West Queen West

Postal Station C
1117 Queen Street West
This heritage listed building was formerly a Canada Post sorting facility. One of the oldest purpose-built post offices, Postal Station C was designed by architect Samuel George Curry in 1902. It operated for 118 years until it closed in 2020. The building was recently sold by Canada Post, and its future remains uncertain.

The Theatre Centre & Beatrice Lillie Plaque
1115 Queen Street West
This heritage-designated building was originally constructed as a library branch, operating from 1909 to 1964. It is now the Theatre Centre, a nationally recognized live-arts incubator and community hub. Intended as a community hub, it is a neighbourhood landmark where artists and residents can drop by to work, hang out, or have a coffee. On the west side of the building is a plaque honouring Beatrice Lillie, a world renowned musical comedy star who was born around the corner at 68 Dovercourt Road. Lillie launched her career in the United Kingdom after moving there at age 15, and starred in over 40 shows in New York and London during her 50 year career.

The Great Hall
1087 Queen Street West
This heritage-designated building opened as a new facility for the YMCA in 1890, featuring an auditorium with a capacity of one thousand, a library, lecture hall, reading room, bowling alley, swimming pool, and gymnasium featuring an elevated circular wooden running track. World famous Indigenous distance runner Tom Longboat trained on the wooden running track in 1907 in preparation for his winning performance in the Boston Marathon that year. The Polish National Union took over the building in the 1940s, hosting a Polish community newspaper, and also temporarily housing Polish refugees fleeing the Second World War. It has also been a music venue, hosting performances from artists such as Sonic Youth, Feist, Metric, and Sloan. The building underwent an extensive renovation in 2016, and continues to serve as a cultural hub.

Jesse Harris Mural
1075 Queen Street West
Located adjacent to the historic walls of CAMH, this mural's positive message that writes, 'You've Changed' is a commentary on our evolving views on CAMH and mental health, and also references the revitalization of the neighbourhood more broadly.

Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH)
Southwest corner of Queen Street West and Shaw Street
This site along Queen Street West has been home to a mental health facility for over 160 years, the first iteration being the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, which opened in 1850. Changing societal attitudes towards mental health led to numerous name changes over the years, and the facility officially became the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in 1998. While little of the original facility remains, the Heritage Wall surrounding parts of the grounds - which is heritage-designated with parts dating back to 1852 - is a visible reminder of its past. Notably, the wall was constructed through unpaid patient labour, then prescribed as part of their treatment. Some of the patients inscribed words and phrases into the wall that remain as a testament to their mental suffering. A number of plaques can be found on the interior of the wall that commemorate the work of these patients. Today, CAMH is the largest mental health teaching hospital in Canada, and sets standards in care, research, education, and leading social change.

John Farr House
905 Queen Street West
*Private property. Please observe from the street only. This heritage-designated home is a notable landmark on Queen Street West that is representative of a bygone age. It was constructed in 1847 for John Farr, who owned a brewery just west of this spot in the early 1800s. Constructed in Georgian style, some of the notable features on the grounds include a cobblestone pathway and well-kept garden.

James McLeod 'Evolution Unrolling'
In Massey Harris Park - 945 King Street West
This beautiful piece of public art by James McLeod spans over a large portion of Massey Harris Park. Of this design, McLeod says: 'I named the piece 'Evolution Unrolling' to reflect the time period in which all the technologies and all the cultures that had lived in this area would have had to use, like the rope, the chain, the... today we all talk about the DNA helix. And I wanted to combine those into an image and I also wanted to be able to put them into perspective.'

Massey-Harris Complex
915 King Street West
*Note: Private Property. Please observe the building from the street only. This beautiful heritage-designated building - originally constructed in 1885 - is the only surviving structure from the enormous Massey-Harris industrial complex that historically dominated this area. It was designed by noted Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, combining elements of Queen Anne Revival and Classical architectural features. For a time, Massey-Harris was the largest producer and exporter of agricultural equipment in the British Empire, employing nine thousand people in the complex that stretched along King Street West from Strachan Avenue to Sudbury Street. The plant closed in 1982, and the site was subdivided and sold off, resulting in the mixed-use neighbourhood seen today. This structure has since been converted into a residential loft building.

Charles Henson Laboratory Building
833 King Street West
This heritage-designated building once housed a perfume factory. It was constructed in 1934 in Art Deco style by architect Earle Leonard Sheppard. Sheppard was originally from Montreal and worked for a time at the noted architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald, which designed other notable Toronto buildings such as Union Station and Maple Leaf Gardens, as well as with Albert Kahn, who designed a number of well known buildings in Detroit. It was converted into a residential loft in the late 1990s.

Robinson Cottages
40-44 Mitchell Avenue
*Private property. Please observe from the street only. These heritage-designated homes are among 16 sets of cottages constructed by solicitor and realtor James Lukin Robinson in 1858. Before these houses were constructed, this area was part of former Military Reserve lands that were known as Garrison Common. The original occupants of the houses included tradespeople, as well as workers for the inaugural steam railways that operated in Toronto in the nineteenth century. Architectural features include low hipped roofs and symmetrical placement of door and window openings. They are notable in that they are among the last surviving examples of the original group of 16 sets of cottages.

Toronto Electric Light Company Substation
660 Adelaide Street West
This heritage-listed building was constructed as a hydro substation in 1908. It was designed by architectural firm Chadwick and Beckett for the Toronto Electric Light Company, a private company established in the 1880s that provided street lighting from electricity generated from Niagara Falls. When the city established its own power utility company, this property was acquired and renamed the Defoe Station. Notable architectural features include a steeply pitched gable roof and corbelled brickwork.

Tecumseth Street
Tecumseth Street
Tecumseth Street is named for the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who rose to prominence during the War of 1812 as a gifted military tactician and leader. His name is generally understood to mean Shooting Star and is associated with a celestial panther of his family's Kispoko clan. Tecumseh was likely born circa 1768 in Chillcothe, Ohio or in nearby Kispoko village, along the Scioto River. Tecumseh's father, Pukeshinwau, was a Shawnee chief. Tecumseh witnessed many abuses and land thefts perpetuated by American soldiers and settlers against Shawnee during his youth and when he grew older, he increasingly fought in battles against the Americans in the years following the American Revolution. He fought for Indigenous sovereignty, land rights, and freedom from American tyranny, eventually rising to prominence as an influential chief among his people. In this role he worked to unite different First Nations into a pan-Indigenous alliance against the Americans, as Pontiac, Brant, and other Indigenous leaders had done before him. He had become an inspired orator with a clear message: the First Nations overcome longstanding rivalries and work together to save their land and cultures from the common American threat. During the War of 1812, he worked with the British against the Americans. Using guerilla-style hit-and-run and ambush tactics Tecumseh won some important victories during the war. In one famous battle in August 1812 he, alongside Sir Isaac Brock, succeeded in forcing an unopposed surrender of Fort Detroit. Shortly after receiving an ominous premonition, Tecumseh was killed in action during the Battle of Moraviantown, on October 5, 1813. Tecumseh refused to accept tyranny, risking everything to inspire and unite many different First Nations in a common fight for sovereignty and freedom.

National Casket Company Factories
89-109 Niagara Street
These heritage-listed buildings - originally constructed in the 1880s - are best known for housing a factory that manufactured coffins. After the company manufacturing coffins ceased operations in 1973, the buildings became home to offices and live-work studios for artists. Hundreds of creative workers called the buildings home for over 30 years until 2019, when the tenants were evicted for redevelopment. The tenants held several events to memorialize the buildings, including a ceremonial procession where a coffin full of photos and other artifacts made specially for the occasion was carried around its exterior. The building is currently being redeveloped with two new residential towers that will be attached to it.

Stackt Market
28 Bathurst Street
This unique marketplace constructed entirely out of shipping containers is the largest of its kind in North America, offering a mix of shops and food and beverage providers. The space is also adorned with a fantastic amount of public art, including murals on the sides of the containers, and artist residencies throughout the site. Stackt won 'Public Space of the Year' award from Designline Magazine in January 2020.