page_title: Harbord Village
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Harbord Village / History
caption_attribution_description: English: houses in w:Harbord Village
context_page_description: Harbord Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies just to the west of the University of Toronto, with its most commonly accepted borders being Bloor Street on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, College Street to the south, and Bathurst Street to the west. Areas west of Bathurst, as far as Ossington are also sometimes included, though they are not covered by the residents' association. The area was previously known as Sussex-Ulster, after two of the major east west streets in the area. In 2000 the residents' association decided to rename itself and the area Harbord Village, after the main street running through the middle of the community. The street's name origin is unclear but could be named for abolitionist Edward Harbord, 3rd Baron Suffield.
  The area is also sometimes referred to as the South Annex after the better known "Annex" community to the north. The city of Toronto for administrative purposes places Harbord Village and most of the St. George campus into a region it calls "University."
context_section_description: The area was primarily opened up for development around 1870, with the initial construction of modest working class houses. Somewhat grander middle class houses began to appear in the late 1880s and 1890s, after a local school had been built and the city had completed paving the streets and installing water and sewer lines. These predominantly Bay and Gable semi-detached houses dominate the current streetscape. Only one block on Brunswick Ave., which was not developed until the 1890s, contains the kind of large houses common to the Annex neighbourhood to the North.
  Like most 19th century Torontonians, the initial residents were dominated by immigrants from Great Britain. In the years after WWI the neighbourhood gradually became less desirable and more heterogeneous. By the 1930s it had become the home of many immigrants from other parts of the world, including many Eastern European Jews who transformed several of the residences and churches into synagogues (including the First Narayever Congregation which continues to the present day). They, along with the Black residents, faced considerable discrimination renting or buying homes in more affluent Toronto neighbourhoods. As the neighbourhood transitioned into an immigrant reception area, many of the formerly single family houses became shared by two families, and boarders. Subsequent waves of immigration altered the demographics of the area, with many Hungarians arriving following the failed revolution in 1956, and Portuguese in the 1960s and 70s.
  In the late 1960s, partially in conjunction with the planned Spadina Expressway, the city designated the area a slum and planned to demolish and redevelop a large part of it with tall tower blocks as they did with St. James Town. This resulted in the demolition of most of the houses on one block at the Northeast corner of the neighbourhood, and led residents to organize in opposition, forming the Sussex-Ulster Residents' Association. They were successful. Smaller towers were built along Spadina and the rest was given to the University of Toronto to create playing fields and outdoor recreation for their students and the local community. It is currently being redeveloped by the University to serve as an expanded sports field and a public park.
  In the 1970s and 80s the neighbourhood was gradually gentrified with an influx of professionals, many affiliated with the university, although many of the houses remained divided into apartments and populated by a diverse mix of people. Since the 1990s many of the houses have been restored to single family dwellings, and because of the heated real estate market, an increasing number are being gutted and rebuilt by developers to sell as luxury properties for several million dollars.
  In 2005, the Harbord Village Heritage Conservation District was established in the area of Lower Brunswick Avenue (below Ulster St.) as well as Willcocks Street west of Spadina.  In 2009, it was expanded to include Robert Street and Sussex Avenue.  The Harbord Village Residents' Association hopes the entire area will become a heritage conservation district.
  Lippincott Street runs north-south through Harbord Village, and is an example of the architectural style which used to typify the area. It was originally part of lot 17 purchased in 1815 by George Taylor Denison for the building of his new home "Belle Vue." Street likely named for Richard Lippincott (Loyalist) who settled in then York. The residential street runs through present day Kensington Market, College Street and Bloor Street. It includes a selection of Toronto architecture, including Victorian worker's cottages, Toronto bay-and-gable and more modern bungalows.
caption: Bay-and-gable-styled houses in Harbord Village. The area was initially built up as a working class and lower middle class community in the late-19th century.
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