Church and Wellesley
Encyclopedia
Church and Wellesley is an LGBT-oriented community
located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Gerrard Street to the south, Yonge Street
to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street
to the east, with the core commercial strip located along Church Street from Wellesley south to Alexander. Though some gay and lesbian oriented establishments can be found outside of this area, the general boundaries of this village have been defined by the Gay Toronto Tourism Guild. The American television series Queer as Folk was filmed in the Church and Wellesley area.
. The Dyke March
is a women-only parade that runs on Saturday afternoon and has a smaller parade route. There is also a weekend-long community fair that closes off Wellesley between Yonge and Church and also goes into Church Street. The community fair includes tables from a wide variety of groups involved in or associated with queer
culture.
The 519 Church Street Community Centre is the meeting place for numerous social and political groups and became well known as a LGBT
-friendly space. "The 519" as it is most often called, is a City of Toronto-run recreation centre that has been adopted locally as the Queer Community Centre, though its programming is not exclusive to LGBT groups and organizations. In 2007, a new wing was opened, and upgrades to the existing spaces were completed in 2009.
While the neighbourhood is home to the community centre, parks, bars, restaurants, and stores catering to the LGBT community (particularly along Church Street), it is also a historic community with Victorian houses and apartments dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Many LGBT people also live in the nearby residential neighbourhoods of The Annex
, Cabbagetown
, St. James Town, St. Lawrence, Riverdale
and the Garden District, and in smaller numbers throughout the city and its suburbs.
Church and Wellesley is also home to the AIDS Memorial, located in Cawthra Park, where the names of members of the community who have been lost to AIDS
are etched into bronze plaques. A memorial candlelight vigil is held each year at the AIDS Memorial, during Pride Week.
In the summer of 2004, the business association launched a pilot project. Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the summer, two blocks of Church Street, from Wellesley south to Alexander, were closed to traffic to encourage more pedestrian activity. However, this proved controversial when some business owners accused other businesses of "stealing" customers by providing street entertainment, and ended three weeks earlier than planned due to a lack of money.
The business association also sponsors the Church Street Fetish Fair in August. In 2003, San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair
had licensed a consortium of Toronto community groups to use the name Folsom Fair North for a similar fetish fair. That fair was held in a large parking lot near the corner of Wellesley and Yonge in 2003 and 2004, and in Allan Gardens
in 2005, and the "Church Street Fetish Fair" was widely perceived as retaliation for the Folsom fair not being held on Church Street itself. Folsom Fair North, which changed its name to FFN in 2006, was last held in 2007.
, a merchant and magistrate in Upper Canada
who was at the centre of a strange, supposedly sexually related scandal in 1810. His lands were derisively known as "Molly Wood's Bush" in the early nineteenth century — "molly" being a contemporary slang term for "homosexual". In the Spring of 2005, a statue of Wood was erected at the corner of Church and Alexander Streets (the latter named for Wood), honouring him as a forefather of Toronto's modern gay community.
Church Street and the area around it has been familiar to the Toronto gay community for many decades. Prior to the 1970s there had been an underground (mostly male) gay scene centred around various bathhouse
s and bar
s around the city that were not exclusively gay establishments but were known to be frequented by homosexuals. Allan Gardens
, just east of Church Street on Carlton, was a well-known cruising
area for gay men. The most notable bar for the gay subculture was the St. Charles Tavern at Yonge Street (one block west of Church) just south of Wellesley. During the 1970s, the bar was the focus of many attacks by homophobes, especially on Halloween. There were also a number of gay-oriented businesses on St. Nicholas Street, a laneway just west of Yonge in the same area. The Glad Day Bookshop
, for many years the city's only gay oriented bookstore, opened on Yonge Street near Wellesley in the mid-1970s.
Church Street started to become a predominantly gay area, and the centre of the gay life in Toronto, following the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids
, an event that galvanized the gay and lesbian community in the city. George Hislop
, a gay businessman and co-owner of one of the raided bath houses, ran for Toronto city council
with his campaign headquarters located at Church and Wellesley.
In the 1980s, the 519 Church Street Community Centre became the meeting place for numerous social and political groups and became well known as an LGBT friendly space. A strip of gay bars opened along the street and many LGBT people rented apartments, joined residential co-ops or bought condos close to Church. The area became known as a friendly environment where people could be open about their sexual orientation.
and the Gladstone Hotel, although outside of Toronto's traditional gay village and not technically gay bars per se, are popular destinations for young gay and lesbian club-goers.
As well, rental rates for both commercial and residential property have risen significantly. Many privately owned businesses have been forced to close down or move to other areas due to these rate increases, and much larger corporations — such as Starbucks
, Subway
and the Bank of Montreal
— have settled on the street.
The residents of the area are now largely middle-aged men with established careers. The high rents mean that the majority of gay youth cannot afford to live in the neighbourhood. Some choose to settle in nearby neighbourhoods such as St. James Town and Cabbagetown, while others no longer feel it necessary to live near the village as they can be open about their sexuality without as much fear of backlash. Many in the gay community have expressed concern about the decline of the neighbourhood's appeal with youth and its loss of small businesses.
Some feel that in the near future, Church Street may no longer be the "heart" of the gay community, yet others feel this has no validity at all, judging by the large crowds of gay men that are still prevalent on Church Street especially during the summer months, giving rise to debate over whether Toronto really needs an enclave for sexual minorities. Some have noted that many small gay-owned businesses have moved to cheaper areas such as Parliament Street and Sherbourne Street, located east of Church and Wellesley. Parkdale
and the Queen Street West
areas have also become popular residential communities for local gays and lesbians, even earning the nickname of "Queer West Village" in recent years.
subway station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line provides the community with access to Toronto's extensive subway
system. Other stations that are within walking distance to the community include:
Yonge–University–Spadina line:
Bloor–Danforth line:
Bus and streetcar routes that provide transportation to the community include:
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Gerrard Street to the south, 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...
to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street
Jarvis Street
Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Bloor Street in the north to Queens Quay East in the south. South of Front Street, it continues as Lower Jarvis Street...
to the east, with the core commercial strip located along Church Street from Wellesley south to Alexander. Though some gay and lesbian oriented establishments can be found outside of this area, the general boundaries of this village have been defined by the Gay Toronto Tourism Guild. The American television series Queer as Folk was filmed in the Church and Wellesley area.
Overview
Church and Wellesley is home to the annual Pride Week celebrations, the largest event of its kind in Canada with over 90 floats and an enthusiastic crowd that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. The Pride Parade is always on the last weekend in June. It runs southward along Yonge StreetYonge 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...
. The Dyke March
Dyke March
Dyke March is a mostly lesbian-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parades and marches. They usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events both before and after the event to further...
is a women-only parade that runs on Saturday afternoon and has a smaller parade route. There is also a weekend-long community fair that closes off Wellesley between Yonge and Church and also goes into Church Street. The community fair includes tables from a wide variety of groups involved in or associated with queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
culture.
The 519 Church Street Community Centre is the meeting place for numerous social and political groups and became well known as a LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
-friendly space. "The 519" as it is most often called, is a City of Toronto-run recreation centre that has been adopted locally as the Queer Community Centre, though its programming is not exclusive to LGBT groups and organizations. In 2007, a new wing was opened, and upgrades to the existing spaces were completed in 2009.
While the neighbourhood is home to the community centre, parks, bars, restaurants, and stores catering to the LGBT community (particularly along Church Street), it is also a historic community with Victorian houses and apartments dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Many LGBT people also live in the nearby residential neighbourhoods of The Annex
The Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road...
, Cabbagetown
Cabbagetown, Toronto
Cabbagetown is a neighbourhood located on the east side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises "the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America", according to the Cabbagetown Preservation Association....
, St. James Town, St. Lawrence, Riverdale
Riverdale, Toronto
Riverdale is a large neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by the Don River Valley to the west, Danforth Avenue and Greektown to the north, Jones Avenue, the CN/GO tracks, and Leslieville to the east, and Lake Shore Boulevard to the south....
and the Garden District, and in smaller numbers throughout the city and its suburbs.
Church and Wellesley is also home to the AIDS Memorial, located in Cawthra Park, where the names of members of the community who have been lost to AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
are etched into bronze plaques. A memorial candlelight vigil is held each year at the AIDS Memorial, during Pride Week.
Other names for the area
A number of alternative names for Church and Wellesley exist in local vernacular, including the Gay Ghetto, the Village or the Gay Village, the Gaybourhood and Mollywood. (named after Alexander Wood) Less commonly used terms include Gay & Wellesley and Queers Park (a play on words with Queen's Park, the seat of Ontario's provincial government); however, many of these "nicknames" are generic to gay villages across the English speaking world and are therefore not descriptive of Church and Wellesley specifically, but of gay villages in general. Most people refer to it simply as Church Street or The Village, since most of the gay-related establishments in the area are located on that street.Bar scene
Bars in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood include Woody's, The Barn/Stables, Zipperz, Byzantium, Slacks, Crews & Tangos, Fuzion, Churchmouse & Firkin, O'Grady's, Statler's, Black Eagle, Voglie, George's Play, Boutique and Flash. Other venues, including Zelda's Living Well (previously located on Church), are on nearby Yonge Street. lo'la is located on Maitland Street and Fly on Gloucester Street.Business association
The Church Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area was established October 2002In the summer of 2004, the business association launched a pilot project. Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the summer, two blocks of Church Street, from Wellesley south to Alexander, were closed to traffic to encourage more pedestrian activity. However, this proved controversial when some business owners accused other businesses of "stealing" customers by providing street entertainment, and ended three weeks earlier than planned due to a lack of money.
The business association also sponsors the Church Street Fetish Fair in August. In 2003, San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair
Folsom Street Fair
The Folsom Street Fair is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair held on the last Sunday in September and caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week"...
had licensed a consortium of Toronto community groups to use the name Folsom Fair North for a similar fetish fair. That fair was held in a large parking lot near the corner of Wellesley and Yonge in 2003 and 2004, and in Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens is one of the oldest parks in Toronto, Canada. It has a conservatory , a playground and two fenced off-leash areas for dogs. It is operated by Toronto Parks who also run Centennial Park Conservatory...
in 2005, and the "Church Street Fetish Fair" was widely perceived as retaliation for the Folsom fair not being held on Church Street itself. Folsom Fair North, which changed its name to FFN in 2006, was last held in 2007.
History
The portion of the neighbourhood bounded by Yonge, Jarvis, Maitland and Carlton Streets was once the estate of Alexander WoodAlexander Wood (merchant)
Alexander Wood was a merchant and magistrate in Upper Canada who was the center of a sex scandal in 1810.-Early life and career:...
, a merchant and magistrate in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
who was at the centre of a strange, supposedly sexually related scandal in 1810. His lands were derisively known as "Molly Wood's Bush" in the early nineteenth century — "molly" being a contemporary slang term for "homosexual". In the Spring of 2005, a statue of Wood was erected at the corner of Church and Alexander Streets (the latter named for Wood), honouring him as a forefather of Toronto's modern gay community.
Church Street and the area around it has been familiar to the Toronto gay community for many decades. Prior to the 1970s there had been an underground (mostly male) gay scene centred around various bathhouse
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
s and bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
s around the city that were not exclusively gay establishments but were known to be frequented by homosexuals. Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens is one of the oldest parks in Toronto, Canada. It has a conservatory , a playground and two fenced off-leash areas for dogs. It is operated by Toronto Parks who also run Centennial Park Conservatory...
, just east of Church Street on Carlton, was a well-known cruising
Cruising
Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...
area for gay men. The most notable bar for the gay subculture was the St. Charles Tavern at Yonge Street (one block west of Church) just south of Wellesley. During the 1970s, the bar was the focus of many attacks by homophobes, especially on Halloween. There were also a number of gay-oriented businesses on St. Nicholas Street, a laneway just west of Yonge in the same area. The Glad Day Bookshop
Glad Day Bookshop
Glad Day Bookshop is an independent bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, specializing in LGBT literature. The store is located at 598A Yonge Street near the city's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood.-History:...
, for many years the city's only gay oriented bookstore, opened on Yonge Street near Wellesley in the mid-1970s.
Church Street started to become a predominantly gay area, and the centre of the gay life in Toronto, following the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids
1981 Toronto bathhouse raids
Operation Soap was a raid by the Metropolitan Toronto Police against four gay bathhouses in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which took place on February 5, 1981...
, an event that galvanized the gay and lesbian community in the city. George Hislop
George Hislop
George Hislop was one of Canada's most influential gay activists. He was the first openly gay candidate for municipal office in Canada, as well as the first openly gay candidate for any political office in Ontario , and was a key figure in the early development of Toronto's gay...
, a gay businessman and co-owner of one of the raided bath houses, ran for Toronto city council
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
with his campaign headquarters located at Church and Wellesley.
In the 1980s, the 519 Church Street Community Centre became the meeting place for numerous social and political groups and became well known as an LGBT friendly space. A strip of gay bars opened along the street and many LGBT people rented apartments, joined residential co-ops or bought condos close to Church. The area became known as a friendly environment where people could be open about their sexual orientation.
Uncertain future
As times have changed and Canadian society has become more open to homosexuality, Church Street may no longer serve as a sanctuary. Many bars and clubs throughout Toronto are now gay-friendly; establishments such as the Drake HotelDrake Hotel (Toronto)
The Drake Hotel on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada near Parkdale, was opened in 1890 as "Small's Hotel". At the time, the area was a major Canadian Pacific Railway hub near what was then one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the city....
and the Gladstone Hotel, although outside of Toronto's traditional gay village and not technically gay bars per se, are popular destinations for young gay and lesbian club-goers.
As well, rental rates for both commercial and residential property have risen significantly. Many privately owned businesses have been forced to close down or move to other areas due to these rate increases, and much larger corporations — such as Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
and the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
— have settled on the street.
The residents of the area are now largely middle-aged men with established careers. The high rents mean that the majority of gay youth cannot afford to live in the neighbourhood. Some choose to settle in nearby neighbourhoods such as St. James Town and Cabbagetown, while others no longer feel it necessary to live near the village as they can be open about their sexuality without as much fear of backlash. Many in the gay community have expressed concern about the decline of the neighbourhood's appeal with youth and its loss of small businesses.
Some feel that in the near future, Church Street may no longer be the "heart" of the gay community, yet others feel this has no validity at all, judging by the large crowds of gay men that are still prevalent on Church Street especially during the summer months, giving rise to debate over whether Toronto really needs an enclave for sexual minorities. Some have noted that many small gay-owned businesses have moved to cheaper areas such as Parliament Street and Sherbourne Street, located east of Church and Wellesley. Parkdale
Parkdale, Toronto
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Queen Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario...
and the Queen Street West
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...
areas have also become popular residential communities for local gays and lesbians, even earning the nickname of "Queer West Village" in recent years.
Transportation
The WellesleyWellesley (TTC)
Wellesley is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada subway. It is located at 551 Yonge Street at Wellesley Street East.Wellesley is the only downtown TTC subway station with only one street entrance.-History:...
subway station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line provides the community with access to Toronto's extensive subway
Toronto subway and RT
The Toronto subway and RT is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of both underground and elevated railway lines, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission . It was Canada's first completed subway system, with the first line being built under Yonge Street, which opened in...
system. Other stations that are within walking distance to the community include:
Yonge–University–Spadina line:
- Bloor-Yonge Bloor-Yonge (TTC)Bloor-Yonge is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina and the Bloor–Danforth subway lines operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 733 Yonge Street at Bloor Street West/East...
- CollegeCollege (TTC)College is a subway station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto, Ontario, Canada subway that opened in 1954. It is located at 448 Yonge Street at College Street/Carlton Street.-Entrances:...
Bloor–Danforth line:
- Bloor-Yonge
- SherbourneSherbourne (TTC)Sherbourne is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the Toronto subway and RT. It was opened in 1966 and is located at 420 Bloor Street East at Sherbourne Street. The station primarily serves the St...
Bus and streetcar routes that provide transportation to the community include:
- 75 Sherbourne (Northbound to South Drive Northbound and Southbound to Queen's Quay)
- 94 Wellesley (no transfer required at Wellesley station)
- 97(B) Yonge (Northbound to Steeles AvenueSteeles AvenueSteeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
and Southbound to Queen's Quay) - 141 Jarvis (Express service northbound to Mount Pleasant RoadMount Pleasant RoadMount Pleasant Road is a major arterial thoroughfare in the Canadian city of Toronto, Ontario that travels from Jarvis Street south of Bloor Street north to Glen Echo Drive. The road is unique as one of the few arterial roads in Toronto to be created after the development of the suburbs which it...
/Davisville Avenue (Davisville Village) and southbound service to Dundas StreetDundas StreetDundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
/Jarvis StreetJarvis StreetJarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Bloor Street in the north to Queens Quay East in the south. South of Front Street, it continues as Lower Jarvis Street...
; please note that Express routes require additional fare.) - 506 Carlton
Notable natives and residents
- Enza AndersonEnza AndersonEnza "Supermodel" Anderson is a Canadian transgender political activist and media personality.-Early life and education:...
, transgendered media personality and political candidate - Mark Elliot, the first openly gay talk show host on CFRBCFRB (AM)CFRB, Newstalk 1010, is an AM radio clear-channel station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX-SW on 6.070 MHz. The station broadcasts a mix of talk and news throughout the day from its transmitter located in the community of...
- Malcolm IngramMalcolm IngramMalcolm Ingram is a Canadian independent film director, pornographic film director, and podcaster. He was born in 1968 and hails from Toronto. He has made Drawing Flies under View Askew Productions, which was produced by Scott Mosier and Kevin Smith, Tail Lights Fade, and Small Town Gay Bar, a...
, director Small Town Gay BarSmall Town Gay BarSmall Town Gay Bar is a 2006 documentary directed by Malcolm Ingram that focuses on two gay bars in the rural deep Southeast United States, one in Shannon, Mississippi, and one in Meridian, Mississippi... - Kyle RaeKyle RaeKyle Rae is a former Canadian politician. He was a city councillor for Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale in Toronto, Ontario from 1991 to 2010. Rae is now a self-described consultant.-Politics:...
, former Toronto city councillorToronto City CouncilThe Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
See also
- List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
- Montreal's Gay VillageGay Village, MontrealMontreal's Gay Village is located on Saint Catherine Street East, centred on Beaudry metro station, and on Amherst Street in the Ville-Marie borough of the city...
- Vancouver's Gay VillageDavie VillageDavie Village is a neighbourhood in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the home of the city's gay subculture, and, as such, is often considered a gay village or "gaybourhood". It is centred on Davie Street and roughly includes the area between Burrard and Jervis streets...