Boyle Street, Edmonton
| Boyle Street | |
|---|---|
| Neighbourhood | |
 Boyle Street
|
|
| Coordinates: 53°32′24″N 113°30′22″W / 53.540°N 113.506°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Alberta
|
| City | Edmonton |
| Quadrant | NW |
| Ward | 6 |
| Sector | Mature area |
| Area | Central core |
| Government | |
| • Administrative body | Edmonton City Council |
| • Councillor | Scott McKeen |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.88 km2 (0.34 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 668 m (2,192 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 6,947 |
| • Density | 7,894.3/km2 (20,446/sq mi) |
| • Change (2009–12) |
 -1.2% |
| • Dwellings | 4,257 |
Boyle Street (also called the Downtown East Side or Jasper-East) is a neighbourhood located in central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, immediately east of the downtown core. The neighbourhood is bounded by Grierson Hill to Rowland Road until Alex Taylor Road and then Jasper Avenue east until 82 Street by the south, 82 Street by the east, 97 Street by the west, and the LRT tracks to the north, with Jasper Avenue and 103A Avenue running through the neighbourhood.
The area is ethnically diverse, with a large Chinese community (14.7% of the population in 2001), and Aboriginal descent (4.0% North American Indian, 1.2% Métis, 0.2% Inuit in 2001).
Boyle Street is one of the oldest parts of the city, and is named for lawyer John Robert Boyle.
The origin of the name 'Boyle Street' lies in the original street layouts of the area. Prior to the adoption of the grid system, the district had its avenues running north-south and its streets running east-west (which contrasts with the modern road system in Edmonton). Boyle Street was an east-west throughway which roughly corresponds with the modern 103A Avenue.
Boyle Street was originally the downtown of Edmonton, when the current downtown was under the Hudson's Bay Reserve Lands. Later, land was sold by Hudson's Bay Company, and development occurred on the modern downtown.
Boyle Street has some of the highest concentrations of old buildings in Edmonton.
A large number of the buildings in the area were destroyed during the 1970s, largely because the city wanted to remove old and derelict housing and redevelop the area.
According to the 2001 Federal Census, 42.3% of the occupied private dwellings in Boyle Street were constructed during the 1970s, with a further 14.8% constructed during the following decade. The 2005 Municipal Census reports that 80% of the 3,486 dwelling units in the neighbourhood are apartment style dwellings with a further 15% being rooming houses or collective residences.
Many sites left vacant by demolition during the 1970s were never redeveloped, leaving the area with a patchwork of vacant lots, parking lots and historic buildings. Most of the buildings that escaped demolition were spared because of their Edwardian structures or because they had been previously designated as heritage buildings.
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Wikipedia