Real Estate Guide › Central

Kensington-Chinatown

Contains the traditional neighbourhoods of:
Alexandra Park, Chinatown, Grange Park, Kensington

In the evening, the etched-in-neon Chinese ideograms along Dundas from Beverley to Spadina can transport you to one of the great cities of Asia. Far Eastern music leaking from stores, on-the-sidewalk produce stands, and perpetually crowded sidewalks and streets enhance the impression. Now, as always, the most exotic-looking locale in Toronto, Chinatown changes day by day but never loses its unique aesthetic. Kensington, which sits in the district’s northwest corner, features streets of Victorian row houses that have seen more than their share of deprivation, despair and triumph. Impoverished eastern European Jews fleeing pogroms were the first to make it famous: they created the outdoor market that is now the community focus, a tourist stop and the commercial centre for many ethnic groups. Hungarians moved into the area after their thwarted revolution of 1956. They moved on, and later the Portuguese came, some of them eventually replaced by Chinese and Vietnamese. Today, Caribbean and South American stores spice up the area. Kensington is moving into yet another cultural phase, as loft and townhouse developers have discovered the area. Just below the old neighbourhood of Kensington sits Alexandra Park, whose Victorian-style houses, built in the 1880s and ’90s, share the area with a mass of social housing from the 1960s. East of Alexandra Park is the old neighbourhood of Grange Park. Narrow streets lined with Victorian row houses were built between 1870 and the 1890s, attracting Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s. The Chinese residents arrived more recently, pushing westward when Toronto’s Old Chinatown (focused on Elizabeth Street) was demolished in the 1960s to make room for City Hall and related buildings.

Nearby Restaurants

Flourish BBQ Restaurant

This basic, clean barbecue house features a broad selection of traditional Chinese barbecue: pork, chicken, ... (0.03 km away)

Asian Legend

Banquettes and fabric-swathed walls provide a refreshingly refined setting for northern Chinese fare (majoring in ... (0.08 km away)

House of Gourmet

With a menu of more than 400 items and hours of operation that span 20 ... (0.10 km away)

Swatow

It’s a good thing this shockingly bright room is jammed with tables: Toronto’s hungry in-the-knows ... (0.17 km away)

Xam Yu

Serious Chinatown regulars will be delighted to forgo the ubiquitous General Tso chicken in favour ... (0.20 km away)

Rol Son

A large dining room with family-accommodating tables—lazy Susans built-in—and a generous dim sum menu draw ... (0.21 km away)

Pho Hung Vietnamese Restaurant

Beneath the beatifically smiling effigy of a scarlet cow, this resto’s bright and utilitarian dining ... (0.21 km away)

Take me to Restaurant Search

Take me to Shopping Search

Commuting

King and Bay:: 1.4 km
401 and 400:: 12.0 km
Gardiner and 427:: 13.0 km
Subways:: St. Patrick Station 0.6 km; Queen's Park Station 0.8 km; Osgoode Station 0.8 km

Commuting and subway distances measured from neighbourhood centre.

Neighbourhood Data

Average 2006 sale price:: $725,000
Property crime:: Very high
Crime against people:: Very high

Real estate sales information provided by Ternet and its suppliers, who are not responsible for its accuracy. Crime based on Toronto Police Services 2006 statistical report.