A lakeside resort town for Toronto's wealthy that became one of its poorest neighbourhoods, and back again
Parkdale
Parkdale incorporated as its own village in 1878 with grand lakeside mansions, was annexed by Toronto in 1889, and cycled through decline and gentrification over the following century.
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Parkdale incorporated as an independent village in 1878, built along the Lake Ontario shoreline west of downtown Toronto as a resort-like retreat for wealthy families who built large houses with lake views along streets like Dunn Avenue and King Street West. The village was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1889, ending its brief run of self-government but not immediately changing its character as one of the city's more affluent addresses.
Decline and a slow return
Parkdale's fortunes shifted through the 20th century as the construction of the Gardiner Expressway cut the neighbourhood off from the waterfront it had originally been built around, and many of its large homes were subdivided into rooming houses through the 1960s and 70s, part of a broader deinstitutionalization era that saw the neighbourhood become home to a large number of psychiatric patients discharged from nearby facilities with little support. Parkdale has undergone significant gentrification since the 2000s, with rising rents displacing many long-time residents even as its Victorian housing stock and King Street strip draw renewed investment.
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