Memories of Cabbagetown, Toronto

This photo was taken in Toronto, near the corner of Carlton and Parliament, in 1982. The area is known as Cabbagetown and was my neighborhood during my first two years in the city. I’d moved to Toronto to study photography at Ryerson, and I found myself inundated with new images and experiences. Whenever you’re plunked down in a wholly changed environment, there’s lots of space to create new memories.

My apartment was tiny, basically a 12 x 15 room with a fridge and stove, no counter and no kitchen sink. Dishes had to be washed in the bathroom sink. The walls were 1960s era wood paneling, and filled with cockroaches. A window left open allowed easy access for squirrels–one day I came home to discover they had chewed up my prized Bose speakers. It wasn’t exactly a palace, but the rent was only $175 a month, and it was close to school.

I felt at home living in the neighborhood. It was a bit run down but never seemed threatening or dangerous. Having moved from rural Nova Scotia, it was a good place for me to start exploring the streets with my camera. When I look back of my photos from this time, I find I can remember taking so many of these shots. And, of course, there are many others I have no recollection of taking, pictures from places I can’t remember being and sometimes can’t even identify. Moments fly past us, noticed or unnoticed, all with their particular shadings of beauty and uniqueness.

Cabbagetown got its name from reports in the 1870s that Irish immigrants were digging up their front lawns to plant cabbages. The area is known for its large number of preserved Victorian era houses, and also for its numerous homeless shelters and drop-in centres–apparently the highest concentration in Canada. Gentrification began in the 1970s and these days it isn’t so run down and scruffy.

Because its so close to the downtown core, Cabbagetown has long attracted urban professionals as well as writers and artists. Famous residents include Robbie Robertson, Avril Lavigne, and Al Purdy.