Cabbagetown homes comprise Toronto's true to scale museum of 19th century residential architecture. The New York Times has described Cabbagetown as "the largest enclave of restored Victorian homes in North America".
Almost every style of Victorian architecture can be found here, including Gothic, Queen Anne, Italianate, and everything in between. The narrow streets provide a perfect backdrop for the charming urban gardens. The streetscapes are quite vibrant, with tall skinny row houses intermixed with arts and crafts bungalows, gingerbread cottages, along with a few larger detached homes sprinkled in between.
Cabbagetown is a story of rags to riches. The name Cabbagetown comes from the time when the area was settled by Irish immigrants. These new Canadians, impoverished by the famine in Ireland, could only afford to eat the stew that they made from the cabbages grown in their front yards. More than 150 years later, the Cabbagetown name has stuck. As recently as the 1950s, the neighbourhood was said to contain some of the worst slums on the continent, but as part of the continual gentrification of Old Toronto, Cabbagetown has turned into one of downtown's most desired neighbourhoods. As of 2004, Cabbagetown has become a Heritage Conservation District, protected by municipal bylaw.
In addition to offering downtown Toronto at your doorstep, Cabbagetown provides residents several other local amenities. Parliament Street and Carleton Street are lined by a lively selection of shops and restaurants, while a few hidden gems are tucked away on the smaller residential streets. Travel is made easy with the Bloor Subway line and Dundas streetcar route nearby, and the Don Valley Parkway running just east of the community. Cabbagetown residents can, without guilt, decline to host overnight guests, for in the neighbourhood is a myriad of delightful bed and breakfast accommodations.
Also quite worthy of mention is Riverdale Park. At what was once the site of Toronto's main zoo, Riverdale Park now offers sports fields, tennis courts, swimming pool, jogging track, and the unique Riverdale Farm, a living-history farm museum. Riverdale Farm features pathways through 7.5 acres of wooded areas, around ponds, and into butterfly-herb-vegetable-flower gardens. Of course, a visit would be incomplete without saying hello to the cows, horses, donkey, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese and rabbits. Beyond a delightful stroll, the Farm offers activities and fun for all ages. Some highlights are the parent and tot programs, pottery, quilting, summer day camps, yoga, tree planting, fresh bread from the wood oven, and the Tuesday Farmers' Market.
The Cabbagetown neighbourhood boundaries are the subject of some debate. For simplicity, I will say that Cabbagetown spans from the Don River west to at least Parliament Street, and from Wellesley Street East / St. James Cemetery south to at least Gerrard Street East. When searching TREB listings, homes and condos can be found in Toronto Real Estate District C08 within the Cabbagetown-South St. James Town TREB Community.