King Street, Toronto
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King Street is a major east–west commercial thoroughfare in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first streets laid out in the 1793 plan of the town of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, which became Toronto in 1834. After the construction of the Market Square in 1803 at King and Jarvis streets, to house the first St. Lawrence Market farmer's market, the street became the primary commercial street of York and early Toronto. This original core was destroyed in the 1849 Great Fire of Toronto but was subsequently rebuilt. The original street extended from George Street to Berkeley Street and was extended by 1901 to its present terminuses (both with Queen Street) at Roncesvalles Avenue in the west and the Don River in the east.


Description

King Street's western terminus is at an intersection with The Queensway to the west, Roncesvalles Avenue to the north, and Queen Street West to the east. King runs to the south-east briefly before curving to the east until just west of Parliament Street. There, it curves north-east until terminates at a merge with Queen Street East just west of the Don River and north of the Corktown Common. Prior to a realignment, Eastern Avenue was the East end of King Street and crossed the Don at the King Street Bridge (which has since been abandoned). Yonge Street, the north–south divider of many Toronto east–west streets, divides King Street into King Street East and King Street West.
Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...
runs along King Street from John Street to Simcoe Street and south on Simcoe. It is a tribute in granite to Canadians who have gained fame in the fields of music, literature, journalism, dance, sports, acting, entertainment and broadcasting. King Street West is considered Toronto's Fashion District and is known for trendy restaurants, design shops and boutique condo developments. Previously industrial, this neighborhood has undergone considerable urban development since the early 2000s. King Street East is predominantly known as the high-end, luxury furniture district of downtown Toronto, with dozens of stores on King Street and in the surrounding area. , King Street is served along its entire length by two overlapping Toronto Transit Commission streetcar routes: the 504A King and the 504B King, which together are the busiest streetcar routes in the fleet, with an average ridership of 65,000 passengers per day. They connect with the Yonge–University subway line (Line 1) at St. Andrew station at University Avenue, and at King station at
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
. They connect with the Bloor–Danforth subway line (Line 2) at Dundas West station and Broadview station. The street was also served by the 508 Lake Shore route until it was discontinued in June 2015. It was subsequently replaced by the 514 Cherry route in June 2016, which was then cancelled in October 2018 and replaced by the two 504 King branches.


Transit mall

The section of King Street between Bathurst Street and Jarvis Street is a transit mall with restrictions on how vehicles can use intersections. In the mall, trucks and cars are unable to continue straight through or turn left at intersections: they must turn right off of King Street. The road also has sidewalk cafes and public art pieces on the road. On April 16, 2019, the transit mall was made permanent.


History

In the original 1793 plan of the Town of York, King Street was the original name of the section of today's Front Street from George Street east to Parliament Street. This was changed in 1797, when York was extended to the west. The original King Street became Palace Street, and Duke Street was renamed King Street.See :File:Plan for the enlargement of York, as amended by Order of His Honor the President projected in lots containing an acre more or less.jpg The new King Street was extended west to York Street. In 1798, King Street was extended further west, to Peter Street. In the 1837 westerly extension of Toronto, King Street was extended west to Garrison Creek. By this time, King Street was the main commercial east–west street of Toronto, having St. Lawrence Market at the intersection of King and New (or Nelson) (today's Jarvis) streets, and an commercial core extending around the Market. In the 1849 Great Fire, much of the business core at King and Jarvis was destroyed. New commercial buildings were built. By 1901, King Street West was completed to its present-day intersection at Roncesvalles and Queen Streets.See Toronto 1901 map In recent years there has been a proliferation of chic restaurants, clubs and galleries in the area as King Street West becomes more oriented to Toronto's nightlife crowd, and is near major attractions such as the
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(formerly SkyDome),
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(formerly Air Canada Centre), the
Distillery District The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. ...
,
Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
, Roy Thomson Hall, Meridian Hall (formerly Sony Centre for the Performing Arts), St. Lawrence Market and the historic Omni King Edward Hotel.


Landmarks

;Popular attractions along King Street include: *
Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...
* Princess of Wales Theatre - owned by theatre giant Ed and David Mirvish * Royal Alexandra Theatre - owned by theatre giant Ed and David Mirvish * Roy Thomson Hall ;Office towers on King: *
Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...
* Toronto-Dominion Centre *
First Canadian Place First Canadian Place is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational executive office of the Bank of Montreal. At , it is the tallest buildin ...
* Scotia Plaza *
Commerce Court Commerce Court is an office building complex on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The four-building complex is a mix of Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, ar ...
, including the historic Commerce Court North * Corporate offices of Spin Master ;Other notable buildings on King Street: * The Omni King Edward Hotel * St. James' Cathedral (
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Church) * St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church * Toronto Sun Building ;Neighbourhoods * Corktown (at Cherry) * Entertainment District (at John) * Fashion District (at Spadina) *
Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
(at Bay) * Liberty Village (at Dufferin) * Parkdale (at Dunn) * Roncesvalles (at Queen) * Old Town of York (at Parliament) * St. Lawrence (''not actually on King'' but south of King at Jarvis) * Trinity Niagara (at Bathurst)


See also

*
Royal eponyms in Canada In Canada, a number of sites and structures are named for royal individuals, whether a member of the past French royal family, British royal family, or present Canadian royal family thus reflecting the country's status as a constitutional mona ...
*
504 King 504 King (304 King during overnight periods) is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada. It serves King Street in Downtown Toronto as well as Broadview Avenue on the east end and Roncesvalles Avenue on the west end of the l ...
* King Street Transit Priority Corridor


References

{{Streets in Toronto Roads in Toronto Shopping districts and streets in Canada