Markham Street is a north–south residential street located in the city of

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, one block west of Bathurst Street. Its northern end starts in the

Seaton Village Seaton Village is a neighbourhood and former village located west of Downtown Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1828 to 1836. Bloor Street borders Sea ...

neighbourhood and it passes through Mirvish Village,

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 th ...

Trinity–Bellwoods Trinity-Bellwoods is an inner city neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the east by Bathurst Street, on the north by College Street, on the south by Queen Street West, and by Dovercourt Road on the west. It has a large ...

and ends at West Queen Street West at its south end.

Character

Markham Street intersects with several neighbourhoods consisting mainly of residential side streets full of semi-detached homes, mostly built in the early 20th century. The major cross streets

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 ...

, Harbord Street, College Street,

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 Queen Street run east–west, are mainly commercial in nature and are two to four-lane arterial roads. To the east is Bathurst Street, running north–south, another four-lane arterial road with mostly residences along both sides. To the west is north–south

Palmerston Boulevard Palmerston Boulevard is a residential street located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, two blocks west of Bathurst Street, between Koreatown and Little Italy. The street is bounded by stone and iron gates both at Bloor Street and College ...

Trinity–Bellwoods

House numbering on Markham Street begins at Queen Street West. Walking north into the

neighbourhood from Queen to Herrick Street, it is a two-lane street with traffic one-way down from north to south. The street is residential on both sides consisting of mainly of two-storey semi-detached or row houses north to College Street. Very few houses look alike. Many homes have

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Edwardian 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 ...

architectural styles. At Dundas, the intersection meets two-story buildings with restaurants and a brewery.

Palmerston–Little Italy

At College, the street enters

under an intimate canopy of mature trees lining the road. The intersection has two multi-storey commercial buildings and two mainly residential buildings. The former warehouse Pedlar People Building at 473-489 College Street has many offices and board gaming restaurant/bar Snakes and Lattes on the south west corner. On the south-east corner is

Ideal Lofts Ideal Lofts is an architecturally noted low-rise soft loft condominium apartment building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Markham Street and College Street in the downtown neighbourhoods of Little Italy and Trinity–Bellwoods. ...

condominium which contains a

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (colloquially Shoppers; named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in ten provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist ...

. On the north-west corner at 474 College Street is a

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

medical centre building. On the east is Lunsky Optometry, established in 1933. North of College, are two-storey homes, although further to the north, the homes are larger, and some are three storeys tall and

in vintage. North of Harbord Street, the homes continue in their eclectic mix of styles, generally three storeys, and semi-detached. North of Herrick Street, the traffic is one-way from south to north, part of the "traffic maze" in the neighbourhood implemented to reduce traffic flows through the neighbourhood.

Mirvish Village

Mirvish Village is a commercial enclave on Markham Street that runs one block south of

. It has changed radically since 2018. Five apartment towers and a parkette are now under construction by Westbank Corp. Along this stretch, former homes that were once converted to art-related uses, retail, or restaurants have been demolished with facades preserved. Also gone is the Toronto landmark

Honest Ed's Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operat ...

department store which owned the former homes. The business dominated the Bloor St intersection from Markham Street to Bathurst Street from 1948-2016. In March 2015, developer Westbank Properties, which had bought the Mirvish Village and Honest Ed's properties in 2013 announced their plans for the area. Markham Street from Bloor to Lennox Street would become a "pedestrian-friendly" street with restricted vehicular access. The roadway would be replaced with paving from paving stones, with added trees and expanded room for patios. Fourteen of the existing former homes along Markham would be retained, with new buildings at Bloor Street. Immediately west on Bloor Street is

Koreatown A Koreatown (), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have only been in existence s ...

Seaton Village

North of Bloor, the street enters

and intersects with the

Bathurst (TTC) Bathurst is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station, which opened in 1966, is located on Bathurst Street just north of Bloor Street West. It is a major transfer point for both bus and streetcar rou ...

subway station's west entrance and a municipal parking lot atop the subway on the west side. Further north on the east side is St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church and its associated buildings which dominate the block to London Street. Traffic is one-way north along this block, and it is one-way south along the rest of its length. On the next block north is the old St. Peter Catholic Elementary School which is still used by Monsignor Fraser College on the full length of the west side. It is a modernist two-storey structure with brick facade like the neighbourhood. The homes along this stretch are typically two-storey semi-detached. North of Barton, the west side of the street is dominated by the 38 Barton Street apartment building, which is three and a half storeys in height (its first floor is elevated a half floor to give light to basement apartments). The street ends one block north at Folis Avenue.

Landmarks

* Mirvish Village *

Little Italy, Toronto Little Italy, sometimes referred to as ''College Street West'', is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin American Canadians, Latin-Canadian and ...

* West Queen Street West

Political Electoral Districts

Municipal: Ward 19. Provincial: Trinity-Spadina. Federal: University—Rosedale.

External links

Historicist: A Village Grows on Markham Street

57 Markham Street/Then, Then and NowGoogle Maps of Markham Street

References

{{coord, 43.656742, N, 79.409135, W, display=title Streets in Toronto