At the Historic Distillery District you'll find a little bit of England
Toronto was the home to the largest distillery in the British Empire. You can visit it today not as a distillery but as Toronto's newest arts, culture and entertainment centre. Its transformation from a Victorian industrial setting to an arts district is a true Cinderella story.
In the early 1830's two Englishmen by the names of William Gooderham and James Worts came to what is now Toronto to establish a mill to grind the flour from the grain being grown in the newly settle lands of Ontario. They were brother-in-laws since Worts had married Gooderham's sister. Worts came on his own to scout for a location for their mill and Gooderham followed shortly there after with some 54 people that included the wives, children, servants and some indentured souls.
Within short order they found that more money was to be made from converting the grain to alcohol rather then flour. Over the next 150 years plus their company Gooderham and Worts developed into the largest distillery in the British Empire. It exported its whisky and spirits throughout the world. Small amounts of Gooderham & Worts-brand whisky and rum as well as antifreeze continued to be produced at the Toronto distillery until all production ceased in 1990. Today it is the site of North America's best preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture, reason enough to visit and see and hear about how whiskey was made in these various buildings which were used for malting, fermenting, making pure spirits and racking the young whiskey in barrels so they aged.
In November, 2001 Cityscape Development Corp. and Wallace Studios purchased the property for $15 million, breathing new life into the region. The 13-acre site, complete with forty-five 19th century buildings, is now the subject of careful restoration efforts and its new name - The Historic Distillery District - embraces the site’s rich historical and architectural legacy. Today the picturesque, pedestrian-only village houses over a hundred tenants including: galleries, theatres, museums, rehearsal halls, boutiques, retail shops, artist studios, restaurants, bistros and cafés.
As a side bar the Historic Distillery District continues to be the destination of choice for international filmmakers. Toronto is known as Hollywood North and the cobblestone paths, grid-street design and Victorian buildings have established the District as a most attractive movie and television filming site. Recent productions shot at the site include Chicago, X-Men, The Recruit, The Hurricane and Cinderella Man.
There's always something happening
at The Distillery and it bustles with activity day and night. Check out the
calendar of events on this site to find out what's going on while
you're in town. Plan on spending a half-day or evening here.
Don't go until late morning since most of the locations don’t open
until 11 a.m.Recommended is a tour of the Distillery to appreciate its history and become aware of the various buildings, businesses and activities that occur here. Even better there are two additional tours that take in the surrounding areas and the Distillery. One tour is Cabbagetown, Corktown and the Distillery and the other is St. Lawrence Market, Old Town and the Distillery. Check out the web site for the Historic Distillery District at www.thedistillerydistrict.com for more details. Cheers!
Bill Genova is a Toronto tour guide, and Crave Canada's Toronto Correspondent. Visit Bill's web site at www.genovatours.com
Article Written By Bill
Genova
Last Updated: Friday 7th April 2006 - 8:52pm
BST
United States Edition