Little Italy
Little Italy, sometimes referred to as College Street West, is a district in Toronto. 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 district is centered around a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along College Street, the heart of which is the intersection of College and Grace Streets and the adjacent residential area, but spreading out between Bathurst Street and Dufferin Street. The exact borders of the district are imprecise. The area south of College to Dundas Street is almost always considered part of Little Italy. The area north of Harbord Avenue is known as Palmerston or Bickford Park.
It was during the 1920's that College Street's 'Little Italy', became recognized as the residential and commercial centre of Toronto's Italian community. However, by the 1960's, many of Little Italy's residents began to move north to the Corso Italia district on St. Clair Avenue West.
Present
Past
Today, Little Italy's Italian and Portuguese residents are welcoming new neighbours from around the world to what is now considered one of Toronto's most multi-cultural neighbourhoods.
There are several tourist attractions in the area, for example, the world's first and only Italian Walk of Fame featuring granite and brass stars line the sidewalk with the names of noteworthy Italians and the Royal repertory cinema. 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, with front porches and smaller lots, as was the custom at the time. The majority of Little Italy's row-houses and attached Victorian homes were built between 1880 and 1910. These houses are set on narrow tree-lined streets with parking facilities located at the back of the property, off a rear laneway.
Information from Wikipedia.org
