Bloordale Village is a Business Improvement Area (BIA)[1][2] located alongBloor Street fromDufferin Street toLansdowne Avenue, west of downtown inToronto,Ontario, Canada. It sits on the southern border of theWallace Emerson neighbourhood and the northern border of theBrockton Village neighbourhood. The district is home to various and unique shops including restaurants, bars, vintage and thrift stores.
Bloordale Village should not be confused to a similarly named neighbourhoodBloordale Garden, located in the former city ofEtobicoke,Ontario, west of Highway 427, and bounded roughly by Rathburn Road, the Elmcrest Creek, and Dundas St.
Bloordale Village (commonly known as Bloordale) has undergone significant change since 2010, and was once considered one of Toronto's 'up and coming' art districts.[3][4] The surrounding area is a highly diverse, mixed-income community.[5] A mix ofPortuguese,Caribbean,Italian,Bangladeshi,Latin American,Pakistani,Sri Lankan, Burmese, Chinese, and Vietnamese populations are found in the neighbourhood. At one point in time, at a local primary school, 81 per cent of students speak anative language other thanEnglish.[6] The area has been gentrifying since the late 2000s, so since then, this mix of ethnicities has changed.
The Bloordale BIA was founded in 1976 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016. The former head of the BIA was the owner of House of Lancaster, a strip club in the area.[7] On October 23, 2013 theBloordale Community Improvement Association was formed. They've organized neighbourhood clean-ups and garage sales.
Between May 2020 and September 2021, the unused grounds ofBrockton High School was taken over by local artistShari Kasman and an anonymous collaborator and turned into a combination guerrilla art installation and informal community hub that was known asBloordale Beach.[8][9]
Places adjacent to Bloordale Village | |
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43°39′32″N79°26′20″W / 43.659°N 79.439°W /43.659; -79.439
