George Street, Toronto

Description

Throughout almost all of its length, the street is a two-lane north-south street. The street begins in the south as "George Street South" as part of a 1990s-era housing development south of Front Street. The housing development is composed of condominium towers and townhomes. The street continues north of Front Street as George Street. On the north-east corner of Front is another large condominium development. Proceeding north, on the west side is the circa 1840 Thomas Thompson Building which adjoins the south side of King Street. At the corner is the Little York Inn from ca. 1880. Behind it at 65 George is its former stable. The street has 'gas-lamp' street lights as part of the "Old Town" district.

North of King Street, the King George Square condo takes up most of the west side. The east side is the King Street campus of George Brown College. On the south-east corner at Adelaide, the college occupies the former Christie's biscuit factory. North of Adelaide, the west side is another condo development. On the south-east corner, stretching north along George is the Bank of Upper Canada Building, which dates to 1827. North of the bank building on the east side are former industrial buildings dating to the 1900s period when the area was an industrial district. North of Richmond to Queen, the street has mixed uses on both sides. There is an old row-house of worker's housing along the east side. Halfway up along the east side is Britain Street, which bends to the south and east, marking the old riverbank of Taddle Creek. George Street is then interrupted north of Queen Street by Moss Park.

One block north at Shuter, George Street continues north as a one-way north to Dundas. On the east side is the former Duke of York Public School, which dates to the 1920s. It is now Ecole Gabrielle-Roy. The west side is residential townhomes and the back of a Jarvis Street apartment building. North of Dundas Street (formerly Wilton Crescent) the street continues as a two-way street, with local landmark Fillmore's Hotel on the north-east corner. On the west side is a large co-op apartment building. On the east side is a Toronto Community Housing apartment building. On the east side from 297 to 311 are several heritage homes dating to the 1800s. The buildings are currently awaiting the disposition of the City of Toronto, which took them over after they were abandoned. Several were damaged by fire.

The street continues to north to its northern terminus at Gerrard Street. On the west side, the Ontario Courts which front on Jarvis, extend to George. On the east side is Seaton House, a shelter and treatment facility for homeless men. Just north of Seaton House is the 1910 former Allan School. North of the Courts and the former school, both sides are two-storey private detached, semi-detached and row houses. Across the street north of Gerrard is Allan Gardens.

History

George Street was one of the first streets laid out in the original grid of Simcoe's plan for York of the 1790s. The street started at Front Street, which was then the waterfront, north two blocks to Adelaide. There are no buildings dating to that time period on the street, but there are several heritage properties dating to the 1800s. By 1827, George was extended two blocks north to Britain Street. By 1858, the street was extended north to Gerrard Street and the first homes appeared near Gerrard and the botanical garden.

In the 1800s, the north part of the street was part of George Allan's property, the basis of Allan Gardens today. The street was a desirable address and several fine houses were built on the street. In 1886, 295 George became the first international Fegan Boys’ Home. When it closed in 1937, it became the first Goodwill Stores location. Next door at 297, the Salvation Army operated a rest home. As the town and city grew to the west, the area from Jarvis east below Queen Street became an industrial area.

In the later years of the 20th Century, the area saw an influx of repurposing of old buildings and new condominium developments. The condominium and townhome developments replaced much of the older residential and industrial buildings. George Brown College took over the former Christie's factory, and buildings on Adelaide and King Streets were restored. The revival of Cabbagetown to the east and the developing "Garden District" have seen several residential homes repurposed and restored.

A developer assembled several of the homes on the east side of George Street north of Dundas for development but was unable to proceed without all of the houses in the row. The old houses, dating to the 1800s, were left abandoned. Several fires attributed to squatters gutted the interiors of several. According to one Toronto Star report, the block decayed so badly locals refer to the area as "little Detroit". In 2014 and 2015, the City of Toronto stepped in to purchase several of the properties, which have heritage designations and intends to add them to the Seaton House complex. According to Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam, “There is no other street comparable to George Street. I have yet to meet anyone who is not alarmed to see the conditions.” She wrote that the northern section of the street should be "prime real estate", due to heritage properties and being close to Ryerson University. The Star report concluded that the City's purchase of derelict heritage properties could mark a turning point for the street. Several residents have noted that the emergency shelter part of Seaton House attracts drug addicts and criminal behaviour and hope to have the emergency shelter closed.