Dufferin Grove is a neighbourhood located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bordered by Bloor Street West to the north, Dovercourt Road to the east, College Street and eventually Dundas Street West to the south and the CNR/CPR tracks (west of Sterling Avenue) to the west. The western section is also known as Brockton Village, a former incorporated village annexed by the City of Toronto in the 1880s.

Character

It is a working class neighbourhood with a large diversity in cultures and to an extent class. From street to street, corner to corner, this neighbourhood is full of diversity. The main streets of the neighbourhood are Dufferin Street, a four-lane arterial, which is mostly residential except for the Dufferin Mall on the west side south of Bloor. Lansdowne Avenue runs north-south in the western section of the neighbourhood. It is a 'calmed' street narrowed recently from four lanes to three. College Street is a four-lane arterial road, with a mix of commercial storefronts and residences.

Residences

 Dufferin Grove Park

The neighbourhood is predominantly two or three-storey detached or semi-detached homes at a fairly high-density. Most of the homes are of Victorian or Edwardian vintage, dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Dufferin Grove Park

Dufferin Grove Park on the east side of Dufferin Avenue south of Bloor is the largest green space in the neighbourhood. It has playground facilities, picnic areas and in the winter an ice hockey rink. The Park has become a community space in the 1990s and more recently with the opening of a regular organic market, a community pizza oven, and internet 'wi-fi'. A community support group, the 'Friends of Dufferin Grove Park' organizes most events and activities in the park, unlike most parks in the City, where events are organized by the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department.

Schools

The neighbourhood is home to two high schools: Bloor Collegiate Institute and West Toronto Collegiate and several elementary schools.

  Dufferin Mall

Dufferin Mall, an enclosed shopping centre to the south of Bloor Street, on the west side of Dufferin Avenue, dominates shopping in the area with a large supermarket, department store, clothing and specialty stores. Prior to the 1950s, the Mall site was the site of an Ontario Jockey Club race track. The track was closed and converted to a shopping plaza. In the 1970s, the large parking lot was converted to a three-storey parking garage, and the number of stores doubled in conjunction with the enclosure of the pedestrian space.

Demographics for Dufferin Grove

 Betting at Old Dufferin Racetrack, 1908

In the west (and to an extent east) end of the neighbourhood there is a large population of Portuguese, spreading out from Little Portugal located to the south-west.

The average age of the neighbourhood is younger than most with a larger than normal population hovering around 30 (according to Statistics Canada).

External links for Dufferin Grove

• Dufferin Grove Housing Cooperative
• City of Toronto - Dufferin Grove Neighbourhood Profile
• Friends of Dufferin Grove Park