Roncesvalles, Toronto

Infobox City
official_name = Roncesvalles, Toronto
subdivision_type2 = Country
subdivision_name2 = Canada
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Ontario
subdivision_type = City
subdivision_name = Toronto


image_size=275px
image_caption=Roncesvalles Avenue, looking south from Marmaduke Avenue


mapsize=150px
map_caption=Location of Roncesvalles within Toronto
leader_title=City Councillor
leader_name=Gord Perks
leader_title1=Federal M.P.
leader_name1=Peggy Nash
leader_title2=Provincial M.P.P.
leader_name2=Cheri DiNovo

Roncesvalles is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada centred around Roncesvalles Avenue, a north-south street leading from the intersection of King and Queen Streets to the south, north to Dundas Street West, a distance of approximate 1.5 kilometres. It is located east of High Park, north of Lake Ontario, in the Parkdale-High Park provincial and federal ridings and the municipal Ward 14. Culturally, the area is known as the centre of the Polish community in Toronto, with prominent Polish churches, institutions and businesses located along Roncesvalles Avenue. The businesses along Roncesvalles have organized a Business Improvement Area known as "Roncesvalles Village."

The neighbourhood is predominately residential, with a commercial strip the full length of Roncesvalles, composed predominately of small businesses, churches and institutions. An approximate boundary would be High Park to the west, Bloor and Dundas Streets to the north, Sorauren Avenue to the east, and Queen Street to the south. It is an older part of Toronto, first sub-divided and cleared in the early 1800s, and most residential development dates from the early 1900s. To the west of Roncesvalles, the area is nearly completely residential except for St. Joseph's Health Centre and a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar garage. To the east of Roncesvalles, the area is predominantly residential, although an older industrial area neighbouring the railway tracks is in transition.

Naming

Roncesvalles Avenue takes its name from the Battle of Roncesvalles which took place in the Roncesvalles gorge in Spain in 1813. (The name 'Roncesvalles' means 'valley of thorns' in Spanish.) At this gorge, Colonel Walter O'Hara—an early 19th century Irish settler who played a significant role in the establishment of the neighbourhood—led a regiment that fought against the retreating army of Napoleon.

The name 'Roncesvalles Village' is an invention of the local business improvement area of the businesses along Roncesvalles. It is intended to forge a unique identity for the area in an effort to increase commerce for local shops and other enterprises.

History

Roncesvalles was not historically an independent village like Swansea Village or Forest Hill Village. When first sub-divided and cleared of forest in the early 1800s, the area was part of York County. Two villages became incorporated in the 1800s and encompassed some of the area of today's Roncesvalles neighbourhood. The part north of Fermanagh Avenue was part of the town of Brockton, which was centred on Dundas and Brock Streets. To the south of Fermanagh, the west side of Roncesvalles remained part of York County, while the east side became part of the town of Parkdale, which was centred around Queen and Cowan Streets. The area to the west and both villages were annexed to Toronto in the 1880s.

Most of the land to the west of Roncesvalles was part of John Howard's Sunnyside Farm, and the road Sunnyside Avenue runs parallel to Roncesvalles, one block west. John Howard was the City of Toronto's chief surveyor for much of the 1800s and he also owned Colborne Lodge and the central section of the properties that are today High Park. Indian Road, one block further west than Sunnyside, follows an old path thought to have originally been an ancient Mississauga Indian path, leading from Lake Ontario north.

The land to the east of Roncesvalles was originally part of Colonel O'Hara's property, acquired in 1850. Street names of significance to the O'Hara family are Marion, after his wife, Constance, after his daughter, Geoffrey, after one son, Fermanagh, the county in Ireland of his birth, O'Hara Avenue and West Lodge Avenue both to the east. Two streets used to be named after his children. Today's Grenadier Road used to be named Walter Avenue, and today's Fern Avenue used to be named Ruth Avenue. Sorauren Avenue is named after another battle that Mr. O'Hara participated in. Mr. O'Hara at one time owned the land from just east of Lansdowne to Roncesvalles, stretching from Bloor Street to Queen Street.

Roncesvalles Avenue was constructed in the 1860s at the same time as sub-division of the O'Hara property, followed by the death of Colonel O'Hara in 1874. In 1879, it was very sparsely populated. The City Directory of 1879, only a few market gardeners and one butcher are listed for Roncesvalles. Residential development dates mostly from the early 1900s and most area homes date from that period.

The area to the west, especially along High Park Blvd and surrounding High Park, was developed as an affluent suburb of Toronto, with many large homes. After the development of the Gardiner Expressway to the south, and the decline of the Sunnyside lakefront, the character of the area changed significantly. Many of the larger homes were converted to apartments. In the past two decades, some of the older homes have been converted back to single-family dwellings.

East of Roncesvalles along the CN and CP rail lines is an older industrial area that is in transition. Several of the buildings along Sorauren have been converted into loft-style condominiums. At one time a large TTC bus garage was located along Sorauren and the property has been converted into Sorauren Park. Two other old industrial buildings along Wabash are owned by the City of Toronto, and are slated for a future community centre project. One of the buildings currently serves as a club-house for the Park.

Sunnyside Beach and Amusement Park was located at the foot of Roncesvalles Ave. from 1922 to 1955, before being demolished for the Gardiner Expressway project. Some park lands and two notable buildings remain. The Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion and the Gus Ryder Pool at the foot of Parkside Avenue is busy throughout the summer. The nearby Palais Royale dance hall has recently completed a major renovation and holds regular concerts.

Centre of Toronto's Polish community

The street is the centre of Toronto's Polish community. There are several Polish speaking restaurants, delicatessens and shops specializing in Polish goods on Roncesvalles Avenue. The sign "Mówimy po polsku" ("We speak Polish") is displayed in many storefronts. The office of "Gazeta", Toronto's Polish language newspaper, is located on Roncesvalles Avenue as is the headquarters of the Polish-Canadian National Congress.

In Poland, the Catholic faith is predominant, and this is the case for persons of Polish descent in Canada. There are two large Catholic churches on Roncesvalles. St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church offers Polish language masses every Sunday. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, at Westminster Avenue, holds masses in Polish and Latin.

The Public Library branch holds a collection of Polish language books and magazines. Polish language lessons are part of the curriculum at St. Vincent de Paul public school.

Pope John Paul II visited the neighbourhood when he came to Toronto in 1984. He dined at the Sir Nicholas Tavern, which is now the site of the coffee shop Tinto. An enormous memorial was held on Roncesvalles Avenue when Pope John Paul II died, with standing room only on the street and sidewalks of Roncesvalles from Marion Avenue to Wright Avenue. The memorial was loosely centred around a statue of Pope John Paul located at the St. Stanislaus-St. Casimir's Credit Union, a credit union for people of Polish descent. A tribute of candles and flowers around the statue continues today.

At the southern end of Roncesvalles, at the Sunnyside intersection of King, Queen, Queensway and Roncesvalles streets, two monuments are erected in memory of two events in Polish history. A large monument in memory of the massacre of Polish prisoners of war during World War II, and especially the mass graves of officers found in Katyn forest. Fresh wreaths are placed there regularly. Next to it is a memorial to thousands of Polish citizens deported to Siberian labour camps during the Second World War.

While recognized as the centre of the Polish community, the ethnic makeup of the area around Roncesvalles Avenue varies widely, as is the case throughout Toronto, one of the world's most ethnically diverse cities (see Demographics of Toronto).

Culture and commerce

Festivals

The Roncesvalles Village Business Improvement Area holds an annual Roncesvalles Village Polish Festival each fall, closing Roncesvalles Avenue to vehicular traffic. The festival features amusement rides, food stands and outdoor musical entertainment, including polka music. In 2006, over 75,000 people attended the festival.

Theatres

The popular repertory movie theatre Revue Cinema, at the intersection of Howard Park Avenue operated from 1911 until June 30, 2006 when it closed as part of the dissolution of the Festival Cinemas chain. It recently re-opened on October 4, 2007 as a non-profit operation of the Revue Film Society. The Society laboured for a year to find a way to reopen the Revue, and partnered with a local couple which purchased the theatre and now leases it to the Society.

Another theatre, the Brighton, closed in the mid-1980s. It is in use as a convenience store, although it has not been renovated, other than its marquee signage removed.

A tiny third cinema, the Parkview, was located at 107 Roncesvalles Avenue. Dates of its operation are not known, and unlike many movie houses, there is no obvious indication that the location (now a drycleaners) ever served as a cinema.Fact|date=April 2008

Libraries

The High Park branch of the Toronto Public Library, a Carnegie library, is located at Wright Avenue. It was opened in 1915, and renovated in 1980.

chools

There are several elementary public schools nearby, including Fern Avenue, Garden Avenue, Howard Public School and St. Vincent de Paul. Grads of these schools move on to the nearby Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton, Humberside, Parkdale, Western Technical and West Toronto high schools.

Churches

In addition to the two Polish Catholic churches described above, the street has two other large churches, Emmanuel - Howard Park and High Park Baptist.

High Park Baptist is located at the corner of Hewitt Avenue and Roncesvalles, and operates a youth drop-in centre, a food and clothing bank, ESL classes for new immigrants, a summer daycamp for local children, and more. [cite web|url=http://www.highparkbaptist.org|title=High Park Baptist website]

Emmanuel - Howard Park, located at the corner of Roncesvalles and Wright Avenues, operates a mission and a day care. The church was renamed Emmanuel - Howard Park in 1972, following the merger of its congregation with that of Howard Park United Church. Until she was elected in 2006, the current MPP of High Park-Parkdale, Cheri DiNovo was the former pastor. The former Howard Park Church is located at Sunnyside and Marmaduke and is being converted into housing.

Health

The large St. Joseph's Health Centre at Sunnyside and The Queensway in the south of the district has been on the site since the 1840s, being first the site of the Sisters of St. Joseph Order, then an orphanage and then the hospital. The Order still operates the hospital. It occupies the site of Sunnyside Lodge, the first home of John Howard.

The former Coroner of Toronto, outspoken MPP and TV talk show host, Dr. Morton Shulman, operated a family practice on Roncesvalles until he retired.

The street is home to several independent drug stores, including the fixture Solarski Pharmacy which is one of Torontos oldest pharmacies. The former S.S. Kresge store, built in 1936, was home to Musial Drugs until it closed in 2007. There is also a Guardian Pharmacy just a few stores south of Solarski.

Businesses

There are numerous small businesses, which are mostly independent. These include gift shops, drug stores, grocers, health food stores, dollar shops, book stores, video stores, hardware stores and law offices.

Food

Roncesvalles is well-known for the large number of small restaurants, cafes and food shops of various cuisines as well as Polish. There are several bakeries and several delicatessens.

Transportation

The intersection of Roncesvalles, Queen and King streets has long been a transportation hub of the city of Toronto. Passenger trains first served the area in 1855. In the 1890s the location became the hub of commuter streetcars going as far west as Port Credit. In 1895, Toronto Railway Company (forerunner of the TTC) built the Roncesvalles streetcar yards, which continue to dominate the north-west corner. The intersection itself is famous for its huge number of streetcar tracks, possibly the most numerous in the city. The area has also been home to two other TTC yards, one streetcar yard in the triangle formed by Howard Park Ave, Dundas St W and Ritchie Ave, and a bus barn on Sorauren Ave on the current site of Sorauren Park.

Today, the area is well served with the Dundas West and Keele subway stations to the north at Bloor Street. The 501, 504, 505, 506, and 508 streetcars provide frequent service and the Queensway bus provides service along Parkside Avenue from Keele station.

GO Transit operates trains along the lakeshore rail line, although no longer stopping at Sunnyside, now stopping nearest at Exhibition Place. There are GO trains operating along the CN/CP lines to the east, stopping at Bloor Street and Dundas Street West.

There once was an inter-city bus depot at the north-west corner of Roncesvalles and Queen, now converted to a fast-food restaurant. This took over from the commuter streetcars, although streetcars do travel as far west as Long Branch.

The former Toronto - Sunnyside passenger train station, providing inter-city train connections, on the Great Western line opened in 1910 at the foot of Roncesvalles. It replaced the railway station located at Jameson and Springhurst, that opened in 1879. Sunnyside station shut in 1971 and was demolished in 1973.

Roncesvalles renewed

Roncesvalles Avenue is to be reconstructed in 2009, partially due to the need to rebuild the streetcar tracks. The City has proposed reconstructing the roadway to incorporate roadway narrowing, sidewalk improvements. The local BIA and community association are currently consulting with the neighbourhood. The 'Roncesvalles Renewed' project website can be found [http://www.roncesvallesrenewed.org/ here] .

Neighbourhoods

The City of Toronto defines three official neighbourhoods that have boundaries on Roncesvalles Avenue. To the west, the official neighbourhood is High Park-Swansea. To the east, the official neighbourhood is named "Roncesvalles". To the south of Roncesvalles Avenue is "South Parkdale".
* [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns87.htm High Park-Swansea neighbourhood profile]
* [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns86.htm Roncesvalles neighbourhood profile]
* [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns85.htm South Parkdale profile]

Notable events

* April 8, 2005 - Outdoor memorial mass for Pope John Paul II on Roncesvalles Avenue.
* 1984 - Pope John Paul II visit, with open air mass at Exhibition Place.
* September 1980 - Erection of Katyn monument.
* 1979 - Copernicus Lodge retirement home opens.
* 1971 - Sunnyside railway station closes. Demolished in 1973.
* 1963 - The Sphynx cat is alleged to have originated from a litter born in a Roncesvalles Avenue alley.
* 1958 - Gardiner Expressway opens.
* 1955 - Demolition of Sunnyside Amusement Park. The Lakeshore Road is closed from the foot of Roncesvalles, the street 'The Queensway' is built and streetcars are re-routed from the Lakeshore Road to The Queensway in a dedicated right-of-way.
* 1952 - St. Casimir's Church built. This coincides with the influx of Polish immigrants and the movement of Polish Torontonians from the Queen Street West area around St. Stanislaus Catholic Church.
* 1930 - City acquires last part of High Park property, bringing total to 400 acres.
* June 28, 1922 - Palais Royale opens at foot of Roncesvalles.
* 1922 - Sunnyside Amusement Park opens.
* 1921 - St. Joseph's Hospital established.
* 1915 - High Park Library opens.
* 1912 - Revue Cinema opens.
* 1910 - High Park Presbyterian Church at Wright and Roncesvalles built. (Now known as Emmanuel Howard Park.)
* 1910 - Sunnyside railway station opens to replace South Parkdale train station, closed after grade separation project completion.
* 1905 - Parkdale Canoe Club founded. Now known as Boulevard Club. First club building built in 1915 at foot of Roncesvalles.
* 1895 - Roncesvalles streetcar yard built.
* 1889 - Annexation of Parkdale by Toronto.
* 1884 - Annexation of Sunnyside farm into Toronto.
* 1884 - Annexation of Brockton Village into Toronto.
* 1876 - Sunnyside Residence, orphanage on grounds of then Sunnyside Lodge, and now the site of current St. Joseph's opens, operated by Sisters of St. Joseph.
* 1873 - Most of High Park given to city by John Howard.
* 1856 - Grand Trunk Railway, running north-south to the east of Roncesvalles is built. Stations at Dufferin and Queen and at Dundas and Dupont.
* 1855 - Great Western Railway rail line along Lake Ontario to Hamilton is built. Station at foot of Jameson and Springhurst built in 1879.
* 1850 - Col O'Hara acquires 420 acres to the east side of Roncesvalles, north of Queen Street, as part of compensation for helping to put down 1837 rebellion.

Notable persons

This list is likely to always be incomplete.
* Percy Quinn - Humanitarian, alderman, businessman, pro hockey team owner. Lived at 92 Roncesvalles until his death in 1944. [cite news |work=The Globe |title=Ex-Alderman Noted Athlete |date=October 30, 1944 |page=8]

ee also

*Gardiner Expressway
*High Park
*Parkdale
*Polish Canadian
*Sunnyside Amusement Park

References and Notes

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External links

* [http://www.parkdaleliberty.com Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation]
* [http://www.roncesvallesvillage.ca/ Roncesvalles Village BIA]
* [http://myneighbourhood.ca/ Roncesvalles Parkdale events and Business Directory]
* [http://www.rmra-to.org Roncesvalles MacDonnell Residents Association]

Toronto Neighbourhood Geography
North = High Park North
East = Dufferin Grove, Little Portugal
South = Sunnyside, Parkdale
West = Swansea
Center = Roncesvalles