposed Crosstown Expressway in the vicinity of Davenport and Dupont, south to the Gardiner Expressway. In the 1960s, opposition to the Spadina, Crosstown and Christie expressway projects led the then City of Toronto to oppose the Christie and Crosstown projects. After the cancellation of the Spadina Expressway by the province, the Crosstown and Christie expressway projects were abandoned as well. Son to Italian immigrants, Johnny Lombardi founded one of the first multilingual radio stations in Canada, CHIN in 1966, in Palmerston–Little Italy. [2] [3]
The neighbourhood is primarily residential, consisting mainly of residential side streets full of semi-detached homes, mostly built in the early 20th century.
The major streets are Bloor Street to the north, running east–west, a four-lane arterial road commercial in nature. Bloor Street has many commercial storefronts and businesses. To the east is Bathurst Street, running north–south, another four-lane arterial road with mostly residences along both sides. Running east–west is Harbord Street, a four-lane arterial road with a mix of residences and commercial storefronts and restaurants. Also running east–west is College Street a four-lane arterial road with a vibrant commercial strip named Little Italy, one of the original ethnically Italian districts of Toronto. To the west, north–south streets include Ossington Avenue, a four-lane arterial road, mainly residential and Dovercourt Road, a four-lane road, entirely residential.
Total population (2021): 13,120 [1]
Major ethnic populations (2021):
Total population (2016): 13,826 [4]
Major ethnic populations (2016):
Total population (2011): 13,746 [5]
Major ethnic populations (2011):
Total population (2006): 13,745 [6]
Major ethnic populations (2006):
Total population (2001): 14,740 [7]
Major ethnic populations (2001):
Notable landmarks in the neighbourhood include:
Mirvish Village is a commercial enclave on Markham Street, which is one block west of Bathurst Street, and encompasses the two sides of the street and back alleys for one block south of Bloor Street. The entire city block on each side is about to undergo a major transformation. [8]
The area that makes up Mirvish Village is made up of a series of former Victorian homes on Markham Street which housed independently owned shops, art studios, cafes, bookstores, boutiques and galleries. Between 1959 and 1963, the late Ed Mirvish of Honest Ed's bought up the east side of the block, immediately south of his store, with the intention of tearing down the houses and building a customer parking lot. Toronto's municipal government refused to issue a building permit; therefore, Mirvish converted the buildings into art studios and galleries with the help of his wife, Anne, a sculptor. Later, he purchased the houses on the other side of the street. His son owned the David Mirvish Gallery, which opened in 1963 as one of Mirvish Village's first shops and which continued for 15 years; along with David Mirvish Books which continued for several more years. [9]
A new chapter began with the Honest Ed's / Mirvish Village Proposed Redevelopment project, designed by Vancouver Architect Gregory Henriquez is scheduled to complete construction in 2023. [10] 23 buildings are considered heritage and will be preserved and renovated inside. The retail storefronts will remain small and varied. The heritage buildings on the east side will have both affordable and market rental apartment buildings behind them. A pedestrian marketplace and “Honest Ed’s Alley” are proposed on the east side and a park and daycare will be included on the west side. [11] Honest Ed's was demolished in 2016.
Secular English-oriented public schools in Palmerston–Little Italy are operated by the Toronto District School Board. In addition to the Toronto District School Board, three other publicly funded school boards operate in Toronto. The publicly funded English-oriented separate schools in Toronto are operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Secular French-oriented public schools are provided by Conseil scolaire Viamonde, whereas French-oriented public separate school are provided by Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir. However, the latter school board does not operate a school in the neighbourhood. Public schools in the area include:
The Kingsway is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Dundas Street to the north, the Mimico Creek to the west and the Humber River to the east. The neighbourhood was officially known as Kingsway Park, which later became replaced by its nickname the Kingsway. In this neighbourhood, the Kingsway specifically refers to a two-lane road beginning in the south-east corner of the neighbourhood extending northerly in a north-west direction past Dundas Street.
Little Italy, sometimes referred to as College Street West, is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin-Canadian and Portuguese-Canadian community in the area. The district is centred on a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along College Street, imprecisely between Harbord Street and Dundas Street, and spreading out east and west between Bathurst Street and Ossington Avenue. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of Palmerston-Little Italy.
Yehuda Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, was an American-Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store in downtown Toronto, and as a patron of the arts, instrumental in revitalizing the theatre scene in Toronto.
Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operate until it permanently closed on December 31, 2016.
Allen Road, formally known as William R. Allen Road, is a short municipal expressway and arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It starts as a controlled-access expressway at Eglinton Avenue West, heading north to just south of Transit Road, then continues as an arterial road north to Kennard Avenue, where it continues as Dufferin Street. Allen Road is named after Metro Toronto chairman William R. Allen and is maintained by the City of Toronto. Landmarks along the road include the Lawrence Heights housing project, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Downsview Park, and Downsview Airport. A section of the Line 1 Yonge–University subway is located within the median of the expressway from Eglinton Avenue to north of Wilson Avenue.
Bathurst is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station, which opened in 1966, is located on Bathurst Street just north of Bloor Street West. It is a major transfer point for both bus and streetcar routes, including the 511 Bathurst route, which provides services to Exhibition Place.
The cancelled expressways in Toronto were a planned series of expressways in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that were only partially built or cancelled due to public opposition. The system of expressways was intended to spur or handle growth in the suburbs of Toronto, but were opposed by citizens within the city of Toronto proper, citing the demolition of homes and park lands, air pollution, noise and the high cost of construction. The Spadina Expressway, planned since the 1940s, was cancelled in 1971 after being only partially constructed. After the Spadina cancellation, other expressway plans, intended to create a 'ring' around the central core, were abandoned.
Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 at the western limits of Mississauga, as a continuation of Lower Baseline in Milton. It traverses the midsection of both cities and ends at Kingston Road. Eglinton Avenue is the only street to cross all six former cities and boroughs of Metropolitan Toronto.
Bathurst Street is a main north–south arterial road 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.
Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's northern boundary at Steeles Avenue with some discontinuities and continues into Vaughan, where it is designated York Regional Road 53. The street is named for Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who served as Governor General of Canada from 1872 to 1878. Prior to 1878, the street was labelled as Western City Limits or Sideline Road south off Bloor. In 2003 and 2007, it was voted as one of "Ontario's Worst 20 Roads" in the Ontario's Worst Roads poll organized by the Canadian Automobile Association.
Palmerston Boulevard is a residential street located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, two blocks west of Bathurst Street, between Koreatown and Little Italy. The street is bounded by stone and iron gates both at Bloor Street and College Street. Notably, it is lit with symmetrically placed cast-iron lamps and canopied by mature silver maple trees. The name Palmerston continues south as Palmerston Avenue from College Street to Queen Street.
Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
Dufferin Grove is a neighbourhood located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered by Bloor Street West to the north, Ossington Ave to the east, College Street to the south, and Dufferin Street to the west.
Lansdowne Avenue is an arterial road in Toronto, Ontario. It runs north–south and starts at Queen Street West and proceeds north to St. Clair Avenue West. Lansdowne Avenue is primarily a four-lane arterial road, with two lanes regularly used for motor vehicle parking.
Harbord Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies just to the west of the University of Toronto, with its most commonly accepted borders being Bloor Street on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, College Street to the south, and Bathurst Street to the west. Areas west of Bathurst, as far as Ossington are also sometimes included, though they are not covered by the residents' association. The area was previously known as Sussex-Ulster, after two of the major east west streets in the area. In 2000 the residents' association decided to rename itself and the area Harbord Village, after the main street running through the middle of the community. The street's name origin is unclear but could be named for abolitionist Edward Harbord, 3rd Baron Suffield.
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.
The Harbord streetcar line was an east-west line within the Toronto streetcar system. The route was named after Harbord Street even though only a small portion of the route was along the namesake street. One distinct characteristic of the route was its zip-zag nature, making many 90-degree turns onto the various streets along its route. The route was retired in 1966 when the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) opened the Bloor–Danforth subway line, the city's first east-west subway line.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien praised Lombardi's accomplishments upon hearing of his death. "I think he's done a lot to establish multiculturalism in Toronto and he will be missed by a lot of people," Chretien said.