The Palace Pier | |
---|---|
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Architectural style | Late Modernist |
Coordinates | 43°37′52″N79°28′24″W / 43.631192°N 79.473252°W |
Completed | 1978, 1991 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 46 |
The Palace Pier is the site of Palace Place and Palace Pier, two cruciform condominium towers tied for the 45th-tallest building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are located at 2045 Lake Shore Boulevard West and 1 Palace Pier Court in the Humber Bay neighbourhood in the former city of Etobicoke.
The complex consists of two luxury condominium towers, Palace Pier (North Tower) and Palace Place (South Tower). Both towers, while completely separate condominium corporations, form an architectural gateway for the west end of Toronto's waterfront and are considered the eastern border of the Humber Bay Shores neighbourhood of Etobicoke, now part of Toronto.
The original Palace Pier Tower (North Tower) was completed in 1978. [1] Designed by Edward I. Richmond, the 46 floor residential structure was the tallest residential structure in Canada at the time. The Palace Place Tower (South Tower) was completed in 1991. [2] Both towers offer views of the Toronto skyline, Lake Ontario, as well as the western suburbs. On a clear day, residents have unobstructed views across the lake and may see the mist rising from Niagara Falls as well as the Niagara Escarpment.
Prior to 1927, the site was home to the Wimbleton House Hotel (c. 1860s), then as Crow's Hotel (c. 1900), and as a beach remained for many years after known as Crow's or Crowes Beach. [3] A lifeguard station was located at the mouth of the Humber (built in 1920 and similar to Leuty in the Beach area) [4] and disappeared with the construction of Palace Pier complex.
The name for the Palace Pier complex comes from an amusement pier, which was located on the site of the current towers.
Costing $1.25 million in 1927 dollars, the pier development was proclaimed as one of the biggest landmarks to ever be built on the Toronto waterfront and would be similar to the many amusement piers found along the coast in England. However, it was to be much more costly to construct and certainly more impressive than its namesake in Brighton, England – according to the promoters at the time. The structure was designed by architects Craig and Madill. [5]
The development was to be financed with public funds raised by an England-based company, Provincial Improvement Corporation. The financial prospectus, used to finance the project by the public sale of $10 shares, described the new four-structure facility as a “Palace of Fun” - sitting atop an illuminated pier stretching nearly a third of a mile out into Lake Ontario.
The proposed pier would include a 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) ballroom that would accommodate 3,000 couples, a roller rink (converted for ice skating in the winter months), 1,400-seat theatre, an outdoor Band Pavilion seating 1,500, and several restaurants and souvenir stores. The pier would also allow for steamer ships to dock alongside the structure, easing congestion for the 50,000 people a day the prospectus claimed would attend the amusement facility.
The financing of the project went slowly, with the cornerstone of the first building being dedicated by former Canadian prime minister Arthur Meighen in 1931. However, as with many projects of the time, financial difficulties would affect the project and in the end, only a few hundred feet of pier was built.
Only the first phase of the redesigned amusement pier, 90 metres long, was opened on June 10, 1941 and it became popular as a major dance hall of the big band era during World War II and the postwar years. Hollywood celebrity Bob Hope, who was in town promoting his latest film, officially opened the new Palace Pier by doing a few laps around the roller rink in front of fans. As big band music faded away, boxing and wrestling matches, religious revival meetings, country and western concerts, and high school proms became the major events to frequent the Palace Pier.
The pier was designed by Craig & Madill with various structures in a flamboyant Moroccan style of architecture. The firm was better known for the many cathedrals and public buildings they built, frequently in the Georgian Revival style.
The pier was destroyed by fire in 1963, and the site later redeveloped into condominiums and a public park. A 1994 Etobicoke Historical Board plaque on the Waterfront Trail just west of the mouth of the Humber River is attached to what is left of the original Palace Pier dance hall.
The local waterfront features the Martin Goodman Trail, which allows for walking, jogging, cycling, and inline skating along a 22-kilometre path that leads through scenic parkland as well as the 300-kilometre Lake Ontario Greenway Waterfront Trail. Marinas, the yacht club, and boating opportunities are located nearby, as well as dining, entertainment, and cultural amenities, which are situated within walking distance. It is also near the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 427, and the TTC's Humber Loop. The buildings are also only a 10-minute walk from Sobey's, Shoppers Drug Mart, and the LCBO. [6]
Working together, the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority have enhanced the natural environment in the area with the introduction of a new waterfront park — the Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat — enhanced wetlands and fish habitats, and trails.
Etobicoke is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River, on the west by Etobicoke Creek, the cities of Brampton, and Mississauga, the Toronto Pearson International Airport, and on the north by the city of Vaughan at Steeles Avenue West.
Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812.
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.
The Humber River is a river in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.
Mimico is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967.
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.
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.
The Queensway is a major street in the municipalities of Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is a western continuation of Queen Street, after it crosses Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in Toronto. The Queensway is a divided roadway from Roncevalles westerly until 600 metres of the South Kingsway with its centre median dedicated to streetcar service. The road continues undivided west from there to Etobicoke Creek as a four- or six-lane thoroughfare.
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.
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.
Stretching over 3600 km from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Nations along the Canadian shores of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. A celebration of nature and culture, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is part of a strategy to protect and connect people to the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth. It is a legacy project of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, a charity, and its community partners. Through Toronto, the trail is called the Martin Goodman Trail. The Waterfront Trail is also used by commuters in parts of Southern Ontario.
Humber Bay is a bay of Lake Ontario south of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located between Ontario Place on the east and Mimico Creek to the west. The bay gives its name to Etobicoke's Humber Bay neighbourhood.
Humber Bay Park is a waterfront park located in Etobicoke, part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park consists of two landspits situated at the mouth of Mimico Creek. The park is south of Lake Shore Boulevard West, near Park Lawn Road. Humber Bay Park East is 19 hectares, while Humber Bay Park West is 120 hectares.
The Queensway–Humber Bay, known officially as Stonegate–Queensway, is a neighbourhood in the southwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southeast area of the former City of Etobicoke.
Kew Gardens is a large park in The Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park stretches from Queen Street East to Lake Ontario at Kew Beach.
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.
Colonel Samuel Smith Park is an urban park in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and a former weekend get-away destination for Victorian Torontonians. The park has a variety of attractions, including a children's playground located only steps from Lake Ontario. The park is named for Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith and lands were part of his property in the 1800s. The park was developed from the 1970s onwards and opened in 1996.
Grand Harbour is a lakefront condominium community in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of three condominium towers and several dozen townhouses. Grand Harbour is located on the shore of Lake Ontario just west of Humber Bay Park and Mimico Creek.
Marie Curtis Park is a public park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek on Lake Ontario in the Long Branch neighbourhood. Marie Curtis Park was built after the devastating floods of Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed 56 homes and cottages on the site, leaving 1,868 persons homeless and 81 dead. It is named after Marie Curtis, the reeve of Long Branch at the time of its construction. Long Branch at the time was a separate village; it's now amalgamated into the City of Toronto government.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)