St. James Town began to grow in the 19th century when it became a semi-suburban area home to the city's middle class.

St. James Ward was rezoned in the 1950s,  and the nineteenth century homes were leveled, and apartment towers — inspired by Le Corbusier's Towers in the Park concept — were erected.
 Each tower was named after a major Canadian city with some accommodating over a 1000 residents.
The 14 story Quebec was completed in 1959, the 18 story Victoria in 1965, and The Toronto's 24 floors in 1967.
In the same census time period (1961 - 1971) St. James Town's population grew to 11,462 from only 862.

In the late 1960s, the developers attempted to acquire land south of Wellesley, as far as Carlton Street, to expand the St. James Town development.
Many residents of the area resisted, with the support of civic activist and future Mayor of Toronto John Sewell.
The St. James Town expansion was cancelled, and the homes that had been demolished were replaced with several housing cooperatives.

The plan for St. James Town's highrises was conceived in the 1950s to house young middle class residents who worked Downtown.
This plan was spurred forward by the federal government, that saw city building as a key to post-depression, post-war, nation's recovery.
The buildings didn't attract the large number of demographics the developer envisioned, as well the neighborhood was designed with a lack of proper amenities to support the density spike.
Happening parallel to the  development of St. Jamestown, was large suburban developments of detached family homes in the Toronto's suburbs.
Many prospective tenants instead chose suburban houses in the developing areas of Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York.
After the first generation of tenants left the buildings, the area quickly started attracting tenants of a lower income bracket.
Four buildings were later built by the province to provide public housing.
Today, the towers are mostly home to newly arrived immigrant families, with only 33% being born in Canada, according to the 2011 Census.

After the Provincial health care restructuring in the mid 1990s, the Princess Margret Hospital site on Sherbourne Street because available.
In 2001, the City of Toronto launched a major initiative to add social amenities in the area, and began construction of a new Toronto Public Library branch and community centre, which opened in 2004 at the corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley.
Lanterra Developments has also proposed plans to replace some of the remaining Victorian homes in St. Jamestown with several more towers.

On September 24, 2010, a fire broke out on the 24th floor of 200 Wellesley St East (the white building behind the library and community centre).
Fourteen people were taken to hospital due to injuries, including three firefighters and two children; three of the injuries were classed as serious.
The cause of the fire was determined to be a cigarette thrown from a balcony above.

In 2013, St. James Town became the host of the World's Tallest Mural, pending approval by Guinness.

On August 21, 2018, a fire broke out in an electrical box at 650 Parliament St.  Only two people suffered minor injuries, but the entire building, containing 1,500 or more people, had to be evacuated.
 It took six hours to douse the flames.
 Reports indicated that evacuees would have to wait "several days" before they would be allowed to return.
 As of May 2019, re-occupancy has been postponed to late that year due to the complexities of restoration work, including the discovery of the presence of a "minor amount" of asbestos.
St. James Town began to grow in the 19th century when it became a semi-suburban area home to the city's middle class. 
St. James Ward was rezoned in the 1950s,  and the nineteenth century homes were leveled, and apartment towers — inspired by Le Corbusier's Towers in the Park concept — were erected.  Each tower was named after a major Canadian city with some accommodating over a 1000 residents. The 14 story Quebec was completed in 1959, the 18 story Victoria in 1965, and The Toronto's 24 floors in 1967. In the same census time period (1961 - 1971) St. James Town's population grew to 11,462 from only 862.
In the late 1960s, the developers attempted to acquire land south of Wellesley, as far as Carlton Street, to expand the St. James Town development. Many residents of the area resisted, with the support of civic activist and future Mayor of Toronto John Sewell. The St. James Town expansion was cancelled, and the homes that had been demolished were replaced with several housing cooperatives.
The plan for St. James Town's highrises was conceived in the 1950s to house young middle class residents who worked Downtown. This plan was spurred forward by the federal government, that saw city building as a key to post-depression, post-war, nation's recovery. The buildings didn't attract the large number of demographics the developer envisioned, as well the neighborhood was designed with a lack of proper amenities to support the density spike. Happening parallel to the  development of St. Jamestown, was large suburban developments of detached family homes in the Toronto's suburbs. Many prospective tenants instead chose suburban houses in the developing areas of Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York. After the first generation of tenants left the buildings, the area quickly started attracting tenants of a lower income bracket. Four buildings were later built by the province to provide public housing. Today, the towers are mostly home to newly arrived immigrant families, with only 33% being born in Canada, according to the 2011 Census.
After the Provincial health care restructuring in the mid 1990s, the Princess Margret Hospital site on Sherbourne Street because available. In 2001, the City of Toronto launched a major initiative to add social amenities in the area, and began construction of a new Toronto Public Library branch and community centre, which opened in 2004 at the corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley. Lanterra Developments has also proposed plans to replace some of the remaining Victorian homes in St. Jamestown with several more towers.
On September 24, 2010, a fire broke out on the 24th floor of 200 Wellesley St East (the white building behind the library and community centre). Fourteen people were taken to hospital due to injuries, including three firefighters and two children; three of the injuries were classed as serious. The cause of the fire was determined to be a cigarette thrown from a balcony above.
In 2013, St. James Town became the host of the World's Tallest Mural, pending approval by Guinness.
On August 21, 2018, a fire broke out in an electrical box at 650 Parliament St.  Only two people suffered minor injuries, but the entire building, containing 1,500 or more people, had to be evacuated.  It took six hours to douse the flames.  Reports indicated that evacuees would have to wait "several days" before they would be allowed to return.  As of May 2019, re-occupancy has been postponed to late that year due to the complexities of restoration work, including the discovery of the presence of a "minor amount" of asbestos.
St. James Town