![]() Two synagogues from this era are still operating today. This neighbourhood served not only Jewish immigrants but also Italians,ĭiscrimination against these groups was rampant outside of the secure and tolerant environment of Kensington.Īt this time there were over 30 synagogues in Kensington Market one on almost every corner, each representing a different town or province of Eastern Europe. The organization of Kensington Market was theirĪttempt to earn a living and still maintain their independence without compromising their faith. This made finding a job impossible for the observant orthodox Jews of Toronto because Saturday is their Sabbath. To secure a job in a Gentile workplace at this time you were required to work on Saturday. A Kensington Market fish merchant once used a mackerel to smack an invader in the face. The young men in the Market hid bottles behind the counters of their stores that they could grab as weapons if needed. It was a safe community meeting place, but sometimes anti-Semitic gangs wouldĬome to the market looking for a fight. In four-foot barrels and fresh kosher cheese made on site. Vendors sold live chickens, ducks and fish, pickles and pickled herring In the early 1900s, the Jewish Market was a microvillage that catered to the specific needs of the Jewish community that lived there. Their arrival in the neighbourhood marked the beginning of Kensington Market, which at the time was known as the Jewish Market. By 1931, there were 45,305 Jewish people in TorontoĪnd 80 per cent were living in or around Kensington. By 1913, this had increased to over 32,000. In 1900, there were approximately 3,000 Jews in Toronto. Of their homes into stores and continued to display their wares on the sidewalk as is done to this day. Many merchants converted the ground floor Later, stalls were built in front of their homes in Kensington, attracting other Jewish business to the area. Independent livelihood they earned from the goods that they sold throughout Toronto from handcarts. They brought with them a fiercely independent spirit, their skills in the needle trade and the The Jews of the Ward began to drift westward into the Victorian suburb of Kensington because of the overcrowded, ramshackle housing conditions of the Ward. Jewish merchants, selling goods from carts, moved into the Kensington Market area in the early 1900s. They also found other immigrants from their home country and jobs in the needle trade in the sweatshops of local garment manufacturers. In the late 1800s, immigrants from Italy and Jewish people, primarily driven from Eastern Europe and Russia by anti-Semitic persecution, poured into the Ward and found affordable yet deplorable places to live. John's Ward) was located around the area of the city where Toronto's City Hall is currently located. Poor immigrants were, for the most part, excluded fromĪny form of social advancement. Toronto during the early 1900s was predominantly an Anglo, Protestant, stratified society. Jewish immigrants, who originally settled in the Ward District of Toronto,īegan to move into the area and set up shops that served the specific cultural needs of their community. Kensington Market became a market in the early 1900s. The street names of the area still reflect this era: Denison Avenue, Oxford Street, Wales Avenue,įitzroy Terrace and Kensington Avenue. Smaller lots for development and within 30 years Kensington became a middle-class Victorian suburb for immigrants, who were mostly from the British Isles. By 1854, Denison had his land subdivided into This church takes its name from the fact that it was located in an open field when it was first built. Stephen-in-the-Fields, which still stands at the corner of College Street and Bellevue Avenue. In 1858, he donated the land and funds necessary to erect the Anglican Church In 1866, for instance, he commanded a provisional battalion during the Fenian raids. Robert was also a loyal member of the British In 1853, the Belle Vue estate was inherited by his youngest son, Robert Brittain Denison. That year he built a Georgian style home in the middle of this land and called it Belle Vue. In 1815, George Taylor Denison, a loyal member of the British militia, purchased Park Lot 17 and half of Park Lot 18, creating a 156-acre estate for himself and hisįamily.
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