The Junction Toronto (History, Restaurants, Shops, Attractions, Real Estate)

Hey there!
I've wanted to shoot and edit something like this about the Junction for a while, so here's a brief exploration of the Junction (history, restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, stockyards, etc)! Hope you enjoy the video!
The Junction was founded in 1884 and was originally known as the independent city of West Toronto. It merged with the villages of Carleton and Davenport and became the town of West Toronto Junction in 1889 and stayed that way for 30 years until 1909, when it finally got amalgamated with the city of Toronto.
The Junction was always a very blue collar neighbourhood. Lots of manufacturing and lots of meat packing. The stockyards around Keele st and St Clair Ave West were actual stockyards during the boom of the junction in the late 1800's and early 1900's!
The technical boarders of the junction run from Runnymede Rd, to just East of Keele St, and from St Clair Avenue West south to Annette St. Having said that, growing up, we always considered the Junction to be running all the way west to Jane St, and we included the Junction triangle, which runs just north of Dupont down to Dundas St West, and there’s more history further towards Runnymede rd…
A man named John Scarlett was said to be the first land owner in the Junction. He built himself a house right on the corner of Dundas St W and St. John's Rd and called it "Runnymede".
John Scarlett came to the area from Antigua in 1809 and worked as the chief clerk in the inspector general's office. Him, along with other prominent families such as 'The Keele Family' started purchasing tons of the land… always smart, always smart… if you’re looking to buy or sell in this neighbourhood, give me a shout! But anyways!!! At one point, he owned roughly 1000 acres in and around the Junction… how insane is that!!!
I also have to mention Daniel Webster Clendenan, who was the first mayor of the town of Junction in 1889. There’s a street in the area named after him, which is Clendenan Ave. One side note is that most of the streets in this neighbourhood are named after prominent land owners.
Up until about 1890, the Junction was booming with economic and infrastructural growth. Then the recession hit, which turned into the long depression… Development in and around the city slowed down almost to a halt. Meat packing facilities, assembly factories, and other manufacturing plants simply closed down, and things got a little dark…
Most people don't know this, but at one point the Junction was getting so rowdy that the government put a ban on alcohol here in 1904. That ban didn't get lifted until 1998! The Junction was completely dry from 1904-1998. The first drink was poured at Shox Saloon at Keele and Dundas in 2001. And ever since then, the junction has been flourishing. Amazing restaurants, shops, cafes, bars, breweries, you name it!
Then you have Chica's chicken… some of the best fried chicken in the city! Great menu, Take a look at that friend chicken sandwich… you can get it mild, medium, hot, have a little coleslaw on there, amazing. Chicken bites are great as well.
My friends and I have been coming to Pho Huang at Dundas and Pacific Ave since it opened up about a decade ago! It’s our home pho spot… You always start off with some tea, then the spring rolls and the cold rolls, spring rolls are some of the best in the city… then you have the rare beef pho…It's all incredible!
The green apple bottle shop is new in the Junction, but it’s already made a big splash! Incredible natural wines from all over the world… Natural wines from France, Spain, California, Georgia, etc, and local beer from tons of great local breweries as well.
It seems like Jumbo Burgers has been around forever… Look how retro it is in there! I have to say, their burgers, poutine and salads are one of a kind in the city. You get massive portions and you will NOT be disappointed… Look at how juicy the burger in the video is.. The massive Greek salads there as well. That place is amazing.
It would be ludicrous to talk about the Junction without mentioning Vesuvio… It was always one fo the best Italian restaurants in Toronto… Unfortunately, they’ve recently closed their doors, but it’ll be hard to forget how incredible this place was.
It seems like dispensaries are popping up all over the city, and a lot of the time, neighbourhoods that are targeted are usually well established or growing quickly… And the Junction is one of those neighbourhoods… You have great schools here depending on where you’re located exactly like Keele St Public School, Annette St Public school, Humberside Collegiate Institute, Western Tech, Runnymede CI and so on. Also, the Junction is in a great location in the city, so home and condo prices have been going through the roof!
It's awesome to see how much this neighbourhood has changed, so I wanted to put together some archived before and after footage… Enjoy!
Comment which Toronto Neighbourhoods you'd like to see next!!
alex.drobin