Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighborhood in Downtown Toronto, Canada. The Market is an older neighborhood and one of the city’s most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that “Kensington today is as much a legend as a district. The (partly) outdoor market has probably been photographed more often than any other site in Toronto.”
Its approximate borders are College St. on the north, Spadina Ave. on the east, Dundas St. W. to the south, and Bathurst St. to the west. Most of the neighborhood’s eclectic shops, cafes, and other attractions are along Augusta Ave. and neighboring Nassau St., Baldwin St., and Kensington Ave. In addition to the Market, the neighborhood features many Victorian homes, the Kensington Community School, Bellevue Square, and Toronto Western Hospital.
Early History
After serving in the Canadian Militia during the War of 1812, George Taylor Denison purchased an area of land in 1815 from Queen Street West to Bloor Street, roughly between where Augusta and Lippincott Streets now run. Denison used the area now known as Bellevue Square Park as a parade ground for his volunteer cavalry troop, which he commanded during the Upper Canada Rebellion. This troop later became the Governor General’s Horse Guards.
The Denison estate was subdivided in the 1850s. During the 1880s, houses were built on small plots for Irish and Scottish immigrant labourers coming to Toronto, CA; much of the housing is in the style of Victorian architecture row houses, which are moderate in size and exemplify true Victorian architecture. Many of these houses still stand along Wales Avenue and elsewhere, and these homes have been inhabited by many waves of immigrants in the decades that followed. Housing closer to the market area tends to feature retail at the front of the house.
Landmarks
Some notable landmarks include the Number 8 Fire Station, Tom’s Place, Bellevue Square Park with a statue of actor Al Waxman, and St. Stephen’s Community House. Percy Faith, the 1950s composer and band leader, lived at 171 Baldwin Street as a child. Bellevue Square contains a plaque given to Kensington Market in 2006, officially recognizing it as a national historic site.
A non-permanent landmark of Kensington Market is the Garden Car, which has been a staple of the neighborhood since 2007. Originally built in 2006 by the local advocacy group Streets are for People, the car is a public art piece that doubles as a community garden. There have been three cars since the inception of the first Garden Car. Bed Bug Exterminator Toronto
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