The Ward (Toronto)
Encyclopedia
The Ward was a neighbourhood
in central Toronto
bound by College Street
, Queen Street
, Yonge Street
, and University Avenue
and was centred on the intersection of Terauley (now Bay Street
) and Albert Street. For several decades of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a highly dense slum
where successive waves of new immigrants would initially settle before establishing themselves. In the nineteenth century it was the home of refugees from the European Revolutions of 1848
, the Irish Potato Famine, the Underground Railroad
, and then refugees from Russia and Eastern Europe. It was the centre of the city's Jewish community from the late nineteenth century until the 1920s when the Jewish community moved west to Spadina Avenue
and Kensington Market
and was also the home of the city's original Chinatown
until the late 1950s and of the city's Italian community until it moved west along College Street to Little Italy
. The city's Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and numerous other non-Anglo-Saxon immigrants first established themselves in "The Ward".
Today, the area is considered a part of what the City of Toronto now calls the Discovery District
, the area having been consumed by the central business district
. The old neighbourhood has wholly disappeared. The area was officially known as St. John's Ward, one of the municipal wards that the city was divided into, but it quickly became known simply as "The Ward".
—a fugitive African American
slave—began acquiring several properties in the neighbourhood. Blackburn also provided recently-arrived fugitive slave
s with inexpensive housing. By 1850, many Black families settled in The Ward.
The earliest Jewish settlers in Toronto had come from Britain, the United States, or Western Europe. With only a few hundred Jewish citizens in the city, they settled in several neighbourhoods and mostly integrated with the rest of the city. In the 1890s, an influx of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe began arriving in Toronto. For the several thousand new arrivals, mostly impoverished and unable to speak English, the densely packed houses of The Ward became their new community.
The Ward was also home to Toronto's first Chinatown
as Chinese railway workers settled along York and Elizabeth Streets north of Union Station.
The development of the neighbourhood caused much consternation in Toronto, including anti-Semitic riots and government clearance efforts. In 1909, 8 acre (0.03237488 km²) of The Ward were demolished to build the Toronto General Hospital
. The neighbourhood also began to change in character. As the Jewish immigrants became more settled, they moved westwards to the Kensington Market
area and the Ward increasingly became a centre for Italian immigrants, who were then arriving in great numbers. The Italians also moved west to what is today Little Italy
, and by the Second World War
, the Ward had become Toronto's first Chinatown
. Central Neighbourhood House
was established in 1911 as a settlement house to assist new immigrants in the Ward.
Beginning in the 1920s when eight acres of the district was expropriated for the construction of Toronto General Hospital
, the Ward was slowly demolished as land was expropriated for office towers, hotels, and most prominently, the old Chinatown centred on Elizabeth Street was expropriated in the 1950s to make way for Nathan Phillips Square
, named after the city's first Jewish mayor. For many decades, the area was almost wholly commercial and institutional, but recent years have seen a return of residents to what used to be the Ward with multiple condominium towers being erected in the area.
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
in central Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
bound by College Street
College Street (Toronto)
College Street is a principal arterial thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, connecting former streetcar suburbs in the west with the city centre. The street is home to an ethnically diverse population in the western residential reaches, and institutions like the Ontario Legislature and the University...
, Queen Street
Queen Street West
Queen Street West describes both the western branch of Queen Street, a major east-west thoroughfare, and a series of neighbourhoods or commercial districts, situated west of Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Queen Street begins in the west at the intersection of King Street, The...
, Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
, and University Avenue
University Avenue (Toronto)
University Avenue is a major north-south road in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At its north end, University Avenue is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building. The eight-lane wide street is the location for several hospitals, numerous office buildings, Osgoode Hall and the Four Seasons...
and was centred on the intersection of Terauley (now Bay Street
Bay Street
Bay Street, originally known as Bear Street, is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Street in that role in the 1970s...
) and Albert Street. For several decades of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a highly dense slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
where successive waves of new immigrants would initially settle before establishing themselves. In the nineteenth century it was the home of refugees from the European Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
, the Irish Potato Famine, the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, and then refugees from Russia and Eastern Europe. It was the centre of the city's Jewish community from the late nineteenth century until the 1920s when the Jewish community moved west to Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods....
and Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
and was also the home of the city's original Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
until the late 1950s and of the city's Italian community until it moved west along College Street to Little Italy
Little Italy, Toronto
Little Italy, sometimes referred to as College Street West, is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its numerous Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin American and Portuguese community in the area...
. The city's Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and numerous other non-Anglo-Saxon immigrants first established themselves in "The Ward".
Today, the area is considered a part of what the City of Toronto now calls the Discovery District
Discovery District
The Discovery District is an area of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that features a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology...
, the area having been consumed by the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. The old neighbourhood has wholly disappeared. The area was officially known as St. John's Ward, one of the municipal wards that the city was divided into, but it quickly became known simply as "The Ward".
History
In the 1830s, Thornton BlackburnThornton Blackburn
Thornton Blackburn and his wife Lucie were escaped slaves from Louisville, Kentucky. They had been settled in Detroit, Michigan, for two years when, in 1833, Kentucky slave hunters located, re-captured, and arrested the couple...
—a fugitive African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slave—began acquiring several properties in the neighbourhood. Blackburn also provided recently-arrived fugitive slave
Fugitive slave
In the history of slavery in the United States, "fugitive slaves" were slaves who had escaped from their master to travel to a place where slavery was banned or illegal. Many went to northern territories including Pennsylvania and Massachusetts until the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed...
s with inexpensive housing. By 1850, many Black families settled in The Ward.
The earliest Jewish settlers in Toronto had come from Britain, the United States, or Western Europe. With only a few hundred Jewish citizens in the city, they settled in several neighbourhoods and mostly integrated with the rest of the city. In the 1890s, an influx of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe began arriving in Toronto. For the several thousand new arrivals, mostly impoverished and unable to speak English, the densely packed houses of The Ward became their new community.
The Ward was also home to Toronto's first Chinatown
Chinatown, Toronto
Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatowns in North America and...
as Chinese railway workers settled along York and Elizabeth Streets north of Union Station.
The development of the neighbourhood caused much consternation in Toronto, including anti-Semitic riots and government clearance efforts. In 1909, 8 acre (0.03237488 km²) of The Ward were demolished to build the Toronto General Hospital
Toronto General Hospital
The Toronto General Hospital , is a part of the University Health Network, and a major teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is located in the Discovery District, directly north of the Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Hospital and...
. The neighbourhood also began to change in character. As the Jewish immigrants became more settled, they moved westwards to the Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
area and the Ward increasingly became a centre for Italian immigrants, who were then arriving in great numbers. The Italians also moved west to what is today Little Italy
Little Italy, Toronto
Little Italy, sometimes referred to as College Street West, is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its numerous Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. There is also a significant Latin American and Portuguese community in the area...
, and by the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Ward had become Toronto's first Chinatown
Chinatown, Toronto
Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatowns in North America and...
. Central Neighbourhood House
Central Neighbourhood House
Central Neighbourhood House , was founded in 1911 by social reformer J.J. Kelso and is Toronto's second oldest settlement house. It is currenlty located in the Regent Park area of Toronto at 349 Ontario Street....
was established in 1911 as a settlement house to assist new immigrants in the Ward.
Beginning in the 1920s when eight acres of the district was expropriated for the construction of Toronto General Hospital
Toronto General Hospital
The Toronto General Hospital , is a part of the University Health Network, and a major teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is located in the Discovery District, directly north of the Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Hospital and...
, the Ward was slowly demolished as land was expropriated for office towers, hotels, and most prominently, the old Chinatown centred on Elizabeth Street was expropriated in the 1950s to make way for Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza that forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square opened in 1965, and, as with the City Hall, the square was...
, named after the city's first Jewish mayor. For many decades, the area was almost wholly commercial and institutional, but recent years have seen a return of residents to what used to be the Ward with multiple condominium towers being erected in the area.