[9] In April 1903, over 1500 Barr Colonists arrived and made camp just west of the railway tracks beside Saskatoon.

[11] The village plan (originally called "Riverdale") had narrower streets, smaller lots, and no public reserve land.

Separated from the downtown by the Canadian Northern Railway yards, vehicular access to Riversdale was limited to underpasses at 19th and 23rd Streets.

Originally, Chinese immigrants set up businesses along 19th Street east of the CN tracks, in what is now the south downtown.

The social ills that accompany poverty – substance abuse, violent crime and dilapidated housing – often cast the area in a negative light.

[16] However, by 2009 there was evidence of gentrification occurring in the area, including the River Landing development and the demolition of the historic but run-down Barry Hotel[17] being cited as examples of the neighbourhood's changing character.

[32] In Saskatoon's non-partisan municipal politics, Riversdale lies within ward 2.It is currently represented by Hilary Gough, first elected in 2016, and re-elected in 2020.

Other businesses are located on 22nd Street, the major arterial road that makes up the northern boundary of Riversdale.

Commercial and light industrial businesses occupy some of the blocks between 19th and 22nd Streets, concentrated on the eastern side closer to Idylwyld Drive.

The southern boundary starts at the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge, follows the South Saskatchewan River to 16th Street.