Little Italy, Toronto
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Little Italy, sometimes referred to as ''College Street West'', is a district 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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. It is known for its Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin-Canadian and Portuguese-Canadian community in the area. The district is centred on a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along College Street, imprecisely between Harbord Street and
Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
, and spreading out east and west between Bathurst Street and Ossington Avenue. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of Palmerston-Little Italy.


History

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-story buildings, with commercial uses on the ground floor and residential or storage uses on the upper floors. 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 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 (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...
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 (AM), CHIN in 1966 and CHIN-FM in 1967. Early life The son of Italian immigrants, Lombardi was born in what is now ...
was born in The Ward in 1915, and went on to found one of the first multilingual
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s in Canada,
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in 1966, in Palmerston–Little Italy. 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. Granite and brass stars line the sidewalk with the names of noteworthy Italian 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 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 Pro ...
, 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 In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
, 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. Much of the Italian population subsequently moved to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular,
Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) 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 increa ...
,
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, 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 * Church of St. Mary Magdalene * Church of St. Francis of Assisi * College Street United Church * Mod Club Theatre * Weldon Park * Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church


Education

Secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
and Catholic schools for
Anglophones The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
, as well as a secular public school for French speakers, 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. ...
, and Conseil scolaire Viamonde, 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, formerly Central Commerce, is located on Shaw Street, built in 1916. * Harbord Collegiate Institute is located on Harbord Street, built in 1892. * West End Alternative School is located within the Bickford Centre on
Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...
, 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. Th ...
'', ''
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'', '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,'' ''The F Word'', and '' The Long Kiss Goodnight''. In December 2013 and 2014 the TV series '' Beauty & the Beast'' 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 the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
'' takes place in Toronto's Little Italy. The film was also featured on an episode of '' How Did This Get Made?''


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 158 neighbourhoods officially recognized by the City of Toronto (in ...
* Corso Italia, Toronto * Italians in Toronto


References

* {{authority control Ethnic enclaves in Ontario European-Canadian culture in Toronto Neighbourhoods in Toronto
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 ...
Restaurant districts and streets in Canada