Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson

Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada situated north of Bloor Street between Christie Street to the east, the CPR railway lines and Davenport Avenue to the north, and the CNR/CPR lines between Lansdowne Avenue and Dundas Street West to the west. The Bloorcourt Village BIA posts its streetlamp banners on Bloor between Crawford Street and Brock Avenue.

Character

The neighbourhood contains a mixture of land-uses. The main thoroughfare of Bloor Street consists almost exclusively of mixed-use residential and commercial buildings. These structures are typically two or three stories tall, with retail commercial on the main floor, and offices or rental housing on the remainder. These converted residential structures are the oldest in the district and are often in poor repair. Pigeon infestation remains an issue for tenants. At Dovercourt, a large, high-rise apartment complex houses lower-middle-income tenants on the southwest corner. The Bloor-Gladstone branch of the Toronto Public Library, dating from 1912, is situated at Gladstone Avenue.

Medium-density residential areas flank Bloor Street. Upper-middle income residents occupy and own single-family dwellings in this part of the neighbourhood. Many of these structures have been converted, housing up to eight separate units, though illegally. Side-streets increase in zoned density as they approach Bloor. Low and medium-rise apartments occupy the majority of these zones. Ossington and Dufferin stations on the Bloor-Danforth Line serve the largely pedestrian population of this neighbourhood.

One feature of the neighbourhood, slightly west of Christie Street, is a sculpture of a large white elephant in a front garden, which causes, according to the house owner, "about 20 cars a day stopping to look."

The northern part, between Dupont and Davenport, is mainly post-industrial development. Limited manufacturing remains, although some warehouse and light automotive industries still exist. While the Canadian National Railway operates a main line between the two thoroughfares, a large amount of former industrial space has been converted to loft condominiums. Some single-family rowhouses and low-income rental space has also been created.

Demographics

It is an ethnically diverse area. A majority of residents are fluent in Portuguese, Italian and English. A large Ethiopian population is also present in the area. There are many shops along Bloor Street serving the Portuguese and Ethiopian communities.

Almost half of all residents over the age of 24 in the area are without a high school diploma. Census data reports a population with one of the lowest rates of university education in the city, at 18 percent.Fact|date=February 2007

External links

* [http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/cns_profiles/cns93.htm Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson-Junction neighbourhood profile]

Toronto Neighbourhood Geography
North = Corso Italia, Wychwood Park
East = The Annex
South = Dufferin Grove, Palmerston-Little Italy
West = High Park North
Center = Dovercourt-Wallace Emerson