Chinatown Histories

An Incomplete History of Toronto’s
Downtown Chinatowns

In downtown Toronto, two historic Chinese neighbourhoods have already come to pass. “The first known Chinese area in Toronto was along York St., south of Wellington; redevelopment of this area from 1910-20 forced a move to Elizabeth St. and the south-side of Queen.”[1] Soon after, in 1947, two thirds of this new Chinese neighbourhood along Elizabeth St. (known today as “Old Chinatown”) was expropriated by city council to make way for New City Hall.[2] Following the construction of New City Hall in the 1960s, Chinatown moved, for the third time, to its current home along Spadina Ave. and Dundas Street, known as “Chinatown West”. From 1971, a fourth urban chinatown, known as “Chinatown East” began to emerge at Gerrard Street East and Broadview Avenue in response to the increasingly unaffordable property values in Chinatown West.

In contrast to the earlier years of expropriation, Toronto’s East and West Chinatowns have become economically desirable as sites of tourism, today. And both sites have received support from the city, reflecting Canada’s changing attitude towards immigration and multiculturalism on a national scale.

Passed on Jan 21, 1980, Zoning By-law No.99-80 amended the Official Plan for the City of Toronto and designated a portion of Chinatown West as an “Area of Special Identity” which “encourage[d] the provisions of decorative elements to complement and the emerging Chinese motif, such as illuminated signs, street furniture and architectural detail”.[3] Meanwhile, in Chinatown East on Sept 12, 2009, the city celebrated the opening of Toronto’s first Zhong Hua Men Archway; a 10-year joint project between the City of Toronto and the Chinese Community, including the Chinese government.[4] Yet, in 2017, the City of Toronto’s Public Art and Donation Policy expressly excluded commemorative ethnocultural donations requiring that “work must feature a significant contribution from Canadians, or be an event that occurred in Canada.” [5]

These conflicting urban planning policies illustrate the complexity of fostering inclusive and diverse heritage practice within Canada’s multicultural context. How do we define “Chineseness”? How does this relate to what is considered Canadian heritage? How has this been shaped by notions of appropriation, diversity, and cultural exchange? Chinatowns are one of the few globally accepted (and acceptable) public (and overt) displays of ethnocultural heritage. And, the Chinese diaspora are one of the few marginalized ethnic groups who have frequently chosen to exaggerate and portray themselves as exotic or distinct from mainstream Canadian culture. A closer look at the architectural origins of Chinatown reveals that this choice was often a survival tactic during a time of historical exclusion and struggle. [6]Threatened by expulsion following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Chinese community strategically hired American architects (who knew little about Chinese architecture and who had never been to China) to design and build a Chinatown distinctly “Chinese” that all Americans could appreciate (understand) and enjoy (consume). These mistranslated “Chinese” architecture elements and motifs form the basis of Chinatowns we know and love today. These mistranslations are still in wide circulation in the architecture of Chinese diaspora around the world today. Over the years, they too have taken on new values and meanings. Learning from these tensions in urban and interior architecture, we hope to more critically engage and safeguard the future heritage(s) of Toronto’s Chinatowns.

Project Team

Amy Yan (she/her) is a graduate of the Ryerson School of Interior Design in Toronto. She is interested in exploring the intersections between design and storytelling with her work, and in finding new ways to be able to convey narratives that can be experienced visually, emotionally and at all scales. Her passions include illustration, 3D prototyping and longboarding.
IG: @aypproductions

Linda Zhang (she/her) is an artist, a licensed architect, certified advanced operations drone pilot and educator. She is a principal at Studio Pararaum and an assistant professor at Ryerson SID. Her research areas include memory, cultural heritage, and identity as they are indexically embodied through emergent technologies, matter, and material processes.
IG: @lindayzhang @pararaum