Editing Riverdale, Toronto (section)

==Communities within Riverdale==
[[File:Bain Avenue, Toronto.jpg|thumb|A residential area in "Upper Riverdale". Houses north of Riverdale Avenue are typically newer, and renovated compared to the homes in "Lower Riverdale".]]
"Riverdale" can refer to a smaller area or a larger area around it as well. The smaller, core area of
Riverdale refers to the stretch of Toronto east of the Don Valley Parkway and west of Jones, between Danforth Avenue (north) and Gerrard Street (south). This area is occasionally referred to as "North Riverdale" or prime Riverdale. "Riverdale" sometimes is used to refer to a much wider area that includes "South Riverdale" and less frequently areas east of Jones. This area includes many smaller communities, usually centred around a 'high street' or commercial area.

===Upper Riverdale and Lower Riverdale===
Some Riverdale residents differentiate between "upper" and "lower" Riverdale. "Upper Riverdale" is characterized as the part of the neighbourhood north of Riverdale Ave., and "Lower Riverdale" is the area south of Riverdale Ave. In terms of the quality of the housing supply, homes built in "upper Riverdale" are more likely to be renovated, but "Lower Riverdale" contains more original and classic designs of the late 19th century. There are a number of remarkable century-old homes built on Simpson and Langley Avenues, the latter street named after Toronto's well-known early 20th century architect, and the former featuring the oldest Victorian houses in Riverdale. Of note, Simpson Avenue is home to the original six houses of Riverdale; located at the west end of the street and locally known as the 'Six Sisters.'

===South Riverdale===
[[File:Broadview Hotel Toronto 2017.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Erected in 1893, [[Broadview Hotel (Toronto)|Broadview Hotel]] is located in Riverside, an area of South Riverdale.]]
"South Riverdale", as its name suggests, is the southern half of the Riverdale neighbourhood, south of Lower Riverdale. Its approximate boundaries are: the [[Don Valley Parkway]] to the west, Jones Ave. to the east, [[Gerrard Street (Toronto)|Gerrard Street East]] to the north, and [[Lake Shore Boulevard]] to the south.

South Riverdale comprises many smaller neighbourhoods:
{{anchor|Riverside}}

====Riverside====
"Riverside", also known as the "Queen Broadview Village" is a neighbourhood located within the larger neighbourhood of South Riverdale. The Riverside Business Improvement Area places the definite boundaries as running along the Don River and bordering the streets of Gerrard Street East, Empire Avenue, and Eastern Avenue.
[[File:Ralph Thornton Centre.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Ralph Thornton Community Centre]] is a local landmark in Riverside.]]
Riverside is a mixed income and multicultural neighbourhood currently experiencing a trend of "gentrification" along Queen St. East and Broadview Ave. It had been home to the Don Destructor, a Toronto garbage incinerator which was demolished in 2004. Don Mount Court, a social housing project was recently redeveloped as a mixed social housing and market value community. The market value portion is being sold under the name Rivertowne.

Riverside is known for its many historic buildings and rich cultural heritage. The biggest landmark in the neighbourhood is the [[Broadview Hotel (Toronto)|Broadview Hotel]], a red sandstone commercial block in Romanesque style constructed in 1891–3, that was the tallest structure in South Riverdale for many decades. Other major landmarks include the [[Ralph Thornton Community Centre]],(Queen Saulter branch Toronto Public Library) [[Broadview Lofts]], and [[The Opera House (Toronto)|The Opera House]]. Riverside was also the location of [[Sunlight Park]], Toronto's first baseball stadium.

The area has a large young population, evident in the cluster of schools just east of Broadview Avenue.  Dundas Junior Public School is the resident school for children in kindergarten through to fifth grade, after which they are transferred to Queen Alexandra Sr. Public School which sees students through to eighth grade. It is also home to the First Nations School of Toronto, a cultural survival school that places heavy emphasis on aboriginal values and culture, and SEED Alternative Secondary School, Canada's first public alternative school.

Riverside is rapidly emerging as a district of independent design, furniture, and food retailers, as well as restaurants.

The southern industrial area was occupied by Lever Brothers Soap Factory from 1890s until 2009.<ref> https://spacing.ca/toronto/2017/11/20/my-grandfather-worked-here-the-unilever-soap-factory-in-photos-and-memory/</ref> The factory demolished is now waiting for redevelopment as commercial and industrial use by [[Cadillac Fairview]].

====East Chinatown====
{{main|East Chinatown, Toronto}}
[[File:Eastchina Town at Gerrard St E 2023.jpg|thumb|Toronto's second largest [[Chinatown, Toronto|Chinatown]], also known as East Chinatown, is located north of Riverside, around Broadview Avenue and [[Gerrard Street (Toronto)|Gerrard Street]].]]
Toronto's second largest Chinatown, also known as [[East Chinatown, Toronto|East Chinatown]] is found at Broadview & Gerrard. At the northernmost corner of East Chinatown (northwest corner, Broadview Avenue and [[Gerrard Street (Toronto)|Gerrard Street]]) is the Riverdale branch of the [[Toronto Public Library]]. This branch is [[Multilingualism|bilingual]] in Chinese and English. North of the library is the monument to [[Sun Yat-sen]]. Construction on the [[Paifang|Toronto Chinese Archway]] began in the western end of East Chinatown on November 24, 2008, and it opened to the public on September 12, 2009. There are only two streets with bilingual signs (English on top, Chinese on the bottom), Broadview Avenue (百樂匯街) and Gerrard Street East (芝蘭東街), and signs located three of the four corners of the intersection.

====Studio District====
The southern part of South Riverdale, just north of the [[Port Lands]], is what's called the "Studio District". Industrial warehouses along Lakeshore Avenue house production studios, and many people working in film and television live in the old Victorians found along the area's side streets. Carlaw and Queen has become an arts hub, with many artists choosing to run their studios from the various work-live lofts.

=== Blake-Jones ===
[[File:Kempton Howard Park.jpg|thumb|Kempton Howard Park is a municipal park located in Blake-Jones.]]
"Blake-Jones" is a section of tree-lined streets with residences built from the 1870s to 1930s. The neighbourhood extends along Jones Avenue commencing at the cemetery south of Strathcona and extending down to Hunter.<ref>The Globe and Mail, Friday, August 22, 2008, page G16</ref> It is bordered by [[Danforth Avenue]] to the north, Pape Avenue to the west, [[Greenwood Avenue, Toronto|Greenwood Avenue]] to the east and the [[CN Railway]] tracks just south of Riverdale/Boultbee Avenue to the south.  Houses along Blake Street are more affordable in this neighbourhood than in many areas of the city because most of the homes are [[semi-detached]]. There are also a significant number of residents within [[public housing]], residing in apartment and townhouse complex of Blake/Boultbee, owned by [[Toronto Community Housing]]. With a 33.3% unemployment rate in youth aged 15–19,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/2006/pdf5/cpa69.pdf |title=Neighbourhood Profile: Riverdale |date=14 July 2017 |publisher=City of Toronto}}</ref> the Blake-Jones corridor of Riverdale has seen an increase in crime in recent years.

There are two local [[elementary school]]s zoned to the area; Blake Street (which also houses East end Alternative) and Pape Avenue. The [[high school]] that is zoned to the area is [[Riverdale Collegiate Institute]].

The neighbourhood is served by the [[Pape (TTC)|Pape]], [[Donlands (TTC)|Donlands]], and [[Greenwood (TTC)|Greenwood]] subway stations and the 72 Pape and 83 Jones bus routes and is also home to the [[Greenwood Subway Yard]], a landmark within the area.

====The Pocket====
Located within Blake-Jones is an area residents refer to as "The Pocket".  Over time there have been some differences on the exact definition of the area, but currently the Pocket is understood to be "accessible only from the west along Jones Avenue".<ref>The Globe and Mail, November 17th 2006, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/article855110.ece<nowiki/>{{Dead link|date=March 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="thestar.com">{{Cite web |last=Loriggo |first=Paola |date=March 14, 2009 |title=The Pocket forges its own unique identity |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/03/14/the_pocket_forges_its_own_unique_identity.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730080505/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/03/14/the_pocket_forges_its_own_unique_identity.html |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |website=[[The Toronto Star]]}}</ref> This would indicate that the area would be bordered by Chatham Street at the north (which itself is not accessible from Jones, except by bicycles on the recently created bike lane), and on the southern end by Boultbee Ave.  The Eastern side is bordered by the TTC Greenwood yard. As of January 2013 the Pocket Community Association declared they served an area that is "bounded on the west by Jones Ave, on the east by Greenwood Avenue, on the north by Danforth Ave, and on the south by the railroad tracks abutting Boultbee Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 January 2013 |title=The Pocket Community Association (PCA) CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS |url=http://www.thepocket.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/REVISED%20C%26B-L%2024%20JAN%202013%20APPROVED%20AT%20JANUARY%20AGM.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113191307/https://www.thepocket.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/REVISED%20C%26B-L%2024%20JAN%202013%20APPROVED%20AT%20JANUARY%20AGM.pdf |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |website=thepocket.ca}}</ref> The community is served by the Pocket Community Association.
[[File:Greenwood Yard from GO Train.jpg|thumb|Located in the southeastern portion of Blake-Jones, [[Greenwood Yard]] is a [[rail yard]] with support buildings that service subway vehicles of the [[Toronto subway]] system.]]
The name "The Pocket" was created by area residents during a planning session attended by Susan McMurray, also an editor of a newsletter for the area. The name has stuck in part because of the "village feel" of the community, and has become well used by residents and realtors in the area.<ref name="Toronto Life 2012, page 30">Toronto Life, Real Estate 2012, page 30</ref> The Pocket has been experiencing a gentrification similar of that to the most of Riverdale and other neighbourhoods within Toronto. For The Pocket, this started in the 1990s. The neighbourhood is listed as one of the ten hottest areas in Toronto Life and is described as "coveted" by the Globe and Mail indicating that buyers will pay a premium to live in the community.<ref name="Toronto Life 2012, page 30"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Yu |first=Sydnia |date=August 25, 2011 |title=A premium for The Pocket |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/done-deals/a-premium-for-the-pocket/article2141473/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903174336/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/done-deals/a-premium-for-the-pocket/article2141473/ |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> The Pocket has an above average number of people from the [[Muslim]] and [[Greek Orthodox]] communities living in the area.

The area has benefitted from a strong group of volunteers who have done much to make the area safer and prettier.<ref name="Toronto Life 2012, page 30"/>  Such projects as cleaning up and renaming Ben Kerr Lane, an annual street party on Dawson Avenue, street sales, organized pot lucks, not to mention a great number of improvements to Phin Park.  Phin Park has had a number of mature trees planted along its central lighted walkway, an outdoor ice rink created every winter, the placement of large boulders removed during street work, and the building of a gazebo next to the playground for parents to cool off while their children play.  Throughout the year there are events at the park organized and paid for by the community including monthly movie nights and an excellent fireworks show on Victoria Day.<ref name="thestar.com"/>  Another beautification project included building a small orchard and community garden area north of the Greenwood TTC yard.<ref name="Toronto Life 2012, page 30"/>

===Badgerow===
The area bounded by Dundas St. East in the south, Jones Ave. to the east, the railway tracks to the north, and Carlaw Ave. to the west is also referred to by local residents as "Badgerow", after a residential street that runs through the centre of that area. This pocket includes the legendary Maple Leaf Tavern, as well as a Sikh temple, Turkish cultural centre and Jewish cemetery, in addition to the Gerrard Square shopping mall.