Davenport

Davenport is the name of the neighbourhood that stretched from Lansdowne Avenue to Bathurst Street, north of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks and topped by Davenport Road.

Davenport is one of Toronto’s oldest communities, owing to the fact that Davenport Road is built on the site of an ancient carrying trail that has been used for centuries, and was also the site of an early railway station, built in the late mid-late 19th century. An early settler built his first home here back in the late 18th century, naming it after a military man named Davenport, from whom we get the name.

The area was originally part of The Junction, and benefited economically from the presence of the rail line here. Many factories sprung up and created a busy working-class environment. Still connected to these roots in spirit, the area is now gentrifying slowly, as it borders The Junction and The Annex and Corso Italia, all of which have strong cultural identities highly valued and sought after by many of Toronto’s young and engaged citizens.

A fuller profile of Davenport is being developed and will appear in this place shortly. To contribute to the profile or to publish your own impressions or memories of life in this community, email the editors at [email=stringers@mytowncrier.ca]stringers@mytowncrier.ca[/email].