Last week I went out for my usual exercise walk and it was so nice out that I just kept right on walking, ending up in a new part of the city called “Liberty Village”. It is considered new because a whole bunch of condo buildings are going up in the area, which is located west of the city core. However, it’s actually a very old area, having been first developed way back in the late-1800s. In between, there were decades during which it was considered a ‘brown’ area, in that it was all closed-up with little or no electricity or services being provided there. It was a 20 acre ghost-town of old crumbling buildings.
Now you would never recognize it as such, as it seems all brand-spanking-new and brimming with life, with young pretty people all over the place. But there are a few buildings left standing from the old days, which survive to tell the story of the area. Interestingly parked in the middle of the whole place is this red building, which is obviously ancient but with no signage whatsoever, is a bit of a mystery.
Upon looking it up, I discovered that it was built in 1877 and is the chapel from what used to be the prison servicing all of Toronto and the surrounding area. And the AR Williams Machinery building in the first photograph was once the prison’s paint shop. I wonder if the newly located residents realize who once walked upon the very ground which they now call home!
I hope you enjoyed this little visit to see an old building still standing in downtown Toronto. If you’d like to see more on this topic, please take a look in my “Interesting Buildings” Category file. Thank you for dropping by :) xo loulou
