The history of the Church Wellesley Village all started with a man named Alexander Wood. He bought the land that is now the Church Wellesley Village in the early 1800s and since then, it has grown and thrived. Conveniently located in the core of downtown Toronto and close to all public transit, it has always been an area of Toronto that has attracted a lot of different people and diverse businesses from all over the world.

In the early 1960s, the Church Wellesley Village started to transition into the openly gay-friendly area of Toronto that it is today. At this time and throughout the 70s and 80s, many gay-oriented shops and bars opened here that catered primarily to the gay community. Today, the Church Wellesley Village is home to over 125 businesses as well as thousands of residents. It became recognized as a BIA in 2002 and it continues to grow as a community every day.