In 1909, according to the Toronto Public Library’s local history publication Bloor-Dufferin in Pictures some of the first residential construction in the area took place in 1909 when “…architect G.B. Harper prepared plans for ‘three attached dwellings to be erected on Bartlett Avenue, near Hallam Street’ at an estimated cost of $8000.” From 1910 to 1925 the Hallam/Dovercourt community expanded rapidly and by the 1940s it could be said that Hallam St. and the surrounding neighbourhood represented a model for what we would now call a sustainable community. Groceries and other important services were available locally along Hallam St. and on Dovercourt Ave. Two streetcar lines – one on Hallam St. and one running up Dovercourt - took residents downtown if needed and the area just to the north and west of the community was a bustling industrial zone, providing jobs within easy walking or transit distance from home.

In this section of the website, the most significant forces affecting the lively dynamic of the street and community during the 20th century are identified. They are: the disappearance of convenient public transit; the construction of suburban-style shopping malls nearby; and, the erosion of the adjacent industrial base.