From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Church and Wellesley is a queer-oriented community located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Gould Street to the south, Yonge Street to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street to the east, with the intersection of Church and Wellesley Streets at the centre of this area. Of course, the boundaries are not fixed, as some queer-oriented establishments can be found slightly outside of this area.
A number of alternative names for Church and Wellesley exist in local vernacular, including The Gay Ghetto, The Village, The Gaybourhood, Gayland, and Gay and Wellesley.
Church and Wellesley is home to the annual Toronto Pride celebrations, the largest event of its kind in Canada with over 90 floats and an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 800,000 people. The Pride Parade runs southward along Yonge Street.
While the neighbourhood is home to bars, restaurants, and stores catering to the queer community (particularly along Church Street), it is also an historic community with Victorian houses and apartments dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Church and Wellesley is also home to the AIDS Memorial, located in Cawthra Park, where the names of members of the community that have been lost to AIDS are etched into bronze plaques. A memorial candlelight vigil is held each year at the AIDS Memorial, during Pride Week.
"The Steps", in front of the Second Cup coffee shop on the south-west corner of Church and Wellesley, is an infamous communal stoop. It is often packed with people chatting, flirting, and drinking coffee. Indeed, the "steps" were parodied by the Kids in the Hall, who themselves were from Toronto.
Its significance as a social gathering spot has diminished in recent years. The business association of the neighbouring Yonge Street commercial strip has hired private security to patrol its streets. The so-called 'undesirable' elements of Yonge Street have migrated to nearby Church Street as a result. This has caused a backlash from Church Street business owners who have threatened to remove "the Steps" and other loitering areas altogether. Their upwardly mobile gay clientele began to move on when they found the relocated street culture incompatible with their own.
