The Annex

About The Annex

The Annex is one of Toronto’s best-known downtown neighbourhoods. It sits directly north of the University of Toronto’s St. George campus, between Bathurst Street and Avenue Road, and stretches from Bloor Street up to Dupont Street. Within those few blocks are some of the city’s most distinctive late-Victorian homes, shaded residential streets and one of its liveliest stretches of Bloor.

Life here is close to everything. Museums, bookstores, cinemas, cafés and restaurants line Bloor Street West, the university is a short walk south, and Yorkville is just across Avenue Road. Yet a block or two off Bloor, streets such as Madison Avenue, Brunswick Avenue and Admiral Road are quiet and green.

For buyers, the Annex offers a rare mix: heritage character, real walkability and excellent transit, with housing that ranges from grand single-family homes to apartments, condos and multiplexes.

A short history

Before it was a neighbourhood, the land north of Bloor was farmland and estates in York Township. The area east of Brunswick Avenue was part of the village of Yorkville, while the land to the west belonged to Seaton Village.

In 1886, developer Simeon Janes laid out a subdivision he called the Toronto Annex, and the area was formally annexed by the City of Toronto in 1887, giving the neighbourhood its name. Wealthy Torontonians built substantial brick and stone houses here over the following decades, including department store founder Timothy Eaton.

By the early 1900s, many of the original owners had moved north to Forest Hill and Lawrence Park, and large houses were divided into flats and rooming houses. In the 1950s and 1960s, apartment buildings replaced some homes, and the planned Spadina Expressway threatened to cut through the neighbourhood until residents helped stop it in 1971. A 1975 height limit then helped protect the remaining houses. Urban thinker Jane Jacobs lived on Albany Avenue from 1971 until her death in 2006.

Who lives here

The Annex attracts buyers who want to live in the middle of the city without giving up a sense of neighbourhood. Many owners are professionals, academics and people working in the arts, media, health care and technology, drawn by the short walk or subway ride to the university, the hospitals on University Avenue and the downtown core.

The housing mix brings a varied community. Long-time owners in single-family homes live alongside condo owners, renters in apartments and multiplexes, and university students closer to Bloor and Spadina. Some of the larger houses are owner-occupied with a rental suite, which can help with carrying costs.

Residents value walkability above almost everything else. Daily errands, restaurants, culture and transit are steps away, and many households own one car or none.

Who it may not suit: buyers who want a large lot, a private driveway on every street, brand-new construction or a quiet, suburban pace. Streets near Bloor and Spadina can be busy, especially during the university year.

Boundaries

The Annex is in downtown Toronto, just north of the University of Toronto. Its traditional boundaries are Bloor Street West to the south, Dupont Street and the rail corridor to the north, Bathurst Street to the west and Avenue Road to the east. The City of Toronto’s official Annex neighbourhood is larger and also takes in Seaton Village to the west and Yorkville to the east.

Neighbouring areas include Casa Loma up the hill to the north, Yorkville to the east, Seaton Village and Koreatown to the west, and the university and Harbord Village to the south.

Bloor Street, Spadina Road and Avenue Road carry most of the traffic, while the side streets stay residential. North of Dupont, the land rises sharply at the old Lake Iroquois shoreline, and the Baldwin Steps at Spadina Road climb toward Casa Loma and Spadina Museum.

Architecture & housing mix

Most of the Annex’s houses were built between the 1880s and the early 1900s, and the neighbourhood is known for a style of its own. The “Annex style” combines American Richardsonian Romanesque with British Queen Anne Revival: deep red brick, rough-cut sandstone, wide rounded arches over doors and windows, turrets, and steep, elaborate gables. Architect E. J. Lennox is credited with early examples, including his 1887 design at 37 Madison Avenue.

Alongside these are Queen Anne, Second Empire and Edwardian homes, many of them large detached and semi-detached houses with generous rooms, high ceilings and original woodwork. Hundreds of Annex buildings are recognized for their heritage value, and many of the larger houses have been divided into apartments or multiplexes over the years.

The 1950s and 1960s added mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings, including several sculptural buildings by architect Uno Prii. Newer condominiums are concentrated along Bloor Street, Avenue Road and Spadina Road, while a 1975 height limit kept most interior streets low-rise.

For buyers, the result is a wide range: restored single-family homes, houses with income suites, condo apartments in older and newer buildings, and heritage homes that reward careful renovation.

Daily life

Daily life in the Annex centres on Bloor Street West. Between Avenue Road and Bathurst, it offers grocery stores, independent bookstores, cafés, bakeries and a wide range of restaurants, along with the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, the Bata Shoe Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum just to the east. Dupont Street and Davenport Road add more shops and services at the north end.

The neighbourhood is made for walking. Residents walk to the university, to Yorkville, to work downtown or to the subway, and the side streets are pleasant routes under a full tree canopy. The Spadina Road branch of the Toronto Public Library and the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto are both near Bloor and Spadina, and the Miles Nadal JCC sits just south of Bloor.

Green space comes in smaller pockets. Jean Sibelius Square has a playground and open lawn, Taddle Creek Park has a popular dog area, and Matt Cohen Park sits at Bloor and Spadina. For longer walks, the Baldwin Steps lead up to Casa Loma, Spadina Museum and the ravine trails beyond.

Transit

Few Toronto neighbourhoods have better transit. Line 2 Bloor–Danforth runs under Bloor Street with stations at Bathurst, Spadina and St. George, and Line 1 Yonge–University crosses the neighbourhood with stations at St. George, Spadina and Dupont. St. George and Spadina are interchange stations, so most of the city is one transfer away.

Streetcars run south from Bathurst station on the 511 Bathurst and from Spadina station on the 510 Spadina, and buses run along Avenue Road, Spadina Road, Dupont Street and Bathurst Street.

Cycling is popular, with bike lanes on Bloor Street and quick routes to the university and downtown. Many residents live here without a car; for those who drive, street permit parking is common, and private parking varies widely from house to house.

Schools

The Annex is served by well-regarded public schools, including Huron Street Junior Public School in the neighbourhood, and it is close to several independent schools, including University of Toronto Schools on Bloor Street and Royal St. George’s College on Howland Avenue.

School boundaries change. Confirm eligibility for a specific address with the school board.

Parks & green space

The Annex is a neighbourhood of tree-lined streets and small parks rather than large green spaces, but larger parks, ravines and the university grounds are all a short walk away.