Moss Park

Moss Park
Moss Park
Neighbourhood
	View of Moss Park from Queen Street East and Parliament Street
	The Moss Park towers all lie south of Shuter St, but the area north to Dundas is also sometimes considered part of the neighbourhood
	Location within Toronto
	Coordinates: 43°39′21″N79°22′02″W / 43.655709°N 79.367316°W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
City	Toronto

Last updated October 17, 2023

Moss Park is a residential neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.^[1] The area known as Moss Park is typically considered to be between Jarvis Street and Parliament Street, south of Dundas Street, an area dominated by public housing projects. According to one set of boundaries of the City of Toronto, it is roughly L-shaped, bounded on the north by Carlton Street to Parliament Street, on the east by Parliament Street to Queen Street East and the Don River, on the south by Eastern Avenue and Front Street, and on the west by Jarvis Street. This larger concept of the area includes the neighbourhoods known as Corktown and the Garden District, as well as a portion of Cabbagetown.

Character

'Moss Park', home of George Allan MossPark.jpg — 'Moss Park', home of George Allan

The neighbourhood is named for the abundant moss that grew on the original estate of the Allan family (which included William Allan and his son, George Allan), whose mansion stood on the west side of Sherbourne street, between Queen and Shuter streets.^[2] The Allan family's former mansion was later demolished during the 1960s 'urban renewal' redevelopment of the area into a housing project, with a large park and community centre on the site of the old estate.

Much of the Moss Park area was originally built to supply homes for the workers in the industrial area to the south of the neighbourhood. During the 1960s, a large number of these buildings were demolished to make way for the Moss Park public housing project, a group of three large towers at Queen and Parliament streets (run by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation).

The neighbourhood immediately around the housing complex is the area typically meant when referring to Moss Park today. This neighbourhood is comprised almost exclusively of rental units, and it houses many low-income families. According to Toronto Life , "Moss Park has long had a reputation among Torontonians as a notoriously downtrodden and dangerous neighbourhood." It is home to several homeless shelters.

The northeast corner of Jarvis and Queen streets is occupied by Moss Park Armoury, which is used by several regiments of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve. These include the 25 Field Ambulance, the 48th Highlanders of Canada, the 7th Toronto Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery, and the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Several cadet units also use the facility.

Along Queen Street, the predominant building style is the three to five-storey building, with retail businesses on the ground floor and walk-up apartments on upper floors.

Landmarks

Moss Park Armoury
252 Queen Street East – Kim's Convenience store front used by the television show of the same name

Transportation

The 501 Queen Street and 505 Dundas Street streetcar routes operate east-west in the neighbourhood. Bus routes include the 75 Sherbourne along Sherbourne from Rosedale to Queen's Quay, and the 65 Parliament Street bus from Castle Frank subway station south to the Esplanade.

The Ontario Line light metro line will have an underground station located in the neighborhood named Moss Park located under Queen Street East between George Street and Sherbourne Street. The line will provide a fast connection to Downtown Toronto, Exhibition Place, and transfers with three other lines in the Toronto subway network.

In popular culture

The neighbourhood is the main setting for the TV series Kim's Convenience ^[3] and features in many on-location shoots.

Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries, Season 15-episode 18, “Patriot Games” (set in the year 1909) includes a fictional Korean family with the surname Park. In the final moments of the episode the series pays homage to Moss Park, as the characters are brainstorming the creation of a Korean neighborhood in Toronto’s future.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Louis-McBurnie, Keisha St; Pagaling, Nikki Mary; Roberts, David J. (2021). "The work of crisis framing: Claims of social justice obscuring a history and, likely future, of uneven investment in Moss Park, Toronto". Journal of Urban Affairs. doi:10.1080/07352166.2020.1863816. ISSN 0735-2166.
↑ Robert C. Lee (20 August 2004). The Canada Company and the Huron Tract, 1826-1853: Personalities, Profits and Politics. Dundurn. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-896219-94-3.
↑ "Birds of a Feather". Kim's Convenience. Season 4. Episode 50. March 17, 2020.

External links

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[1] Louis-McBurnie, Keisha St; Pagaling, Nikki Mary; Roberts, David J. (2021). "The work of crisis framing: Claims of social justice obscuring a history and, likely future, of uneven investment in Moss Park, Toronto". Journal of Urban Affairs. doi:10.1080/07352166.2020.1863816. ISSN 0735-2166.

[Lee-2] Robert C. Lee (20 August 2004). The Canada Company and the Huron Tract, 1826-1853: Personalities, Profits and Politics. Dundurn. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-896219-94-3.

[3] "Birds of a Feather". Kim's Convenience. Season 4. Episode 50. March 17, 2020.

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v t e Neighbourhoods in Toronto
Old Toronto	Alexandra Park Allenby The Annex The Beaches Bedford Park Bickford Park Bloor West Village Bloor Street Culture Corridor Bloordale Village Bracondale Hill Brockton Village Cabbagetown Carleton Village Casa Loma Chaplin Estates Chinatown ( First Chinatown ) Christie Pits Church and Wellesley CityPlace Corktown Corso Italia Corso Italia-Davenport Davenport Davisville Village Deer Park Discovery District Distillery District Downtown Yonge Dovercourt Park Dufferin Grove Earlscourt East Bayfront East Chinatown East Danforth East Toronto Entertainment District Fashion District Financial District Forest Hill Garden District Gerrard India Bazaar Grange Park Greektown Harbord Village Harbourfront High Park North The Junction Junction Triangle Kensington Market Koreatown Lawrence Park Leslieville Liberty Village Little Italy Little Portugal Little Tibet Lytton Park Midtown Moore Park Moss Park Niagara North Toronto Norway Old Town Palmerston Parkdale Playter Estates Port Lands Quayside Queen Street West Railway Lands Regent Park Riverdale Roncesvalles Rosedale Runnymede St. James Town St. Lawrence Seaton Village South Hill South Core Summerhill Swansea Toronto Islands Trefann Court Trinity-Bellwoods Upper Beaches Uptown Toronto Wallace Emerson The Ward West Don Lands (Canary District) Wychwood Park Yonge–Eglinton Yorkville
North York	Amesbury Armour Heights Bathurst Manor Bayview Village Bayview Woods-Steeles Bermondsey Bridle Path Clanton Park Don Mills Don Valley Village Downsview Flemingdon Park Glen Park Graydon Hall Henry Farm Hillcrest Village Hoggs Hollow Humber Summit Humbermede Jane and Finch Lansing Lawrence Heights Lawrence Manor Maple Leaf Newtonbrook North York City Centre Parkway Forest Parkwoods Pelmo Park-Humberlea Pleasant View Rustic Teddington Park Victoria Village Westminster-Branson Willowdale York Mills York University Heights
Scarborough	Agincourt Armadale Bendale Birch Cliff Brown's Corners Clairlea Cliffcrest Cliffside Dorset Park Eglinton East Golden Mile Guildwood Highland Creek Ionview L'Amoreaux Malvern Maryvale Milliken Morningside Morningside Heights Oakridge Port Union Rouge Scarborough City Centre Scarborough Junction Scarborough Village Steeles Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan West Hill West Rouge Wexford Woburn
Etobicoke	Alderwood Clairville Eatonville The Elms Eringate-Centennial-West Deane Humber Heights-Westmount Humber Valley Village Humberwood Islington-City Centre West Kingsview Village The Kingsway Long Branch Markland Wood Mimico New Toronto Princess Gardens Rexdale Richview The Queensway-Humber Bay Smithfield Thistletown Thorncrest Village
York	Baby Point Fairbank Humewood–Cedarvale Lambton Little Jamaica Mount Dennis Oakwood Village Old Mill Rockcliffe–Smythe Silverthorn Tichester Weston
East York	Bermondsey Crescent Town Governor's Bridge Leaside O'Connor–Parkview Old East York Pape Village Thorncliffe Park
Italics indicate neighbourhoods now defunct. For information on the evolution of each neighbourhood in general, see History of neighbourhoods in Toronto.