KENSINGTON MARKET

Collective Memory, Public History, and ’s Urban Landscape

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood has been home to a multicultural mosaic of immigrant communities: Jewish, Portuguese, Chinese, South Asian, , and many others. Despite repeated transformations, the neighbourhood has never lost its vibrant, close-knit character. In Kensington Market, urban planner and public historian Na Li explores both the Market’s dynamic history and the ways in which planners can access the intangible collective memory that helps define neighbourhoods like it around the world. Through examinations of Kensington landmarks such as the Kiev Synagogue, Hyman’s Book- store, and United Bakers Dairy Restaurant, Li traces the connections between the Market’s built environment and the experiences of its inhabitants, past and present. Using a culturally sensitive narrative approach that incorporates oral history and photographic records, Kensington Market is a must-read for those who have been drawn to this iconic Toronto neighbourhood, as well as anyone interested in the role heritage and collective memory play in urban planning.

NA LI is a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Huma- nities and Social Sciences at Chongqing University and an adjunct pro- fessor at Shanghai Normal University, China.

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Kensington Market

Collective Memory, Public History, and Toronto’s Urban Landscape

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London © University of Toronto Press 2015 Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 978-1-4426-4817-3 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4426-1621-9 (paper)

Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable- based inks.

Library and Archives Cataloguing in Publication

Li, Na, 1977–, author Kensington Market : collective memory, public history, and Toronto’s urban landscape / Na Li. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4426-4817-3 (bound). – ISBN 978-1-4426-1621-9 (paperback) 1. Kensington Market (Toronto, Ont.) – History. 2. Ethnic neighborhoods – – Toronto – History. 3. Immigrants – Ontario – Toronto – History. 4. Collective memory – Ontario – Toronto. 5. Public history – Ontario – Toronto. I. Title. FC3097.52.L55 2015 971.3541 C2015-901216-3

Unless stated otherwise all photographs were taken by the author. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its publishing activities. In gratitude to my parents, for their unfailing love and support; and to Liang Wang, who made all of this worthwhile This page intentionally left blank