Hello From Toronto - Exploring Chinatown and Kensington

In all my explorations of Toronto over the last fewand Grill, My Market Bakery, the Chocolate Addict and
years I have learned that in addition to numerousmany other unique nooks and crannies illustrate the
world-class sights and attractions, Toronto has manyfree-spirited character of this unusual neighbourhood.
lesser known nooks and crannies that are full ofAt the intersection of St. Andrew and Augusta we
history, interesting stories and anecdotes. One of thestopped to admire a "half a house" that was attached
best people to learn from about the twists and turnsto some flat-roofed houses and the complex was
of Toronto's history is Bruce Bell, a well-known author,then capped off on the other side by another "half a
playwright, actor, standup comedian who is also ahouse".
passionate historian and has become one of Toronto'sOne of the most poignant symbols of Toronto's
most well-recognized history experts.multi-ethnic mixing is a restaurant called the "Hungary
The story of how I met Bruce is also quite intriguing:Thai", an eatery that surprisingly combines European
my brother, who happens to live in Austria, wasand Asian culinary traditions originating in Hungary and
reading a German travel magazine that was featuringThailand. There is no better area than Kensington
a story about Bruce, so he called me up and said thatMarket to come face to face with Toronto's culturally
there is this guy that is doing all these neat walkingdiverse makeup. Today's Kensington features
tours through Toronto and that's how I connected withresidents and merchants from all over the world,
Bruce - through a European detour. Over the pastincluding people of Latin, Carribean, European and
couple of years I have taken two of his tours, coveringAsian origin.
the downtown area and featuring a culinarySouthwest of Augusta Avenue we turned onto
exploration of Toronto's famous St. Lawrence market.Bellevue Square Park, a green space that is
I have always enjoyed the experience and wanted tofrequented by a very Bohemian crowd of people,
do another tour with Bruce for a while.representing some of Toronto's artists and
Well, I figured it was definitely time for morecounterculture. Kensington Market is one of the few
entertaining and informative explorations of Toronto;areas that features Cannabis cafes and products, and
this time it was going to be Chinatown-Kensington, onethere is a distinct marijuana culture that pervades the
of Toronto's most vibrant and fascinatingarea, particularly on Bellevue Square Park. The
neighbourhoods. So I called up Bruce and said let's donorthwest end of the park features a statue of Al
another tour. To share the experience I brought out sixWaxman (1935 to 2001), a Toronto actor who starred
of my friends and we met yesterday at 6:30 pm atin a popular television series "The King of Kensington"
one of Toronto's modern architecture icons: theand was involved in numerous charitable organizations
OCAD Building at 100 McCaul Street, just south of theand events. Bruce pointed out that Al's wife Sara is
University of Toronto campus. The OCAD Building, Iimmortalized on a bench right next to the statue in a
call it the "gift box on stilts", is part of the 2004carving that says "Sara loves Al".
redevelopment of the Campus of the Ontario CollegeRight opposite the Al Waxman statue at the corner of
of Art & Design. The Sharp Centre for DesignBellevue Avenue is another relic from Kensington's
has a unique "table top" structure which has quicklyJewish history. The Kiever Synagogue on Denison
become one of Toronto's most recognizableSquare was built in 1912. Its twin towers are crowned
landmarks.with Stars of David which give it a distinct
We met in the Butterfield Park area, surrounded by themiddle-eastern or Byzantine feel. Although many
stilts holding up the table top of this extraordinaryJewish residents have left the Kensington area over
building. From there we headed west into a greenthe last few decades to move further north in the City,
space that features Toronto's oldest house: "Thethe Kiever Synagogue continues to be active and to
Grange" was built in 1817 for D'Arcy Boulton Jr., aoffer religious services every Sabbath as well as
member of one of early Toronto's most prominenteducational services to the remaining Jewish
families who owned about 2000 acres of land in thepopulation.
area. The classical mansion reflects the BritishWe proceeded southwards on Augusta Avenue until
architectural traditions of the 18th century. Today, thewe reached Queen Street. At the corner of Augusta
Grange is owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario and isand Queen we stopped and Bruce made us aware of
in the process of being renovated and integrated intoone of the emblematic statues guarding the entrances
the AGO's Frank Gehry-led redesign.of Kensington: an oversized cat prancing on a globe,
After leaving this park we walked north on Beverleyan appropriately offbeat symbol of this colourful
Street which features several yellow-brick mansionsneighbourhood.
of some of Toronto's most pre-eminent families, theAcross the street Bruce pointed out the former
"Family Compact" - the true power brokers of theAlexandra Park public housing complex that has been
early 19th century. Families such as the Cawthras andrenamed the Atkinson Housing Co-op. Bruce explained
others owned huge tracts of land in what is today'sthat this residential complex was a major urban
downtown Toronto. The Bolton family even owned aplanning mistake and had become one of Toronto's
private racetrack near the intersections of Dundas andmost crime-ridden areas. In 2003 the former
Beverley and many formal social occasions wereAlexandra Park became Canada's first public housing
celebrated on their enormous estate. We also passedcomplex to be converted into a tenant-managed,
by a former hotel which dates back to 1822, one ofnon-profit housing cooperative, a move which has
the very few hotels left from that era which today is agreatly improved the safety in this area.
men's residence.At the intersection of Dundas and Queen Streets, right
Our stroll took us westwards on Baldwin Street, ain the heart of Chinatown, Bruce stopped again to
street with a mix of imposing mansions, historicshow us the Art Deco Victory Theatre, a former
apartment buildings and narrow Victorian homes withvaudeville theatre. He also explained that this theatre
attractive architectural details and amazingly intricatehad at some point morphed into the Victory Burlesque,
woodwork. Bruce stopped at a mansion of one ofhome of famous Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous
Toronto's most influential historic figures: Georgeburlesque dancer who became known for putting the
Brown (1818 to 1880) was a Scottish-born Canadian"tease into striptease".
journalist, politician and one of the Fathers of Canada'sThe history of the Spadina area is colourful indeed.
Confederation. He was also the founder and editor ofJewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in the
the Toronto Globe newspaper which today is knownarea from 1832 onwards, but major immigration got
as the Globe and Mail.into full swing in the 1890s. Many of these poor Jewish
Bruce enlightened us that George Brown was animmigrants had little language skills and began to work
important figure in the Underground Railroad, a networkin low-paying jobs in the garment factories that had
of secret routes and safe houses that allowed Africansprung up near Spadina.
slaves to escape from the United States to Canada inNumerous Jewish delicatessens, tailors, cinemas,
the 19th century. Ironically, as much as George BrownYiddish theatres, synagogues and other political, social
supported the cause of freeing black slaves, heand cultural institutions developed in the area. Indeed, as
remained a staunch anti-Catholic. Bruce elaborated thatBruce pointed out, Spadina Avenue became the
while the United States was characterized by ancentre of the Garment District which still survives on a
ongoing conflict between Blacks and Whites, earlymuch smaller scale today - even today there are
Canada's conflicts mostly unfolded betweennumerous fashion and fur stores that sell their
Protestants and Catholics. Bruce added that in 1880merchandise to the public at wholesale prices. Bruce
George Brown was shot by one of his formeralso elaborated that many of the buildings and
employees at the Globe newspaper, a certain Georgewarehouses became gradually higher, a direct result of
Bennet who had been fired from his job forthe invention of the Otis safety elevator which made it
drunkenness. Although George Brown only suffered afeasible to carry out industrial manufacturing on higher
leg injury at the time he died about 6 weeks later fromlevel floors.
the wound.Our group then stopped at the Glen and Paul Magder
Just a few steps further west we saw the mansionFur Store which was a pioneer in reforming Toronto's
of Robert Baldwin, a member of the Parliament ofSunday shopping laws by staying open on Sundays,
Upper Canada and a key public figure around the timedespite heavy fines. Right around here we also got to
of the 1837 uprising of the Toronto population againstadmire the former location of a theatre owned by the
the entrenched British power structure. Theparents of Mary Pickford, the famous Toronto
unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 was anborn-actress, "America's Sweetheart" who became
uprising against the British colonial government,Hollywood's biggest star of the Silent Era. Together
particularly about the issue of land allocation. Most ofwith Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W.
the land in and around the old City of York wasGriffith, Mary Pickford was a cofounder of United
owned by the "Family Compact", a group of extremelyArtists film studios.
wealthy Anglican conservative families thatWe then walked east on Queen Street which
represented Canada's elite at the time. Robert Baldwinfeatures a whole stretch of eateries, restaurants and
was instrumental in establishing Responsibleeclectic bars and taverns, including the Rivoli, an
Government, which advocated increasedextremely popular bar, restaurant and pool hall. At the
independence from Britain and self-government forHorseshoe Tavern Bruce explained that many famous
Upper Canada.music acts of Toronto, including Blue Rodeo, got their
We had finally arrived on Spadina Avenue, thestart at this tavern.
expansive north-south artery that is the centre point ofIncidentally this was also a favourite hangout for the
Toronto's Chinatown. This historic neighbourhood, onenotorious Boyd Gang, a 1950s gang of bank robbers
of three Chinatowns within Toronto's city boundaries, isled by Edwin Alonzo Boyd. The gang garnered a lot of
centered around Spadina and Dundas and is themedia attention due to its sensational actions, including
largest Chinese shopping area in the city. Oldbank robberies, jail breaks, liaisons with beautiful
Chinatown is actually one of North America's largest,women, gun fights and daring captures. Two of the
not surprisingly as Toronto features the second largestgang members were captured and hanged for the
Chinese population in Canada after Vancouver.murder of a policeman in 1952 while Edwin Boyd, by
Recent years have seen a migration of Chinesethen a Canadian folk hero, was sentenced to eight life
immigrants to the suburbs which has led to the closureterms plus twenty seven years concurrent. He was
of some of the local restaurants. Many formerparoled in 1966, relocated to British Columbia and died
Chinatown residents, originally from mainland China,in 2002.
Taiwan and Hong Kong have moved outside the City'sJust steps further east is the "Friendship House",
boundaries and the void has been filled by many ethnicwhere Russian refugees were taken in, it is also the
Chinese people from Vietnam. As a result ancentre of the Communist League of Toronto and the
increasing number of store signs are now informer location of the 1980s television series "Street
Vietnamese, in addition to the well-established ChineseLegal".
stores.A few steps east is a series of Victorian townhouses
Goods sold include fruits and vegetables, meat andthat, as Bruce explained, were owned by two sisters
seafood, low cost clothing and general merchandise, allwho had had a serious falling out. Although the buildings
of which are sold at very reasonable prices. Recentlywere symmetrical in appearance the sisters did their
there has been a noticeable local increase in Latinbest to modify the architecture to ensure that each of
American immigrants, testament to the fact thattheir sides would look different from the other sister's
Toronto's demographics continue to be in flux.property. Bruce pointed out a couple of former
The same story applies even more to Toronto'svaudeville theatres, explaining that in the era before
Kensington area, roughly bounded by Spadina Avenue,cinemas and podcasts, almost every city block had
College Street, Queen Street and Bellevue Avenue.one or more of these theatres which were popular
As Bruce explained, it is one of Toronto's mostentertainment spots for the locals.
ethnically diverse and eclectic neighbourhoods and hasAt the Corner of Queen and Soho is the Black Bull, a
been attracting immigrants from different countries ofdecades old hotel and tavern that features a spacious
origin for the last 130 years or so. Originally the Denisonoutdoor patio. Bruce explained that in the 1800s
estate, the Kensington area became a residential areaToronto's city limits extended to Peter Street, and the
for Irish and Scottish immigrant labourers. The smalltavern housed in this building was the last tavern on
working-class houses in this historically inexpensivethe way out of town. This was at a time when a
area have been inhabited by successive waves ofhorse and carriage ride to Niagara Falls could take two
immigrants from different places. From 1910 onwards,days, so a final watering hole on the outskirts of town
Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe as well aswas important.
some Italians started to stream into the area. TheAnother significant Toronto landmark rose up
entire Kensington area became known as "the Jewishimpressively in front of our eyes: Toronto's CHUM City
Market", and about 60,000 Jewish residents lived hereBuilding, the main studio complex of CTV Globemedia.
in the 1920s and 1930s who worshipped in about 30The building houses City TV and its famous Speakers
local synagogues.Corner video booth (which allows members of the
We stopped at the Minsker Synagogue at 10 St.public to voice their opinions on any topic), Cable Pulse
Andrew Street, home of the Congregation Anshei24, MuchMusic, Star! and the Fashion Television
Minsk, Toronto's Downtown Synagogue. ConstructionChannel. Its 1914 Neo-Gothic terra cotta façade
of the synagogue commenced in 1922 and was finallymake it an instantly recognizable landmark in
completed in 1930. As a result of the out-migration ofdowntown Toronto, and the news truck with the
many of the Jewish residents from Kensington, todayturning wheels that is built into the eastern
it is one of the few synagogues still in active operationfaçade make it a real icon of the downtown
in downtown Toronto.core.
Captivated by the colourful and unusual variety ofWell, our informative and entertaining
stores we walked through narrow streets filled with aChinatown-Kensington Tour had come to an end.
jumble of vintage clothing stores, bakeries, restaurants,Bruce, with his dramatic abilities, was able to educate
shops selling anything from fish, cheese and meat tous and entertain us at the same time, introducing us to
dry goods and assorted merchandise. At about 7:30historically significant parts of the city that we had
pm most of the stores had closed or were in thenever seen or simply walked by without noticing.
process of closing, but the diverse and unusualAlthough a relatively young city, Toronto has a
storefronts and murals illustrate the Bohemian flavourfascinating history, and Bruce Bell is just the guy to
of this area. Bruce pointed out numerous favouriteopen our eyes to it.
hangouts: places such as Cob's Bread, Graffiti's Bar