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College Street is a principal arterial thoroughfare in downtown
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Canada, connecting former
streetcar suburbs A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, whe ...
in the west with the
city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
. The street is home to an ethnically diverse population in the western residential reaches, and institutions like the
Ontario Legislature The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
and the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
in the
downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...
. At
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') 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 Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
, College continues to the east as
Carlton Street Carlton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Carlton (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian mini ...
.


History

College Street takes its name from the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, originally King's College. Between
Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...
and Yonge Street, College marks the southern boundary of the original 1827 land grant for the college. The street was immediately proposed as an east-west route along the boundary, although the section was not built until 1859. The first section built was to the west of Spadina Avenue, through the estate of
Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. ...
, who laid out the route. This section was built with the that was also used for Spadina. The section through Baldwin's estate was laid out in 1842, and the wide section was extended to Manning Avenue through the Denison and Crookshank estates. After
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
made the 1873 land grant which would become
High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...
, the Denison family proposed that the city extend College Street west as a sort of 'driving park' to access the new public lands. The path to the west of Manning Avenue was blocked by William Wakefield, who owned the land beyond and was holding out for a high sale price. The purchase of Wakefield's land did not take place until 1879. The right-of-way purchased through Wakefield's land was the standard width, rather than the 100 ft width to the east. The cost of the land may have been a factor. Building the route west of Clinton Street was a challenge in the 1880s. At the time, a direct line west would have traveled through the ravines of
Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
and Brewery Creeks as far as
Dufferin Street Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's nor ...
, the western city limit at the time. Instead, the road was rerouted along a north-western crescent running parallel to the creeks. The route then proceeded straight as far west as Havelock Street, just east of Dufferin.Fram(2006), p. 53 At Havelock Street, the right-of-way intersected the property of Charles Lindsay. The alignment of College Street would have bisected his property, leaving unsaleable lot sizes on the south side of College. Lindsay was able to convince the city to reroute around his property to the north, with a 'kink' that exists to this day. After the suburb of Brockton was annexed in the 1880s, the final section of College Street was built to Lansdowne Avenue in 1886. It was expected that College would be extended further, but just west of Lansdowne the rail lines created a barrier. A precursor to an extended College Street, called Grenadier Road, was laid out in the Roncesvalles district, and on the west side of High Park in Swansea (now Morningside) as well as a section in Etobicoke (now Berry Road), but connections to those streets were never made. Streetcar service extended as far west as Dufferin by 1889, and (via Dundas Street) to High Park by 1893. Sunday operation of the line to High Park did not begin until 1897, after a citywide plebiscite was held on the issue of Sunday streetcar operation. The streetcar led to the development of residential sub-divisions on both sides, with street frontages actually empty. The frontages were used for billboards, with development on the street only filling up the lots on both sides by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, although some vacant lots existed into the 1920s.Fram(2006), pp. 58-59


Route description

The intersection at
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') 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 Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
is dominated by the landmark College Park complex, which once housed an
Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's g ...
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
. This historic building is now used for retail, office, and residential purposes. At University Avenue, College traverses a major institutional district, with the
Ontario Legislature The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
, the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, and the
MaRS Discovery District MaRS Discovery District, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity, provides direct support for startups, builds communities of innovators and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world� ...
marking one of the city's most important and historic intersections. The district also features a concentration of teaching hospitals, including
Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue (Toronto), ...
, the Hospital for Sick Children, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Toronto Rehab. Between University and
Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...
, the street bounds the Grange Park neighbourhood to the south, a mixed-residential area with student housing and historic residences such as George Brown House. The intersection at Spadina Avenue represents the northern boundary of the city's principal Chinatown, as well as the western boundary of the university. The intersection is marked by the focal point of 1 Spadina Crescent in a
roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
to the north, and a complex rail interchange where the busy
510 Spadina 510 Spadina (310 Spadina during overnight periods) is a Toronto streetcar system, Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. The line started operating in 1990 and was extended in 1997; overnight serv ...
streetcar route, running on a dedicated right-of-way, meets the 506 Carlton route. The section of College west of Spadina is home to a variety of computer stores, known as a destination for cheap computer parts. This stretch of College also forms the northern border of
Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...
. West of Bathurst Street, College is the heart of Toronto's
Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
and is dotted with restaurants and trendy bars. Further west, College is primarily residential.


Public transit

The
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
's 506 Carlton streetcar route runs along College and Carlton Streets. College is served by Queen's Park station and College station on the
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
and Yonge branches, respectively, of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line.


Major intersection

The following is a list of major intersections along College Street *
Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
* Lansdowne Avenue * Ossington Avenue * Bathurst Street *
Spadina Avenue Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south ...
* University Avenue (south) / Queen's Park Crescent (north) *
Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...
*
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') 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 Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...


References

* * {{Streets in Toronto Roads in Toronto