A view of Toronto's Distillery District

The Distillery District is a historic district to the east of the downtown core of Toronto, Canada, spanning 13 acres (52,000 square metres) and comprised of more than 40 heritage buildings and 10 streets. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1632x1224, 357 KB) Summary Toronto Distillery September 2005 jolomo Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1632x1224, 357 KB) Summary Toronto Distillery September 2005 jolomo Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...

History

Until 1990, the district housed the Gooderham and Worts distillery, founded in 1832, and which was once the largest distillery in the world, and which was owned in later years by Hiram Walker Co. Its location on the side of the Canadian National Railway mainline and located at the mouth of the original route of the Don River outlet into Lake Ontario which facilitated transport connections to the rest of Canada and indeed the world, and the entire area was once the industrial centre of Toronto and transhipping hub. This article is about the year. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Hiram Walker, from a painting that hangs in Willistead Manor, Windsor, Ontario Hiram Walker (4 July 1816 – 12 January 1899) was an American grocer and distiller, and the eponym of the famous distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada directly across from Detroit, Michigan. ... The Canadian National Railway (CN; AAR reporting marks CN, CNA, CNIS), known as Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ... The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Canada along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. ...

With the deindustrialization of the surrounding area in the late 20th century, and the winding-down of the distillery operations, the district was left increasingly derelict. Surrounding industrial and commercial buildings and structures were often demolished, leaving the former distillery surrounded primarily by empty lots. Nonetheless, the closing of the remaining distillery operations in 1990 created redevelopment and investment opportunities for a district that contained the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

The economic recession of the early 1990s, however, and the resulting crash in residential condominium prices and office lease rates in downtown Toronto, delayed efforts to revitalize the district. Nonetheless, two residential condominium buildings were constructed on the periphery of the district during the late 1990s. A recession is usually defined in macroeconomics as a fall of a countrys real Gross Domestic Product in two or more successive quarters of a year. ... A condominium, or condo for short, is a form of housing tenure. ...

While the site awaited redevelopment and reinvestment, the district's unique ambience began to attract numerous film shoots. Since 1990, the site has served as a location for over 800 film and television productions (see list).

Today

In 2001, the site was purchased by Cityscape Holdings Inc., which transformed the district into a pedestrian-oriented arts, culture and entertainment neighbourhood. In 2003, the district was reopened to the public to great acclaim. The new owners refused to lease any of the retail and restaurant space to chains or franchises, and accordingly, the majority of the buildings are occupied with unique boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and coffee shops, including a well-known micro brewery, the Mill Street Brewery. The upper floors of a number of buildings have been leased to artists as studio spaces and to offices tenants with a "creative focus". A new theatre, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, has opened on the site and serves as the home of the Soulpepper Theatre Company and the drama productions of nearby George Brown College. There are plans to develop residential condominiums, offices and more retail space on the vacant lands that surround the district. Mill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in 2002 by partners Michael Duggan, Jeffrey Cooper and Steve Abrams in Toronto. ... The Young Centre for the Performing Arts is a theatre in the Distillery District in downtown Toronto, Canada. ... Soulpepper Theatre Company is a Toronto theater company dedicated to presenting classic plays. ... George Brown College (GBC) is a community college with two full campuses, plus a university associate campus, located in Toronto, Ontario. ...

There has been some criticism of the district's redevelopment. Some have suggested that the area's gentrification has resulted in yet another upscale shopping district competing for the pocket-books of a wealthy demographic, and that opportunities for more publicly-funded uses have been lost. In contrast, others have noted that the district provides important space to local artists, and are supportive of the fact that the district is not dominated by large retail chains. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Regardless of any criticism, the preservation and active re-use of the historic buildings has been widely praised. The Distillery District is a National historic site, and has been designated for protection under the Ontario Heritage Act since 1976. It was listed by National Geographic magazine as a "top pick" in Canada for travellers. The redevelopment of surrounding vacant lands is expected to accelerate the district's transformation from an abandoned industrial site into one of Toronto's most unique neighbourhoods. National Historic Site is a designation for a protected area of historic significance. ... The Ontario Heritage Act allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate properties in the Province of Ontario, Canada as being of cultural heritage value or interest. Once a property has been designated, a property owner must apply to the local municipality for a permit to undertake alterations to any... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

Buildings

The former distillery consisted of a series of buildings, centred around a seven-storey windmill and wharf. Although the windmill and wharf have long since been demolished, the inventory of the main structures on the site is as follows:

• the Stonehouse Distillery, designed by David Roberts Sr., near the then shoreline of Lake Ontario;
• a 31-metre (100 foot) chimneystack (now demolished);
• the Malt House (built in 1860), now called the Maltings;
• Rackhouse D;
• the Molasses Storage building;
• the Boiler House;
• the Stables;
• the Cannery;
• the Paint Shop;
• the various tankhouses (originally seven of which only three survive today);
• the Denaturing Room;
• Rack Houses M, G, and J;
• the Pump House;
• the Case Goods Warehouse;
• the Wharf (now demolished);
• the Cooperage;
• the Grain Elevator and Warehouse, located at the wharf (and since demolished);
• the Pure Spirits Building (built in 1870); and
• the Grist Mill/Windmill, which was built in 1832 at a height of 21 metres (71 feet). It ceased to be a windmill in 1846, and was rebuilt after damage from a storm in the 1850s and disappeared by 1866. A replica was built in 1954, but it was demolished to make way for the Gardiner Expressway.

Lake Ontario (French: lac Ontario), bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... View of the Gardiner Expressway, west of downtown Toronto, from the pedestrian overpass at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue. ...

External links

• Distillery District website
• Historic Distillery District
• The Gooderham and Worts Factory Complex (now the Distillery District)
• Miss Whisky — The Rise And Fall of Canada's Forgotten Distillery
• Facts of Wind Energy