Step back in time at PortsToronto’s historical photo exhibit

Toronto’s South Core and waterfront are home to businesses, residences, park areas and some of the most significant development in North America today. The area is also a major transportation hub with Union Station, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Toronto’s Harbour providing access for both people and products into the heart of the city, by rail, plane and boat. However, the waterfront wasn’t always a thriving neighbourhood. In fact, just 100 years ago, much of the area was swamp land.

The Making Connections to Toronto’s Waterfront – A Historical Retrospective photo exhibit will next be installed in the lobby of the CN Tower from December 16, 2016, to March 31, 2017.  This will be the fifth time the exhibit has been installed in the downtown core with Brookfield Place, Adelaide Centre, 18 Bremner and WaterPark Place all hosting the exhibit in the past.

Nearly 20 historical photos selected from the rarely viewed PortsToronto Archive will feature the Port of Toronto and Harbour, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, the CN Tower and other key points along the waterfront which have played a significant role in the development of the city as a commercial and cultural hub of Canada.

Photos, dating back to the early 1900’s, will also highlight the important role that PortsToronto has played in the shaping of Toronto’s waterfront. From the creation of the Port Lands and the building of the quays that extend into Toronto’s Harbour to the development of the Leslie Street Spit and construction of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, PortsToronto has added more than 2,000 acres of land to construct Toronto’s waterfront from the mouth of the Humber River to Ashbridges Bay.

To view a sampling of the photos on display, click here.