By Linda Sully
Located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario is the neighbourhood Harbourfront.
Harbourfront extends west from Yonge Street to Bathurst Street along Queen’s Quay.
Toronto’s harbour has been used since the founding of Toronto for shipping and industrial purposes. The Town of York was founded to the west of Don River, along the waterfront; when the town was founded, the water’s edge was approximately where we know as “Front Street”.
The area along the waterfront is composed of mixed uses. The federal government lands to the south of Queen’s Quay, which includes a community centre, a Toronto fire department, various boating uses and the Harbourfront Centre.
To the north of Queen’s Qauy you will find all of the industrial lands along the street have been replaced with high rise condominium towers.
To the east, you will find federal government lands; the waterfront is mixed with industrial uses, a hotel, ferry docks, boating uses, a sugar factory and vacant lands.
You will find Toronto Island ferry terminals in Harbourfront; it provides transportation services to the Islands from the foot of Bay Street.
As I mentioned before, Harbourfront Centre is located to the south of Queen’s Quay. Harbourfront Centre houses galleries and performance spaces; it is located at the foot of lower Simcoe Street. All of the studios began in 1974 and still operate today; they provide new craft artists with subsidized work spaces at the beginning of their career.
Harbourfront hosts many arts and cultural events throughout the summer. Some events include craft and artisan fairs, theatre and dance performances and musical concerts.
Some of the most notable events are available free in the form of a series of concerts stages at Harbourfront’s outdoor concert state every weekend through the summer.
You might be wondering what is there to do during the winter; well to answer that, there is a free open air ice rink.
You can have a enjoyable night with your family and friends by taking in the fresh air and enjoying some wholesome fun of the great pastime of skating.
Many people criticize Toronto as not having a dynamic and beautiful waterfront park. This is definitely not the case; Harbourfront has a network of parks, open spaces and trails that allow residents and visitors to access. A few examples are HTO Park, the Martin Goodman Trail and the Waterfront WaveDecks.
Harbourfront is truly one of Canada’s historic neighbourhoods, while integrating the new age.
Linda Sully is a Broker with Royal LePage Johnston & Daniel Division. Linda is a regular contributor to the Muddy York Real Estate Blog. Linda’s website is located at www.lindasully.com.
