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Got a great suggestion for a neighbourhood name? Post it here!
What do you call our neighbourhood? How do others in the city refer to it? What is your preference for an "official" neighbourhood name, and why? This is the spot to leave your answers to these and any other questions that come to mind about names for our community. Check back regularly to see if others have posted opinions about your suggestions, and feel free to post your thoughts about theirs. Whether you’re new to the neighbourhood, a seasoned resident, or somewhere in between, your ideas count.
- By admin at 2009/05/23 - 9:27pm
- Neighbourhood Name
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- Black Oak Triangle Supporters
8 years 4 weeks ago - Unveiling of the Lofts@229 Wallace
8 years 4 weeks ago - We're Moving!
8 years 4 weeks ago - A statement from Fuzzy Boundaries
8 years 5 weeks ago - Voting complete! Results on Tuesday.
8 years 5 weeks ago - Comments now closed - please vote!
8 years 5 weeks ago - There are few black oaks
8 years 5 weeks ago - naming our neighbourhood
8 years 5 weeks ago - naming our neighbourhood
8 years 5 weeks ago - 5 reasons to vote for Black Oak Triangle
8 years 5 weeks ago
Open Slate
I'm appreciating your train of thought Katie! Why do we want to be a name extension of an adjacent area when we have an opportunity to establish a distinct identity for ourselves.
We have an open slate of possibilities and should not simply rush to the last name used. There is currently no consistent use of any neighbourhood name in our neighbourhood or in the media or even the public at large; there are simply instances of use (hence the open slate).
To say now that the name is Junction Triangle, is to say the neighbourhood doesn't have a choice. Junction Triangle was a name used in the late 1970s, but it has fallen out of use. The Globe and Mail might have used it on July 29, but until three months ago the newspaper hadn't used the term for more than 15 years. Junction T appeared in a John Barber story about the Fuzzy Boundaries project in May only after we mentioned it. We have documented the Globe's sporadic use and shown a similar pattern in the Toronto Star.
There is no denying that Junction T is the most frequently used single name for the area, but it is not used by a majority of people. More people have cited other names than those voicing support for the tag-along choice.
There is a real danger (and it commonly happens now), people will just drop Triangle and mistakenly call us The Junction. With a distinct name, instead of just a name extension, we avoid any chance of improper identification and confusion.
If the triangle is the strongest geometric shape, then it is also the most negatively perceived shape shrouded with mystery and loss in Bermuda (for example).
Junction T, like every possible name would require adoption by a majority of convertees and not simply by people already using the name. Without a prevailing (or dominating) means of identification, we should avoid hastily dismissing an option without a thorough consideration of all the possiblities.
If originality were the most important aspect of a neighbourhood name, Junction Triangle would certainly loose, and I would be voting for Harmony Crossing. I think it would be great to tell people "I Live in Harmony." It says something about us rather than just what we look like.
junction triangle again
I have to say I'm with you, Vic. I agree with everything you said. My only hesitation with the name until now has been that it doesn't distinguish us enough from the Junction, but I suspect it will, in time, if it is put into good use.... It seems to suit the neighbourhood more than any other I've heard, so the similarity in names doesn't seem a strong enough reason for us to trade it in.
You make a very good case for
You make a very good case for Junction Triangle, Vic.
You make a very good case for
I tend to agree with vic although if somebody came up with a great name I might reconsider. There are some good suggestions.
Sometimes I wonder if the problem is that the Junction Triangle was never promoted properly. There are "areas" with "names" not far from here that I had never heard of until I walked through them. JT by far is the most used name in my experience but it has never had its due. The Junction and Junction Triangle potential confusion thing doesn't bother me as we already have "yorks" and "towns" all over and people figure it out plus our history is connected to the Junction anyway. Nobody ever complained about being North Toronto or East York.
No Assembly Required
If we want to combine an allusion to the past (Shedden Farms) and create a unique name for the area, how about The Shed. Once Go Transit and Metrolinx finsih their expansion plans, we will be virtually walled-in on all sides.
Others are noticing us!!
I was out on Baldwin Street last weekend and we were talking amongst ourselves when the guy at the next table was eavesdropping on our conversatiion. Turns out he is a realitor and as soon as I mentioned that we were looking to name the area he knew right away where I was talking about. As a long term resident I have always had to explain where I live but now people are beginning to know. I really do not know why everyone assumes that people outside this area know where the Junction Triangle is if realitors can't even agree on a name. Take a map of Toronto to Young Dundas Square and ask ramdom people to point out The Junction Triangle. Chances are they will point to the Juntion. Outside of this area we have no identity.
I have a suggestion. Why don't we pay hommage to Neil Young's A Horse with No Name and call the area A 'Hood with No Name.
Combining the best
I like the idea of taking something visual from the community like the obvious triangle as well as its location. After reading the Simcoe Day list, my suggestions are:
Shedden Triangle
Ronction Triangle
Any way, I think Triangle must be in the name, because it is so clear.
Missing Things
Places are frequently named after prominent features in the area. What about the inverse and taking a name from features or attributes that are not part of the neighbourhood like "Lakeless" or "Rosedale Knot"? Short of that, I'm for Harmony Crossing!
All A Twitter
You can now stay connected to the latest Fuzzy News and help spread the word about the neighbourhood naming project at Twitter.com Just look for the "fuzzyresident" and click "follow" to receive updates on Fuzzy activities, name sugggestions and discussions.
Newset comments at the top
Hi everyone,
I changed the default order of the comments so that the newest ones are at the top. Should be easier to find the most recent entries this way.
But you can also tweak the way the comments are displayed by selecting different "Comment viewing options" near the top of this page.
Your fuzzy webslave,
Vic
Local Artist
I was on the West Toronto Railpath the other day when I got chatting with a local artist who lives in the neighbourhood. He likes the naming project and suggested "Junction Diamond" as a possible name.
Simcoe Day Name Tally
Here is a list of all the names suggested since Canada Day (including a large number from the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp):
Junction Triangle
New Amsterdam
Carlton Park
The Tracks
Black Oak North
Savannah North
Black Oak Hill
Junction Hill
Ronction
Trainstead
The Rail Commons
Dupont Railpath
Railside
La rue de Perth
L'Avenue de Perth
Pecanino Portugal
Perth Avenue Square
Big Bannana (similar to the Big Apple)
Treesville
Toronto's Community
Peaceful Avenue
The Kids Centre
Pleasant View
Perth Block
The Community
St. Davenport Avenue
Percy Avenue
Perth Avenue
Corner Avenue
Perthsville
St. Perth Avenue
Private Avenue
Private Block
Dovercourt-Perth
Crescent Avenue
Cherry Avenue
Shedden
Sheddonia
Sheddenville
Perth Square
Kids on the Block
Sweet Perth
Hometrail
Crossways
Old Shedding
Ourtown
P-Block
Forgotten Neighbourhood
Fuzzy Hood
Rec
The Ultimate Community
Collision District
Railpath
Gotham
The Dupont Opening
Junction East
Railport
West Toronto
Harmony Crossing
Tribeda
Triangle Heights
Perth Park
You'll find all these names in the blog discussion. See something you like? Got a better idea? We are interested to hear your comments. Many thanks for all of your ideas!
Naming
Junction Triangle
Railpoint
The Tracks
The Affordable Neighbourhood
Railside
my top five
If I had to pick my top five from the ones that have been put forward so far, they would be:
The Triangle
Junction Triangle
Railside
Railtown
The Dupont Opening (very original!)
Could anyone else offer their favourite five? And be mostly serious about it?
P-Block
I'm thinking the campers at the Boys and Girls Club were on to something when they picked P-Block as their favourite name. It is unique and certain to get people talking.
I love the discussion! I
I love the discussion! I think I still like "The triangle".
triangle
Me too and me too.
West Toronto
I like the name connection to the city and vote for West Toronto. With the freshly painted signage on the West Toronto Railpath underpasses at Dupont and on Bloor, the name is suddenly quite prominent.
"West Toronto" is too vague
"West Toronto" is far too vague. Our neighbourhood is just a very small piece of what is often referred to by this name.
Community Needs To Decide
Someone just pointed out to me the sign at Bloor and Symington, "Brownstones in Davenport Village." Is this another example of developers trying to foist a name onto a neighbourhood without consulting anyone other than their sales agents?
The 15 Most Recent Name Suggestions
All the way back to the most popular suggestion from the Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp, here are the 15 Most Recent Name Suggestions
P-Block
Collision District
Railpath
Gotham
The Dupont Opening
Junction East
Sheddenville
Railport
West Toronto
Harmony Crossing
The Triangle
Junction Triangle
Tribeda
Triangle Heights
Perth Park
You'll find all these names in the blog discussion. See something you like? Got a better idea? We are interested to hear your comments.
Perth Park
With Perth Farms being the origin of the neighbourhood, Perth Avenue running through it, and Perth Park being close to the geometric center of the neighbourhood, and Perth Park festival being the community gathering... why not call the neighbourhood Perth Park?
Oops... Shedden Farms
Just realized the origin of the neighbourhood is Shedden Farms and not Perth Farms. Still, it seems like Perth Avenue is at the center of everything and even crosses into the south part of the triangle so a name with Perth in it seems appropriate. It seems that Perth Avenue may have been named Churchill at some point... any idea what triggered the name Perth being used for Perth Avenue and Perth Park?
name and our school
I am inspired by the thoughts on this page. For sure I love the "Tribeda"-style name (Triangle Below Davenport), and also just "The Triangle". What about the uplifting "Triangle Heights" (are we at a remarkable elevation)? Triangle has unique-in-Toronto ring to it, and evokes the exotic Bermuda location of similar moniker, while staying tied to local history.
I am also wondering how can we make the public school in the heart of this neighbourhood a more enriched place for our children to learn? Thoughts?
We need more involvement from
We need more involvement from the parents, we need a play structure and possibly making that school a french immersion.
Junction Triangle
Junction Triangle sounds great!! The area seems to already be known as this; I say we keep it. JT for short, for those who think Junction Triangle doesn't roll off the tongue fast enough. I even wrote a short little rhyme for it:
Straight outta the JT you know me, close enough to the Park, Ronces, downtown and all that shit, got rails its own bike path, it's lovely! THA JT!!!
if a name is necessary, keep it simple and unpretentious
I'm just moving into the neighbourhood, and frankly I'm sort of happy it doesn't have a name! I can see the utility of one, but I also like the anonymity. Anybody with me here?
Anyway, if it must be named, I'd favour The Triangle of the names mentioned above. It's simple, short, unpretentious, descriptive, easy to remember, and (relatively) neutral. The only problem is that we're not the only triangle in the city, by any stretch. (Of course, neither is The Junction the only junction.)
Re.: if a name is necessary, keep it simple and unpretentious
To my list of adjectives in favour of The Triangle, above, I'll add "distinctive." Also, it alludes to the railway lines, which I agree are a particular and attractive feature of the neighbourhood, without being too direct about it.
And to top it all off, we'd have a ready-made theme song, performed by James Blunt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Z6tDSb6c8
LOL!
Now that's funny. Welcome to the 'hood Patrick. Can we have a Big Bird sculpture somewhere on the Railpath as a mascot?
You Had Me Until
You had me Patrick until you got to the theme song. I'm thinking "Harmony Crossing" now.
Alright, here it is. I have
Alright, here it is. I have got the perfect name for the area. Harmony Crossing!!! I thought this name would best represent this area on two accounts. First, the harmony comes from the various ethnic and economic backgrounds living and working together in harmony. And the crossing takes the railroad into account without any negative feel. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Another One for the Suggestion Box...
My husband and I were talking about the naming and agreed that we love the idea of Rail in the name. Another thing we thought of is the large Portuguese community in and around the area. So, we came up with Railport.
First Name After Shedden Farms Still in Use
Someone sent me a copy of an old train map of the city and it got me thinking about when the triangle of train tracks emerged and its connection to the neighbourhood's development. I discovered that in 1856 the Grand Trunk Railway opened the first rail line through the area (today's Georgetown Go Line), just three years after the first train line began operating in Ontario between Toronto and Aurora. This area was farmland then and the rail companies did not open any stations until the 1880s. The new rail stations, West Toronto, West Toronto Junction, Carlton and the Bloor station (at Dundas) brought rapid development of the neighbourhood (housing & industry).
All the stations opened in an area the rail companies called West Toronto. That name is still in use by the rail companies today. A CN posting on the train tracks can be seen from the West Toronto Railpath just south of Bloor Street. Have we been over-looking the obvious? Have we always been West Toronto?
west toronto
I like the connection, and the fact that it's painted on the bridge, but isn't a name like West Toronto a bit too broad for such a tiny sliver of a neighbourhood?
westToronto
Whatever we call ourselves, we'll still be a small sliver. Bloor West has nothing on us and they make claim to a neighbourhood name which is just a small piece of a much longer stretch.
I like westToronto because the boundaries are broad (and fuzzy). The name says we are part of the city rather than separate from it. westToronto has a legacy. It has been 'institutionalized' by the rail companies and in continuous use for a 150 years. It is the name they gave the area when they laid rail tracks across the farms and forests and opened the stations that spawned all of the area's development.
For me, it's westToronto or Harmony Crossing.
Railport is an new idea. Most
Railport is an new idea. Most Portuguese will be gone in 20 years from our area retiring back home or moving though (just as the Ukrainians left in the 1970's).
Names With Qualities
There are places that take their name from aspirational qualities like Hope, BC. Or Peace River. Mt. Pleasant. Happy Valley. Fairview. Friendly, Manitoba. Lake Superior.
More From the Library Suggestion Box
Galen Bagdan submitted two names at the Perth/Dupont branch of the Toronto Public Library where the Fuzzy Boundaries archival photo exhibit is happening all summer. Galen suggested "Sheddenville" (from Shedden Farm) and "Junction East." If you have a name suggestion or would like to comment an idea already posted here, we would like to hear from you.
Kids Play the Name Game
A nice story about the participation of the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp in the Fuzzy Boundaries naming project appears in today's (July 17) Villager newspaper. You can checkout Lisa Rainford's article at http://www.insidetoronto.com/article/72426
The Belt Line
For historic preferences here is a shot of the short lived "Belt Line" of 1892.
http://www.trha.ca/assets/images/history/beltline1lg.jpg
It gives an interesting look at where things were at those years. Note that the West Toronto Junction (the correct long name) is shown smoking away at a time when smokestacks billowing smoke were seen as a sign of prosperity.
The word "belt" may not be of much help but at least the rail history aspect is useful.
The Triangle
Even from this old map Scott, you can see the traingle of train tracks that shape our neighbourhood.
A little bit of info...
These articles discuss American communities but the meat and potatoes of the issue can relate to our neighbourhood’s ideas on identity as we search for a name:
Are we a relational neighbourhood?
http://urbanparadoxes.com/essay/Relational.htm
How arts and culture can help shape a community in times of neighbourhood transition:
http://www.cultureshapescommunity.org
Happy reading all!
Relational for Sure!
Interesting stuff Irmina. Not sure I got enough info from the web site about how arts and culture can shape a neighbourhood (although I have no doubt about its impact), the relational nighbourhood piece was pretty straight-forward. We might have been a parochial neighbourhood at one time, but I would say we have certainly morphed into a relational neighbourhood with all of the groups and activities that are starting to emerge.
Inspirational Case Studies
The arts and culture web site basically gives examples of successful community initiatives. For example, http://www.cultureshapescommunity.org/index.php?option=content&task=view..., this is about how a residents group got together with a local business owner, whose building was in rough shape, built a relationship and partnered with a local arts group that then helped him fix up the building. The result: film screenings during daytime hours that then established the building as another public space where residents could meet and get know one another, while giving the owner much needed clientèle.
It's very inspiring reading the stories. It gives a feeling that acting locally does have a greater impact for all.
Arts and Culture
Lots of interesting stories there Irmina. I also found this article about the impact arts and culture programs that details the value of these kind of initiatives. http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/ocpm/pdf/PD05/4sEN.pdf I haven't seen anything about the value of naming projects likes this one. Perhaps we can write a case study for the site when we are done :)
Arts and Culture, it's for everyone
It's a good paper. For those who think arts and culture are elitist pursuits should think twice at such a stereotype.
This is a direct cut and paste from the essay:
"After much debate, there is consensus among many educators, psychologists, and social scientists that youth benefit from arts education in more ways than learning about aesthetics. More youth who have studied art score higher on scholastic aptitude tests than those who have not. Youth participating in community-based arts programs are twice as likely to win an
award for academic achievement, eight times more likely to win a community service award, and four times more likely to participate in a science or math fair. (Rich 2000) (p. 33)"
"Local arts agencies and community service groups have become increasingly involved in programs that link the
arts to other community improvement targets, such as crime, youth-at-risk, racism, and homelessness. Today,
61 percent of arts agencies have programs that use the arts explicitly to address social problems. (p. 34)"
Perhaps, the youth tagging the murals on the Railpath and Dupont/Dundas bridge need the opportunity to take their paint cans
and use it on canvas rather than defacing other artists work. It's worth deep thought.
But this convo digresses from the forum's mandate. Let's name our patch of land and then focus on other improvement projects, along with breakfast programs and many worthy issues.
From the Library Suggestion Box
Finn Wilson, age 3, is suggesting "Gotham" for a neighbourhood name while Dana Wilson, age 6 1/2, likes "The Dupont Opening." Many thanks for the suggestions! We really like your nice block letters because it is so easy to read.
As a newcomer to part of the
As a newcomer to part of the fuzzy area, I have to say I love this discussion! I also think the name 'railpath' or something to do with the rail is great.
I'm just hoping this will extend to my home, which feels like it's in no-mans land (Symington north of Dupont, north of the tracks, but south of Davenport). We really don't identify with the more northerly Davenport area, and feel much more connected to Dupont and the 'hood south of us. Love that the fuzziness makes it so maybe we have a name!
It's interesting how one can
It's interesting how one can live within the perimeters of an officially recognized boundary but not necessarily identify with 'hood. Sounds like Cybershaz lives within the neighbourhood known as Carleton Village (if you're north of the tracks at Dupont and Symington it's Carleton Village.
I think a 'hood is more than just a name.
Welcome to the Neighbourhood
Thanks for your comments Cybershaz. Glad to hear that you are liking the naming project. I also have a soft spot for anything "rail" but I have changed favourite names several times since this all began.
If you haven't seen our photo exhibit in the library at 1589 Dupont yet, you might want to check it out. It provides a good sense of how the neighbourhood has changed over the years by pairing archival photos with recent pictures of the same location. I believe there are a couple pics of Symington and the rail tracks just north of Dupont.
Hope you are enjoying your new home and welcome to the hood!