Boundaries
Little Italy is centred on College St. extending from Shaw St. to Euclid Ave.
History of Little Italy:
Italians started to immigrate into this part of the city in the early 1900’s. The neighbourhood was first a little further east and known as The Ward. Within a couple of decades, most of the settlers moved west of the College-Clinton area that later emerged to be the Little Italy of today. The old English homes here were purchased by these settlers some of whom were skilled craftsmen. Many of those immigrants found occupation in roadway and railway construction.
During the fifties and sixties, many Italians headed towards the northwest to reside elsewhere. By 1960s, the St. Clair Avenue was the main centre for Italian culture in the city.
With the passing of three decades, many of the Italian Torontonians shifted to the other suburban parts of the city. As a result, Italian Canadians are found today in various suburban areas such as Woodbridge.
Neighbourhood Characteristics
The district of Little Italy overlapped to form two of other neighborhoods in Toronto Trinity –Bellwoods stretching towards the south and Palmerston-Little Italy to the north.
Little Italy is the common name of the neighbourhood but it is also known as Latin town or College Street West.
Well known as one of the most vibrant neighbourhoods in the city it hosts a wide variety of collections for all shoppers with some incredible restaurants and bars
Today the population of this place contains a mixture of people from different regions. In the sixties, immigrants from Spain proved to be the biggest ethic group in the area. With passing years, this area has become popular among the young professional crowd for its location and character.
