The Nature of Neighbourhoods

Toronto’s distinctive geographical features — rivers like the Humber and Don, lakefronts, and ravines —have shaped our neighbourhoods. Soaring over the Don Valley to connect both sides of the river valley, the Bloor Street Viaduct in 1918 hastened development of a thriving commercial main street and numerous residential neighbourhoods both north and south of Danforth Avenue.

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities lived along the Lower Don River, known as the Wonscotonach in the Anishinaabemowin language. The river served as a vital resource for sustenance, travel, and ceremony. During early colonization, settlers received lots on the east side of the Don, along a road that would become Danforth Avenue. The area remained largely rural before the City of Toronto annexed land south of Danforth Avenue in 1884.

In 1901, City Council began discussing the benefits of a bridge between Bloor Street East and Danforth Avenue. The Prince Edward Viaduct System, more commonly known as the Bloor Street Viaduct, was constructed between 1915–1918. Today, the transit ride when crossing by subway still hints at the nature that existed before colonization.

The viaduct accelerated development east of the Don and led to the proliferation of main street shops and residences. Italian immigrants, who had moved to work in the area’s brickyards, opened fruit markets along Danforth Avenue, which later became a centre for Greek cultural life in the 1970s. Since then, the personality of the Danforth has continued to change. The area has become a focal point for East African cuisine, while the Madinah Masjid, one of Toronto’s oldest and largest Masajids (or mosques), has contributed to the ever changing social and cultural landscape.