Little Italy, sometimes referred to as ''College Street West'', is a district in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It is known for its
Italian Canadian
Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...
restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant
Latin-Canadian and
Portuguese-Canadian
Portuguese Canadians ( pt, luso-canadianos, italic=no) are Canadian citizens of full or partial Portuguese heritage or people who migrated from Portugal and reside in Canada. According to the 2016 Census, there were 482,610 or 1.4% of Canadians ...
community in the area. The district is centred on a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along
College Street, centred on College Street, imprecisely between
Harbord Street Harbord may refer to:
People
* Harbord Harbord (1675?–1742), English landowner and Member of Parliament born Harbord Cropley
* Harbord Harbord, 1st Baron Suffield (1734–1810), British landowner and Member of Parliament
* Arthur Harbord (1865†...
and
Dundas Street
Dundas Street is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long sectio ...
, and spreading out east and west between
Bathurst Street and
Ossington Avenue
Ossington Avenue is a main or arterial street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. Its southern terminus, popularly known as the Ossington Strip, a segment constructed in 1816 to link two longer segments of a military road, was absorb ...
. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of
Palmerston-Little Italy
Palmerston-Little Italy is a neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its boundaries, according to the City of Toronto, are by Bathurst Street, Toronto, Bathurst Street to the east, Bloor Street to the north, Dovercourt Road to the west a ...
.
History
![Royal Cinema](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Royal_Cinema.jpg)
College Street was fully laid out in the area by 1900 and the area was filled with buildings from the early 1900s. College Street is fronted by two- and three-storey buildings, with commercial uses on the ground floor and residential or storage uses on the upper floors.
![Johnny Lombardi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Johnny_Lombardi.JPG)
Italians arrived in Toronto in large numbers during the early 20th century. Italians first settled in an area then known as
The Ward, centred on
University Avenue
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
and
College Street.
[Zucchi, p]
36
Approximately 40,000 Italians came to Canada during the interwar period of 1914 to 1918, predominantly from
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
where an economic depression and overpopulation had left many families in poverty.
Son to Italian immigrants,
Johnny Lombardi
Johnny Lombardi, (December 4, 1915 – March 18, 2002) was a pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada. He founded CHIN in 1966 and CHIN-FM in 1967.
Early life
The son of Italian immigrants, Lombardi was born in what is now Trinity S ...
was born in The Ward in 1915, and went on to found one of the first multilingual
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s in Canada,
CHIN
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
in 1966, in
Palmerston–Little Italy
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 ...
.
By the 1920s, most Italians had moved west of
Bathurst Street and the College-Clinton area had emerged as the city's major Little Italy.
[ They mainly immigrated to Toronto—increasing from 4,900 Italians in 1911, to 9,000 in 1921, constituting almost two percent of Toronto's population.]
A tourist attraction of the area is the Italian Walk of Fame
The Italian Walk of Fame (IWOF) located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful persons of Italian descent. The walk of fame is located in the downtown Little Italy distri ...
. Granite and brass stars line the sidewalk with the names of noteworthy Italian Canadians
Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...
. At Clinton Street, on the north side, is the Royal Cinema
The Royal Cinema is an Art Moderne event venue and cinema in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1939 and owned by Miss Ray Levinsky.
When it was built in 1939, it was called The Pylon, with an accompanying large sign at the front of the th ...
, which was recently renovated and has an upgraded projection system as it is used for movie editing purposes during the day and repertory cinema in the evenings. While the commercial units are dominated by cafes and restaurants, there are numerous other small businesses serving the neighbourhood.
The side streets are mostly detached or semi-detached single family homes dating to the early-1900s Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
, with front porches and smaller lots, as was the custom at the time.
As early as 1961, the presence of new immigrants had already started changing Little Italy. That year, 15,000 Italians, 12,000 being immigrants, lived in Little Italy (35 percent of the population), declining to 8,000 in 1971, and further to 3,600 in 1991 (13 percent of the population).[ Since the 1970s, Italian immigrants from Little Italy moved northward to Corso Italia on ]St. Clair Avenue West
St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road (the Third Concession), north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street West, Queen Street.
...
.[ Much of the Italian population subsequently moved to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular, ]Vaughan
Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...
, King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, and Caledon. Although the character of the neighbourhood is still has several Italian restaurants and bakeries, the demographics of this neighbourhood have changed drastically with a smaller Italian population than originally.
Landmarks
* Italian Walk of Fame
The Italian Walk of Fame (IWOF) located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful persons of Italian descent. The walk of fame is located in the downtown Little Italy distri ...
* Church of St. Mary Magdalene
* Church of St. Francis of Assisi
* College Street United Church
College Street United Church is a United Church of Canada church at the corner of College and Bathurst Streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As of 1990 the church is part of the same structure as The Channel Club Condo at 456 College Street.
The ...
* El Convento Rico Night Club
* Mod Club Theatre
The Mod Club Theatre (commonly called Mod Club) was an entertainment venue in Toronto that operated from 2002 to 2020. Its address was 722 College Street, which is in the city's Little Italy neighbourhood.
Founded by Platinum Blonde frontman Ma ...
* Lily Lounge
* Weldon Park
* Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church
Education
Secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
and Catholic English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-language and, a secular French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
-language public school, are operated in Little Italy by the Toronto District School Board
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...
, Toronto Catholic District School Board
The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...
, and Conseil scolaire Viamonde
The Conseil scolaire Viamonde (CSV) is a public-secular French first language school board, and manages elementary and secondary schools in the Ontario Peninsula and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The school board operates 41 elementary schools and ...
, respectively.
Public primary schools in the area include:
* Clinton Street Junior Public School, on Clinton Street (TDSB);
* École élémentaire Pierre-Eliott-Trudeau, on Grace Street (Viamonde);
* Montrose Junior Public School (TDSB), on Montrose Avenue (TDSB), which also houses Delta Alternative Senior School (TDSB);
* Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School, on Clinton Street (TCDSB).
Public high schools in the area, all operated by the TDSB, include:
* Central Toronto Academy
Central Toronto Academy (CTA); formerly Central Commerce Collegiate Institute and originally High School of Commerce and Finance is a public, semestered secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Palmerston-Little Italy neighbou ...
, formerly Central Commerce, is located on Shaw Street, built in 1916.
* Harbord Collegiate Institute
Harbord Collegiate Institute (HCI or Harbord) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy-Annex neighbourhood, situated on the north side of Harbord Street, betw ...
is located on Harbord Street Harbord may refer to:
People
* Harbord Harbord (1675?–1742), English landowner and Member of Parliament born Harbord Cropley
* Harbord Harbord, 1st Baron Suffield (1734–1810), British landowner and Member of Parliament
* Arthur Harbord (1865†...
, built in 1892.
* West End Alternative School is located within the Bickford Centre on Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...
, built in 1965 as Bickford Park High School.
In popular culture
Television and film productions are occasionally filmed in the neighbourhood. Movies filmed nearby include ''Chloe
Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...
'', ''Police Academy
A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...
'', '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,'' ''The F Word'', and ''The Long Kiss Goodnight
''The Long Kiss Goodnight'' is a 1996 American action thriller film co-produced and directed by Renny Harlin, and produced by Shane Black and Stephanie Austin with screenplay written by Black. It stars Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Amandes ...
''. In December 2013 and 2014 the TV series ''Beauty & the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...
'' decorated the corner of College St. and Markham St. with a New York City Subway entrance, emergency vehicles, and newspaper stands.
A 2018 romantic comedy titled ''Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
'' takes place in Toronto's Little Italy. The film was also featured on an episode of ''How Did This Get Made?
''How Did This Get Made?'' (''HDTGM'') is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mockery ...
''
See also
*List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
The strength and vitality of the many neighbourhoods that make up Toronto, Ontario, Canada has earned the city its unofficial nickname of "the city of neighbourhoods." There are over 140 neighbourhoods officially recognized by the City of Toronto ...
*Corso Italia, Toronto
Corso Italia is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on St. Clair Avenue, St. Clair Avenue West, between Westmount Avenue (just east of Dufferin Street) and Lansdowne Avenue (Toronto), Lansdowne Avenue. It is contained within the l ...
*Italians in Toronto
Toronto has a large Italian Canadian community, with 30.3 per cent of the ethnic Italians in Canada living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as of 2021. Toronto is home to the fourth largest population of people of Italian descent after São Paul ...
References
*
{{authority control
Ethnic enclaves in Ontario
European-Canadian culture in Toronto
Neighbourhoods in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
Restaurant districts and streets in Canada