| Garden District | |
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| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Ontario |
| City |  Toronto |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garden District |
The Garden District is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The name was selected by the Toronto East Downtown Residents Association (TEDRA) in recognition of Allan Gardens, an indoor botanical garden located nearby at the intersection of Carlton and Jarvis Streets. The Garden District was officially designated by the Mayor and Toronto City Council in 2001, while TEDRA has since been renamed the Garden District Residents Association. It is part of the 'Moss Park' greater neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood is bordered by Carlton Street to the north, Yonge Street to the west, Sherbourne Street to the east and Queen Street to the south. This area includes the southern part of Toronto’s Gay Village and Heritage Sites such as the McKenzie House Museum and the Merchandise Building.
History
This neighbourhood consists of two distinct areas:
- The western portion, from Yonge Street to Jarvis Street, was first subdivided at the time Toronto was incorporated as a city in 1834 from the McGill Estate (the owner John McGill died that year)[1]. This area quickly filled with overflow from central Toronto and includes a number of early, mostly non-government (especially religious) institutions such as the Metropolitan Methodist Church (Metropolitan United Church after church union in the 1920s), St Michael's Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Bishop's Palace, St. Michael's Choir School and St Michael's Hospital, places of entertainment such as Massey Hall, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, the Canon Theatre (formerly Pantages Theatre) and Maple Leaf Gardens as well as the Ryerson Model School (now a part of Ryerson University)
- The eastern portion from Jarvis Street to Parliament was largely subdivided later in the 1850s from the Jarvis Estate (Hazelburn)[2] and the Allan Estate (Moss Park)[3][4] with north-south streets based on the street grid of the original Town of York (then the St. Lawrence Ward). This area is largely residential with two parks (Moss Park and Allen Gardens) and a large number of local churches. Originally a very exclusive district, influence from poorer neighbourhoods to the east slowly depressed land value in the area. The portion to the east between Sherbourne and Parliament Streets had already been partially subdivided with a small number of streets based on the Cabbagetown grid creating Wilton Crescent (now part of Dundas Street), becoming identified with the Cabbagetown neighbourhood. Although the inspiration for the name Garden District comes from Allen Gardens, this neighbourhood is also called Moss Park.
The Garden District includes a mix of housing, from million-dollar condos, renovated Victorian villas, and Edwardian row houses to apartment co-operatives, subsidized housing units, and many hostels and shelters.
There is a substantial Francophone presence because of the area’s French-language institutions such as the Collège Français and Paroisse Sacré Cœur, a Roman Catholic parish.
A separate neighbourhood association, the McGill-Granby Village Resident's Association, represents the residents of the area around those two streets.
On May 18, 2007, local uproar arose over the demolition of a historical building at the corner of Shuter and George Streets, known as Walnut Hall. Constructed in 1856 and designated as a heritage site in 1997, the building was nonetheless neglected and began to collapse.[5]
References
- ^ The Estates of Old Toronto, Liz Lundell, 1997. ISBN 1-55046-219-9, Pg 51
- ^ The Estates of Old Toronto, Liz Lundell, 1997. ISBN 1-55046-219-9, Pg 54
- ^ The Estates of Old Toronto, Liz Lundell, 1997. ISBN 1-55046-219-9, Pg 56
- ^ Hayes, Derek (2008). "Historical Atlas of Toronto", Douglas & McIntyre Limited, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ISBN 978-1-55365-290-8 Pg 65
- ^ [1]
External links
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Church and Wellesley | |
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| Bay Street Corridor Discovery District |
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Regent Park Cabbagetown and Old Cabbagetown, Toronto |
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 Garden District  |
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| St. Lawrence |
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