Visit Old Town, Historic Toronto

Old Town Toronto, established in 1815, is a historic neighborhood with 19th-century buildings. Old Town may sometimes be referred to as Toronto Old Town.

Naming of Old Town

Old Town is a neighbourhood and retail district in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the first of Toronto’s named neighbourhoods, having acquired the moniker no later than 1815, at which time the original town of York was expanding. The old neighbourhood was referred to as “Old Town” by residents, and the new neighbourhood as “New Town”. The site still has many buildings dating back to the nineteenth century.

View of buildings in Old Town

A view of Old Town and the Toronto skyline from George Brown College

Boundaries and Location

Its boundaries are Queen Street, Parliament Street, Front Street, Jarvis Street, King Street, and Church Street.

If you walk east from downtown you will come across Old Town. It is central and very close to public transit such as subways and streetcars.

The streetcar route is called 504 and is operated by the city of Toronto and the TTC. The nearest subway station is Union Station.

Historic building highlights

St. Lawrence Market
Alumnae Theatre
Bank of Upper Canada Building
St. James Anglican Cathedral
Daniel Brooke Building
First Toronto Post Office (or the Fourth York Post Office)
Paul Bishop’s House
Parliament building (burned down twice)

History

The original town plan was created in 1788 and revised in 1793. The area was damaged during the Battle of York in 1813 and the Great Fire of Toronto in 1849. The neighborhood features 2-3 story buildings with restaurants, stores, and apartments, as well as converted warehouses. The original ten-block townsite from 1793 still exists, with many heritage buildings and newer developments like George Brown College and the Globe and Mail Centre.

The original town plan for York, was rejected by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe. Instead, Simcoe commissioned Alexander Aitkin to design a new plan. Aitkin’s plan resulted in a compact, ten-block townsite arranged in a gridiron pattern near the mouth of the Don River. The town was bounded by George, Berkeley, Adelaide, and Front Streets. Areas east of Parliament Street to the Don and west of Peter Street to the Humber were designated for government and military use, with government buildings constructed near Parliament and Front Streets.

Following the defeat of the British-Native force at the Battle of York on April 27, 1813, American forces occupied the settlement and looted and burned several properties in Old Town. Among the buildings destroyed was the Parliament building of Upper Canada, located south of Old Town at the southwest corner of Front and Parliament Street. The occupation ended on May 8th, when the American forces left York.

The Parliament buildings were rebuilt on the same site in 1820 but were destroyed by fire in 1824. The third Parliament of Upper Canada was then built west of Old Town on Front Street and completed in 1832.

In April 1849, the Great Fire of Toronto devastated the area, destroying buildings on the north side of King Street East, between Nelson and Church Streets. The Cathedral Church of St. James was among the buildings destroyed but was rebuilt in 1850.

Highlights include:

Berczy Park
Gooderham building
St Lawrence Market
St. James Cathedral

Events and Tours

Join us on a photo walk or tour to this amazing neighbourhood.