Little India, Gerrard Street

The neighbourhood's founding moment is well documented: in 1972, businessman Gian Naaz rented, and later purchased, the Eastwood Theatre on Gerrard Street East, renaming it the Naaz Theatre. It is widely credited as the first cinema in North America to screen South Asian films exclusively. The theatre drew South Asian moviegoers from across the Greater Toronto Area, and the commercial spillover — restaurants, sari and jewellery shops, record stores — grew into what's now known as the Gerrard India Bazaar.

A commercial hub, not a residential one

Unlike some of Toronto's other ethnic neighbourhoods, the Gerrard India Bazaar has historically served as a commercial and cultural hub rather than a residential concentration — South Asian Torontonians travel to it from across the region rather than living around it in large numbers. Today it comprises over 100 Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Sri Lankan businesses, consistently described as the largest South Asian marketplace in North America.

Sources

• Heritage Toronto — Bollywood Dreams and Bazaar Scenes
• Destination Toronto — Little India