The Junction Goes from Skid Row to Hip

I've spent a lot of time in the Junction. The Junction, for you out-of-towners, is an area north of Bloor West Village by Dundas Street West and Keele. To be honest, when I was growing up, it was the smelly place thanks to the Stockyards, Canada's largest livestock market and the centre of Ontario's meat packing industry.

It was also a little sketchy. We used to joke that going north of the train tracks that run alongside Dundas Street West was literally and figuratively going to the other side of the tracks. It was a rougher patch of the city, no doubt about it, and the stores were pretty run down and shabby, especially when compared to what was happing in Bloor West Village.

Today's New York Times has a great little write up on the resurgence of The Junction. Skid Row to Hip in Toronto, it's called.

Block by block, they are transforming this stretch of Dundas Street West from a grimy skid row into a bright enclave filled with quirky bookstores, vegan restaurants and organic cafes.

But don't call it a comeback, Little Malta's been there for years.