Bloor Street began because of beer. Joseph Bloore came from England either in 1818 or 1819, and established the Farmers Market Inn, a tavern, just north of Saint Lawrence Market. He was a successful tavern owner for about ten years, and at some point around 1830, he sold his inn and bought some land near the Second Concession Line, which is now known as Bloor Street. The land that he purchased was near the area where present day Bloor Street intersects with Sherbourne Street.
Here, Bloore started a brewery, which was a very profitable business to enter in nineteenth century Toronto. Drinking was a popular pastime, not just as a social activity, but also because of the city’s nineteenth century sanitation. A number of creeks and rivers used to run through the city. Many of them started off in the northwest section of the city and ran down to empty out into Toronto’s harbour. By the 1830s, these had become little more than open sewers, with people throwing in all their waste from homes and farms. Indeed, in the 1830s, there were at least two cholera epidemics that killed at least one in ten Torontonians. Because of the filthy, infected water, just about everyone drank, and starting up a brewery or distillery was almost a sure path to success.
Bloore prospered, and got into property development, helping to start up the town of Yorkville and the town of Rosedale, both of which were separate entities outside the city of Toronto at that time. His name would eventually be immortalized in the naming of “Bloor Street”, one of Toronto’s major east / west arteries. By 1855, the name Bloore had been adopted but at some point in the past, we’ve lost the “e” on the end. It’s not uncommon for Toronto’s street names to go through such transitions.
In 1855, of course, Bloor Street had not grown up, or out to the east and west, as it has today. Our story of Bloor West Village skips ahead about 110 years, to the late 1960s, when the introduction of the Toronto subway system breathed new life into that stretch of Bloor Street West, between Keele and Jane Streets. The Yonge Street line of the subway was constructed from Union Station up to Eglinton and was opened in the 1950s. An east west route was planned, as well, but there was some debate as to where to build it. Many people saw Queen Street as a more important east / west route, and in fact plans were drawn in for an underground streetcar route, along Queen Street East. The station was actually constructed, and still sits, abandoned, underneath the Queen Street station that is part of the Yonge Line. Ultimately, the Bloor line that we are all familiar with today was put into place, and it brought a flood of commuters up and down Bloor Street.
Today, Bloor West Village is the home to a vibrant shopping community, with hundreds of shops, restaurants and services. It’s also home to the city’s first Business Improvement Area, founded back in 1970, about three years after the subway started running underneath Bloor Street. With the rise of suburban shopping malls, and the fear that commuters would be hidden away underground in the subway, instead of riding above ground on streetcars, the Bloor West Business Improvement Area was founded. For nearly forty years, it has been instrumental in helping to sustain the Bloor West neighbourhood.
The Bloor West Village area is bordered by some residential neighbourhoods. To the north is the residential community of High Park North. It includes many semi-detached houses built in the early twentieth century, as well as a number of newer, high rise buildings that were constructed after the coming of the Bloor subway line. The major north / south thoroughfares are Keele Street, as well as Dundas Street, which jogs to the north as it intersects Bloor Street. The portions of both Keele and Dundas Streets that run through High Park North are primarily residential. As for schools in High Park North, Humberside Collegiate Institute, a secondary school, dates back to 1894. High Park North is also home to Western Technical-Commercial School, High Park Alternate Junior School, and Keele Street Community School. High Park North is also home to two branches of the Toronto Public Library.
The community of Runnymede-Bloor West Village also lies to the north of Bloor West Village. Historically, the homes in this area were often two storey brick buildings, but many of these are being torn down to make way for newer, larger homes. This community, now with about 10,000 people, was annexed to the city of Toronto in 1909, which is when a lot of development began. The neighbourhood is home to a number of festivals, including a large Ukrainian cultural festival held in September of each year. Just like High Park North, the area is well serviced by schools, libraries and public transportation.
Like a lot of Toronto, the Bloor West Village area is blessed with plenty of green space and park areas. The jewel in the crown of Toronto’s parks is, perhaps, High Park. High Park spans 398 acres, or 1.6 km2. The park is a natural wonder, with many rustic trails and also more cultivated and landscaped areas as well. There are plenty of places for walking dogs, both on and off a leash. There are two main playground areas for children, as well as a cafe, a sports field, Grenadier Pond, and the High Park Zoo. Animals have been kept in High Park since 1893, and today the High Park Zoo is home to llamas, bison, peacocks, cattle and sheep, amongst others. Even in the winter, activities continue on an artificial ice rink, which is available for skating and hockey.
The park began as an agricultural estate for John George Howard, who had a successful career as an architect, engineer and landscaper. In 1837, he had constructed a Regency Style home for himself, which he called Colborne Lodge, and which today is operated as a museum by the City of Toronto. Visitors to the Colborne Lodge museum can see some of the Howard family’s original furnishings, as well as a few of John Howard’s watercolour paintings of the city. Howard originally purchased about 160 acres in the area, in 1836, and retired there in 1855. At the time, the property was quite outside the city of Toronto boundaries, and that feature made it exactly what Howard was looking for in a retirement destination. He named the estate itself “High Park” because it stood at the city’s highest point along the older Humber Bay shoreline. 
In 1873, Howard transferred over 120 acres of the property to the city of Toronto, specifying several conditions when he did so. He indicated that no alcohol would ever be served on the grounds, for example, and in exchange for the property, Howard got a life long pension from the city. Additional land belonging to the Howard family, and to other family estates, was eventually added to the park to make up the nearly 400 acres of modern day High Park.
John George Howard’s wife died in 1877, and he died in 1890, at the age of eighty-six years old. Both of them are buried in High Park, right across from their home, Colborne Lodge. A large monument marks their gravesite. At the front of this large stone monument is a section of fence purchased from Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, England.
Today, the revitalized commercial area of Bloor West Village, as well as the surrounding residential areas and High Park, one of Toronto’s most treasured public spaces, makes it a popular neighbourhood for both visitors and residences.
Richard Fiennes-Clinton is the founder of Muddy York Walking Tours, which is a company dedicated to bringing Toronto’s past back to life in fun and exciting ways. For more information on Muddy York Walking Tours visit www.muddyyorktours.com or call 416.487.9017.
