Pier 6 Toronto Harbour Commission

History of the Pier 6 Building

There are two plaques at this building.
Both can be seen on this page.

Photos and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted April, 2011

On Queens Quay West across from York Street on the outside of the Pier 6 building is a Toronto Harbour Commission plaque. Here's what it says:

Plaque coordinates: 43.639767 -79.380130

Pier 6 is the oldest surviving building on Toronto's present waterfront. Its steep roof and deep eaves, cargo doors, and classical detailing are characteristic of the port's freight sheds around the turn of the century. Built in 1907 as part of a ferry terminal complex near the corner of Yonge Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, it was cut in half and relocated to the York Street slip in 1922 soon after the original site was reclaimed. It then served as a shed and garage until 1953, when it was refurbished to become the Royal Canadian Yacht Club's shore station.

Development pressures during the 1980's included plans to fill the north end of the York Street slip, and to remove the building. As a result of a joint effort by the Toronto Harbour Commission and the City of Toronto, the historic building was relocated to its newly reclaimed site in the spring of 1989. Completed in 1990, its renovation preserved a unique style of Toronto's waterfront architecture while accommodating a wide range of modern uses.

Photos and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted April, 2011

Inside the Pier 6 building is information created by the Toronto Port Authority along with two photos. This is what the information tells us:

The Pier 6 building you are in is the oldest structure on Toronto's Central Waterfront. Built in 1907 at the foot of Bay Street as a simple freight shed leased by a ferry company, it became property of the newly formed Toronto Harbour Commissioners in 1911.

In 1926, due to a changing shoreline caused by waterfront development, the building had to be relocated. It was sawed in half, the south portion was floated over to the foot of York Street, where the Toronto Harbour Commissioners used it as a storage shed for the next two decades. In 1953, it was leased to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and served as its "city station" until 1979.

Because of its unique status as the oldest structure still on the waterfront, the building avoided demolition in the early 1980s, although it had to be relocated yet again, a few metres west to make room for developments on York Quay. Then in 1988, it was moved to its current location at the foot of York Street, where it served as a waterfront information centre for several years.

Over its lifespan the building has also been a water gauge used to measure lake levels, a storage house for stage props, a vehicle garage, an office, a restaurant and a cafe. It has survived several relocations, vandalism, and a fire in 1918 that destroyed an adjacent ferry terminal. It is the only remaining example of Toronto's waterfront architecture from the turn of the 20th century.

Related website
Toronto Port Authority

Related Toronto plaque
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club

More
Marine Buildings

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