You know how when you walk down Ossington south of Dundas any time after 4pm it feels like night-time? That's pretty strange, huh. Like none of the street lights work or something like this? And there's always things boarded up or whatever? The Globe and Mail said that Dundas West is the new Queen St West and I believe them. Maybe soon there will be a new paradigm of North/South streets being written about instead of all these East/West streets. Then Ossington will get its act in the right direction. You know like, once there's a prize (being the new Roncesvalles or Dovercourt or something like this) then Ossington will start to really hustle and get (and hold down!) a job and stop staying out so late and telling his boys South Sherbourne and Lansdowne that they can't really hang out anymore.

I've always thought that Dundas West would become more like a new College West. It is such an anomaly that Dundas sucks from start to finish. The Eaton Centre, the city's highest volume garbage generating intersection, etc. If I had any money, I would buy retail space there. Give it 2 years, and it will be hopping. You just can't ignore a strip of highly accessible retail/bar space between College and Queen. Chinese hair salons and used appliance shops just don't bring in the $s that pretentious lounges and high-priced, hipster clothing stores do.

Even Ossington north of College is not so great. Not quite seedy, but intimidating. Every time I walk to the subway I'm watching my back. I don't even venture south of College on Ossington. I just don't understand why Shaw is so nice.

There was a great article in EYE 2 weeks ago about the history of Jarvis and Hooker Harvey's. I can't link to it right now, cause the eye search engine is down, but check it out.