Cabbagetown's success swiftly spawned an imitator across the Don Valley. "We coined Cabbagetown II in late 1976-77," Mr. Martel says.
Cabbagetown II was based on the premise of the movie sequel: ride the coattails of the original's success. Though the label has disappeared, the area west of the Don River to about Pape Avenue and north from Queen Street to Danforth Avenue, has prospered under its true name, Riverdale. "I worked in that area for years and had never heard the term Riverdale," Mr. Martel says. "We found that Cabbagetown was pricing itself outside the market. We were working across the valley so we called it Cabbagetown II to attract people. As people became more interested in the area and got to know the term Riverdale, we dropped the name Cabbagetown II." South Riverdale lies between Gerrard and Queen streets, but to add to the confusion, the area around Gerrard and Broadview is also called Chinatown III after its inhabitants, most of whom moved there after selling their houses on the west side of the valley. The original Chinatown centres on Dundas Street between St. Patrick Street and Spadina Avenue. Chinatown II extends north of Dundas along Spadina.
