Downtown was originally part of the vast military garrisonlands that were established to protect the Town of York – theforerunner to Toronto – against attack from the United States. Following the war of 1812 peaceful relations were established with our neighbour to the south and the garrison lands were sold to the railway, which became a vital cog in the booming industry then taking place along Toronto’s harbourfront. By the 1960s much of Toronto’s port-based industry had moved north of the city, thus rail service dwindled to a trickle. The railway lands — a site bound by the Rogers Centre to the east, Bathurst Street to the west, Front Street to the north, and Lakeshore Boulevard to the south — then lay dormant and derelict for over 30 years while the City of Toronto debated what to do with them. In 1998 city council finally approved the sale of the railway lands, which have been repurposed into a $2 billion condominium development known as CityPlace.
Another re-birth in the Downtown is the King/Spadina/Bathurst district, which was at the heart of Canada’s garment industry until the early 1990s. Now many of these shop worn buildings are finding new life as trendy loft condominium projects and funky office space for the media services, high-tech communications and graphic industries.