City
NOW writes the latest chapter in the city's East vs. West rivalry
It's a question that's been around for almost as long as Toronto itself. Is there chasm -- some deep-seated animosity -- between the East and West sides of this city? And, if so, where's the line that divides us from ourselves?
Well, just in case you thought the condominiumization of Toronto had rendered such questions moot, NOW magazine has poured a little petrol on the fire. This week's edition of the publication will feature two different covers, one for readers in the East and one for readers in the West.
It's a pretty cool idea, and one that got me thinking about the roots of this putative split. Pretty much all cities feature different cultural and socio-economic identities from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, but being split up the middle is a bit more dramatic, isn't it?
NOW has chosen Yonge St. as the dividing line, declaring it a metaphoric Switzerland in the city's rivalry. This choice has become somewhat standard when having the East vs. West debate, but I've never thought it quite right. To me, the so-called Switzerland (or purgatory, if you will) covers quite a bit more territory. I'd argue that the area between the Don Valley to the east and University/Avenue Rd. to the west is one big no-man's land.
I don't feel like I'm on the West side of Toronto when walking along Bay St. And I don't get the sense that I'm in the East when riding my bike through Rosedale. Perhaps, this expanse should be thought of as central Toronto?
There are many theories bandied about when it comes to trying to explain why it is that so many Torontonians pledge what seems to be permanent allegiance to one side of the city over the other. Chief among these, and the one that I subscribe to, is the notion that our separation was first a geographic one.
And it's for this reason that I don't use Yonge St. as the dividing line -- it's just too arbitrary. As might be obvious from my charting of the space between East and West, I've always thought that it was the Don Valley that split our city.
Prior to the completion of the Bloor Viaduct in 1918, remember, it wasn't so convenient to travel from one side of the city to the other. Although bridges existed at Queen and Gerrard streets, there were few options to cross the Don to the north (short of swimming).
Could it be that even after all these years, the valley the Viaduct crosses still poses an obstacle to a unified Toronto?
Perhaps surprisingly, the answer may be yes. While it's now easy to pass from one side of the city to the other, a certain self-sufficiency seems to have always characterized the East and West sides of Toronto, one that very well may have originated prior to the construction of the viaduct. And, maybe just maybe, this is what perpetuates the rivalry between the two.
The East has the Don River, Greektown, Leslieville and the Beach, while the West boasts the Humber, Little Italy, Queen West and High Park. And the comparisons don't end there. Residents of each side seem always able to cite a superior counterpart to a cherished attraction found on the side of the city opposite them. Based on this logic, there's little reason to travel sideways.
Is one side of Toronto truly better than the other? Well, yes -- but which one depends on who you ask.
Photo of the Bloor Viaduct under construction from the City of Toronto Archives.
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The west end gets cinder-block.
'Nuff Said.
Toronto west ends at Avenue road :)
What about St Lawrence, Corktown, Regent Park, Old Town, etc.?
You're definitely not in the west when you're living there. Sounds like you live in the Annex.
Truth be told, I love my neighbourhood but I don't have a problem with the west end at all (just doesn't suit my lifestyle, but I can see why some love it). It's just fun to pick sides and play along.
I personally prefer the historic King East strip than homogenous King W.
that being said, i've lived in both ends and don't get why anyone feels any sort of animosity.. both areas have their ritzy parts, their "little-this" and "little-that" (i.e. little india, little italy, etc.).. just hop on your bike or the ttc and go where you want to go, no need to make a division. :) Maybe I'm just being naive, but ignorance is bliss...
The majority of Toronto's best reviewed restaurants, bars and cafes are on the West.
Toronto designer boutiques and fashion retailers are on the West.
The East has a lot of established culture going for it, but Toronto's culture is living and evolving on the West side!
Sure, Now's article is cute, and healthy rivalry can be fun, but NIMBYism and 'us-versus-them,' particularly with the downtown crowd, is not healthy.
The entire city must be treated as an organic whole and we need to avoid allowing petty neighborhood jealousies from strangling progress for the greater good.
Objective Reality.
West has Queen West.
'Nuff said.
It gets lonely up here.
If you want to see what a real dividing line looks like, head to Vancouver and compare the west side of Cambie St to the east side. Now THAT is a divide-- it's like there was a wall there once.
The East Side is the more culturally diverse part of the city, making it "richer" in what this city prides it self on, diversity.
Not to forget two China Towns, Little India, Greektown, Don Valley, Leslieville, Rouge Valley, Toronto Zoo, Scarborough Bluffs, Bridle Path/Edwards Gardens, Science Centre.
One thing is for sure though, anything north of St Clair/Danforth is hella lame. Downtown forever!
- not the Don, but the ugly roads and highway below the ugly bridges crossing them
- not the railway lands, nor the Gardiner, but the ugly and dangerous crossing of Lake Shore
- not the raised rail bed, but the ugly underpasses beneath them at King, Queen, Dundas and College West
- similar in the East end
- the entire 401, and 427
All of these are designed to maximize the velocity of cars, which they cannot guarantee anymore, but they do guarantee the discomfort of all residents.
I have friends who refuse to live anywhere other than the west side, and I get that. I'd never leave my beloved riverdale. Everyone has different spots that they love for whatever reason, that's what makes a city so great and diverse. But I can still appreciate the rest of the city.
Why do we always feel the need to dichotomize? I used to live in London and it was also divided into the north/south, and they had the same neighbourhood wars. Dumb.
There is this divide between the east and west for the following reason: the west end folks are snobs because they make more money. Their snobbery is what instigates the divide. The east enders hate the west enders because of this snobbery.
I can afford to live in the best neighbourhoods in the east end and west end. Yes, I have been LUCKY in life. (I think west enders would say they DESERVE IT, while east enders would say they were LUCKY. It is called, HUMILITY) Anyhow, even though I can afford both sides of the city, I have chosen to live in the east- the beach more specifically. Why have I chosen the beaches:
1) Because it is the most beautiful place in the city.
2) Because the people who live in the beach are without doubt the most down-to-earth and friendly people in the city.
Also, seeing as you're on an anti-car tirade (what's new here), these bridges, underpasses and other bits of the infrastructure aid everyone; not just cars. Streetcars and subways cross the Don. Streetcars, buses, and pedestrians can cross with ease where there used to be at-grade train crossings. The 4-series highways, well I guess they are car exclusive, so you can have that one.
Also, crossing Lakeshore is only dangerous if you're some sort of moron. Is it pleasant? Not entirely, but I think that people really build it into something worse than it is. Ever seen NYC, Chicago, Tokyo? They've got bustling areas even in the shadows of elevated highways and railways. I really think we need to embrace our similar areas as well (check out the planned West Donlands Underpass Park for some inspiration).
Also I don't think the people differ that much from one side to another. You'll find great people anywhere, just as you'll find assholes anywhere. Such is the way of life.
It knows nothing about the rest of the city. I can't wait to read the stupid article.
It's a city of neighbourhoods all over the place. There is no divide, NOW morons.
One last thing: Even though I do love the beaches neighbourhood the most and decided to live there, there are plenty of places in the west that are fantastic. For me, I love Bloor West Village and High Park and the Humber River. We Torontonians are lucky as we are blessed with so many great neighbourhoods. And these neighbourhoods are getting better and better and the pace of improvement has accelerated substantially in the past 5-10 years. I can't wait to see what our city will be like 10 years from now!
I live right at Yonge and Bloor. Somewhere roughly at the cross roads of the East and West side.
The divide is deep and palpable. When you cross back and forth over the border as often as I can, you definitely feel a distinct difference in the vibe, look and feel. The West side has way more money and better architecture and design. The East side is all about families, many of whom seem unhappy with each other.
I spend most of my time on the West side. When friends move to the East side, like Krista, I know this marks the end of our " hanging out " days.
Getting in and out of the East side is so time consuming and so far, you just don't want to go unless you absolutely have to.
http://www.brocku.ca/maplibrary/Atlas2001/Toronto/avghouseincome.pdf
Growing up in the NorthWest end of the city (Downsview/North York) everyone knew that Yonge St. was pretty much the border. Anything pretty much East of Bayview was considered to be 'Scarborough' lol, even though we knew it wasn't. West Enders rarely went East, unless it was a school trip, sports related, or were visiting some girl they met while out clubbing who happened to be from the East end.
The West end is an older part of the City, where immigrants first settled in Toronto up until the mid or late 80's when more housing was built in the east...affordable ones too. Now, the west end has more established neighborhoods because of the initial flood of immigrants eg. Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Jewish, Caribbean etc.. whereas the newer wave of immigrants settled in the East eg. South Asian being the majority.
As mentioned, there are various divides of the city regarding territorial or neighborhoods. Anything south of Bloor and part of the 'Old Toronto' is considered Downtown. Anywhere along Yonge St. or between that DVP-Spadina corridor is extremely expensive and was usually occupied by WASPs. For example...schools such as: Upper Canada College, Northern, Lawrence Park, Riverside, all the way up north to Newtonbrook were majority WASP schools...and rich neighborhoods. North/Central Toronto is exactly that, central, and not east or west.
Even the names of streets change from East to West. Bloor becomes Danforth, Wilson > York Mills, College > Carlton.
Ask any born & bred Torontonian...NON-DOWNTOWNER...if they used to cross over either to the East or West end of where they grew up and they'll say no.
West is the best. :)
However, I would concede that the "entertainment" aspect of the East is poor. Other than the Danforth, there's nothing out here.
I would guess this is primarily due to the physical barriers of the Don and the psychological barriers of subway stops past Sherbourne.
I don't mind this as I can enjoy my quiet retreat while still living a 10-minute drive to my office at Front and University, but I definitely understand why people prefer to hang out in the West.
The East was def. dry but had its quirks. There are still parts of the West end that I've never been in my life. It really is a tale of 2 cities that many people might have a hard time understanding unless they were born or raised here.
Technically.
But they're really not part of the city. Those areas are suburban sprawl.
The people up there may have a lot money, but they aren't spending any on making their area attractive or interesting. It's hard to consider it part of the city. There's no one on the streets. Only cars.
If you grew up in Toronto, you have a divide, because you became acustomed to your sites, why go to High Park if you live near Riverdale, why head out to Sunnyside if you have Ashbridge's, you hungry? Either you will say Danforth or College. Forest Hill or Victoria Village
And the divide is really downtown, how anyone doesn't deem the downtown as between Yonge and University, North and South...the divide even far North is still East and West.
But for those snooty west siders who think they are so above us East Tdoters, we have 2 of the biggest weekend festivals on our side of the city, the Taste of the Danforth and Pride. And I know you have no comparison for that!