Bloor West Village is the shopping street along Bloor Street West between High Park and the Humber River, in west Toronto. It grew in the early and mid-20th century around the Bloor streetcar of the 1920s and the Bloor-Danforth subway of 1966. According to Wikipedia, the Bloor West Village Business Improvement Area, founded in 1970 after a change to Ontario law, was the first of its kind in the world.
A street that divided communities
Bloor Street is named for Joseph Bloor, a brewer and land speculator who founded the Village of Yorkville in 1830, according to Wikipedia’s article on the street. The western stretch ran through farmland for most of the 19th century. A City of Toronto heritage study notes that Bloor Street West once separated several communities, among them Swansea, West Toronto and Brockton, before they were amalgamated into Toronto. The main street that exists today is mostly an early and mid-20th century creation.
The City says the study area is bounded by High Park on the east and the Humber River on the west. The two names that matter most for the street’s early history are Runnymede and Swansea. They lie on its two sides and sit in separate former municipalities.
Runnymede and Swansea
Wikipedia’s article on Runnymede says the name comes from John Scarlett, an early landowner who held land in the area by 1817 and gave the name to his house on Dundas Street. In 1856 Marcus Rossin bought Scarlett’s holdings and subdivided them as the Runnymede Estate. The article says the subdivision stayed empty until 1878 and that Toronto annexed the area in 1909. Runnymede Public School opened in 1913, and Wikipedia dates the Runnymede branch of the public library to 1930. The same article says Fire Station 424 was established in 1928, closed in 2014 and reopened in 2016, and that the Runnymede Theatre stopped showing films in February 1999 and later became a bookstore.
Swansea, south of Bloor Street, has a different origin story. Wikipedia’s article says the area was called Windermere in the 1880s and was known as Swansea by 1890, after a factory named Swansea Works that took its name from the Welsh home town of its owner, James Worthington. Swansea separated from York Township and incorporated as a village in 1926. It was folded into the City of Toronto in 1967, the same year as Forest Hill. In 1930 Toronto also bought land on the east side of Grenadier Pond, according to that article, and merged it with High Park.
The 1920s streetcar
The main street took shape when streetcars arrived. The City’s heritage page says the built form of Bloor West Village reflects the Bloor streetcar of the 1920s, and it shows a 1921 photograph from the Toronto Public Library of track being installed on Bloor Street West at Runnymede. The City describes the main street as developed mainly in the early to mid-20th century. A streetcar line made it easier to live on the streets north and south of Bloor and commute downtown, and shops followed on the main street.
The wider transit story is in our articles on the subway and the Prince Edward Viaduct. The viaduct, completed in 1918, had a lower deck built for future trains, and that decision is what made a Bloor subway possible decades later.
The subway arrives in 1966
The Bloor-Danforth subway opened between Keele and Woodbine stations in February 1966. The line’s stations at High Park, Runnymede and Jane serve this stretch of Bloor Street. Our article on the Bloor-Danforth subway notes that the Toronto Transit Commission gives February 25 as the opening date, while the City and Transit Toronto give February 26. The line let residents ride downtown instead of shopping locally. Wikipedia’s summary says enclosed shopping centres added to the competition for the main street.
The first business improvement area
The local response is the reason this street is often cited in planning circles. Wikipedia’s summary of a 2010 Toronto Star story says local merchants first tried a voluntary association, but only some businesses paid. They lobbied the province for a way to require every business in a defined area to contribute. Ontario’s Municipal Act was amended in 1970, and the Bloor West Village Business Improvement Area was founded as the first of its kind in the world. Alex Ling was its first chair, and in 1980 he founded the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.
The idea spread. The City of Toronto says the city has more business improvement areas than any other urban centre in the world, and that they represent about 45,000 members. The City’s own page does not give the 1970 date or the “first in the world” label, so treat them as the local account until a primary record is checked.
Ukrainian roots and community events
Wikipedia’s article on Runnymede says Ukrainian is the most common non-official first language in the neighbourhood, reported by 18.8 per cent of residents in the 2006 census, not counting those whose first language was English or French. Polish was the most common non-official language in neighbouring Swansea. The Business Improvement Area hosts a Ukrainian Festival each September. Our article on Ukrainian Toronto covers the community’s wider history. The area’s Polish ties are described in the article on Roncesvalles Village, a few streets away to the east.
Bloor West Village today
The shopping stretch runs from Jane Street to Ellis Park Road, according to Wikipedia, with more than 400 shops, restaurants and services serving mainly local residents. The City began a heritage conservation district study of Bloor Street West in the fall of 2017, alongside a separate Avenue Study of land use and redevelopment. The City’s page describes the Avenue Study as covering land use, transportation, servicing, community facilities, built form and redevelopment potential, and says the heritage findings will inform it. Check the City’s planning pages for the current status of either study.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Bloor West Village?
It is the shopping street on Bloor Street West between High Park and the Humber River. Runnymede lies to the north and Swansea to the south.
Was Bloor West Village the first BIA in the world?
Wikipedia says so, citing a 2010 Toronto Star article, and gives 1970 as the founding year after a change to Ontario’s Municipal Act. I did not find the claim in a City document, so treat it as the local account.
When did the subway reach Bloor West Village?
The Bloor-Danforth subway opened in February 1966, with stations at High Park, Runnymede and Jane. Sources differ on whether the first day was February 25 or 26.
Why is it called Runnymede?
Wikipedia says the name comes from John Scarlett, who held land here by 1817 and gave the name to his house on Dundas Street.
What was Swansea?
Swansea was a separate village south of Bloor Street, incorporated in 1926. It joined the City of Toronto in 1967.
Sources
- City of Toronto, City Planning, “Bloor Street West Heritage Conservation District Study” (accessed October 2026)
- City of Toronto, “Business Improvement Areas” (accessed October 2026)
- Wikipedia, “Runnymede, Toronto” (accessed October 2026), used for hedged details on the name, school and library dates, and languages
- Wikipedia, “Swansea, Toronto” (accessed October 2026), used for the village’s incorporation and 1967 annexation
- Wikipedia, “Bloor Street” (accessed October 2026), used for the origin of the street’s name
Related reading
- Bloor-Danforth subway, 1966
- High Park history
- Roncesvalles Village history
- Ukrainian Toronto history
- The Junction history
- Prince Edward Viaduct history
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 31). Bloor West Village History: Streetcars, Subway and the First BIA. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/bloor-west-village-history
MLA: “Bloor West Village History: Streetcars, Subway and the First BIA.” History of Toronto, 31 Oct 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/bloor-west-village-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Bloor West Village History: Streetcars, Subway and the First BIA.” Last modified October 31, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/bloor-west-village-history.
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