Photo taken from Eye MagazineParkdale Village, the area of Parkdale closest to the beach, became one of the poorest areas in Toronto...
Parkdale is one of the most diverse areas of the city, with many new immigrants finding their first homes here, due to the lower rents. The presence of a large immigrant community has done much to create the vibrancy that Parkdale is known for. This might be a fact of the streetscape in Parkdale, but it remains an area rife with substandard rental apartment buildings (a large percentage of Parkdale residents are renters) run by landlords coined slumlords by many area residents...
However, Parkdale is seeing increasing signs of gentrification, as Queen Street West's sphere of influence extends further westward. This include new hipster cafes, lounges, restaurants, condos, lofts, shops and art galleries cropping up rapidly, and former old dive hotels The Drake and The Gladstone being recently bought out and renovated to become very trendy and chic. Local taverns have begun receiving new patronage from artists and urbanites seeking refuge from the fashion boutiques further east on Queen Street...
Parkdale is one of the most diverse areas of the city, with many new immigrants finding their first homes here, due to the lower rents. The presence of a large immigrant community has done much to create the vibrancy that Parkdale is known for. This might be a fact of the streetscape in Parkdale, but it remains an area rife with substandard rental apartment buildings (a large percentage of Parkdale residents are renters) run by landlords coined slumlords by many area residents...
However, Parkdale is seeing increasing signs of gentrification, as Queen Street West's sphere of influence extends further westward. This include new hipster cafes, lounges, restaurants, condos, lofts, shops and art galleries cropping up rapidly, and former old dive hotels The Drake and The Gladstone being recently bought out and renovated to become very trendy and chic. Local taverns have begun receiving new patronage from artists and urbanites seeking refuge from the fashion boutiques further east on Queen Street...
I really really REALLY miss Bacchus Roti though...
(End note: Interesting article about the "Hipster Urbanism" of Toronto; Definitely worth a read - if only for the cartoon)
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