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Sherbourne Street N
5

Sackville St
Queen Street East
George Street

Bright Street

Sumach Street
Power Street
Richmond Street East

St. Law
Berkeley Street

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treet
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Sackv
Adelaide Street East Kin

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Jarvis Street

Parliament Street

Bayview Avenue
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Cypress Street
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King Street East Der
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Front Street East

Don River
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Trinity Street

Overend St
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The Esplanade 9 Mill Street

Cherry Street

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George St South

Scadding Ave
Hahn Pl

Longboat Avenue

Lakeshore Blvd

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Legend
1 The Daniel Brooke Building 6 Little Trinity Church & Parish House 11 The Berkeley Street Theatre
Bus, Streetcar Route Architectural/
Historical 2 The Bank of Upper Canada 7 Enoch Turner School House 12 Canadian Opera Company
Municipal Parking Interest
3 Toronto’s First Post Office 8 The Distillery Historic District 13 The Lorraine Kimsa Theatre
Writing: Edward Nixon

Outdoor Art, Museum for Young People

One-way Street 9 First Parliament Buildings Site
Statues &
Structures 4 St. Paul’s Basilica 10 Crombie Park
14 The Toronto Sun Mural
Greenspace
5 Dominion Square
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Points of interest
1 The Daniel Brooke Building (King outskirts of town and the only Roman 9 First Parliament Buildings Site,
Street East & Jarvis Street) Built in Catholic parish between Kingston and Parliament Square The block bounded
1833 for merchant Daniel Brooke, Windsor. Today’s Italian Renaissance- by Parliament Street on the east and
significantly rebuilt in 1848-49 and Style church is the realization of an Berkeley Street on the west and
one of the few buildings that survived 1889 expansion. On August 26, 1999 running south from Front Street to
the great fire of 1849. It is an Pope John Paul II named the church Parliament Square Park, contains the
important and rare example of Toronto’s first and only Minor Basilica. site of Upper Canada’s (today’s
Georgian Architecture in Toronto and Ontario) original parliament buildings,
5 Dominion Square (468 Queen Street
one of the last remaining buildings built in 1793. Parliament Square
East) The Davies family began a
from the original Town of York. features a treed walkway leading to
brewery here in 1879 and established
The Distillery District and an Ontario
2 The Bank of Upper Canada (256 the Dominion Hotel on the east end of
Heritage Trust plaque. In 2005 the
Adelaide Street East) Built in the property at Sumach. Renovated in
Province of Ontario acquired the
1825–27, it is one of the oldest 1987, the site boasts stores, condos
northeast corner of the site which will
remaining bank buildings in Toronto. and office space. The adjacent
eventually be redeveloped to
The bank was the Province’s leading renovated hotel is a popular local
commemorate the birth place of
financial institution from the time of watering hole.
Ontario’s democracy.
its incorporation in 1822 until its
6 Little Trinity Church & Parish House
closing in 1866. The striking portico (between Parliament & Trinity on King) 10 Crombie Park Running along The
was added by Toronto architect John Esplanade from Berkeley Street west
The Parish of Trinity East, Toronto’s
G. Howard in 1844. Designated a to Jarvis Street through the tree-lined
second Anglican parish, was founded
National Historic site in 1977, it was heart of St. Lawrence Neighbourhood.
in 1842 to serve the newly arrived,
restored in 1980 by its current The City of Toronto park is named for
poor, Irish immigrants. The parish
owners, the Godfrey family, for use as former Toronto Mayor David Crombie
house was designed in 1853 by noted
commercial office space. who was instrumental in initiating the
19th century Toronto architects
redevelopment of the neighbourhood
3 Toronto’s First Post Office Museum Cumberland and Storm.
in the 1970s from industrial
(260 Adelaide Street East) In 1833
7 Enoch Turner School House (Trinity wasteland to today’s successful mixed
Postmaster James Scott Howard built Street, just south of King) Opened in income community. Countless
this 3-storey Georgian-style “live- 1848 as Toronto’s first free or non- television productions and
work” building to house both the post denominational school under the commercials have been filmed
office and his family. It is the oldest patronage of local business and in the park.
building built as a post office in community leader Enoch Turner. It
Canada. It is also owned by the features an authentic recreation of 11 The Berkeley Street Theatre (26
Godfrey family who began its the original school house and
Berkeley Street) Known to intimates
restoration in 1980, and now leases it as the “The Gas Works” after its
presents lectures, walking tours, and
for a dollar a year to the Town of York history of once being a Consumers
concerts throughout the year.
Historical Society. It is a working post Gas pumping station. It was converted
www.enochturnerschoolhouse.ca
office and museum with philatelic into a theatre in 1971, first as the
services, a gift shop and postal 8 The Distillery Historic District (50 Mill home of the Toronto Free Theatre and
memorabilia available seven days a Street) Originally the grounds of the subsequently as the home of the
week. www.townofyork.com Gooderham and Worts Distillery in successor company CanStage. The
1832, today it features theatres, art, theatre has two performance spaces
4 St. Paul’s Basilica (83 Power Street) photography, cafés and restaurants in presenting Canadian and international
Dating from 1822, St. Paul’s was the a restored 19th century industrial site theatre. www.canstage.com
Town of York’s first Roman Catholic (see What to Do).
parish. The site was then on the www.thedistillerydistrict.com
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Points of interest How to get there

By TTC: There are many TTC routes serving Old Town
12 Canadian Opera Company, 1891, the stables went with the Toronto.
Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera times and the building became From Downtown: King or Queen Subway station take
Centre (227 Front Street East) a generating plant until 1906. the eastbound streetcar past Jarvis.
The COC is housed in two 19th It was then used as a warehouse
century industrial buildings. by the TTC. In 1977, it was
The eastern building was the redesigned to be the home of
Consumers Gas Company’s the Young People’s Theatre,
Purifying House No. 2 built in now the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre
1887-1888 and designed by for Young People (LKTYP). They
the architects Strictland and are Toronto’s premier company
Symens after the fashion of an producing professional theatre
early Christian basilica. The for children. www.lktyp.ca
westerly building was originally
14 The Toronto Sun Mural (between
Standard Woollen Mills built in
Princess & Berkeley Streets)
1882 and designed by famous
History as Theatre , by Toronto
Toronto architect E.J. Lennox
artist John Hood, depicts
who also designed Casa Loma
Toronto’s story on a “canvas” By Car: From the Don Valley Parkway exit at Richmond
and Old City Hall. www.coc.ca
the height of a 3-storey building Street. From the Gardiner Expressway exit north at
13 The Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for and the length of a city block. It Jarvis. From the Lakeshore Boulevard East exit on
Young People (165 Front Street was commissioned by the Cherry, Parliament, Sherbourne or Jarvis. There is a
East) Originally a late 19th Toronto Sun newspaper in 1993 “Green P” parking lot at Sherbourne and Richmond
century stable for the horses to celebrate the 200th and one at The Esplanade and Jarvis; two large private
that pulled the Toronto Street anniversary of the City’s lots at the Distillery District (entrances off Parliament
Railway Company Streetcars. founding. just north of Lakeshore Boulevard); throughout the
When electrification arrived in neighbourhoud Pay and Display street parking is
available.

Why you should go relaxed afternoon pint or fine dining in Jarvis to Parliament has one of the city’s
some of the city’s best restaurants. In Old premier collections of home furnishing and
Old Town Toronto (east) is the historic heart
Town the choice is yours. design shops—a delight for anyone search-
of Toronto, and like the city that grew up
ing for decorating ideas and new, innovative
from the Town of York’s original 10 blocks,
pieces. Drop by Toronto’s First Post Office
the area is defined by diverse What to do museum on Adelaide Street and walk back
neighbourhoods containing everything the Old Town Toronto (east) is a perfect setting in time before there was air mail, e-mail
urban visitor could want: Historic Queen for the urban explorer: whether it is strolling and instant communication.
Street East, a revitalized strip of unique the historic main streets of the city and tak- www.kingstreeteaststyle.com
shops, leads into the heart of the 19th ing note of intriguing historic sites; or
century urban village atmosphere of Historic Queen East (Jarvis to Parliament).
something more contemporary like seeking
Corktown; the Distillery District with In 1800, Lot Street (now Queen) was the
out that perfect home décor item; or sip-
theatres, galleries and restaurants in a northern limit of the town. Today this revi-
ping a cold craft brewed pint on a secluded
restored, industrial, heritage site dating talizing strip features Victorian commercial
patio; each part of the neighbourhood offers
from 1832; the St. Lawrence buildings and unique shops. You can stop
unique delights and surprises. Beginning at
Neighbourhood offers a pleasant into a gallery, browse for antique books or
the corner of King and George Streets you
promenade through a model of urban grab an inexpensive bite to eat.
are crossing into the original 10 blocks laid
redevelopment; and King Street East is the out by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe in Corktown is a 19th century urban village in
home to the city’s largest collection of fine 1793 to form the Town of York. The town the heart of the city and King and Queen
home furnishing shops. Old Town Toronto stretched east to Berkeley Street south to Streets (East of Parliament) are its two
(east) boasts the largest collection of Front Street and north to today’s Adelaide main streets. It was originally settled by
heritage buildings in Ontario, making it Street. The area features a mix of historic working class immigrants in the early
ideal for walking tours and city exploring. buildings, modern condos and commercial 1800’s, many of whom came from the
Well known as a haven for diners and pub buildings, with cafés, specialty shops, pubs County of Cork in Ireland.
aficionados, a visitor can find anything and bistros at street level. King Street from
from a tasty and inexpensive lunch, a
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They found work in developing industries A short history grist mill, then in 1837 as a distillery. Today
such as the local breweries and distilleries. it is becoming a major arts and shopping
In 1793, John Graves Simcoe, lieutenant-
Their Irish heritage was reflected in what destination (Point of Interest #8).
governor of Upper Canada (today’s Ontario),
came to be the area’s nickname. Today In the 1850s after rail service began, the
moved the capital of the fledgling colony
Corktown is dotted with row houses and ren- eastern neighbourhoods of Old Town
from Niagara, on the American border, to
ovated commercial buildings housing spe- industrialized. The site of the original
Toronto because it was considered to be at a
cialty shops, cozy bistros and cafés. But it is Parliament Buildings became a major
safer distance in case of invasion; and it
Corktown’s laneways and small residential plant for Consumer’s Gas in the late
boasted a good harbour, along with access
streets that many visitors enjoy the most: 1800s. The company also built a plant at
to rivers, the highways of the day. Simcoe
Bright Street’s fine example of workers 51 Parliament Street which has been ren-
oversaw the construction of Fort York to pro-
housing from the 1800s or the Victorian ovated to house the city’s newest police
tect the harbour on the west and a town site
townhouses on Wascana Avenue. Look for station. The city’s commercial centre of
to the east. Simcoe choose the name York to
evocative street names like Virgin Place and gravity moved west in the latter half of the
honour Frederick Augustus, Duke of York,
Gilead Place. Trinity Street features fine her- 19th century. King Street East, once the
the second son of King George III. The size
itage houses and Enoch Turner city’s premier High Street began to fade in
of the new capital was a modest 10 blocks,
Schoolhouse: revisit schooldays 1850s importance, a circumstance that would not
though the town grew quickly. During the
style. www.corktown.ca change until the late 20th century when
War of 1812, York was invaded by the
South from Corktown is the Distillery District American forces in 1813 and the new development and renovations of his-
an ongoing and ambitious renovation of one Parliament Buildings (at Front St. and toric buildings revitalized the area.
of the largest remnants of Victorian industri- Parliament St.) were burned to the ground. In the 1990s, much of Old Town Toronto
al heritage buildings in North America. (east) was slated for revitalization and
The city grew rapidly after the war and in
Stroll among the restored 19th century under a new planning regime, the adaptive
1821 York got its first financial institution,
warehouses and tankhouses, along the cob- reuse of heritage buildings and construc-
The Bank of Upper Canada: the original
blestone laneways of the original Gooderham tion of compatible new buildings was
building remains in use today as renovated
& Worts Distillery complex, dating from encouraged. The population grew rapidly
office space at the corner George and
1832. Discover fine restaurants, artists’ stu- in the old Town Of York area, with new
Adelaide. In 1832 one of Toronto’s first
dios, a brewery, theatre and dance compa- condos, shops and amenities bringing the
major industrial sites, the Gooderham &
nies, art and craft galleries and the Young streets vibrantly alive.
Worts complex, began operation initially as a
Centre for the Performing Arts, home of
Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company.
Open year ’round, the site really comes
alive with numerous festivals and outdoor
A little trivia
events on spring and summer weekends. Washington. When the residence was
www.thedistillerydistrict.com repaired and rebuilt it was painted
• The Distillery District (Point of Interest
West from the Distillery District, across white to cover the evidence of fire
#8) is the number one filming location
Parliament Square (Point of Interest #9), is damage, and then became known as
in Canada. Over 800 movies have been
Berkeley Street where heritage buildings the White House.
filmed there in the past 10 years,
house new uses: the renovated Berkeley perhaps most notably Chicago which • Toronto’s first cab company, “The
Castle office complex, the Berkeley Street
won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2003. City”, was founded by Lucie &
Theatre and the headquarters of the
Thornton Blackburn in 1837. The
Canadian Opera Company are all located in • In 1919, T.P. Loblaw and Justin Cork
Blackburns were escaped slaves from
19th century industrial buildings adapted opened the doors to their first grocery
Kentucky who arrived in Toronto in
for today. Continuing along The Esplanade store on King Street East in the Old
1834; where they were defended by
between Berkeley and Jarvis Street, one Town neighbourhood of Corktown. From
strolls through the heart of the original St.
the government from two extradition
this humble beginning Loblaws grew to
Lawrence Neighbourhood, developed by the attempts. Once safe and settled,
become one of Canada’s major grocery
City of Toronto in the 1970s. Today it is Thornton discovered there was a
retailers.
home to well over 10,000 people in one of shortage of public transportation in
North America’s most successful and most • After Ontario’s First Parliament Toronto. To meet this need he built a
studied mixed income neighbourhoods. Buildings (Point of Interest #9) were red and yellow horse-drawn cab, mod-
Crombie Park (Point of Interest #10) pro- burned down in 1813 by invading eled after vehicles he’d seen in
vides one of the City’s most pleasant urban Americans during the Battle of York, the Montréal, and launched the service
walks, marked by gardens, fountains and a British forces retaliated by burning to great success.
natural arcade of trees. down the U.S. President’s residence in

For more information, go to: www.oldtowntoronto1793.com or www.sederi.ca or www.corktown.ca