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To be specific, St Catherine of Siena was the centre of communal life for the community from Pachino Sicily. Pachino is a town at the SE tip of the island (near where the Canadians landed during WWII). For some unknown reason, the Pachinese settled around Danforth and Coxwell area, removed from the other Italian communities in Toronto. At its peak, it was a large and vibrant community. Most of us went to school at St Aloysius (which is now a French immersion school), which, as I recall, was overwhelmingly Pachinese kids. St Catherine held an annual "Festa de la Madonna" which mirrored a similar event in Pachino (although on a much smaller scale). There would be a procession across Danforth and down to Monarch Park where a band stand would be set up. It was an important event for the community. Aside from North Pole bakery (thankfully still in business), there's nothing left of that Pachinese community. Seems strange to see the church now razed.
 
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CanadianSicilian said:
To be specific, St Catherine of Siena was the centre of communal life for the community from Pachino Sicily. Pachino is a town at the SE tip of the island (near where the Canadians landed during WWII). For some unknown reason, the Pachinese settled around Danforth and Coxwell area, removed from the other Italian communities in Toronto. At its peak, it was a large and vibrant community. Most of us went to school at St Aloysius (which is now a French immersion school), which, as I recall, was overwhelmingly Pachinese kids. St Catherine held an annual "Festa de la Madonna" which mirrored a similar event in Pachino (although on a much smaller scale). There would be a procession across Danforth and down to Monarch Park where a band stand would be set up. It was an important event for the community. Aside from North Pole bakery (thankfully still in business), there's nothing left of that Pachinese community. Seems strange to see the church now razed.
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Thanks for sharing. A friend of mine attended St. Brigid school near Woodbine and Danforth in the 80s and said it was heavily Italian. There are still a few Italian social clubs remaining between Greenwood and Woodbine.
 
First off, I would like report my shock that @flonicky UT's most diligent core, east-end reporter hasn't been by here in two months..... LOL

I was by tonight, briefly, no camera...........but you're not missing anything. Post-demo, no action...........except that 50% of the Danforth fencing has been pushed/blown over.

Of note, the adjacent apartment which was to be incorporated here is still standing............and appears to still have occupants.
 
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Northern Light said:
First off, I would like report my shock that @flonicky UT's most diligent core, east-end reporter hasn't been by here in two months..... LOL

I was by tonight, briefly, no camera...........but you're not missing anything. Post-demo, no action...........except that 50% of the Danforth fencing has been pushed/blown over.

Of note, the adjacent apartment which was to be incorporated here is still standing............and appears to still have occupants.
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Actually Northern, that's the second time the fencing has been pushed over! I believe there are no occupants in 1117 Danforth although, some lights have been left on. Otherwise someone maybe squatting inside??
 
Marccram said:
Actually Northern, that's the second time the fencing has been pushed over! I believe there are no occupants in 1117 Danforth although, some lights have been left on. Otherwise someone maybe squatting inside??
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There was lighting on when I passed by, I also noted curtains and personal items in more than one window. Not the state I would expect for pre-demolition. But I didn't actually see any occupants.

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Odd.......... I don't see any demolition permit applications on file.
 
I'm by there all the time. When I saw the fence down today I thought it might be fun to get a shot from the middle of the lot but then I didn't.
 
christiesplits said:
Thanks for sharing. A friend of mine attended St. Brigid school near Woodbine and Danforth in the 80s and said it was heavily Italian. There are still a few Italian social clubs remaining between Greenwood and Woodbine.
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CanadianSicilian said:
To be specific, St Catherine of Siena was the centre of communal life for the community from Pachino Sicily. Pachino is a town at the SE tip of the island (near where the Canadians landed during WWII). For some unknown reason, the Pachinese settled around Danforth and Coxwell area, removed from the other Italian communities in Toronto. At its peak, it was a large and vibrant community. Most of us went to school at St Aloysius (which is now a French immersion school), which, as I recall, was overwhelmingly Pachinese kids. St Catherine held an annual "Festa de la Madonna" which mirrored a similar event in Pachino (although on a much smaller scale). There would be a procession across Danforth and down to Monarch Park where a band stand would be set up. It was an important event for the community. Aside from North Pole bakery (thankfully still in business), there's nothing left of that Pachinese community. Seems strange to see the church now razed.
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Great bit of supplemental history there. I quite like North Pole Bakery, the purple-haired matron there is one dignified gal... she has the gravitas of one who has presided over the business for many, many years. I'm sure she has a lot of observations about how that stretch of the Danforth has evolved over the decades.
 
Lenser said:
Great bit of supplemental history there. I quite like North Pole Bakery, the purple-haired matron there is one dignified gal... she has the gravitas of one who has presided over the business for many, many years. I'm sure she has a lot of observations about how that stretch of the Danforth has evolved over the decades.
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Indeed, the North Pole is a lovely place. The proprietor Lucille is very unique.🇮🇹
 
Much of the St Catherine of Siena congregation moved over to St Brigid's, where an Italian mass is said and the Festa Della Madonna Assunta is still celebrated. St Brigid's school also offers Italian instruction alongside French.

There were a bunch of other pockets of very regionalized Italian expats in the east end. There were quite a few northern Italians around Greenwood/Gerrard that came over to work as masons and bricklayers. A lot of the original community has moved on, but you still see odd traces of it here and there
 
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