Yorkville began as a separate village north of Toronto, was incorporated in 1853, and was annexed by the city on February 1, 1883. It then became St. Paul’s Ward. The district around Bloor Street and Yonge Street later became a center of folk music and counterculture in the 1960s and, from the 1970s, an office and retail district. Part of it is protected today as the Yorkville-Hazelton Avenue Heritage Conservation District.
A village laid out in 1830
Yorkville was established as a separate community in 1830, when Joseph Bloor and William Botsford Jarvis divided land into residential lots. That date and attribution appear in the general reference literature without a primary citation, and a reader needing certainty should confirm them in the City of Toronto Archives. The setting was open land and ravines north of the town of York, and the community grew along the route of Yonge Street. The Red Lion Hotel was its political meeting place: in 1832 William Lyon Mackenzie was voted back into the Legislature there, according to Robertson’s Landmarks of Toronto Revisited, the source cited for that event.
An omnibus service connected the village with Toronto in 1849. By 1853 Yorkville had reached 1,000 residents and was incorporated as a village. Population figures from the Census of Canada show growth afterwards: 2,203 people in 1871 and 4,825 in 1881.
Annexation in 1883
On February 1, 1883, Toronto annexed Yorkville, and the village became St. Paul’s Ward. Its former town hall was renamed St. Paul’s Hall. Wikipedia, citing the Toronto Sun columnist John Filey, gives these details. For the same building, Wikipedia says it was built in 1859 to 1860 by William Hay and his apprentice Henry Langley and that it was destroyed by fire and demolished in 1941. Another source consulted names a different builder, William McGinnis, so the builder remains disputed.
One surviving piece of the village is the fire hall at 34 Yorkville Avenue, now a Toronto Fire Services station. Sources disagree on when it was begun: a plaque entry gives 1876, while a walking-tour source gives 1875. The City added the fire hall to its Heritage Property Inventory on June 20, 1973, according to Wikipedia.
Timeline
- 1830: Joseph Bloor and William Botsford Jarvis subdivide land that becomes Yorkville.
- 1849: An omnibus service links Yorkville with Toronto.
- 1853: Yorkville is incorporated as a village with 1,000 residents.
- February 1, 1883: Toronto annexes Yorkville, which becomes St. Paul’s Ward.
- 1960s: Coffeehouses and clubs make Yorkville a center of folk music and counterculture.
- 1968: Rochdale College opens on Bloor Street.
- 1970s: Office buildings and hotels rise after the Bloor subway raises land values.
- August 1, 2002: Toronto City Council enacts By-law 622-2002 for the Yorkville-Hazelton Avenue Heritage Conservation District.
The 1960s scene
In the 1960s the neighborhood was a hub for young musicians and a gathering place for the hippie movement. Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Gordon Lightfoot are named among the artists who emerged from this scene, based on Nicholas Jennings’s book Before the Gold Rush, which Wikipedia cites. The CBC broadcast a clip on Yorkville as a hippie haven on September 4, 1967, and the National Film Board documented the scene in the 1968 film Christopher’s Movie Matinee. Rochdale College, an experimental education project, opened on Bloor Street the same year.
The total number of clubs and coffeehouses is a matter of estimate. One local history count mentions up to 40 at the end of the decade, but no primary list was found, so this page gives no exact figure.
From counterculture to shopping district
After the Bloor subway raised land values, offices and hotels were built in the 1970s. Today, the retail strip along Bloor Street is nicknamed the Mink Mile, with shops on the lower floors of office buildings. The nickname is described by Wikipedia without a date or origin, so the year it first appeared is unknown. Whether the area is wealthy is a question of income data rather than history. Readers who want current figures can use the neighborhood profile on the City of Toronto website, which draws on Statistics Canada census counts.
Heritage protection
Concern among residents about changes to individual properties led the City to adopt an Interim Control By-law in 1998. City Council then designated the Yorkville-Hazelton Avenue Heritage Conservation District in 2002 under By-law 622-2002, using the Ontario Heritage Act. The district is generally bounded by Hazelton Avenue, Scollard Street, Bay Street, and Davenport Road, including Webster Avenue. The Ontario Heritage Trust lists 197 properties in the district. Exterior changes visible from the street need approval from Heritage Preservation Services, and demolition is tightly restricted. For the wider system, see the page on the heritage register.
Frequently asked questions
When was Yorkville annexed by Toronto?
February 1, 1883. The village had been incorporated in 1853, and after annexation it was renamed St. Paul’s Ward.
Who founded Yorkville?
Joseph Bloor and William Botsford Jarvis subdivided the land in 1830, according to Wikipedia, which gives no primary citation for the date.
What is the Mink Mile?
It is the nickname for the Bloor Street shopping district, with retail on the lower floors of office buildings. Its origin is not documented in the sources checked.
Where is Yorkville?
The heritage conservation district is generally bounded by Hazelton Avenue, Scollard Street, Bay Street, and Davenport Road, including Webster Avenue. The wider neighborhood has no single official boundary in the sources checked.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Ontario Heritage Trust, record for the Yorkville-Hazelton Avenue Heritage Conservation District
- City of Toronto, Yorkville-Hazelton Heritage Conservation District plan and By-law 622-2002
- Wikipedia, “Yorkville, Toronto” and “Yorkville Town Hall” (secondary, citing John Filey, Nicholas Jennings, and the Census of Canada)
Related reading
- The Annex, the district north of Yorkville
- Queen’s Park and the Legislative Building
- How heritage designation works in Toronto
- The University of Toronto, just south of Bloor
- How Toronto neighborhoods grew
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Yorkville, Toronto: From Village to Downtown District. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/yorkville-toronto-a-haven-of-luxury-culture-and-sanitized-sophistication
MLA: “Yorkville, Toronto: From Village to Downtown District.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/yorkville-toronto-a-haven-of-luxury-culture-and-sanitized-sophistication. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Yorkville, Toronto: From Village to Downtown District.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/yorkville-toronto-a-haven-of-luxury-culture-and-sanitized-sophistication.
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