Previously I've presented a overview of Toronto featuring its signage, which you can see at this link. Today's post focuses on a very colorful region of the city, the western end of Queen Street (often just referred to as "Queen West").
Queen West is a collection of once ethnically diverse neighborhoods that developed around the thoroughfare. These include distinct Irish, Jewish, Chinese, Polish, Portugese and Ukrainian communities dating from the 19th century through the 1960s. Queen West developed a "laid back Bohemian" reputation during the hippie era, but gentrification over the past years has caused recent immigrants to move to more affordable (generally distant) areas of the city as cost of living near Queen West increased. I think the ethnic profile of the area might now best described as "Canadian".
Queen West is now lined with many boutiques, pubs, restaurants, tattoo parlors and the like. The closer you are to downtown Toronto, the more upscale things are, but the further West you go the more of the street's old character is retained. Queen West is also known as a center for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the arts.
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