Fort York (neighbourhood)

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Fort York
Neighbourhood
Fort York aerial.jpg
Aerial view of Fort York
Fort York map.png
Vicinity
Toronto map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Toronto
Coordinates: 43°38′20″N79°24′18″W / 43.639°N 79.405°W / 43.639; -79.405
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Province Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario
City Flag of Toronto, Canada.svg Toronto
Government
  City Councillor Ausma Malik
  Federal M.P. Kevin Vuong
  Provincial M.P.P. Chris Glover

Fort York, also known as Garrison, is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located west of Downtown Toronto, north of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, and east of Exhibition Place along the shores of Lake Ontario. While it is home to Fort York, a National Historic Site, it also contains several mid and high-rise condominium buildings built during the 21st century.

Contents

History

Fort York is situated near the city's original waterfront. The area that makes up Fort York neighbourhood was the result of land reclamation projects in the late-19th and early-20th century. FortYorkWaterfrontCannon.jpg
Fort York is situated near the city's original waterfront. The area that makes up Fort York neighbourhood was the result of land reclamation projects in the late-19th and early-20th century.

The neighbourhood area consists of the former industrial lands immediately east and south of Fort York, a fort since 1793, and designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923. The current Fort York Armoury was built in 1933, and still houses several units of the Canadian Forces. The neighbourhood is one of Toronto's most historically and cultural sensitive areas, and was the location of the lakeside Toronto Molson brewery before it was demolished in 2006.

The Fort York Neighbourhood Public Realm Plan is the next step in the planning and design for the Fort York Neighbourhood. The area's redevelopment plan was finalized in 2005, and establishes guidelines for an overall vision of the emerging neighbourhood. It set out the location of public spaces, density, height and built form so that the area's streetscapes, open spaces, parks and pedestrian areas are interconnected with private development. [1]

Recent developments

A 38-storey residential tower and 7- to 12-storey podium building was constructed in 2005 at the west end of the neighbourhood, at the corner of Fleet Street Fort York Boulevard. This was the first element of the planned redevelopment of the site into a mixed-use community, including 12 residential towers, podium buildings and stacked townhouses, with grade-level retail and commercial uses. The neighbourhood will eventually house an estimated 6000 units within the area north of Lake Shore Boulevard, south of Fort York Boulevard between Strachan Avenue and Dan Leckie Way (an extension of Portland Street).

The Malibu, one of several condo developments in the area. Fleet Street.jpg
The Malibu, one of several condo developments in the area.

It has been the site of a lot of condominium loft and row house development. The area is located close to the Fashion and Entertainment districts. Significant high-rise development has taken place within the Fort York Neighbourhood, south of the Gardiner Expressway between Fort York Blvd. and Fleet Street. [2]

Some of the main roads in the neighbourhood are:

The Bentway is a unique and innovative public space that transforms 1.75 km underneath Toronto's Gardiner Expressway into a new gathering place for our city's growing population. The initial phase – from Strachan Avenue to Bathurst Street – knits together seven local neighbourhoods with over 70,000 residents, becoming a gateway to the waterfront, while providing access to important attractions and destinations – from Fort York National Historic Site, Ontario Place and Exhibition Place to Harbourfront Centre and the CN Tower. The Bentway offers year-round activities and events, including gardens, a skate trail, recreational amenities, public markets, public art, special exhibitions, festivals, theatre and musical performances, and more.

Public transportation

A streetcar passes by the Queen's Wharf Lighthouse. Fort York neighbourhood is served by 509 Harbourfront streetcar line. Lighthouse DSC00553 - Queen's Wharf Lighthouse (7603898804).jpg
A streetcar passes by the Queen's Wharf Lighthouse. Fort York neighbourhood is served by 509 Harbourfront streetcar line.

The Harbourfront is served by the 509 Harbourfront streetcar, which operates between Union and Exhibition Place running along a private right-of-way (ROW) on Queens Quay west to Bathurst and then along Fleet Street. Between September 2007 and March 2008, the Fleet Street portion of Route 509 was converted to a ROW. Streetcar track and overhead power line were also installed at the Fleet loop, which is located at the Fleet Street Lighthouse. [3] [4]

Queen's Wharf

A wharf was located south of the fort that was reached via Bathurst Street in the 19th century located near the mouth of Garrison Creek. It first appeared in the 1830s and rebuilt 8 times before it was filled in by 1917. [5] The wharf was named for Queen Victoria and now site of condo towers near the corner of Bathurst Street and Fleet Street. The Fleet Street Lighthouse or Queen's Wharf Lighthouse was once located at this wharf.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it extends from the foot of the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) in the east, just past the mouth of the Don River, to the junction of Highway 427 and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) in the west, for a total length of 18.0 kilometres (11.2 mi). East of Dufferin Street to just east of the Don River, the roadway is elevated for a length of 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi), unofficially making it the longest bridge in Ontario. It runs above Lake Shore Boulevard east of Spadina Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbourfront, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Harbourfront is a neighbourhood on the northern shore of Lake Ontario within the downtown core of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Toronto waterfront, Harbourfront extends from Bathurst Street in the west, along Queens Quay, with its ill-defined eastern boundary being either Yonge Street or York Street. Its northern boundary is the Gardiner Expressway. Much of the district was former water lots filled in during the early 1900s to create a larger harbour district. After shipping patterns changed and the use of the Toronto harbour declined, the area was converted from industrial uses to a mixed-use district that is mostly residential and leisure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhibition Place</span> Publicly owned mixed-use development in Toronto

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto waterfront</span> Shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada

The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Street (Toronto)</span> Street in Toronto and York Region in Ontario, Canada

Bathurst Street is a main north–south thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It begins at an intersection of the Queens Quay roadway, just north of the Lake Ontario shoreline. It continues north through Toronto to the Toronto boundary at Steeles Avenue. It is a four-lane thoroughfare throughout Toronto. The roadway continues north into York Region where it is known as York Regional Road 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Shore Boulevard</span> Street in Toronto

Lake Shore Boulevard is a major arterial road running along more than half of the Lake Ontario waterfront in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to 1998, two segments of Lake Shore Boulevard were designated as part of Highway 2, with the highway following the Gardiner Expressway between these two sections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">509 Harbourfront</span> Streetcar route in Toronto, Canada

509 Harbourfront is a Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission and connecting Union Station with Exhibition Loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Quay (Toronto)</span> Street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada

Queens Quay is a prominent street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street was originally commercial in nature due to the many working piers along the waterfront; parts of it have been extensively rebuilt in since the 1970s with parks, condominiums, retail, as well as institutional and cultural development.

Bathurst Street Wharf was a series of shipyards located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue along Lake Shore Boulevard West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">511 Bathurst</span> Streetcar route in Toronto, Canada

The 511 Bathurst is a Toronto streetcar route operated by the Toronto Transit Commission in Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niagara, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Niagara is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located south of Queen Street West; it is usually bordered by Strachan Avenue to the west, Bathurst Street to the east, and the railway corridor to the south, and so named because Niagara Street runs through the centre of it. The eastern portion of this area was first planned as the New Town Extension when Toronto was incorporated as a city. The area was developed as a residential area for the workers of industries located along the CN and CP railway corridors. It remains a working-class neighbourhood that has seen the development of new condominium apartment buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Wharf Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

The Queen's Wharf Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at Fleet Street just east of the Princes' Gates at Exhibition Place. The octagonal building was originally one of a pair of lighthouses built in 1861 at Queen's Wharf, replacing an earlier 16-foot lighthouse built in 1838. The 11-metre (36-foot) three-storey wood structure is one of two surviving 19th-century lighthouses in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhibition Loop</span> Toronto Transit Commission streetcar terminus

Exhibition Loop is the terminus for the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst streetcar routes, the 174 Ontario Place-Exhibition, and the 307 Blue Night Bathurst bus routes. Exhibition Loop serves Exhibition Place, Coca-Cola Coliseum, BMO Field and connects with GO Transit at the Exhibition GO Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CityPlace, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Ontario, Canada

CityPlace is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, within the former Railway Lands. When completed, this area will be the largest residential development ever created in Toronto. The area is bordered by Bathurst Street to the west, Lake Shore Boulevard to the south, and Front Street to the north and Blue Jays Way and Rogers Centre to the east. Cityplace is also a 5- to 10-minute walk from King Street West and Liberty Village and a 10- to 20-minute walk from Toronto's financial district. The neighbourhood is also home to the Canoe Landing Park designed by famed Canadian writer and artist Douglas Coupland.

The Waterfront West LRT (WWLRT) is a proposed streetcar line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The WWLRT is currently part of a City project called the Waterfront Transit Reset which also includes the East Bayfront LRT. The WWLRT was initially proposed as part of the Transit City plan to expand transit services offered by the Toronto Transit Commission that was announced March 16, 2007. The new line was to use existing parts of the Toronto streetcar system, extending from Union station to Long Branch Loop via Exhibition Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto streetcar system loops</span>

Turning loops of the Toronto streetcar system serve as termini and turnback points for streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The single-ended streetcars require track loops in order to reverse direction. Besides short off-street track loops these can also be larger interchange points, having shelters and driver facilities, or be part of a subway station structure for convenient passenger interchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bayfront</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort York Armoury</span> Drill Hall / armoury in Toronto, Ontario

Fort York Armoury is a Canadian Forces facility located near the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Fleet Street and Fort York Boulevard, close to the historic Old Fort York in the neighbourhood of Fort York. It currently hosts several units of the Primary Reserve and the Canadian Cadet Organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Core, Toronto</span> Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

South Core is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The South Core occupies the eastern portions of the Railway Lands. The remodeling and restoration of Union Station and the construction of a new wave of business and condominium towers is central to this area's forecast growth.

"Forecasters expect the downtown population to grow 80 per cent to 130,000 by 2031. With the financial district just to the north and the new high-rise South Core on the other side, Union is right at the centre."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bentway</span> Public space in Toronto

The Bentway, formerly Project: Under Gardiner, is a public trail and corridor space underneath the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is repurposed land that was in sections vacant, rail lines, parking lots and outdoor storage.

References

  1. - Public Realm
  2. Fort York Neighbourhood Master Plan
  3. "Fleet Street track reconstruction starts tomorrow, September 4 - Transit Toronto - Weblog".
  4. "
  5. "Queen's Wharf - Toronto Historical Association". torontohistory.net. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10.