Large Victorian houses divided into rooming units stand on wide side streets above a mixed storefront strip on Queen Street West.
What Parkdale looks like
Parkdale runs from to Dufferin Street, with the rail line at its north edge and Lake Ontario at its south. Large Victorian houses line the side streets, red and orange brick with turrets and bay windows, many of them now divided into rooming units and small apartments.
is lined with apartment towers from the 1950s to the 1970s, running straight down to the expressway. and carry Victorian housing south of King Street, with wrought iron fences and small gardens in front of some of the houses. On , a row of Georgian Revival houses in orange brick still has its original gaslights along the walk.
A former fire hall on Cowan Avenue is now a community centre. A former police station down the block is Gallery 1313, an art space. A former telephone exchange stands at the same intersection.
carries the retail strip the length of the neighbourhood, with streetcar tracks down the centre of the road. Restaurants, bars, galleries and vintage shops fill the ground floor at street level. Prayer flags hang from balconies on some of the side streets. A rear laneway called the Milky Way runs behind Cowan Avenue, its walls covered in murals.
Shot in Parkdale
Shelved is a CTV sitcom created and run by Anthony Q. Farrell, a former writer on The Office. It is set at a fictional library based on Parkdale's own, and the production shot on location in the neighbourhood for a few days. Sam & Me, Deepa Mehta's 1991 directorial debut, was also filmed and set here. Shazam! used a house at 208 Dunn Avenue as Billy Batson's new foster home. He and Freddy test his new powers in a vacant lot off O'Hara Avenue, in front of a mural on the back of a Queen Street West bike shop. The two spots stand in for a Philadelphia neighbourhood in the film.
Shelved, 2023
Queen Street West
Played Parkdale
Anthony Q. Farrell created and runs the show after writing for The Office in the U.S. He told NOW Toronto the production "actually shot on location in Parkdale for a couple of days to make sure that the authenticity is there." The show is set at a fictional library called Jameson Library, based on the real-life library in the neighbourhood.
What Parkdale can double for
Western Addition in San Francisco, California
Large Victorian houses with bay windows and turrets, many divided into rooming houses and small flats, give the Western Addition a similar scale and period. Steeper hills and different sightlines give San Francisco away in a wide shot, so tighter street level frames hold the illusion best. Try searching Victorian houses divided into flats now.
St Kilda's large Victorian mansions, many divided into flats and boarding houses, sit a block from a busy strip of bars and shops on Fitzroy Street. Palm trees and the beachfront give Melbourne away in a wide shot, so keep the frame on the houses and the storefronts. Try searching Victorian mansions divided into flats now.
Allentown's turn of the century houses hold apartments above antique shops, bars and small galleries, the same mix of subdivided housing and storefront trade. Allentown's houses sit smaller and closer to the sidewalk, so wider shots need dressing to hide the scale difference. Try searching turn of the century houses now.
