Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue; on the north by the CP Rail line where it crosses Queen Street and Dundas Street; on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south; and on the south by Lake Ontario. The original village incorporated an area north of Queen Street, east of Roncesvalles from Fermanagh east to the main rail lines, today known as part of the Roncesvalles neighbourhood. The village area was roughly one square kilometre in area. The City of Toronto government extends the neighbourhood boundaries to the east, south of the CP Rail lines, east to Atlantic Avenue, as far south as the CN Rail lines north of Exhibition Place, the part south of King Street commonly known as the western half of Liberty Village neighbourhood.
Parkdale was founded as an independent settlement within York County in the 1850s. It was incorporated as a village in 1879 and amalgamated with Toronto in 1889. It was an upper-income residential area for the first half of the 20th century, with several notable mansions. The area changed dramatically with the building of the Gardiner Expressway in 1955, which resulted in the demolition of the southern section of the neighbourhood and the Sunnyside Amusement Park, and the creation of a barrier between the neighbourhood and the north shore of Lake Ontario. A boom in apartment building construction followed, replacing whole blocks of homes with blocks of apartment buildings. Some of the older large residential buildings remain though many were converted into rooming houses. The demographic composition changed considerably, including a higher proportion of lower income and newcomer families. Today, it is a working-class neighbourhood, with a large percentage of low-income households concentrated in South Parkdale, and an entry point for new immigrants, most recently South Asians and Tibetan. The visible minority population in North Parkdale has changed overall to include fewer Asian, South Asian and Black residents between the census years 2006–2011 (GNR: 34%).
The area has a vibrant storefront commercial strip along Queen Street West that has seen an increase in restaurants and bars in the 2010s, increasing to the point that planning controls were put in place on the opening of new restaurants and bars from 2012.
Character Parkdale is primarily a residential area of the city, with semi-detached and detached homes predominating on most side streets. Many of the homes date from the 19th Century and early 20th Century. Around 1900, the area was a well-to-do suburb and many older mansions from around 1900 still exist, often converted to multi-unit buildings. Many of the residential streets have mature trees. Good examples of Victorian housing can still be found on Cowan Avenue and Dunn Avenue, south of King Street. Victorian-era row homes of Georgian Revival style with original gaslights can also be seen on Melbourne Place.
Parkdale has a higher-than-average proportion of rental housing. Several streets, notably Jameson Avenue and Tyndall Avenue have been converted to zones of apartment buildings. The apartment buildings mostly date from the 1950s through the 1970s, and have remained rental buildings while no large condominium projects have been built west of Dufferin Street.
Parkdale's commercial districts are along Queen Street West from Roncesvalles in the west to Dufferin Avenue in the east, and King Street West around Dufferin Street. Queen Street West has a large proportion of restaurants and bars, as well as local shops and art galleries. Commercial space is mostly storefronts oriented toward local customers.
The area has a lower amount of park land per resident compared to other parts of Toronto. Several streets have parkettes (small parks) built since the 1960s in an initiative to increase the amount of park land in the area.
Demographically, Parkdale is mixed in income and ethnicity. The neighbourhood has an above average percentage of renters and that number has increased since 2006 to 2011. The area contains some of the lowest-income persons in the city. Between 2006 and 2011, there was a decrease in the median income of Parkdale by 2.9%.Census Data (2006, 2011). Statistics Canada However, in 2011, there was an increase in the number of people earning within the range of $30,000 to $60,000. The large amount of rental stock is an entry point for immigrants to Toronto. The area has a significant group of musicians and visual artists, who often perform and exhibit locally.
To the south of Parkdale, the area is bordered by transportation uses, including the railway, Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard. South of the transportation corridor, the shoreline is mostly park land, with recreational clubs such as the Argonaut Rowing Club and Boulevard Club (formerly the Parkdale Canoe Club) on the water.
History The Village of Parkdale was founded in 1879, but settlement of the area predated its foundation. In 1812, the of land bounded from Lot Street (today's Queen Street) on the north, and Jameson on the west and Dufferin Avenue was granted to James Brock, the cousin of Sir Isaac Brock, in lieu of salary. Brock did not occupy or improve the land during his lifetime. After Brock's death in 1830, his widow Lucy Brock sold the lands which became the major part of Parkdale to John Henry Dunn and William Gwynne. The area north of Queen Street was subdivided from the O'Hara Estate, given to Walter O'Hara for military service. Another parcel of land north of Queen was given to James Brock, east of the O'Hara estate, was developed along Brock Avenue and became Brockton Village.
The Parkdale railway station was opened at Queen and Dufferin streets in 1856. In the 1870s, the Grand Trunk Railway built a railway station at Jameson Avenue, on its east–west line. It was named South Parkdale, and the Queen Street station was given the name of North Parkdale station.
A census of residents prior to the founding showed 783 residents of the area, more than enough for the legal requirement of 750 at the time. A local legend is that Romani people (then called Gypsies) were signed up as local residents to provide enough numbers. Parkdale's status as an independent village was controversial at the time and was opposed by the City of Toronto and the York County councils.
It was purely a residential suburb, home to large Victorian mansions and views of Lake Ontario. The first house of worship in Parkdale, the Anglican Church of St. Mark, was completed on January 20, 1881, on Cowan Ave just south of Queen Street. Later that year, Parkdale's population was recorded as 1,170 in the 1881 Census of Canada. In 1884, the Village council passed a bylaw to join Toronto, to be annexed by the City of Toronto, as the village was in fact surrounded by the city of Toronto. The act did not take place immediately as the Village's finances were not in order. Liabilities of the village were not clearly stated in the village's financial statements. On October 27, 1888, another vote was held and the annexation was upheld. The village was annexed by the City of Toronto in March 1889. It became "St. Alban's Ward.".
In the 1910s, the South Parkdale station was closed and replaced with Sunnyside railway station. At the time, a cut was made between Dowling and Atlantic streets and the rail lines of the Grand Trunk were moved below street level. The North Parkdale stations were given new signage of "Parkdale", returning to the original name.
'Sunnyside years' Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Parkdale's desirability stemmed from its proximity to the lake, the Canadian National Exhibition to the south-east and the popular Sunnyside Beach at the foot of Roncesvalles to the west. From 1911 to 1922, the Toronto Harbour Commission improved the lakefront extending the shoreline from the rail line south, with a breakwater and boardwalk. As an example, in 1905, the Parkdale Canoe Club (known today as the Boulevard Club) opened. When built, it was on a pier extending out into the lake. As part of the infill project, it became situated inland. To the east of the current building were baseball and lacrosse fields. It was the site of a popular women's softball league for many years.
Sunnyside Amusement Park was opened in 1922, providing a popular day vacation for Torontonians. Movie theatres were opened, such as the Brighton on Roncesvalles and the Odeon on Queen Street to the east of Roncesvalles. Hotels like the Edgewater at Queen and Roncesvalles were established.
The Palais Royale at the eastern edge of Sunnyside Beach opened in 1922 as a canoe factory and dance hall. Many important big bands played there in the 1930s and the 1940s, and this attracted a large youth patronage. Many war-generation Torontonians courted their future partners in this building. The Palais Royale operates today as a special occasion hall and is a favourite venue for bands, including The Rolling Stones, who played a 2002 concert there, and has been the location for live recordings by Sloan and Downchild Blues Band.
1950s–1970s: Gardiner Expressway and Southern section of Parkdale demolition In 1955, the city began work on the Gardiner Expressway, a limited access highway alongside the railway cut. The Sunnyside Amusement Park was demolished, except for the Bathing Pavilion and the Palais Royale hall. The southern section of Parkdale to the west of Dufferin, south of the railway was also demolished. Parkdale was now separated from Lake Ontario and Sunnyside Beach and the expressway effectively halved the amount of usable lakeside parkland. A reorganization of the area's residential streets was also done. Patronage of the beach declined rapidly. Both the Parkdale and Sunnyside train stations closed during the 1970s.
The neighbourhood changed greatly after the highway was completed and the park closed. Population density increased with the building of numerous apartment buildings. Jameson Avenue, which became the conduit to the highway changed from single family homes to a street of apartment buildings, many cheaply built. Nearby, many of the mansions and large houses became makeshift low-rise 'bachelorette' apartment buildings and rooming houses. Several had operated as tourist hotels for visitors to Sunnyside and the CNE. Industrial activity declined along the railways. One former industrial site on West Lodge Avenue became a two-tower apartment complex that has repeatedly been cited by the city for various by-law infractions. Businesses suffered during the transition, with leisure-type businesses compatible with the Park, such as the Brighton and Odeon theatres closing. Along Queen Street, which saw traffic decline substantially, many businesses closed or changed hands.
1970s: Absorption of out-patients In the mid-1970s, the Government of Ontario decided to release many long-term care mental illness patients from its Queen Street and Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital facilities to integrate them into the community. Many of the remaining mansions of South Parkdale had already been converted to boarding houses, and were only a short distance away from the Queen Street hospital. Many illegal 'bachelorette' units were also being created and the inexpensive rental stock of South Parkdale soon became home to many of the released patients. The area developed a reputation as a neighbourhood rife with poverty, crime, drugs, homelessness, and large numbers of people living with mental illness.