Pape Village

Pape Village is a commercial district in Toronto, Canada. It is a mixed-use shopping street, consisting mainly of small-scale retail, restaurant and personal service uses.

Location

The district is located along Pape Avenue, between Mortimer Avenue and Gamble Avenue, in the former Borough of East York. The Danforth is located several blocks to the south, and the Don Valley is located several blocks to the west and north.

Although the Pape Village name was originally the product of local business marketing efforts, some real estate agents and local residents have since used the term to also refer to the adjacent residential area. Otherwise, the area is generally known as East York, although parts of the area surrounding Pape Village are considered by some to be part of Broadview North or Old East York.

Business Improvement Area

The Pape Village Business Improvement Area represents approximately 110 businesses along the thoroughfare, and undertakes efforts to promote and beautify the area. Since much of the existing building stock in Pape Village dates to the 1940s and 1950s, the City of Toronto adopted a new community improvement plan for the district in 2003, in order to assist local businesses to renovate and restore aging commercial façades.

History

Historically, the entire area was known as "Todmorden", which extended from the Don Valley to the west and north, to approximately what is now Mortimer Avenue to the south and Donlands Avenue to the east. Todmorden was named by John Eastwood, an early settler in the early 19th century, who believed that the landscape was reminiscent of Todmorden in Yorkshire, England. Although Todmorden was never incorporated as a village, the use of the name both colloquially and as a postal address persisted until the 1940s. Today, the name is used solely for Todmorden Mills, a historic industrial settlement in the Don Valley, and for a library reference room in the East York Community Centre on Pape Avenue.

References

*"Fascinating Facts About East York", East York Public Library, 1996, pages 23-30.
* [http://www.toronto.ca/bia/pape_village.htm City of Toronto - Pape Village BIA]
* [http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2006/law0133.pdf Pape Village Community Improvement Plan By-law]