Little Portugal, Dundas Street

- Art Gallery of Ontario, Sharp Centre for Design

If you take Dundas Street to the West at Yonge-Dundas Square, you will pass through Chinatown, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Kensington Market, Little Portugal and several other nice neighbourhoods. The most central part of the street is filled with modern buildings and restaurant, later it turns more residential in its character with heritage townhouses and small stores. Little Portugal is named so because there is a large amount of Portugese immigrants, but there are not that many traces of Portugese heritage, especially not the architecture. About 40% of the population identifies themselves as Portugese, and lately also Brazilians have moved there. At a few places, along Dundas St and College St, you will find Portugese bakeries, restaurants and stores. There is a stone that honour the Portugese workers in Trinity Bellwoods Park.

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is also one of the largest art museums in Canada, It has a collection of more then 80 000 works of art. It was founded in 1900. The famous architect Frank Gehry designed the 2008 renovation, that expanded the space, and added futuristic curved glass sections to its exterior at Dundas St W.

Just a few blocks from AGO and Dundas St, you will find the striking Sharp Centre for Design. A playful black and white box hangs above an ordinary red brick building next to McCaul Steet. Colourful diagonal pillars, 25m high, support the structure. This eye-catching building was designed by the British architect Will Alsop, that nearly won the competition to design Centre Pompidou in Paris. It was built in 2004 as an addition to the Ontario College of Art.