Kensington-Chinatown
The Ogimaa Mikana Project
Queen Street West and McCaul Street
The Ogimaa Mikana project was launched in 2013 to reclaim public space through replacing street signs with Anishinaabemowin place names to streets and trails throughout the city. Ogimaa Mikana means leader's trail in tribute to the strong women leaders of the Idle No More movement. This project temporarily installed street signs that renamed Queen Street to Ogimaa Mikana and has worked with the City of Toronto to add new signs in other areas of the city such as Davenport Road (Gete-Onigaming) and Spadina Road (Ishpadinaa).
Grange Park
26 Grange Road West
A 1.8 hectare park near Queen Street West and University Avenue featuring a picnic area, a wading pool and a children's playground. Grange Park is officially owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario, and is run by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. The late Harriet Boulton, also known as Mrs. Goldwin Smith, provided in her will that the Grange and annexed lands which was her home would be gifted to the Art Museum of Toronto. The land to the south of the Grange were to be made available for use as a park in perpetuity.
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) was originally known as the Toronto Museum of Art when it was founded in 1900. The first home of this museum was in a historic Georgian manor known as The Grange, which was originally built for D'Arcy Boulton Jr., a leading citizen at the time. (The Grange is still part of the AGO to this day, and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city). A major expansion to the museum designed by world-renowned architect and Toronto native Frank Gehry was opened in 2008, making it one of the most photographed buildings in Toronto. The AGO now contains one of the largest art collections in North America, with close to 95,000 works representing European, Canadian, Indigenous, African, and Oceanic artists. The AGO offers some free programming.
Grange Place Lane Murals
Dundas Street West and Grange Place
Commissioned by the Chinatown BIA, these murals on the buildings in Grange Place are painted by Aaron Li-Hill and Alexa Hatanaka and reflect the area's Chinese community.
Jean Lumb Lane
East of Huron Street, extending south of Dundas Street West
Jean Lumb was an extraordinary Torontonian and an outstanding Chinese-Canadian woman. Not only did she live nearby (at Dundas Street West and Beverley Street) and co-own a Chinese restaurant, Kwong Chow Chop Suey House, at 126 Elizabeth Street, in Toronto's first Chinatown, she also worked tirelessly as a voice for the Chinese communities in Toronto and across Canada. Jean fought for diversity and integration through food, dance, heritage conservation, and efforts to make immigration legislation more equitable. Her business acumen and outgoing personality were at the foundation of her dedication to civic and community work. In a long line of firsts and the recipient of many honours and awards, Lumb became the first Chinese Canadian woman and first restaurateur appointed to the Order of Canada.
Baldwin Village
Baldwin Street and Beverley Street
A small but jam-packed pocket of restaurants and shops located along Baldwin Street.
George Brown House
50 Baldwin Street
*Note: Private property. Please observe the house from the street only. George Brown occupied this house from 1877 until his passing in 1881. Brown was owner and editor of The Globe newspaper, a Senator and a Father of Confederation. Brown and his family also made significant contributions to Canada's Abolitionist movement and Brown was personally involved in the lives of many Underground Railroad refugees.
First Baptist Church
101 Huron Street
First Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist church and the oldest Black institution in Toronto. In 1826, 12 formerly enslaved people, led by Washington Christian, came together in Toronto (then known as the Town of York) to start a new church. Without a building to worship in, they held services outside or in members' homes. The church found its first permanent building at Queen and Victoria Streets before eventually settling on Huron Street in 1955.
Wong Association of Ontario Plaque
301 Spadina Avenue
The Wong Association of Ontario is one of the oldest Chinese family associations in Canada, dating back to 1912. It was originally located in Toronto's first Chinatown (near Bay and Dundas Streets) before moving to this location on Spadina Avenue in 1988. The association assisted with employment, housing, immigration services, financial loans and health care and, therefore, was extremely important to early Chinese immigrants.
Secret Laneway of Kensington
Glen Baillie Place
*Note: Private property. Please observe the houses from the street only. Travelling down Spadina Avenue between St. Andrew and Dundas Streets you'll find Glen Baille Place. There's a hidden bank of houses built to house construction workers in around 1888.
Cecil Community Centre & Cecil Street Plaque
58 Cecil Street
The Cecil Community Centre has existed as a community hub for many of Toronto's marginalized communities. Originally a church, the building it is now housed in was was converted into a synagogue for the neighbourhood's growing Jewish population in 1922 (an onsite plaque exists to commemorate this history). In 1960, it changed into a Chinese Catholic Church for the neighbourhood's new Chinese population and in the 1970s, it was home to the Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT), one of the city's earliest gay rights groups.
El Mocambo
464 Spadina Avenue
The El Mocambo (est. 1948) is an iconic venue for Toronto's music scene. The Rolling Stones, Fats Domino, Elvis Costello and Ramones have all famously played here among countless other performers. It was saved from closure in 2014 and recently reopened following a period of renovations. The El Mocambo is also an important site in Toronto's LGBTQ2S+ history. The late Will Munro planned some of his first legendary Vazaleen queer rock parties at the club beginning in 1999. Vazaleen was notable for prominently featuring punk and rock music, and was among the few LGBTQ2S+ events to exist outside of the Church-Wellesley Village area at the time.
Kensington Market Garden Car
Oxford Street and Augusta Avenue
As you stroll through Kensington Market, you'll come across the Garden Car, a quirky public art piece made out of an old car. Not many know that this is the second car used for this installation. The first was created in 2006 by a now-inactive community group, Streets Are for People. The original car was donated to the PACT Grow-To-Learn Schoolyard Gardening Program. Please note that this car is removed during the winter months.
Market 707
707 Dundas Street West
A unique market of retrofitted shipping containers offering a variety of local take-out food and services.
Explore Kensington-Chinatown
Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.
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Don't Miss
Explore FREE Public Art Across the City. Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto's exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.
We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at [email protected].
Neighbourhood Stroll
This stroll passes through lively streets filled with restaurants like Baldwin Village, features some spectacular street art murals, highlights an important icon of the Toronto music scene - The El Mocambo - and notes the area's important Chinese-Canadian and Jewish cultural history. The stroll goes through the Queen St. West, Chinatown and Kensington Market BIAs, which are filled with a wide array of unique local businesses.
- The Ogimaa Mikana Project
Queen Street West and McCaul Street
The Ogimaa Mikana project was launched in 2013 to reclaim public space through replacing street signs with Anishinaabemowin place names to streets and trails throughout the city. Ogimaa Mikana means leader's trail in tribute to the strong women leaders of the Idle No More movement. This project temporarily installed street signs that renamed Queen Street to Ogimaa Mikana and has worked with the City of Toronto to add new signs in other areas of the city such as Davenport Road (Gete-Onigaming) and Spadina Road (Ishpadinaa).
- Grange Park
26 Grange Road West
A 1.8 hectare park near Queen Street West and University Avenue featuring a picnic area, a wading pool and a children's playground. Grange Park is officially owned by the Art Gallery of Ontario, and is run by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. The late Harriet Boulton, also known as Mrs. Goldwin Smith, provided in her will that the Grange and annexed lands which was her home would be gifted to the Art Museum of Toronto. The land to the south of the Grange were to be made available for use as a park in perpetuity.
- Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) was originally known as the Toronto Museum of Art when it was founded in 1900. The first home of this museum was in a historic Georgian manor known as The Grange, which was originally built for D'Arcy Boulton Jr., a leading citizen at the time. (The Grange is still part of the AGO to this day, and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city). A major expansion to the museum designed by world-renowned architect and Toronto native Frank Gehry was opened in 2008, making it one of the most photographed buildings in Toronto. The AGO now contains one of the largest art collections in North America, with close to 95,000 works representing European, Canadian, Indigenous, African, and Oceanic artists. The AGO offers some free programming.
- Grange Place Lane Murals
Dundas Street West and Grange Place
Commissioned by the Chinatown BIA, these murals on the buildings in Grange Place are painted by Aaron Li-Hill and Alexa Hatanaka and reflect the area's Chinese community.
- Jean Lumb Lane
East of Huron Street, extending south of Dundas Street West
Jean Lumb was an extraordinary Torontonian and an outstanding Chinese-Canadian woman. Not only did she live nearby (at Dundas Street West and Beverley Street) and co-own a Chinese restaurant, Kwong Chow Chop Suey House, at 126 Elizabeth Street, in Toronto's first Chinatown, she also worked tirelessly as a voice for the Chinese communities in Toronto and across Canada. Jean fought for diversity and integration through food, dance, heritage conservation, and efforts to make immigration legislation more equitable. Her business acumen and outgoing personality were at the foundation of her dedication to civic and community work. In a long line of firsts and the recipient of many honours and awards, Lumb became the first Chinese Canadian woman and first restaurateur appointed to the Order of Canada.
- Baldwin Village
Baldwin Street and Beverley Street
A small but jam-packed pocket of restaurants and shops located along Baldwin Street.
- George Brown House
50 Baldwin Street
*Note: Private property. Please observe the house from the street only. George Brown occupied this house from 1877 until his passing in 1881. Brown was owner and editor of The Globe newspaper, a Senator and a Father of Confederation. Brown and his family also made significant contributions to Canada's Abolitionist movement and Brown was personally involved in the lives of many Underground Railroad refugees.
- First Baptist Church
101 Huron Street
First Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist church and the oldest Black institution in Toronto. In 1826, 12 formerly enslaved people, led by Washington Christian, came together in Toronto (then known as the Town of York) to start a new church. Without a building to worship in, they held services outside or in members' homes. The church found its first permanent building at Queen and Victoria Streets before eventually settling on Huron Street in 1955.
- Wong Association of Ontario Plaque
301 Spadina Avenue
The Wong Association of Ontario is one of the oldest Chinese family associations in Canada, dating back to 1912. It was originally located in Toronto's first Chinatown (near Bay and Dundas Streets) before moving to this location on Spadina Avenue in 1988. The association assisted with employment, housing, immigration services, financial loans and health care and, therefore, was extremely important to early Chinese immigrants.
- Secret Laneway of Kensington
Glen Baillie Place
*Note: Private property. Please observe the houses from the street only. Travelling down Spadina Avenue between St. Andrew and Dundas Streets you'll find Glen Baille Place. There's a hidden bank of houses built to house construction workers in around 1888.
- Cecil Community Centre & Cecil Street Plaque
58 Cecil Street
The Cecil Community Centre has existed as a community hub for many of Toronto's marginalized communities. Originally a church, the building it is now housed in was was converted into a synagogue for the neighbourhood's growing Jewish population in 1922 (an onsite plaque exists to commemorate this history). In 1960, it changed into a Chinese Catholic Church for the neighbourhood's new Chinese population and in the 1970s, it was home to the Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT), one of the city's earliest gay rights groups.
- El Mocambo
464 Spadina Avenue
The El Mocambo (est. 1948) is an iconic venue for Toronto's music scene. The Rolling Stones, Fats Domino, Elvis Costello and Ramones have all famously played here among countless other performers. It was saved from closure in 2014 and recently reopened following a period of renovations. The El Mocambo is also an important site in Toronto's LGBTQ2S+ history. The late Will Munro planned some of his first legendary Vazaleen queer rock parties at the club beginning in 1999. Vazaleen was notable for prominently featuring punk and rock music, and was among the few LGBTQ2S+ events to exist outside of the Church-Wellesley Village area at the time.
- Kensington Market Garden Car
Oxford Street and Augusta Avenue
As you stroll through Kensington Market, you'll come across the Garden Car, a quirky public art piece made out of an old car. Not many know that this is the second car used for this installation. The first was created in 2006 by a now-inactive community group, Streets Are for People. The original car was donated to the PACT Grow-To-Learn Schoolyard Gardening Program. Please note that this car is removed during the winter months.
- Market 707
707 Dundas Street West
A unique market of retrofitted shipping containers offering a variety of local take-out food and services.
Accessibility information: All points of interest are viewable from the street, and Grange Park has paved walkways throughout.
The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.
Soundtracks of the City
From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.
Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.