Named for an 1813 Napoleonic battle, settled by postwar Polish refugees

Roncesvalles

The avenue takes its name from a Spanish battle an early settler fought in. Its identity today comes from somewhere else entirely: the Polish immigrants and refugees who arrived after the Second World War.

Roncesvalles Avenue takes its name from the Battle of Roncesvalles, an 1813 Peninsular War engagement in Spain in which an Irish-born settler who later helped develop the area had fought. The area was first settled around 1850, and streetcar service in the early 1900s brought a wave of new residents and businesses.

Becoming Little Poland

Roncesvalles' Polish character dates to the post-WWII period, when large numbers of Polish immigrants and refugees settled in the area, opening delis, bakeries and shops that remain today. St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church has long served as an anchor institution for the community. Each September, the area hosts the Roncesvalles Polish Festival, described by organizers as the largest Polish festival in North America.

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