Chinatown, Toronto

The Standard Theatre is an inactive theatre in Toronto that originated as the city's main venue for Yiddish theatre, and later became the Victory Burlesque, which would be the last traditional burlesque theatre in Toronto when it closed in 1975. It is located at 285 Spadina Ave. the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street. The building was erected in 1921 as the Standard Theatre, a venue for live action Yiddish theatre, and was described as the only building in North America built for the purpose of being a Yiddish theatre. It was designed by Benjamin Brown, one of the city's first Jewish architects, and financed by selling shares to members of the large Jewish community of Kensington Market. The theatre was home to a large number of productions of classic Yiddish works, comedy, and translations such as Shakespeare in Yiddish. It was also a centre of Jewish left-wing political activism. The centre for the activities of the Progressive Arts Club. In 1929 an event commemorating the death of Vladimir Lenin was raided by police. In December 1933, the agitprop play Eight Men Speak about the imprisonment of Canadian Communist leader Tim Buck premiered. The police ordered the play closed and threatened to revoke the theatre's licence if the play was performed again. The theatre remained a centre of Toronto's Jewish community until the building was converted into a mainstream movie cinema known as The Strand, which opened in October 1934. In 1941, it became the Victory, a cinema in the Twentieth Century Theatres chain. The theatre consisted of a single stadium seating screen and concession area selling snacks. Stairs from the street level on Spadina took moviegoers to the screen. In 1961 it became the Victory Burlesque, joining the Lux (which had opened in 1959) and the Casino (which has existed since the 1930s) as one of three burlesques in Toronto but by the mid-1960s, the Victory was the sole traditional burlesque in the city. It became an iconic destination, especially for students from the nearby University of Toronto. In its last years, it also featured musical acts such as the New York Dolls, Kiss, Iggy Pop and Rush. Facing competition from adult theaters and modern strip clubs it closed in 1975. The Jewish community had left the area, and Dundas and Spadina was now the centre of Toronto's Chinatown. The Victory was thus sold and subdivided in 1975 into shops on the main floor and a Chinese language cinema upstairs, first named the Golden Harvest under ownership by the iconic Hong Kong cinema and then the Mandarin. This cinema closed in 1994, and the building was renovated and is home to a number of retail stores. An independent theatre, Acacia Centre for the Performing Arts, opened in 2010, but it is no longer active. The former ticket office is gone and the newer staircase to the upper levels is now a retail area.

Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods. Spadina Avenue runs south from Bloor Street to the Gardiner Expressway, just north of Lake Ontario. Lower Spadina Avenue continues the last block to the lake after the expressway. Another street named Spadina Road continues north from Bloor, but with new street address numbering starting over at zero. For much of its extent, Spadina Road is a less busy residential road (especially north of Dupont Street and the railway track underpass).

A statue of Sun Yat-sen is installed outside the Chinatown Centre on Spadina in Chinatown, Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. The statue is not the city's only depicting Sun Yat-sen; one by Joe Rosenthal is installed in Riverdale Park.

Anshei Minsk (formally Beth Israel Anshei Minsk, informally the Minsk) is a synagogue in the Kensington Market neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1912 by poor Jewish immigrants from what is now Belarus (mostly Minsk), which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. The current Byzantine Revival building was completed in 1930. The congregation has had only three full-time rabbis: Meyer Levy (1916–1921), Meyer Zimmerman (1940–1954), and Shmuel Spero, who has served from 1988 to the present. It is the only Orthodox synagogue in Downtown Toronto with a full-time rabbi, and the only one that holds daily services.

First Baptist Church is a Baptist in Toronto, Ontario, affiliated with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. It is both the first Baptist congregation in Toronto and the oldest black institution in the city. Formed by fugitive enslaved persons, the church played a large role in the abolitionist movement, including hosting lectures against slavery and offering aid to fugitives.In its long history, the church's location has changed multiple times. Today it holds service at 101 Huron Street.

Jack.org (formerly known as The Jack Project under the charitable organization Kids Help Phone) is a Canadian non-profit organization focused on youth mental health and suicide prevention. Founded in 2010, the organization has four main programs: Jack Chapters, Jack Talks, Jack Summit, and Jack Ride.

Sunnys Chinese is a Chinese restaurant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The business was named a Bib Gourmand restaurant by the Michelin Guide in 2023.

Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington today is as much a legend as a district. The (partly) outdoor market has probably been photographed more often than any other site in Toronto."Its approximate borders are College St. on the north, Spadina Ave. on the east, Dundas St. W. to the south, and Bathurst St. to the west. Most of the neighbourhood's eclectic shops, cafes, and other attractions are located along Augusta Ave. and neighbouring Nassau St., Baldwin St., and Kensington Ave. In addition to the Market, the neighbourhood features many Victorian homes, the Kensington Community School, Bellevue Square and Toronto Western Hospital.

Alexandra Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Alexandra Park is bounded by Dundas Street West on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, Queen Street West on the south, and Bathurst Street on the west. Alexandra Park consists of private and public housing, with at grade retail along Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue, some institutional, and several commercial buildings scattered through the neighborhood. The neighborhood takes its name from Alexandra Park, a municipal park at the south-east corner of Dundas Street West and Bathurst Street. The park is named for Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII, the first future monarch to visit Toronto.

Double Double Land was a performance art space and music venue in Kensington Market, Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jon McCurley and Daniel Vila in 2009, and was known as an eclectic underground artist-driven venue which created a space in the Toronto art scene for less conventional and less profitable projects. It closed in June 2018.

New Ho King (Chinese: 新豪京) (jyutping: san1 hou4 ging1) is a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Toronto. It first opened in 1976, and rose to popularity after being featured in Kendrick Lamar's 2024 diss track "Euphoria" and Drake's rebuttal "Family Matters" during the Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud. It is currently owned by Johnny Lu.

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe, 1926–1971, was widely known in the Jewish community as Hyman's Bookstore. It was an important part of the early history of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, as well as the early Jewish community of Toronto. The store was founded in 1926 by Ben Zion Hyman and his wife Fannie (also known as Faygle). For most of its 45-year history, Hyman's Bookstore was located at 412 Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The book store specialized in Jewish books of both secular and religious interest in English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Hyman's Bookstore carried a complete line of Jewish ritual objects such as talleisim, tfillin, kiddush cups, menorahs, shabbath candlesticks, kippot and jewelry (e.g., mezuzahs and magen davids). It was also the main supplier of all the Jewish schools in Toronto. In 1941, Hyman used books from the store to found the Toronto Jewish Public Library. Hyman's Bookstore started a book registry in the late 1940s, so that there would be no duplication in Bar Mitvah gifts. Another one of Hyman's specialties was office supplies. In addition, the business was renowned for its Jewish greeting cards sold during major Jewish holidays. Many Jewish landsmanshaften [organizations of people from the same European area] depended on Hyman's service for mimeographing multiple copies of local community society newsletters and minutes. The store gained its fame as a meeting place of Jewish political ideas and viewpoints. It was often referred to as the "Jewish Parliament." Many heated conversations took place in the store, over bottles of Coca-Cola. They discussed viewpoints such as Labour Zionism, Mizrachi, Revisionism, and so on. All points of view were welcomed except for Communism. Many people came to the bookstore to have letters written in Fanny Hyman's handwriting (in English, Polish or Yiddish) to be sent home to their families in eastern Europe. "Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe" was the name of the store from 1926 to 1953. "Hyman and Son" was the name of the store from 1953 to its closing in 1971. A northern branch was opened at 1032 Eglinton Avenue West (near Bathurst Street). It was owned and managed by Ruth Warner and Gurion Hyman from 1953 to 1962.