R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant

Last updated

R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant
R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant Aerial view 2023.jpg
Exterior of the building
R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant
General information
StatusOperational
Address2701 Queen Street East,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates 43°40′24″N79°16′44″W / 43.673222°N 79.278819°W / 43.673222; -79.278819
Named forR. C. Harris
Construction started1932
OpenedNovember 1, 1941;82 years ago (1941-11-01)

The R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is both a crucial piece of infrastructure and an architecturally acclaimed historic building named after the longtime commissioner of Toronto's public works Roland Caldwell Harris. The plant's architect was Thomas C. Pomphrey with engineers H.G. Acres and William Gore. [1] It is located in the east of the city at the eastern end of Queen Street and at the foot of Victoria Park Avenue along the shore of Lake Ontario in the Beaches neighbourhood in the former city of Scarborough.

Contents

It has been the location for a number of film productions, the best known being Strange Brew (1983) with Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.

Roland Caldwell Harris

Harris was born in Lansing on May 26, 1875 in what is now North York, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. [2] As Public Works Commissioner from 1912 to 1945, Harris was involved in such projects as:

Harris died on September 3, 1945. His son Lieutenant Colonel Roland Allen Harris was a member of the Queen's Own Rifles. Harris is buried in family plot at St. John's Norway Cemetery. [4]

Site history

Victoria Park

The land was once owned by Peter Patterson and was a popular spot for picnickers who nicknamed it "Yellowbanks" for the colour of the bluffs [5] In 1878, Patterson leased the property to businessmen John Irwin, Bob Davies, and P.G. Close who hired John Boyle to develop and operate it as an amusement park. [5] Buildings were erected and landscaping was done in time for it to open on June 8, 1878 as Victoria Park. Initially, the park was only accessible by water and a wharf was built to allow for steamships to bring picnickers from the Toronto Harbour at the foot of Yonge Street. The six-hectare park included a beach, with boating and canoe rentals, picnic shelters, a dance pavillion, restaurant and observation tower. Thomas Davies bought the park in 1886 and by 1894 the Toronto Railway Company extended streetcar lines to the park, allowing for ferry service to be discontinued. In 1899, the Toronto Railway Company took over the lease allowing it to continue as a trolley park along with nearby Munro Park which the TRC also operated. In 1906, the park was purchased by Henry Eckardt in a foreclosure sale after Davies had been unable to keep up the mortgage payments. [6] Eckardt closed the park in 1906, the same year that nearby Munro Park closed. The traditions of both continued at Scarboro Beach Amusement Park which opened in 1907 and operated until 1925. [5]

Victoria Park Avenue is named after the amusement park. [7]

From 1912 to 1932 part of the property was used for Victoria Park Forest School during the summer. The T. Eaton Company also used the property for a summer camp for boys from 1917 until 1927. In 1927, the City of Toronto purchased the property for $370,000 in order to build the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. [6]

Water treatment plant

RC Harris Water Treatment Plant - Filtration Building - South Elevation RC Harris Water Treatment Plant - Filtration Building - South Elevation.jpg
RC Harris Water Treatment Plant - Filtration Building - South Elevation
R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant - Service Building - South Elevation Service south elev.jpg
R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant - Service Building - South Elevation

With an early 20th-century Toronto plagued with water shortages and unclean drinking water, public health advocates such as George Nasmith and Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Charles Hastings, campaigned for a modern water purification system.

Construction for a water treatment plant began on the site in 1932 and the building became operational on November 1, 1941. [8] The building, unlike most modern engineering structures, was also created to make an architectural statement. Fashioned in the Art Deco style, the cathedral-like structure remains one of Toronto's most admired buildings. It is, however, little known to outsiders. The interiors are just as opulent with marble entryways and vast halls filled with pools of water and filtration equipment. The plant has thus earned the nickname The Palace of Purification.

In 1992, the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant was named a national historic civil engineering site by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. It was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1998. [9] The plant appeared on a stamp issued by Canada Post in 2011, in a series showcasing five notable Art Deco buildings in Canada. [10] [11]

Use

Water pumps at the treatment plant R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant (12 of 14).jpg
Water pumps at the treatment plant

Despite its age, the plant is still fully functional, providing approximately 30% of Toronto's water supply. The intakes are located over 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) from shore in 15 metres (49 ft) of water, running through two pipes under the bed of the lake. Water is also chlorinated in the plant and then pumped to various reservoirs throughout the City of Toronto and York Region.

Access

The facility grounds have been made available to the public. Despite some concerns of vulnerability to an attack on the water supply since the September 11 attacks, the grounds have remained open to the public, but security has been increased. In the summer of 2007, construction began on the installation of an underground Residual Management Facility allowing processed waste to be removed before discharging into the lake. This construction has since been completed.

The R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant has been used in dozens of films and television series as a prison, clinic, or headquarters.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Park (Toronto)</span> Toronto park home to the Ontario Legislature

Queen's Park is an urban park in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales, it was named in honour of Queen Victoria. The park is the site of the Ontario Legislative Building, which houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The phrase "Queen's Park" is regularly used as a metonym for the Government of Ontario or the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

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

The Beaches is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is so named because of its four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It is located east of downtown within the "Old" City of Toronto. The approximate boundaries of the neighbourhood are from Victoria Park Avenue on the east to Kingston Road on the north, along Dundas Street to Coxwell Avenue on the west, south to Lake Ontario. The Beaches is part of the east-central district of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Street, Toronto</span> Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east–west avenues of Toronto's and York County's grid pattern of major roads. The western section of Queen is a centre for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts. Over the past twenty-five years, Queen West has become an international arts centre and a tourist attraction in Toronto.

<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.

The Toronto Suburban Railway was a Canadian electric railway operator with local routes in west Toronto, and a radial (interurban) route to Guelph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Park Avenue</span> Street in Toronto, Canada

Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnyside, Toronto</span> Lakefront district

Sunnyside is a lakefront district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes a beach and park area along Lake Ontario's Humber Bay, from west of Exhibition Place to the mouth of the Humber River. The area has several recreation uses, including rowing clubs, sports clubs, picnic areas, playgrounds, a nightclub, a bathing pavilion and public pool. The area is a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long strip along the lakeshore, bounded by the Gardiner Expressway and rail lines, which separate it from the Parkdale, Roncesvalles and Swansea neighbourhoods to the north. The name originates in a local farm owned by John Howard, which was situated just to the north, on the location of the current St. Joseph's Health Centre hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Water</span>

Toronto Water is the municipal division of the City of Toronto under Infrastructure and Development Services responsible for the water supply network, and stormwater and wastewater management in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as well as parts of Peel and York Regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palais Royale</span> Dance hall in Toronto, Canada

Palais Royale is a dance hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Shore Boulevard at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue on Lake Ontario. Originally built as a boat works, it became notable as a night club in the now-defunct Sunnyside Amusement Park, hosting many prominent 'big band' jazz bands. Since the Park's demolition, the building has ceased to be a nightclub, being used for special occasions and concerts. It has recently been remodeled and is in use for special occasions and meetings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Monro (politician)</span> Businessman and political figure in Canada West

George Monro was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada/Canada West. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company</span> Former railcar company in Toronto

Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company was established in August 1892 to provide street railway service to the Upper Beaches district within the City of Toronto, Ontario and to the neighbouring Township of Scarborough. Except for two branches, the line ran as a radial along Kingston Road.

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

The Discovery District is one of the commercial districts in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a high concentration of hospitals and research institutions, particularly those related to biotechnology. The district is roughly bounded by Bloor Street on the north, Bay Street on the east, Dundas Street on the south, and Spadina Avenue on the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnyside Amusement Park</span> Former amusement park in Toronto, Canada

Sunnyside Amusement Park was a popular amusement park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that ran from 1922 to 1955, demolished in 1955 to facilitate the building of the Metro Toronto Gardiner Expressway project. It was located on the Lake Ontario waterfront at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue, west of downtown Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion</span> Public pavilion in Toronto, Canada

Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion is a landmark public pavilion in the Sunnyside lakefront area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1922, its original function was to provide changing facilities for swimming in Lake Ontario, however lake conditions were often too cold and an adjoining public swimming pool was built in 1925. The Pavilion was renovated in 1980 to provide updated changing facilities and a café along the beach and a garden.

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

Birch Cliff is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city, part of the district of Scarborough running along the shore of Lake Ontario atop the western part of the Scarborough Bluffs. Birch Cliff has a large Irish population. About one-third of Birch Cliff residents are of Irish origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoppers World Danforth</span> Shopping mall in Toronto, Canada

Shoppers World Danforth is a hybrid shopping plaza and shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has 40 stores serving parts of East York, Scarborough and The Beaches, near the Victoria Park subway station. Today a moderately sized suburban plaza, it has a notable place in history as one of the first suburban and one of the first enclosed malls in Canada. It is approximately 326,300 square feet (30,310 m2) in area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashbridge's Bay</span> Bay in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ashbridges Bay is a bay and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Lake Shore Boulevard next to Woodbine Beach in the Beaches. The Martin Goodman Trail and boardwalk run through the park along the bay. The boardwalk runs 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Ashbridges Bay in the west to the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in the east along Lake Ontario. It was once part of the marsh that lay east of Toronto Islands and Toronto Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guild Park and Gardens</span> Public park and building stonework conservatory in Toronto, Canada

Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in downtown Toronto arranged akin to ancient ruins. Located on the Scarborough Bluffs, Guild Park and Gardens has an outdoor Greek stage and a 19th-century log cabin among the oldest in Toronto. The principal building in the park is the Guild Inn, a former inn and estate mansion.

References

  1. "R. C. Harris Filtration Plant – CSCE / SCGC".
  2. Lorinc, John (May 18, 2012). "Meet the man who shaped 20th-century Toronto". The Globe and Mail.
  3. "Distillery District Heritage Website".
  4. "Harris, Roland Allen". April 24, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Filey, Mike (October 1996). I Remember Sunnyside. Dundurn Press. p. 11. ISBN   9781554881949 . Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Closed Canadian Parks - Victoria Park (Scarborough)". Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  7. Filey, Mike (October 27, 2008). Toronto: The Way We Were. Dundurn Press. p. 44. ISBN   9781770703506.
  8. Mannell, Steven (January 1, 2002). "Water Works". Canadian Architect. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  9. "2701 Queen St. E." City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  10. Rochon, Lisa (June 8, 2011). "New stamps emphasize Art Deco design". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  11. "Architecture: Art Déco". Canada's Stamp Details. XX (2). Canada Post. June 2011. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  12. "Valley Reintroduce Themselves With Brand New Song "When You Know Someone"". Universal Music Canada. Universal Music Canada. May 10, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024. The video was filmed at RC Harris water treatment plant, Valley explains "we were looking for a sense of brutalism mixed with beauty for this video and a lot of open space because the song feels very empty yet scenic."