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Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into
Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popu ...
where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct,
Danforth Avenue Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edwar ...
continues along the same
right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
. The street, approximately long, contains a significant cross-sample of Toronto's ethnic communities. It is also home to Toronto's famous shopping street, the
Mink Mile Mink Mile is an upscale shopping district in the neighbourhood of Yorkville in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road. History In the 21st century, mid-market retailers have begun to locate along th ...
. A portion of Line 2 of the Bloor-Danforth subway line runs along Bloor from
Kipling Avenue Kipling Avenue is a street in the cities of Toronto and Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 6 concessions (12 km) west from Yonge Street, and is a major north–south arterial road. It consists of three separate sec ...
to the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ...
, and then continues east along Danforth Avenue.


History

Originally surveyed as the first concession road north of the baseline (then Lot Street, now Queen Street), it was known by many names, including the Tollgate Road (as the first tollgate on Yonge north of Lot Street was constructed there in 1820) then St. Paul's Road (after the nearby church, constructed 1842). From 1844 until 1854 it was known as Sydenham Road after Lord Sydenham,
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...
1839–1841. The street was then given its current name in honour of Joseph Bloor, a local brewer and land speculator who founded the Village of Yorkville in 1830 on the north side of this street and who was one of the street's original residents. Sections of Bloor Street near High Park was still undeveloped in the early part of the 20th Century. Sections along High Park required infill to eliminate the natural deep valleys in the area. On the eastern terminus Bloor ended at Sherbourne Avenue at Rosedale Valley and where once the
Sherbourne Blockhouse Following the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada Sir George Arthur directed the construction of a Sherbourne Blockhouse, and a ring of six other blockhouses -- to guard the approaches to Toronto in case there was ...
stood. A small footpath from Howard Street was the only means to reach the eastern end of the valley to continue along Danforth Avenue until the Prince Edward Viaduct was completed in 1918. The street formerly ended at a dead end west of Highway 27 (now Highway 427), but was extended west in the early 1960s with the development of the
Markland Wood Markland Wood is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of the central core, in the former suburb of Etobicoke and is the westernmost residential community in Toronto along Bloor Street West. It's located on t ...
neighbourhood. The Mississauga portion was constructed beginning in the mid-1960s, although the street was not bridged over the Etobicoke Creek (the present Mississauga/Toronto boundary) until 1971.


Bike lanes

The idea of installing bicycle lanes on Bloor had been debated since at least the early 1970s. On 4 May 2016, city council voted 38-3 to implement physically separated bike lanes along a 2.6-km stretch of the street. Mayor John Tory stated, in support of the project, that if council sought to make Toronto a "21st century city", it must improve at providing "alternate ways to move people around the city." These lanes were made permanent in November 2017, following a years trial period.


Route description

Bloor street begins at the eastern edge of the Prince Edward Viaduct, which passes over the ravine holding the
Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...
. The street continues through to the Rosedale Ravine, marking the southern border of the affluent community of Rosedale. West of Parliament Street, the street passes just to the north of the large
St. James Town St. James Town (sometimes misspelled St. Jamestown) is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies in the northeast corner of the downtown area. The neighbourhood covers the area bounded by Jarvis Street to the west, Bloor Street East to ...
housing project, which stretches west to Sherbourne Street. On the northern side of this section of Bloor are the forested slopes of the Rosedale Ravine. Between Sherbourne and Church Streets the street is lined by large office towers, mostly home to insurance companies. This area has long been the centre of the insurance industry in Canada. West of Church the street becomes more commercial and is an important shopping district. In downtown, especially around the intersection with
Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James ...
, Bloor is one of the most exclusive stretches of real estate in Canada. Rents on the upscale Bloor Street have doubled in 4 years, ranking as the 22nd most expensive retail location in the world in 2006, up two spots from 2005. Nationally, Vancouver's upscale Robson Street tied with Bloor Street West as the most expensive street in Canada, with an annual average rental price of $208 per square foot. Under the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets is the Bloor–Yonge subway station, which is the busiest in the city, serving approximately 368,800 people a day. Above ground, the intersection encompasses commercial stores and condominiums. In the downtown, Bloor Street serves as the northern edge of the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
campus, and is host to several historic sites, including the
Bata Shoe Museum The Bata Shoe Museum (BSM) is a museum of footwear and calceology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum's building is situated near the northwest of the University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum building was d ...
, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and the southern edge of Yorkville, in an area now known as the Bloor Street Culture Corridor. West of the university, which ends at Spadina Avenue, Bloor Street runs through a diverse series of neighbourhoods such as The Annex,
Koreatown A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
, Dufferin Grove, Brockton, Roncesvalles, High Park and
Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining ...
. It generally retains its commercial character, and serves as the main shopping area for most of these communities. Numerous sections of the street have named 'business improvement areas' such as Bloorcourt Village,
Bloordale Village Bloordale Village is a Business Improvement Area (BIA) located along Bloor Street from Dufferin Street to Lansdowne Avenue, west of downtown in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It sits on the southern border of the Wallace Emerson neighbourhood and ...
and
Bloor West Village Bloor West Village is a family-friendly residential neighbourhood and vibrant shopping district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bordered on the south by Bloor Street, it encompasses all businesses along Bloor Street between South Kingsway and Ellis P ...
. In Toronto's west end, Bloor Street criss-crosses
Dundas Street Dundas Street is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long section ...
twice, between
Lansdowne Avenue Lansdowne Avenue is an arterial road in Toronto, Ontario. It runs north–south and starts at Queen Street West and proceeds north to St. Clair Avenue West. Lansdowne Avenue is primarily a four-lane arterial road, with two lanes regularly used f ...
and Keele Street and again in the "Six Points" area of Islington–City Centre West near Kipling Avenue.
Markland Wood Markland Wood is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of the central core, in the former suburb of Etobicoke and is the westernmost residential community in Toronto along Bloor Street West. It's located on t ...
is the westernmost residential community in the city of Toronto. Through Mississauga, Bloor Street runs through the residential neighbourhoods of Applewood and Mississauga Valleys, and terminates at Central Parkway, about one kilometre east of Hurontario Street. Until 1998, Bloor Street was designated as Highway 5 from Kipling Avenue east to the Don River. Like many urban stretches of provincial roadway, it was formally decommissioned as a
connecting link The Connecting Link program is a provincial subsidy provided to municipalities to assist with road construction, maintenance and repairs in the Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Roads which are designated as ''connecting links'' form the port ...
on January 1. Construction began in 2019 by the City of Toronto to reconfigure the interchange at Kipling Avenue and Dundas Street into an at-grade intersection. This removed the "Spaghetti Junction" created in 1961 and renamed Dunbloor Road as Dundas Street to reconnect the broken sections.


Shopping

The stretch of Bloor between
Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial H ...
and Avenue Road, in Yorkville, is called
Mink Mile Mink Mile is an upscale shopping district in the neighbourhood of Yorkville in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road. History In the 21st century, mid-market retailers have begun to locate along th ...
, and it is the most prestigious shopping street in Toronto.


References


Bloor Street

Discover Toronto at ROMWalks



National Post

Markland Wood
{{Ethnic enclaves Roads in Toronto Roads in the Regional Municipality of Peel Shopping districts and streets in Canada Koreatowns