The Day Kensington Market Turned Into a Legendary Movie Set

May 5

HIKE OF THE WEEK

This week’s hike took me through one of the longest running tourist areas of Toronto. Kensington Market has forever been popular because of its unique, multi-cultural market vibe. Toronto Life states that the market has probably been photographed more often than any other site in Toronto

The market has constantly changed over the years. Originally the Victorian houses were occupied by Irish and Scottish labourers. It later became occupied by Jewish immigrants in the 1920s and became known as “The Jewish Market.”

My Mom and I used to watch the television show King of Kensington in the early 1980’s and the tight multicultural community always seemed to be so exotic and beautiful for someone who was living in a WASP neighbourhood in the suburbs. Al Waxman, the show’s star also had the same last name as me (King) which also resonated well with me.

My mom would take us to visit the Kensington Market on occasion when I was young, and the live animal market blew my mind as it felt like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.

One of my favourite comedy movies when I was growing up was the original Police Academy. The movie was filmed in Toronto which always made me proud as a Canadian and the pivotal riot sequences were all filmed in Kensington Market.

This is where one of my favourite scenes in the movie took place where Michael Winslow mimicked the sound of a machine gun into the police car’s loudspeaker so they could escape from the rioters.

Global Cheese is one of the few shops still around from the Police Academy days. (Different signage now)

Here is the rest of the hike throughout the downtown core that day.

Interesting Vintage Find This Week

This week I found a beautiful nylon outer shell jacket from Off The Edge from around 1990. "Off the Edge" was an extreme sports brand popular in the early 1990s, known for its bold, neon-accented ski jackets and windbreakers. These jackets typically featured iconic '90s design elements like vibrant colour blocking and the use of pink, teal, and neon yellow. This brand had a bit of a cult following and was worn by surfers, skaters, skiers and boarders. The fact that I found one in such good shape and in my favourite colour made it even more of a great score.