The Junction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Junction, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that derives its name from a junction of four railway lines in the area known as the West Toronto Diamond. The centre of the area is Dundas St. and Keele St. The area has a growing Latin American population.
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[edit] History
The Village of West Toronto Junction was founded in 1884 at the intersection of Dundas and Keele Streets.[1] As it grew it became the Town of West Toronto Junction, then the Town of Toronto Junction in 1892, then the City of West Toronto in 1908 before it became part of the City of Toronto.
The Junction was a manufacturing community that boomed during the late 1800s. Foundries, mills, wire factories, and industries, such as Wilkinson Plough, Dominion Showcase and the Heintzman Piano Co. began moving into the area. Other firms came because land, labour and taxes were cheaper than in Toronto. These factors also attracted many immigrant or second generation Irish Catholics to the area, many of whom moved there from then poor, crowded tenement housing in areas of the city such as Cabbagetown and Brockton Village during the 1880s. Many also came from working-class English industrial cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. They were soon followed by many Macedonian immigrants, many of whom worked in the meat industry.
The Junction was prone to booms and busts during its tumultuous history; while the period between 1888 and 1890 was a prosperous one, the period between 1893 and 1900 saw significant poverty in the area due to an economic recession. The Great Depression saw the closing of factories and the end to construction in the area, and the municipality could not support its citizens because of a large civic debt.
Pubs and taverns became permanent fixtures in The Junction, as was the case with many railway and factory workers' towns. By 1903, alcohol was such a serious problem for families and a public embarrassment (as drunks were visible from passing trains), that the town voted to go dry in 1904. This bylaw was not repealed until 2000. It was the last area of Toronto to do so.
Toronto annexed The Junction in 1909 and the two have gradually grown together, though residents have retained their community identity and remained very loyal to the neighbourhood, despite further economic hardship. Indeed, the commercial stretch of Dundas Street was all but abandoned until quite recently. The prohibition law dissuaded restaurants from establishing themselves there, and bars were not permitted.
The elimination of the prohibition has had a positive effect on the community, however. New restaurants and bars have opened up along Dundas Street, attracting young hipsters, while lower rents make the neighbourhood appealing to artists. Some see The Junction as the next big "hip place to live".
The Junction Triangle (bounded by Keele, St. Clair, and Dundas Streets) was for many decades the location of the Ontario Stockyards. This was Canada's largest livestock market, the centre of Ontario's meat-packing industry, and the source of Toronto's nickname as Hogtown. The Ontario Stockyards closed at this site in 1993 (moving to Cookstown, much further north of the city), and most of the meat-packing plants that surrounded it closed shortly thereafter. There are still some meat-packing facilities in the area, however, contributing to a signature odour of the tanning and rendering process. The former Stockyards site is now the location of a large bloc of warehouse-style retail outlets, including Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Future Shop and Rona, along with several smaller stores, and the name "Stockyards" has evolved to describe this new shopping area. Immediately surrounding the retail core, new residential developments, primarily mid- to upscale- rowhouses, are helping to revitalize this neighborhood. Various inns and hotels that have since been established in the area also assist economic stimulation in the form of tourism.
Since the second World War, the area along Dundas well west of Keele (to Jane Street)is known as "Little Malta" with several Maltese-Canadian businesses present. The Maltese-Canadian community has partly moved out to Mississauga and other suburbs, but still has a visible presence in this area. [2] As a consequence of the location of abattoirs and other industries that produced volumes of toxic waste, the residents of the neighborhood are highly concerned about pollution issues, and the city of Toronto has put significant efforts into cleaning up former industrial sites.
[edit] References
- ^ A Brief History of the Junction. West Toronto Junction Historical Society (2005-11-26). Retrieved on "2007-01-09.
- ^ Micallef, Shawn (2005-06-30). ""The Maltese have moved away from Little Malta, but their culture remains"". Eye Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Community groups
- The Junction BIA The business association for the Junction.
- Junction Historical Society maintains archives of historical documents, pictures and other interesting information about this neighbourhood's rich past.
- The Junction Arts Festival The Annual Junction Arts Festival
[edit] Historical photos
| Former municipalities of Toronto | ||
|---|---|---|
| Municipalities amalgamated in... | ||
| 1998 | East York · Etobicoke · North York · Scarborough · Toronto · York · Metropolitan Toronto |  |
| 1967 | Forest Hill · Leaside · Long Branch · Mimico · New Toronto · Swansea · Weston | |
| 1883– 1912 |
1912: Dovercourt · Earlscourt 1910: Moore Park · North Toronto 1909: Bracondale · Midway · West Toronto · Wychwood 1908: Deer Park · East Toronto 1905: Rosedale 1890: Bedford Park · Davisville · Eglinton 1889: Parkdale 1888: Seaton Village 1884: Brockton · Riverdale 1883: Yorkville | |
