A Brief History Of Toronto's Kensington Market

Kensington Market is Toronto’s cultural mecca — a neighborhood filled with eclectic vintage shops, cheese and fish mongers, specialty meat and bread shops, cafes and a unique blend of restaurants featuring cuisines from all over the world. Revel in the Victorian architecture, brightly painted buildings, and art murals adorning public spaces, all of which showcase the unique character of Kensington Market and its centuries old roots.
Located just west of Chinatown, Kensington Market is a vibrant neighborhood in the heart of the city made up of narrow streets, synagogues, parks, commercial businesses and residential homes and apartments — either tucked down small alleyways or built on the second level of shops. Many know this area as distinctively unique, an urban 27 hectare district that makes for one of the best spots to snap a photo of its cool and quirky style, especially on Sundays when the streets are a “no car zone.”

The varied architecture and multitude of colors found in Kensington openly expresses its evolving inhabitants throughout the course of history. From the old Victorian style houses representative of the 19th century to the brightly colored, ‘hippie’ 1960s, this neighborhood prides itself on being eclectic. Despite the dense population, Kensington has managed to maintain all low-rise buildings, preserving the historical and dynamic vibe of the area.

The history of this urban community began in 1815 when George Taylor Denison built his Bellevue Estate on a 100-acre piece of land that sat just west of Spadina Avenue. He eventually divided the property into plots that were sold to British and Irish immigrants in the 1850s and 1860s. An influx of immigrants continued to flood to this area, and in response, workers built small cottages along the small laneways, developing the area into a middle class Anglo-Saxon neighborhood with street names like Kensington Avenue and Oxford Street.

By the late 1960s, Kensington became an incredibly diverse area, hosting immigrants from all over the world with ethnicities, races and religions ranging from Eastern Europe, Portugal, Italy, China, East India and those of Afro-Caribbean decent (the former which immigrated post-war in the 1950s). While many immigrants were eventually priced out due to gentrification, Kensington Market still boasts a continually evolving cultural landscape, which can be seen to this day.

Jewish market day, Kensington Avenue, 1924

With its deeply rooted history and cultural significance, it’s no wonder that Kensington Market was named a national historic site of Canada in 2005.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

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