Greektown (Toronto)
Greektown is a neighborhood in Toronto . The official name is "GreekTown on the Danforth", after the street it crosses. The Greektown was by members of the Greek diaspora in relation to the 1919th
history
Greektown was originally on Yonge Street . After the anti-Greek riots in 1918 , the Greeks left the local area and settled on Danforth Avenue. The American building contractor Asa Danforth Jr. bought the land between Queen Street and Kingston Road and built houses.
The highest number of residents of Greek origin reached the area in the early 1970s, when many political refugees were granted asylum in Canada due to the junta in Greece, most of whom returned after 1974. At the same time, Greek Canadians moved more and more to the suburbs, so that the merchants and restaurateurs increasingly turned to other target groups.
Today, the Greek share of Toronto's urban population is 7.3%, and Greektown is still the largest Greek residential area in North America with 125,000 Greeks.
Location and importance
Greektown is located east of the Don Valley Parkway on Danforth Avenue, which is primarily home to Greek immigrants. The street signs are bilingual.
From 1981 onwards, Greektown changed from an ethnic migrant quarter to a nightlife district with over 400 Greek restaurants, specialty shops and bakeries and is popular with locals and tourists alike. The result is gentrification with a significant rise in property prices.
The three-day “Taste of the Danforth” festival has been held around August 15th since 1994; a street festival with 5000 visitors has over 1.5 million visitors. Originally only intended for Greek specialties, it is now open to all specialty kitchens and also includes sports activities such as street hockey and basketball.
reception
- The writer Tom Petkos lived in the neighborhood. He was immortalized in the Barenaked Ladies' song "The Old Apartment" .
- Scenes from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding were also filmed here.
Web links
- http://greektowntoronto.com Website of the Danforth Village Business Improvement Area
- http://tasteofthedanforth.com/ Website of the Taste of Danforth Festival
Individual evidence
- ↑ Toula Drimonis: A century later, a vicious anti-Greek riot in Toronto offers lessons for today . In: MacLean's , August 1, 2018.