Downtown or not downtown?

[wild goose chase]

What time period did the shifting of "midtown" in people's minds to as far north as Yonge and Eglinton take place?

 

[King of Kensington]

What time period did the shifting of "midtown" in people's minds to as far north as Yonge and Eglinton take place?

I think around 20 years ago with amalgamation. The logic seems to be "well it used to be north, but now it's midtown because amalgamation." Yet amalgamation hasn't really changed people's perceptions of the West and East Ends much though. Etobicoke and Scarborough very much remain fixed places and frames of reference.

Somewhat bizarrely, there's an Uptown BIA on Yonge above Eglinton, and a Midtown one just formed around Davisville.

 

[wild goose chase]

Yet amalgamation hasn't really changed people's perceptions of the West and East Ends much though. Etobicoke and Scarborough very much remain fixed places and frames of reference.

Etobicoke and Scarborough are places with more fixed and less nebulous boundaries with the old city's West and East ends than how far up on Yonge you need to be until you're out of the zone of influence of downtown/midtown.

Also, if people want to call North York centre "uptown" there's so much of a gap between the old city's "uptown" and that "uptown" while the East/West Ends have not much of a gap between them and Scarborough/Etobicoke.

 

[Avenue]

I think around 20 years ago with amalgamation. The logic seems to be "well it used to be north, but now it's midtown because amalgamation." Yet amalgamation hasn't really changed people's perceptions of the West and East Ends much though. Etobicoke and Scarborough very much remain fixed places and frames of reference.

Huh? 'West End' is like Ossington Avenue and 'East End' starts with Broadview.

 

[King of Kensington]

Huh? 'West End' is like Ossington Avenue and 'East End' starts with Broadview.

My point exactly. West end and east end still mean old city - west of Bathurst and east of the Don, respectively.

 

[Avenue]

Oh I see what you mean.

 

[toaster29]

It's all relative. It's common for people in Etobicoke to consider themselves "West-enders" or to say "West-end, best-end" or things like that. If i was talking to someone who lived outside of Toronto, and I said I lived in the West-end of Toronto, I would think Etobicoke. If I was talking to someone downtown, i would say "Etobicoke", and would use West-end to refer to Swansea or High Park.

 

[UserNameToronto]

It's all relative. It's common for people in Etobicoke to consider themselves "West-enders" or to say "West-end, best-end" or things like that. If i was talking to someone who lived outside of Toronto, and I said I lived in the West-end of Toronto, I would think Etobicoke. If I was talking to someone downtown, i would say "Etobicoke", and would use West-end to refer to Swansea or High Park.

Agree. I think you have to be pretty far west (or east) to be in an "end" - maybe High Park or the Beaches? It begs the question though, what to call the middle that isn't downtown, or an "end"?

 

[Avenue]

It's all relative. It's common for people in Etobicoke to consider themselves "West-enders" or to say "West-end, best-end" or things like that. If i was talking to someone who lived outside of Toronto, and I said I lived in the West-end of Toronto, I would think Etobicoke. If I was talking to someone downtown, i would say "Etobicoke", and would use West-end to refer to Swansea or High Park.

It's not relative at all. 'West End' and 'East End' are historical names of Toronto ares, not directional extremes. And they are neighbourhoods of Old Toronto, not 1998 amalgamated Toronto. Etobicoke can't be the west end of Toronto if it's not in Toronto. As such a historic establishment like West End YMCA, for example, is located on Dovercourt Road, not on East Mall.

 

[King of Kensington]

Agree. I think you have to be pretty far west (or east) to be in an "end" - maybe High Park or the Beaches? It begs the question though, what to call the middle that isn't downtown, or an "end"?

Not necessarily. In Toronto, "end" has essentially meant side or section, not geographical extreme.

London's "East End" is the eastern part of inner London (i.e. the borough of Tower Hamlets) not outer London boroughs like Barking and Dagenham.

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

DVP to Bathurst; Bloor (but Yorkville included) to Queen's Quay. FWIW, the original York (according to Wikipedia) which was incorporated as Toronto in 1834 was Bathurst Street in the west, Parliament Street in the east, the lake to the south and a line analogous to Dundas Street to the north.

I bet that, to anybody outside the 416, just about everywhere that you have to parallel park and deal with parking meters is "downtown."

 

[Transportfan]

It's not relative at all. 'West End' and 'East End' are historical names of Toronto ares, not directional extremes. And they are neighbourhoods of Old Toronto, not 1998 amalgamated Toronto. Etobicoke can't be the west end of Toronto if it's not in Toronto.

Most people associated Metro as being synonymous with Toronto.

 

[salsa]

Parkdale is part of "downtown Toronto", according to Global News.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4071649/multi-vehicle-crash-toronto/

 

[BurlOak]

DVP to Bathurst; Bloor (but Yorkville included) to Queen's Quay. FWIW, the original York (according to Wikipedia) which was incorporated as Toronto in 1834 was Bathurst Street in the west, Parliament Street in the east, the lake to the south and a line analogous to Dundas Street to the north.

You pretty much nailed it. Polling shows almost all outside this with <10% calling it downtown, while inside this polled >75%. Only exceptions are Trinity Bellwoods Park and The Annex.

Parkdale is part of "downtown Toronto", according to Global News.



View attachment 136844

https://globalnews.ca/news/4071649/multi-vehicle-crash-toronto/

This is Downtown West - from Bathurst to High Park.
Downtown East is from DVP to the Beaches - say Main Street.
Downtown North is Bloor to St. Clair.
Eglinton would be mid-town.

 

[GeoValentina]

Hello guys, I moved to Downtown sevaral months and can't find any job I feel really bad.... Would you have some advises to do ?