Hi friend,
In preparation for the #ExperienceTO: Kensington Market Historical Tour that will take place on Saturday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m., I've been reflecting on the fact that change presents a wealth of opportunites.
The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada describes as follows its rationale for having designated the Kensington Market as a national historic site:
- "it has been home to numerous successive waves of ethnocultural communities who have immigrated to Toronto since the beginning of the 20th century;
- it is a microcosm of Canada's ethnic mosaic, where many different ethnocultural communities, searching for an affordable home, have each added to the market's layers of cultural variety, maintained a dynamic, culturally diverse market, and contributed to a vibrant street life; and
- its network of narrow streets and alleyways fronted by closely built rows of small, narrow houses many of which have been converted to commercial use by the addition of makeshift ground-floor shops and by small-scale purpose-built stores and cultural institutions such as the Kiever and Anshei Minsk synagogues collectively create a distinctive urban district."
When we dive deeper into the topic and explore the neighbourhood's history at an introductory level as per the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada's minutes from November 2005, we learn the following about the change that the neighbourhood has seen over the years:
The area that is currently Kensington Market was first developed in 1815 by George Taylor Denison who constructed Bellevue Estate on a 40- hectare (100-acre) parcel of land west of Spadina Avenue.
In the 1850s and 1860s, the Denison’s gradually subdivided the land and sold it to British and Irish immigrants.
As the urban density increased, workers built small cottages along the many laneways.
In the early 20th century, Kensington saw an influx of Jewish immigrants, mostly from Russia and eastern and south-central Europe.
Over the next thirty years, they established its dynamic character as a market.
In the 1920s and 1930s, in response to growing competitiveness, the shops extended even farther out onto the already narrow streets.
Canopies and outdoor stalls reached the street and additions were built onto many of the houses to provide more shop space.
Beginning in the 1950s, Kensington Market hosted an increasingly diverse cultural mosaic of ethnic groups, races and religions.
This included post-war immigration from Eastern Europe, Portugal and Italy. In the 1960s a considerable number of Afro-Caribbean, Chinese and East Indian businesspeople moved into the neighbourhood and opened up shops.
The diverse character of Kensington Market’s history has created a continually evolving cultural and architectural environment that remains evident in the market area today.
Here are three suggested action items:
- Attend the #ExperienceTO: Kensington Market Historical Tour
Join the guided journey on Saturday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. to have the neighbourhood's history brought to life.
- Explore the "Hidden Histories" Interactive Map
Dive into the "Kensington Market: Hidden Histories" StoryMap. This interactive tool archives specific locations, offering geolocated records and student-led research that uncovers the "intangible cultural heritage" of the neighborhood.
- Curate a "Then and Now" Photo Gallery
Use the Toronto Public Library’s Digital Archive or the City of Toronto Archives to find photos of your neighbourhood from 50 to 100 years ago. Compare these images with modern-day Google Street View to identify which buildings are still standing today.
You don't need a blank canvas to build something great.
Often, the most vibrant and resilient results come from working with what you already have and allowing it to evolve.
Resilience is the ability to take an old structure, such as a neighborhood or your career, and add new layers to it as the world around you changes.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect.
Until next time,
Alex Rășcanu
P.S. If you'd like to read the past life lessons-focused e-newsletters, you can find them here.
P.P.S. See you at one of the upcoming monthly #ExperienceTO historical tours, such as the Kensington Market one on May 9th.
