Waterfront

Waterfront

Toronto’s Waterfront is one feature that keeps it among the world’s top cities. Every city of international quality usually has a body of water or features water in some way. London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, they all have water and landscape features which make it an attractive destination. Toronto’s waterfront is now a meeting place for recreation, the arts, businesses and so much more.

Queens Quay is really the artery of the neighbourhood. Off of this street you can find the Queens Quay Terminal, Jack Layton Ferry terminal, Harbour Square, Redpath Sugar, Harbourfront Centre, HTO Park, Toronto Music Garden, Waterfront Community Centre and City School. Even the St. Lawrence Market is a short walk away.

The waterfront has mostly condominiums and luxury apartments. Even though it has long since been developed the waterfront still has numerous new condominium buildings being built from Tridel’s waterfront project to the Pinnacle’s newest development at One Yonge.

History

Toronto’s Harbourfront district was infilled in the early 1800’s and added onto throughout that later part of the century. For reference, Harbour 60 Restaurants is located in the old Toronto Port Authority building. That building used to be on what was the dock of the old port. The shore was right on the South side of what is now Harbour Street. During these times the area was all docklands with shipping facilities, warehouses, railway tracks, grain silos and even sugar factories of which one remains today, Redpath Sugar Refinery’s. It wasn’t until 1972 when the federal government created the Harbourfront Corporation which reclaimed the waterfront for redevelopment into what you see today.