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Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: July 2009
Notes:
Contributed by: Olga Palazzo

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Little Italy, Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Many Italian professionals operate in Little Italy.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Old-style barber shop.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Little Italy, Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Typical street sign in Toronto's Little Italy.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Little Italy, Toronto
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      Little Italy
      ? Neighbourhood ?
     
      The area north of College St is only sometimes considered part of Little Italy
      Country Canada
      Province Ontario
      City Toronto
      Little Italy, is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its numerous Italian Canadian restaurants and businesses. The district is centred around a restaurant/bar/shopping strip along College Street, the heart of which being the intersection of College and Grace Streets and the adjacent residential area, but spreading out between Bathurst Street and Dufferin Street. The exact borders are imprecise. The area south of College to Queen Street is almost always considered part of Little Italy. The area north of College is sometimes labeled as Bickford Park, Palmerston, South Annex, and one portion is known as Mirvish Village.
     
      Character
      Royal Cinema College Street was fully laid out in the area by 1900 and the area is filled with buildings from the 1900 era. College Street is fronted by two or three-storey buildings, with commercial uses on the ground floor and residential or storage uses on the upper floors.
     
      From Manning Avenue to the east to Shaw Street to the west, there are numerous sidewalk cafes. Some of the names include Cafe Diplomatico, Riviera Bakery, Sicilian Ice Cream and many others. Two nightclubs have opened on the block between Shaw and Crawford, and there is a small plaza and supermarket on the south side of College between Shaw and Crawford. The curved street between Grace and Crawford was laid out with larger sidewalks. This section was laid out later to cross Garrison Creek, which was buried under Crawford. The wider sidewalks have led to more extensive cafe patios in this area. At Clinton, on the north side, is the Royal repertory cinema, which was recently renovated and has an upgraded projection system as it is used for movie editing purposes during the day and repertory cinema in the evenings. While the street commercial usage is dominated by cafe and restaurant uses, there are numerous small businesses serving the neighbourhood.
     
      The side streets are mostly detached or semi-detached single family homes dating to the early 1900s Edwardian period, with front porches and the smaller lots as was the custom at the time.
     
      History
      Italians arrived in Toronto in large numbers during the early 20th century. Italians first settled in an area then known as "The Ward" - centred around University Avenue and College Street. By the 1920s, most Italians had moved west of Bathurst Street and the College-Clinton area had emerged as the city's major Little Italy. The affordable Edwardian homes that line the side streets of this neighbourhood were bought by Italian immigrants, many of whom found work on the railways and in road construction. Italians started businesses around College St.
     
      The first multi-cultural radio station in Canada was CHIN which was launched in 1966 by Johnny Lombardi from studios on the south side of College between Grace and Clinton, on the second floor of Lombardi's supermarket at 637 College Street. Lombardi at first purchased air time on English radio stations before the establishment of CHIN Radio, producing Italian programming. The studio, much expanded is now located at 622 College Street, and the section of the street in the area has been officially nicknamed Johnny Lombardi Way by the city of Toronto and a historical plaque is installed on the south-west corner of College and Grace Street. Lombardi died in 2002 and CHIN is now run by his son, broadcasting in 30 languages.
     
      The area is much more ethnically diverse today. Italian-Canadians born during the Baby Boom and Italian immigrants from the 1960s onwards have tended to settle in the Corso Italia neighbourhood around St. Clair Avenue and Dufferin Street and Toronto's suburbs. There are now further concentrations of Italian Canadians in Downsview in Toronto; Woodbridge and Maple in Vaughan; Richmond Hill, and Mississauga.
     
      By the 1960s, the Hispanic Canadians had become the largest ethnic group in the Little Italy area. Little Italy has also become quite popular with younger crowds because of its vibrant nightlife and its proximity to the downtown core. Since the 1980s, many young professionals have been buying homes in the neighbourhood.
     
     
      Mirvish Village
      Victorian homes share space with Honest Ed's on Markham Street.Mirvish Village is a commercial enclave to the northwest of Little Italy. It is located on Markham Street, which is one block west of Bathurst Street, and encompasses the two sides of the street for one block south of Bloor Street. It is located within the Palmerston-Little Italy neighbourhood, within the "Old" City of Toronto. It's made up of a series of Victorian homes on Markham Street which now house independently owned shops, art studios, cafes, bookstores, boutiques and galleries. Between 1959 and 1963, Ed Mirvish of Honest Ed's bought up the east side of the block, immediately south of his store, with the intention of tearing down the houses and building a customer parking lot. Toronto's municipal government refused to issue a building permit; therefore, Mirvish converted the buildings into art studios and galleries with the help of his wife, Anne, a sculptor. Later, he purchased the houses on the other side of the street. His son is the owner of David Mirvish Gallery, which opened in 1963 as one of Mirvish Village's first shops; along with David Mirvish Books, the enterprises act as anchors to additional retail stores and galleries.
     
      Landmarks
      Harbord Collegiate Institute, built in 1892
      Central Commerce Collegiate on Shaw Street, built in 1916.
      The Orbit Room
      Mod Club Theatre
      Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church
      College Street United Church
      Church of St. Mary Magdalene
      Bathurst Street Theatre
     
      See also
      List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
      Corso Italia, Toronto
     
      Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Italy,_Toronto"
     
Contributed by: Notes and image courtesy of Wikipedia

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Piazza Johnny Lombardi, Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Piazza Johnny Lombardi.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: "Johnny Lombardi 1915-2002/ One of the city's best-known personalities, John Barbalinardo "johnny" Lombardi was a pioneer in the promotion of Toronto's cultural diversity. Born in this city to an Italian immigrant family, he became a self-taught trumpeter and entertainer before serving in the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Turning to Toronto, he quickly achieved success by appealing to the needs of the city's rapidly growing Italian immigrant neighborhoods -- first as the proprietor of a grocery store, opened in 1946, then as an impresario of Italian entertainment. In 1966, Lombardi launched two vital Toronto institutions: CHIN Multicultural Radio and the CHIN International Picnic. CHIN< the first station in Canada licensed to provide full-time multilingual programming, began in rooms above Lombardi's supermarket at 637 College Street, and expanded into television in 1970. CHIN Radio now broadcasts in over 30 languages from 622 College Street. The CHIN International Picnic, now a three-day festival, annually attracts more than 250,000 people to celebrate Toronto's cultural diversity. Dynamic and generous, Johnny Lombardi received numberous awards for service to his community and his country, including the Order of Canada in 1981."
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Piazza Johnny Lombardi, Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Piazza Johnny Lombardi.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Johnny Lombardy Wa,  Little Italy,Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Johnny Lombardy Way.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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Litttle Italy, Toronto
Little Italy, Toronto, Canada
Date: Current
Notes: Italian language radio and television station.
Contributed by: Mary Melfi

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