OVERVIEW: Yorkville is one of Toronto's most dynamic neighbourhoods. It is an eclectic mix of luxury condominium apartment buildings, commercial office towers, four star hotels, theatres, gourmet restaurants, a prestigious shopping district and picture postcard Victorian homes. The commercial heart of Yorkville is located on both Yorkville Avenue and on Cumberland Street. The transition to Yorkville's quiet residential pocket is gradual, as Victorian houses shift from retail to residential uses in a seamless pattern that is uniquely Yorkville.
HOMES: Yorkville's gentrified Victorian houses were built mainly between 1870 and 1895. These historical homes exhibit many decorative features including ornamental brick patterns, gingerbread gables, cast iron fences, and richly landscaped gardens. Many of Yorkville's houses are listed on the Toronto Historical Board's Inventory of Heritage Properties. The Yorkville landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years with the addition of a number of new luxury condominium apartment buildings. Yorkvillle condominiums have the highest square footage values in the city of Toronto. These high-end buildings cater to the foot loose and fancy free lifestyles of the residents of this upscale neighbourhood.
SHOPPING: Bloor-Yorkville is generally acclaimed as Canada's pre-eminent shopping district. Its many specialty stores, fashion boutiques, jewellery stores, antique shops, and art galleries are a destination point for tourists, as well as Torontonians from all over the city. Yorkville's shops and restaurants are located in pretty Victorian houses on Yorkville Avenue, Hazelton Avenue, Cumberland Street and Scollard Street. The Hazelton Lanes shopping centre located at 55 Avenue Road features over ioo exclusive shops and restaurants.
RECREATION: Ramsden Park is located at the north end of Yorkville, off Yonge Street. This large city park includes four tennis courts, an artificial ice rink, a children's playground, and a wading pool. The Yorkville Public Library, at 22 Yorkville Avenue, is an intimate library geared towards the local community. It includes programs for both children and adults. The Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library at 789 Yonge Street is Canada's largest and most extensive reference library. The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the McLaughlin Planetarium are all within walking distance of this neighbourhood. The Manulife Centre situated at the south-east corner of Bay and Bloor features twelve new 'state of the art' movie theatres.
SCHOOLS:
(P) Jesse Ketchum Jr. & Sr., 61 Davenport Rd., (416) 393-1530
(P) Jarvis Collegiate Institute, 495 Jarvis St., (416) 393-0140
(PR) University of Toronto Schools, 371 Bloor St., W., (416) 978-2011
TRANSPORTATION: Yorkville is ideally located within walking distance of the Bloor/Yonge subway station on the Yonge-University-Spading subway line and the Bay station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line. For those commuting by car, the Don Valley Parkway is approximately five minutes from Yorkville.
