Parliament Street (Toronto)

Berkeley Street was the first "Parliament Street", until the city moved Parliament Street one block east.[1] The street ran from Lot Street (now Queen Street East) to Palace Street.

The current street route follows a trail originally cut through the woods by Governor John Graves Simcoe to his summer house on the Don River, Castle Frank.[2][3] While Parliament Street was originally one of the most important boulevards in the city, the street now primarily passes post-industrial areas and housing projects.

Named after legislative buildings later burned to the ground by invading American forces, Parliament Street has been a setting for growth and change for more than 200 years. Shaped by a combination of natural features (Lake Ontario and the Don River Valley) and the built environment (Corktown, Cabbagetown and Regent Park), Parliament Street is a reflection not only of the history of Toronto but of Canada as well.

Established in 1791, the Province of Upper Canada moved its capital to York (Toronto) in 1793. Needing a place to house his new government, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (Governor Simcoe) commissioned the construction of two modest Georgian buildings that were dubbed the “Palaces of Government”. Ontario's first Parliament was located on the shore of the bay, just east of Berkeley and south of present-day Front Street. Completed in 1797, the red-brick structures were plagued by bad luck. They were burned by invading American forces in 1813, rebuilt in 1820 and burned again in 1824 (this time by accident). The fires and the “marshy” air by the lake (which was thought to be unhealthy) influenced the relocation of the parliament buildings, although the name of the street remains to this day.

Parliament Street evolved as a Victorian main street serving nearby neighbourhoods (such as working-class Corktown and Cabbagetown), institutions (churches, cemeteries and the Toronto General Hospital on Gerrard) and businesses (breweries, manufacturers and small shops). During the time of William Lyon Mackenzie, development was concentrated south of Queen Street; it moved northward to Winchester Street by about 1885 and Bloor Street by 1895. The Victorian character of these buildings, supplemented by Edwardian commercial structures, underlies today's streetscape.

For several decades, the area between Gerrard and Wellesley Streets offered the attractions of downtown in a residential area. The Eclipse Theatre, the Winchester Hotel and clothier Harry Rosen offered entertainment, lodging, and clothing to the area's residents. Grocery, hardware and jewelry stores, restaurants and barbershops served the community, making it a thriving part of Toronto. As upscale businesses moved to the city's downtown core, Parliament Street became less glamorous.

Major change came to Parliament Street in the mid-20th century. The construction of Regent Park, Moss Park, and St. James Town brought tower block development, new businesses and a multicultural population. Equally important was local resistance to demolishing remaining Victorian buildings to make way for more high-rises. The result is a mixed-use, mixed-income community still focused on its main street.

The last 15 years have brought new life to Parliament Street. New businesses and attractions (from the Distillery District to the 69-acre (28 ha) revitalization of Regent Park) and restorations such as the Toronto Police, 51 Division (West Gas Purifying House, 1899) and the Winchester Hotel (formerly Lakeview Hotel, 1888) have given the community a sense that Parliament Street is returning to its historical roots as an area of intersecting residential, commercial and cultural significance.