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This photo is part of a partnership between Urban Toronto as part of "Heritage Toronto Mondays".   

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Standing behind a row of trees is a striking building, the R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant during construction in 1935.

Located on Queen Street East, the plant was initially called the Victoria Park Filtration Plant and today is said to be among the most spectacular public buildings ever built in Canada.

It was conceived of by Richard C. Harris, then Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Toronto, and designed by Thomas C Pomphrey. Although conceptualized in the teens the plant wasn't built until the 1930s including tunnels, filtration plant, pumping station, service building as well as a landscaped park. Then in the 1950s, the purification plant was vastly expanded. It was soon known as the "Palace of Purification."

And a palace it was...featuring stone, brick and metal and limestone carvings, with marble and bronze on the interior. The R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant was designed in a unique style that combined the Art Deco style with Romanesque Revival and Modern classical elements. Since the beginning, it has stood out from the landscape, evoking commentary from passersby.

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This photo is part of a partnership between Urban Toronto as part of "Heritage Toronto Mondays".  

On Islington Avenue in Etobicoke is St. George's Golf and Country Club. This prestigious club is ranked among the top three in Canada and the top 100 in the world.

St. George's was the vision of two men: Developer Robert Home Smith and Sir Edward Beatty, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the early 1900s, Smith was rapidly acquiring picturesque land close to the Humber River that would become lucrative real estate developments. Around the same time, his friend Beatty was developing the Royal York Hotel, among the largest hotels in the chain of CPR hotels.

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With hockey in full season right now, it's interesting to take a look back at an indoor Toronto arena that remains sacred in the hearts and minds of Canadians, Maple Leaf Gardens.

Located at the corner of Church and Carlton Streets, the Gardens was designed by Ross and MacDonald in association with Jack Ryrie and MacKenzie Waters. It was a state-of-the-art construction reflecting the aesthetics of the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles. The Gardens became overnight, the largest arena in the country.

The Gardens opened on November 12, 1931 as the new arena for the Toronto Maple Leafs, formed in 1917. The first game was held between the Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Leafs lost that night but the team went on to great success, winning numerous Stanley Cups in front of adoring fans at Maple Leaf Gardens, then the largest arena in the country.

Original Photo: 

This photo is part of a partnership between Urban Toronto as part of "Heritage Toronto Mondays". 

Original Photo: 

Ernest MacMillan is among the brightest stars in the history of music in Canada. He was born in Mimico in 1893 and began studying organ at the age of eight.

With his first public performance at age 10, MacMillan went on to an incredible career as organist, pianist, composer, educator and writer. After studying at prestigious schools around the world, MacMillan relocated to Toronto and took on a job as organist and choirmaster at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church from 1919 to 1925. Around the same time he worked and later became Principal at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, later the Royal Conservatory of Music. MacMillan was also a Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.

A gifted conductor, MacMillan was a conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and also the Mendelssohn Choir. MacMillan was President of the Canadian Music Council and of the Canadian Music Centre. In 1935 he was knighted for his services in music in Canada.

MacMillan remains a familiar name today. Sir Ernest MacMillan Public School in Toronto was named in his honour.

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Colborne Lodge is among Toronto's most significant historic homes. This old residence was built in 1837 by Toronto's first city architect, John Howard and his wife Jemima. Howard emigrated to Toronto (then the Town of York) in 1832 from England and became a successful surveyor and engineer. Howard was also was an avid painter and created some scenes of Toronto that now provide an invaluable record of Toronto.

Colborne Lodge is today located in the south end of High Park, one of the largest parks in Toronto that was once part of Howard's expansive 165 acre estate. The home was named after Sir John Colborne, an early Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada.

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Located north of Don Mills and York Mills roads is the historic Graydon House built in 1936.

The large home and sprawling grounds were built for Saskatchewan born stockbroker, Henry Rupert Bain. Bain commissioned well known architectural firm, George and Moorhouse to build a spectacular home that would be a showpiece for him and his family. Graydon House fit in well in this area, surrounded by numerous estates that were built around the same time for Toronto's rich and famous.

Graydon Hall was built of variegated fieldstone featuring terraces, garden walls, and an adjacent lodge. Limestone was used for the window trim, fountain and porte cochere. Inside were 29 rooms created by interior designer, Marcum Slimon.

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Among Toronto's most significant heritage sites is the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. Located on the Toronto Island, it holds the title as one of the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Great Lakes and the second oldest remaining lighthouse in Canada.

It was built between 1808-09 shortly after Toronto (the Town of York) was established in 1793. At that time, the Island was a peninsula and the lighthouse was only metres away from the shoreline of Lake Ontario.

The lighthouse was built of Queenston stone and designed in a hexagonal shape. Standing initially 52 feet, the lighthouse was raised to 82 feet in 1832. Inside was a wick lamp that first burned whale oil and later coal oil until an electric light was used in 1917. In Toronto's earliest days, the lighthouse helped to usher watercraft into the harbor. It was, for a time, the only major light that could be seen shining over the small town.