Yorkville is a district in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada, well known for its shopping. It is a former village, annexed by the City of Toronto. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street

Bloor Street

Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...

 to the south, Davenport Road to the north, 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 east and Avenue Road to the west, and is considered part of the '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...

' neighbourhood officially. It is recognized as one of Canada's most exclusive shopping districts. The local section of Bloor Street, the main shopping avenue, vies nationally with Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

's Robson Street

Robson Street

Robson Street is a major southeast-northwest thoroughfare in downtown and West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its core commercial blocks from Burrard Street to Jervis are also known as Robsonstrasse. Its name honours John Robson, a major figure in British Columbia's entry into the...

. In 2006, both were the 22nd most expensive streets in the world, with rents of $208 per square foot. In 2007, Bloor and Robson slipped to 25th in the world with an average of $198 per square foot.

Yorkville now commands rents of $300 per square foot, making it the third most expensive retail space in North America. In 2008, Bloor St. was named the seventh most expensive shopping street in the world by Fortune Magazine, claiming tenants can pull in $1,500 to $4,500 per square foot in sales.

Character

Yorkville is known for upscale shopping, restaurants, and the first five star hotel in Canada. Upscale boutiques include Burberry

Burberry

Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...

, Prada

Prada

Prada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...

, Gucci

Gucci

The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...

, MAC Cosmetics, Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss

Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...

, Chanel

Chanel

Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

, Hermès

Hermès

Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear...

, Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...

, Holt Renfrew

Holt Renfrew

Holt Renfrew is a chain of high-end Canadian department stores. It is comparable to Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue in the United States, and to two other upmarket chains owned by the same family, Britain's Selfridges and Ireland's Brown Thomas...

, Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...

, Escada

Escada

Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...

, Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna is a leading Italian fashion house, specialing in men's clothing. Founded in 1910, it is now managed by the fourth generation of the Zegna family and remains in family ownership. As well as producing suits for its own labels, it manufactures suits for labels such as Gucci, Yves...

, Cartier

Cartier SA

Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...

, Harry Rosen

Harry Rosen Inc.

Harry Rosen Inc. is a Canadian retail chain of 15 high-end men's clothing stores. A privately owned company, Harry Rosen accounts for 40 percent of the Canadian market in high-end menswear...

, Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein

Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

, Cole Haan

Cole Haan

Cole Haan is a fashion label that was founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 1928.The name comes from founders Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan. Originally Cole Haan was a men's footwear label...

, Vera Wang

Vera Wang

Vera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...

, Lacoste, Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

, Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England. It is the current producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles, whose historical production dates back to 1904. The factory is located across from the historic Goodwood Circuit...

, Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a high-end American consumer retail company that sells kitchenwares, furniture and linens, as well as other housewares and home furnishings, along with a variety of specialty foods, soaps and lotions...

, Bang and Olufsen, Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished...

, Max Mara

Max Mara

MaxMara, or The House of MaxMara, is a luxury Italian fashion house known for its ready-to-wear clothing. Established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti...

, Montblanc

Montblanc (pens)

Montblanc International GmbH is a German manufacturer of writing instruments, watches and accessories, often identified by their "White Star" logo.-History:...

, Bulgari

Bulgari

Bulgari is an Italian jeweler and luxury goods retailer which has been owned by the French firm LVMH since October 2011. The trademark is usually written "BVLGARI" in the classical Latin alphabet , and is derived from the surname of the company's Greek founder, Sotirio Voulgaris...

, Birks

Birks & Mayors

Birks & Mayors Inc. is a manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, timepieces and silverware, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in Canada and the United States. It operates stores under three different retail banners: 37 Birks stores across Canada, 31 Mayors stores in Florida and...

, Coach, Guerlain

Guerlain

Guerlain is a French perfume house, among the oldest in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry...

, Swarovski

Swarovski

Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...

, and other upscale designer boutiques. The Holt Renfrew store on Bloor is the luxury retailer's flagship and largest store with 4 floors and various boutiques. Many flagships of other companies are located here as well, such as Harry Rosen, Town Shoes, Lacoste, Gucci, Coach, and Chanel (in which the Canadian flagship became one of the largest in the world.) Browns Shoes opened on Bloor, with merchandise that is much more expensive than at their other boutiques.

In recent years, mid-market retailers have also begun to locate along Bloor. In 2005, Winners and La Senza

La Senza

La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada, which sells lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Limited Brands.- History :...

 opened stores, later followed by French Connection

French Connection (clothing)

French Connection is a retailer and wholesaler of fashion clothing and accessories. Founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks it is based in London, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates globally....

, Puma

PUMA AG

Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...

, Aldo

Aldo Groupe

The ALDO Group is a Canadian corporation that owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessory stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in Montreal, Quebec, in 1972 where its corporate headquarters remain today...

, Aritzia

Aritzia

Aritzia is a Canadian clothing retailer for women that started in Vancouver, British Columbia in the Hill's department store in Kerrisdale in 1984 and now has 12 of its stores in Vancouver. Aritzia also owns the TNA stores...

, Club Monaco

Club Monaco

Club Monaco is a mid-priced, high-end casual clothing retailer owned by Polo Ralph Lauren. With more than 69 stores in North America, the retailer has locations in Canada, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, China, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United...

, Banana Republic, American Apparel

American Apparel

American Apparel is a clothing manufacturer in the United States. It is a vertically integrated clothing manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer that also performs its own design, advertising, and marketing...

, Roots Canada Ltd, Guess, Nike

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

, Zara

Zara (clothing)

Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group; the fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and...

, Roots

Roots Canada Ltd.

Roots Canada Ltd. is a Canadian clothing and lifestyle products retailer. The retail stores sell Roots' own brand of products in Canada, the United States and Asia...

, Lululemon, Sephora

Sephora

Sephora is a chain of cosmetics stores founded in France in 1970 and acquired by Paris-based conglomerate LVMH in 1997. The Sephora chain includes more than 750 stores in 17 countries...

, Gap

Gap (clothing retailer)

The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

 and H&M

H&M

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....

. Discount retailer, Labels 4 Less, recently opened their own store, to the disappointment of many of its neighbours. Nonetheless, Yorkville has been recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping streets in North America, being compared to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's Fifth Avenue, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

's Magnificent Mile

Magnificent Mile

The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, that runs along a portion of Michigan Avenue extending from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side community area. The district is located adjacent to downtown; it is also one block...

, and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

' Rodeo Drive

Rodeo Drive

Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district known for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south....

. Demand is still high on Bloor St., according to real estate firm, Cushman and Wakefield. 5 years ago, retail space rents were $110 per square foot. Although, last year's Cushman and Wakefield report indicate rents of $198 per square foot, their Q407 Toronto Retail Report mentions current deals reaching $300 per square foot, making Bloor St. the third most expensive retail street in North America. This has led to higher rents on Cumberland St. and Yorkville Ave., with several new developments asking $125 per square foot. Expensive Indian fashion boutique INDIVA, which moved to a smaller boutique on Yorkville Ave., claims that the monthly rent at their previous location was $85,000. Many independent retailers struggle to meet these demands, and many in past years have closed or relocated to other streets. However, it is estimated that some retailers pull in more than $2000 per square foot in sales.

During the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

, Yorkville becomes an excellent place for celebrity-spotting, especially in the Hazelton Lanes

Hazelton Lanes

Hazelton Lanes is an upscale shopping mall located in Yorkville, an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto.-History:Hazelton Lanes opened in 1976 with of retail space. It was positioned as a luxury shopping centre and attracted some of the world's most prestigious retailers...

 shopping complex. Most recently, however, the celebrities once seen during the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

 have migrated elsewhere and are now most often seen in the entertainment district bars and after-hour clubs near the CITY-TV

CITY-TV

CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...

 building. Yorkville still remains the top celebrity hangout in Toronto, and celebrities can be spotted there throughout the year.

Luxury hotels in Yorkville include the InterContinental Toronto Yorkville, Four Seasons, the Park Hyatt

Park Hyatt Toronto

The Park Hyatt Toronto is a Hyatt hotel in the Yorkville area of Toronto, Canada. Long the independent Park Plaza Hotel it is one of the most venerable hotels in the city....

, the Hazelton Hotel, the Windsor Arms Hotel

Windsor Arms Hotel

The Windsor Arms is a boutique hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 18 St. Thomas St. in the heart of the Yorkville neighbourhood. The hotel includes Club 22, Court Yard Cafe and a Spa....

, the Residence on Bay and the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel.

There are also many offices and professional services. Notable companies/organizations include the Retail Council of Canada

Retail Council of Canada

The Retail Council of Canada was founded in 1963. It is a Canadian not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants...

, Canada Post

Canada Post

Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...

, IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 Canada, Alliance Atlantis

Alliance Atlantis

Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Toronto-based media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon and Sydney.Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest...

, Famous Players, Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

, Showcase Television

Showcase Television

Showcase is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. Showcase is a predominantly fiction-based service centred around scripted television series and films....

, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

 and the consulates of several nations.

MTV Canada

MTV Canada

MTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming.MTV is owned by Bell Media, with its name licensed from the American channel of the same name, which is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom.The channel launched as talktv...

 headquarters are located in Yorkville as well. Canada's largest museum and the fifth largest in North America, the Royal Ontario Museum is located at the intersection of Bloor and Avenue Rd. The area north of Bloor St. on Cumberland and Yorkville contain petite streets with cafes, restaurants and specialty boutiques. It resembles more of a European style district.

Yorkville is also home to some of Toronto's most expensive condominium

Condominium

A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...

s, most starting at over one million dollars and going well beyond, including: The Prince Arthur, Renaissance Plaza, 10 Bellair, One St. Thomas, Windsor Arms Hotel

Windsor Arms Hotel

The Windsor Arms is a boutique hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 18 St. Thomas St. in the heart of the Yorkville neighbourhood. The hotel includes Club 22, Court Yard Cafe and a Spa....

, The Hazelton Hotel & Residences, Hazelton Lanes

Hazelton Lanes

Hazelton Lanes is an upscale shopping mall located in Yorkville, an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto.-History:Hazelton Lanes opened in 1976 with of retail space. It was positioned as a luxury shopping centre and attracted some of the world's most prestigious retailers...

.

Bloor Street Transformation Project

Begun in 2008, the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area and the City of Toronto are updating the street-scape from Church Street to Avenue Road. The objective is to create an enhanced pedestrian experience with widened sidewalks, mature trees, flower gardens, modern lighting and public art.

History

Founded in 1830 by entrepreneur Joseph Bloor (after whom Bloor Street

Bloor Street

Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...

, one of Toronto's main thoroughfares, is named) and William Botsford Jarvis

William Botsford Jarvis

William Botsford Jarvis was an important member of the Family Compact and Sheriff of the Home District. His estate in what was then York, Upper Canada gave it's name to Rosedale, Toronto...

 of Rosedale, Toronto

Rosedale, Toronto

Rosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....

, the Village of Yorkville began as a residential suburb. Bloor operated a brewery north-east of today's Bloor and Church Street intersection. Jarvis was Sheriff of the Home District. The two purchased land in the Yorkville district, subdividing it into smaller lots on new side streets to those interested in living in the cleaner air outside of York. The village grew enough to be connected by an omnibus service in 1849 to Toronto. By 1853, the population of the village had reached 1,000, the figure needed to incorporate as a village and the Village of Yorkville was incorporated. Development increased and by the 1870s, Potter's Field, a cemetery stretching east of Yonge Street along the north side of Concession Road (today's Bloor Street) was closed, and the remains moved to the Necropolis and Mount Pleasant cemetery.

By the 1880s, the cost of delivering services to the large population of Yorkville was beyond the Village's ability. It petitioned the City of Toronto to be annexed. Annexation came on February 1, 1883, and Yorkville's name changed officially from "Village of Yorkville" to "St. Paul's Ward" and the former "Yorkville Town Hall

Yorkville Town Hall

Yorkville Town Hall was the municipal building for the Town of Yorkville before annexation into the City of Toronto. Built in 1859-1860 by architect William Hay and his apprentice Henry Langley, the 3 storey building served as an omnibus stop. Located north of Bloor on Yonge Street, it was...

" became "St. Paul's Hall". The character of the suburb did not change and its Victorian-style

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 homes, quiet residential streets, and picturesque gardens survived into the 20th century. In 1923, Toronto Hebrew Maternity and Convalescent Hospital was opened at 100 Yorkville Avenue and a year later the name was changed to Mount Sinai Hospital. The facade of this building still stands today and houses retailer Teatro Verde.

In the 1960s, Yorkville flourished as Toronto's bohemian

Bohemianism

Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...

 cultural centre. It was the breeding ground for some of Canada's most noted musical talents, including Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...

, Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 and Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...

, as well as then-underground literary figures such as Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...

, Gwendolyn MacEwen

Gwendolyn MacEwen

Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen was a Canadian poet and novelist. A "sophisticated, wide-ranging and thoughtful writer," she published more than 20 books in her brief life. "A sense of magic and mystery from her own interests in the Gnostics, Ancient Egypt and magic itself, and from her wonderment at...

 and Dennis Lee

Dennis Lee (author)

Dennis Beynon Lee, OC, MA is a Canadian poet, teacher, editor, and critic born in Toronto, Ontario. He is also a children's writer, well known for his book of children's rhymes, Alligator Pie.-Life:...

. Yorkville was also known as the Canadian capital of the hippie

Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...

 movement. In 1968, nearby Rochdale College

Rochdale College

Opened in 1968, Rochdale College was an experiment in student-run alternative education and co-operative living in Toronto, Canada. It provided space for 840 residents in a co-operative living space. It was also a free university where students and teachers would live together and share knowledge...

 at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 was opened on Bloor Street as an experiment in counterculture education

Alternative education

Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, includes a number of approaches to teaching and learning other than mainstream or traditional education. Educational alternatives are often rooted in various philosophies that are fundamentally different...

. Those influenced by their time in 1960s-70s Yorkville include cyberpunk

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...

 writer William Gibson

William Gibson

William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...

. Its domination by hippies and young people led MPP Syl Apps

Syl Apps

Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps, CM of Paris, Ontario, was a Canadian pole vaulter and professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948 and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario.-Athletic career:Apps was a strong athlete, 6 feet tall, weighing 185 pounds,...

 to refer to it as "a festering sore in the middle of the city" and call for its "eradication."

Transition into high-end shopping district
After the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway the value of land nearby increased as higher densities were allowed by the City's official plan. Along Bloor Street, office towers, the Bay department store and the Holt Renfrew department store displaced the local retail. As real estate values increased, the residential homes north of Bloor along Yorkville were converted into high-end retail, including many art galleries, fashion boutiques and antique stores, and popular bars, cafes and eateries along Cumberland Street and Yorkville Avenue. Many smaller buildings were demolished and office and hotels built in the 1970s, with high priced condominium developments being built in the last decade or so.

Village of Yorkville Park

The Village of Yorkville Park is a series of unique gardens located on the south side of Cumberland Street stretching west from Bellair Street. It was designed by Oleson Worland Architects in association with Martha Schwartz

Martha Schwartz

Martha Schwartz, born 1950, is an American landscape architect. Her background is in the fine arts as well as landscape architecture, and her projects range from private to urban scale. She studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and graduated from the University of Michigan...

 / Ken Smith / David Meyer

David Meyer

David Meyer is an English actor. He is the twin of Anthony Meyer who has often appeared alongside him in film.Meyer is best known for appearing as a henchman in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy as a circus performer with a talent for knife throwing alongside his twin. In the film the twins were...

 Landscape Architects

Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...

 to celebrate the surrounding neighbourhood and reflect the diversity of the Canadian landscape.

At the east end, a paved square of land is dotted with Scots Pine

Scots Pine

Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...

s growing out of circular benches. Further west, is a set of metal archways among a row of crabapple trees. Next, there is a marshy wetland. A silver-coloured metal structure houses a waterfall bordering one side of a courtyard filled with benches and chairs, while a 650-tonne hunk of billion-year-old granite, cut out of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

 and transported to the park in pieces, is towards the west end. The westerly exit of Bay subway station

Bay (TTC)

Bay is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. It is located at 64 Bloor Street West at Bay Street.One major amenity of this station is the Toronto Transit Commission's Lost articles office, where objects lost on TTC property are kept.-History:Bay Station was...

 arises next to the rock.

The park has received the American Society of Landscape Architects

American Society of Landscape Architects

The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...

 Award 1997, the International Downtown’s Association Award of Merit 1997 and the City of Toronto Urban Design Award of Excellence 1997.

Frank Stollery Parkette

Named for the local businessman and politician Frank Stollery, this small wedge shaped urban park runs west from Yonge Street between Davenport Road and Scollard Street. The theme of the park now celebrates the history of Davenport Road.

Jesse Ketchum Park

Named for the Canadian politician Jesse Ketchum

Jesse Ketchum

Jesse Ketchum was a tanner and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Spencertown, New York in 1782. After his mother died, he was taken into a foster home; his foster father was a tanner. He ran away from home in 1799 and joined his brother Seneca, who was farming north of York in Upper...

, this greenspace park has a playground and is located next to Jesse Ketchum Public School.

Town Hall Square

Commemorating the site of the Yorkville Town Hall

Yorkville Town Hall

Yorkville Town Hall was the municipal building for the Town of Yorkville before annexation into the City of Toronto. Built in 1859-1860 by architect William Hay and his apprentice Henry Langley, the 3 storey building served as an omnibus stop. Located north of Bloor on Yonge Street, it was...

, this small urban oasis

Urban oasis

An urban oasis is a public open space, park, or plaza which is located in between buildings or formed by surrounding buildings in an urban setting. It can exist in any kind of culture. There are various sizes of urban oases. Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted's park in New York City, can be...

 has paths and benches sheltered between rows of hedges, trees and oversized pots. The square abuts on the east side the Yorkville branch of the Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...

.

Events

Bloor-Yorkville has also become the home of some of Toronto's most exciting and dynamic events.

• Toronto International Film Festival
  Toronto International Film Festival
  The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
  
  
• Sante International Wine Festival

Shopping Centres

• Cumberland Terrace
• Hazelton Lanes
  Hazelton Lanes
  Hazelton Lanes is an upscale shopping mall located in Yorkville, an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto.-History:Hazelton Lanes opened in 1976 with of retail space. It was positioned as a luxury shopping centre and attracted some of the world's most prestigious retailers...
  
  
• Holt Renfrew Centre
• Hudson Bay Centre
  Hudson Bay Centre
  Hudson's Bay Centre is an International style office skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:Completed in 1974, it stands at 35 floors at 135 metres in height. The Bay department store still anchors the site...
  
  
• Manulife Centre
  Manulife Centre
  The Manulife Centre is located on the southeast corner of Bay and Bloor streets, adjacent to the southern edge of the Yorkville district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
  
  

Hotels

• Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
• Park Hyatt Toronto
  Park Hyatt Toronto
  The Park Hyatt Toronto is a Hyatt hotel in the Yorkville area of Toronto, Canada. Long the independent Park Plaza Hotel it is one of the most venerable hotels in the city....
  
  
• The Residence on Bay
• The Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto
• Marriott Toronto Bloor Yorkville
• The Hazelton Hotel & Residences
• InterContinental Toronto Yorkville

Restaurants

• Peridot Resto.Lounge
• ONE
• Dimmi Bar & Trattoria
• Flo's Diner
• Prego Della Piazza
• Sassafraz
• Pangaea
• Yamato
• Bistro 990
• Trattoria Vaticano
• Ciao Wine Bar

Art Galleries

• Gallery One
• Drabinsky Gallery
• Beckett Fine Art
• Maslak McLeod
• Scollard Street Gallery
• Old Master Gallery
• Feheley Fine Arts
• Gallery Gevik
• Hollander York Gallery
• Kinsman Robinson Gallery
• Miriam Shiell Fine Art
• Loch Gallery
• Mira Godard Gallery
• Ingram Gallery

External links

• "Yorkville, a hippie haven" - video clip from CBC Archives, first aired September 4, 1967
• Bloor Yorkville - business listing