Harbourfront-CityPlace

Tannis Nielsen Mural
Simcoe Street Underpass (Between Front Street West and Bremner Boulevard)
The artists wants residents and visitors to be introduced to the Elders and respected leaders of our communities, to be able to read about them and some of their greatest teachings given in relation to the land. In Water Wall, she wanted to honour water teachings and those who walk for the water.

Roundhouse Park, Toronto Railway Museum, & Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Plaque
255 Bremner Boulevard
Toronto Railway Museum
Roundhouse Park features an original, fully restored and operational 120-foot long locomotive turntable and a carefully chosen collection of full-sized railway equipment. It is home to the Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) live steam miniature railway and other outdoor exhibits illustrating Toronto's railway heritage. Exhibits include the original 60,000 gallon water tower, the 650 ton concrete locomotive coaling tower and a collection of historic buildings, including the Don Station and Cabin D. The TRHA also operate the Toronto Railway Museum, which is located in the old roundhouse building that the park is named after. There is also a plaque in the park commemorating the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The porters worked in this area to prepare trains for long-haul journeys across North America. Most of the porters were Black men, who faced institutional racism in all aspects of their work, and many decided to organize against their poor treatment. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union became the first Black union to sign an agreement with their employer in 1945, and their advocacy and organizing efforts strongly influenced human rights policy and labour relations in Canada.

CN Tower & Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
290 Bremner Boulevard (CN Tower) & 288 Bremner Boulevard (Ripley's)
Ripley's Aquarium
The CN Tower was the largest free-standing structure in the world when it opened in 1976, and it continues to be one of the most iconic buildings in the Toronto skyline. Visited by almost 1.5 million people a year, it is one of the most popular attractions in the city. The tower includes two lookout levels, one of which includes a glass floor and EdgeWalk, providing visitors the ability to walk outside on a ledge 356 metres in the air! Beside the CN Tower is Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, which opened in 2013. Among the most popular attractions in Toronto, the Aquarium features 5.7 million litres of marine and freshwater habitats from around the world. Over 13,000 sea and fresh water creatures can be found at the Aquarium, which features a 96-metre tunnel walkway that allows visitors to see the creatures from a totally unique perspective.

Susan Schelle 'Salmon Run'
Along Bremner Boulevard in Front of Rogers Centre
This sculptural fountain was created by artist Susan Schelle in 1991. It is approximately 50 feet tall and features a combination of black and green granite as well as bronze. It depicts salmon swimming upstream through reeds and eelgrass, and is intended to pay tribute to the natural ecology of Toronto's lakeshore and inspire those who view it to recognize the importance of preserving ecological assets in what is now a busy urban area.

Rogers Centre & Michael Snow 'The Audience'
1 Blue Jays Way
Originally known as the SkyDome, this stadium is home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and is among the largest and most unique sports and entertainment venues in Canada. It was originally constructed on land that was once a railyard owned by Canadian National Railways. Construction took over 3 years, with the stadium opening with a spectacular gala in June 1989. Perhaps the most unique feature of the building was its retractable roof dome, the first of its kind in the world. The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in a thrilling finish here when Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run on October 23, 1993. The largest event the stadium has ever hosted was Wrestle Mania in 2002, when over 68,000 fans were present. Another notable highlight of the stadium is Michael Snow's art piece 'The Audience', which is visible on the northeast and northwest corners of the building and features sculptures of excited fans watching a baseball game.

Francis Lebouthillier and Eldon Garnet 'Chinese Railway Workers Memorial'
9 Blue Jays Way
This memorial, designed by artists Francis Lebouthillier and Eldon Garnet, was built in memory of the Chinese workers who worked and died to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Between 1880 and 1885, 17,000 men emigrated from China to work on the railway. It is estimated that more than 4,000 workers died during the construction. These workers were constantly faced with discrimination. They were paid half as much as other workers even though they were given the most dangerous jobs, in what was already a very dangerous working environment. Many were killed by landslides, cave-ins, disease, and explosions.

Francisco Gazitua 'Puente de Luz' Bridge
Near Portland Street and Front Street West
Located over the busiest railway corridor in Canada, Francisco Gazitua's 'Puente de Luz' is a sculptural pedestrian bridge and the largest public art installation in Canada. The name Puente de Luz, or Bridge of Light, was chosen to signify the link between North and South and the connection between the two countries that came together to build it, Canada and Chile. The bridge's unique yellow colour was chosen to stand out against the grey background of the surrounding area.

Maha Mustafa 'Approaching Red'
Between Entrances of 15 and 21 Iceboat Terrace
Designed by Iraqi Canadian artist Maha Mustafa is her testament to a personal journey that took her from a war ravaged country to the safety and peace of her new home, Canada. Located at the north-end of the public Mews between the Parade 1 and Parade 2 condominium buildings. The artist describes the work as 'Two solid flat colored forms [that] swirl together into a sculpture, making a connection between the two buildings and improving the aesthetic experience of the building. The sculpture creates an effect of depth and a sense of perpetual movement.'

Canoe Landing Park & Douglas Coupland 'Tom Thomson's Canoe' and 'Bobber Plaza'
95 Fort York Boulevard
A 3.1 hectare park near Spadina Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West. It features two multipurpose sports fields and many walking paths. There are also numerous pieces of public art by artist Douglas Coupland scattered throughout. The most prominent of these is 'Tom Thomson's Canoe'. Viewed by millions of motorists travelling the Gardiner Expressway and walking in and around Canoe Landing Park, Douglas Coupland's startling red canoe serves as a symbolic entrance marker to the heart of downtown Toronto. Constructed as part of a comprehensive program of artwork for the park, this canoe is perched over the edge of a landscaped berm that was built using excavated materials from the construction of Concord CityPlace. Complementing the Red Canoe and serving as the central locus of Canoe Landing Park, Douglas Coupland's 'Bobber Plaza' is one of Toronto's most popular public artworks. Integrated into a water play plaza, this work gives welcome relief in the heat of summer. The Bobbers were inspired by colourful fishing floats (The artist explains that like the Canoe and Beaver Dam, the Bobbers are meant to reference the lake, as well as 'create a sense of futuristic Canadian energy.')

Katharine Harvey 'Gardiner Streams'
75 Queens Wharf Road
Concord Adex commissioned a three-storey tall artwork for Quartz Condominiums facing the Gardiner Expressway. The artist photographed the cars at night along this highway and collaged the images together into colourful ribbons of light. Viewers of 'Gardiner Streams' are the drivers themselves as they whiz by the heart of the city. Condo residents have a unique view of the art glass reflecting on the swimming pool surface inside the amenity space.

Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre & Jim Bravo Mural
627 Queens Quay West
The Waterfront Neighbourhood Community Centre is a non-profit City of Toronto agency that serves the fastest growing vertical neighbourhood in the city. They offer a wide range of programming catering to family, children, and seniors. On the north wall of the building overlooking Queens Quay West is a mural by artist Jim Bravo. This mural serves as a welcome to the Waterfront Community Centre and the wide range of activities offered there, as well as a gateway to the neighbourhood.

Ireland Park & Canada Malting Silos
5 Eireann Quay
*Note: Canada Malting Silos are under construction, please use caution when visiting the site. This small waterfront park is intended as a memorial to commemorate the many Irish immigrants who migrated here during the famine of the 1840s. There is a sculpture on the waterfront in Dublin, Ireland entitled 'Departure' that features 7 sculptures of individuals who are preparing to leave the country to migrate to North America. The 5 sculptures located here in Ireland Park are known as 'Arrival', meant to represent those who survived the journey across the Atlantic. Located right beside the park are the massive Canada Malting Silos, which are heritage-designated and date back to 1928 and 1944. They were used to store barley waiting to be turned to malt for brewing beer, and the facility operated here until closing in the 1980s. The silos are currently being restored, with the plan that they will be repurposed for public use.

Toronto Music Garden
479 Queens Quay West
Fronting on Toronto's inner harbour, the Toronto Music Garden is one of the city's most enchanted locations. The park design is inspired by Bach's 'First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello', with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section of the garden.

HTO Park & Yolanda VanderGaast 'Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial'
339 Queens Quay West
Located in Toronto's Inner Harbour, this unique park includes grassy hills, a long sand beach extending along the water's edge, stationary yellow shade umbrellas and Muskoka chairs. Stylized as HTO, the name is word play between the chemical element of water, H2O, and the common abbreviation for Toronto, TO. Billed as 'Toronto's Urban Beach', HTO park is an inviting space that highlights contemporary landscape design. Also found in the park is an eye-catching waterfront memorial by Yolanda VanderGaast that is intended to commemorate the firefighters who have perished in the line of duty in Toronto since 1848. The sculpture depicts a firefighter cast in bronze rescuing an infant with flames at his feet, with 6 columns of black granite listing the names of the 145 firefighters who have died.

Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Situated on 10 acres of prime waterfront real estate, the Harbourfront Centre is a dynamic cultural space that offers event space, galleries, theatres, and much more. Once part of a bustling harbourfront, the land was mostly an industrial wasteland by the 1970s, and the Government of Canada created a crown corporation intended to revitalize Toronto's waterfront. The Harbourfront Centre opened in 1991 as a not-for-profit charity, and the area was transformed into an international platform for culture, with many of the old industrial buildings being repurposed for artistic use. One of the most prominent of these buildings is the Queen's Quay Terminal, a heritage-designated Art Deco building dating to 1927 that was originally a storage warehouse. In 1983, it became one of the first major industrial buildings in Toronto to be repurposed for commercial and residential use, and is now a strikingly beautiful retail, office, and residential complex. Today the Harbourfront Centre hosts over 4,000 events and programs and attracts millions of visitors each year. Among the more prominent events hosted here include Kuumba, which occurs each year during Black History Month, showcasing Black creativity through dance, storytelling, art, and theatre.

Explore Harbourfront-CityPlace

Now is the time for residents to experience all that tourists have been raving about for years. Discover shops, stops, places and spaces on city main streets. Stay curious, Toronto.

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Don't Miss

Explore FREE Public Art Across the City. Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022 is a year-long celebration of Toronto's exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.

We hope that you enjoyed exploring this Toronto neighbourhood and found many other points of interest along the way. While StrollTO highlights some of the 'hidden gems' in the neighbourhood, there may be others that could be included in a future edition. Would you like to share a point of interest that you discovered in the neighbourhood? Email us at [email protected].

Neighbourhood Stroll

Few neighbourhoods in Toronto have seen as much change in the past few decades as this one, as it transformed from a gritty industrial hub to one of the fastest growing areas in the country featuring a sea of gleaming new towers and some of the most popular tourist attractions in Toronto. Much of the neighbourhood is constructed on what was once busy railway and harbourfront lands, and now offers a dynamic commercial and residential mix, with many of the old industrial buildings being repurposed for new functions. This stroll highlights many of these buildings, as well as major tourist attractions, fantastic public art, and cute urban parks. Fantastic local businesses can be found throughout in the CityPlace and Fort York, Toronto Downtown West, and Waterfront BIAs.

Main Streets: Front Street West and Queens Quay West
  1. Tannis Nielsen Mural
    Simcoe Street Underpass (Between Front Street West and Bremner Boulevard)
    The artists wants residents and visitors to be introduced to the Elders and respected leaders of our communities, to be able to read about them and some of their greatest teachings given in relation to the land. In Water Wall, she wanted to honour water teachings and those who walk for the water.
  2. Roundhouse Park, Toronto Railway Museum, & Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Plaque
    255 Bremner Boulevard
    Toronto Railway Museum
    Roundhouse Park features an original, fully restored and operational 120-foot long locomotive turntable and a carefully chosen collection of full-sized railway equipment. It is home to the Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) live steam miniature railway and other outdoor exhibits illustrating Toronto's railway heritage. Exhibits include the original 60,000 gallon water tower, the 650 ton concrete locomotive coaling tower and a collection of historic buildings, including the Don Station and Cabin D. The TRHA also operate the Toronto Railway Museum, which is located in the old roundhouse building that the park is named after. There is also a plaque in the park commemorating the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The porters worked in this area to prepare trains for long-haul journeys across North America. Most of the porters were Black men, who faced institutional racism in all aspects of their work, and many decided to organize against their poor treatment. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union became the first Black union to sign an agreement with their employer in 1945, and their advocacy and organizing efforts strongly influenced human rights policy and labour relations in Canada.
  3. CN Tower & Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
    290 Bremner Boulevard (CN Tower) & 288 Bremner Boulevard (Ripley's)
    Ripley's Aquarium
    The CN Tower was the largest free-standing structure in the world when it opened in 1976, and it continues to be one of the most iconic buildings in the Toronto skyline. Visited by almost 1.5 million people a year, it is one of the most popular attractions in the city. The tower includes two lookout levels, one of which includes a glass floor and EdgeWalk, providing visitors the ability to walk outside on a ledge 356 metres in the air! Beside the CN Tower is Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, which opened in 2013. Among the most popular attractions in Toronto, the Aquarium features 5.7 million litres of marine and freshwater habitats from around the world. Over 13,000 sea and fresh water creatures can be found at the Aquarium, which features a 96-metre tunnel walkway that allows visitors to see the creatures from a totally unique perspective.
  4. Susan Schelle 'Salmon Run'
    Along Bremner Boulevard in Front of Rogers Centre
    This sculptural fountain was created by artist Susan Schelle in 1991. It is approximately 50 feet tall and features a combination of black and green granite as well as bronze. It depicts salmon swimming upstream through reeds and eelgrass, and is intended to pay tribute to the natural ecology of Toronto's lakeshore and inspire those who view it to recognize the importance of preserving ecological assets in what is now a busy urban area.
  5. Rogers Centre & Michael Snow 'The Audience'
    1 Blue Jays Way
    Originally known as the SkyDome, this stadium is home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and is among the largest and most unique sports and entertainment venues in Canada. It was originally constructed on land that was once a railyard owned by Canadian National Railways. Construction took over 3 years, with the stadium opening with a spectacular gala in June 1989. Perhaps the most unique feature of the building was its retractable roof dome, the first of its kind in the world. The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in a thrilling finish here when Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run on October 23, 1993. The largest event the stadium has ever hosted was Wrestle Mania in 2002, when over 68,000 fans were present. Another notable highlight of the stadium is Michael Snow's art piece 'The Audience', which is visible on the northeast and northwest corners of the building and features sculptures of excited fans watching a baseball game.
  6. Francis Lebouthillier and Eldon Garnet 'Chinese Railway Workers Memorial'
    9 Blue Jays Way
    This memorial, designed by artists Francis Lebouthillier and Eldon Garnet, was built in memory of the Chinese workers who worked and died to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Between 1880 and 1885, 17,000 men emigrated from China to work on the railway. It is estimated that more than 4,000 workers died during the construction. These workers were constantly faced with discrimination. They were paid half as much as other workers even though they were given the most dangerous jobs, in what was already a very dangerous working environment. Many were killed by landslides, cave-ins, disease, and explosions.
  7. Francisco Gazitua 'Puente de Luz' Bridge
    Near Portland Street and Front Street West
    Located over the busiest railway corridor in Canada, Francisco Gazitua's 'Puente de Luz' is a sculptural pedestrian bridge and the largest public art installation in Canada. The name Puente de Luz, or Bridge of Light, was chosen to signify the link between North and South and the connection between the two countries that came together to build it, Canada and Chile. The bridge's unique yellow colour was chosen to stand out against the grey background of the surrounding area.
  8. Maha Mustafa 'Approaching Red'
    Between Entrances of 15 and 21 Iceboat Terrace
    Designed by Iraqi Canadian artist Maha Mustafa is her testament to a personal journey that took her from a war ravaged country to the safety and peace of her new home, Canada. Located at the north-end of the public Mews between the Parade 1 and Parade 2 condominium buildings. The artist describes the work as 'Two solid flat colored forms [that] swirl together into a sculpture, making a connection between the two buildings and improving the aesthetic experience of the building. The sculpture creates an effect of depth and a sense of perpetual movement.'
  9. Canoe Landing Park & Douglas Coupland 'Tom Thomson's Canoe' and 'Bobber Plaza'
    95 Fort York Boulevard
    A 3.1 hectare park near Spadina Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West. It features two multipurpose sports fields and many walking paths. There are also numerous pieces of public art by artist Douglas Coupland scattered throughout. The most prominent of these is 'Tom Thomson's Canoe'. Viewed by millions of motorists travelling the Gardiner Expressway and walking in and around Canoe Landing Park, Douglas Coupland's startling red canoe serves as a symbolic entrance marker to the heart of downtown Toronto. Constructed as part of a comprehensive program of artwork for the park, this canoe is perched over the edge of a landscaped berm that was built using excavated materials from the construction of Concord CityPlace. Complementing the Red Canoe and serving as the central locus of Canoe Landing Park, Douglas Coupland's 'Bobber Plaza' is one of Toronto's most popular public artworks. Integrated into a water play plaza, this work gives welcome relief in the heat of summer. The Bobbers were inspired by colourful fishing floats (The artist explains that like the Canoe and Beaver Dam, the Bobbers are meant to reference the lake, as well as 'create a sense of futuristic Canadian energy.')
  10. Katharine Harvey 'Gardiner Streams'
    75 Queens Wharf Road
    Concord Adex commissioned a three-storey tall artwork for Quartz Condominiums facing the Gardiner Expressway. The artist photographed the cars at night along this highway and collaged the images together into colourful ribbons of light. Viewers of 'Gardiner Streams' are the drivers themselves as they whiz by the heart of the city. Condo residents have a unique view of the art glass reflecting on the swimming pool surface inside the amenity space.
  11. Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre & Jim Bravo Mural
    627 Queens Quay West
    The Waterfront Neighbourhood Community Centre is a non-profit City of Toronto agency that serves the fastest growing vertical neighbourhood in the city. They offer a wide range of programming catering to family, children, and seniors. On the north wall of the building overlooking Queens Quay West is a mural by artist Jim Bravo. This mural serves as a welcome to the Waterfront Community Centre and the wide range of activities offered there, as well as a gateway to the neighbourhood.
  12. Ireland Park & Canada Malting Silos
    5 Eireann Quay
    *Note: Canada Malting Silos are under construction, please use caution when visiting the site. This small waterfront park is intended as a memorial to commemorate the many Irish immigrants who migrated here during the famine of the 1840s. There is a sculpture on the waterfront in Dublin, Ireland entitled 'Departure' that features 7 sculptures of individuals who are preparing to leave the country to migrate to North America. The 5 sculptures located here in Ireland Park are known as 'Arrival', meant to represent those who survived the journey across the Atlantic. Located right beside the park are the massive Canada Malting Silos, which are heritage-designated and date back to 1928 and 1944. They were used to store barley waiting to be turned to malt for brewing beer, and the facility operated here until closing in the 1980s. The silos are currently being restored, with the plan that they will be repurposed for public use.
  13. Toronto Music Garden
    479 Queens Quay West
    Fronting on Toronto's inner harbour, the Toronto Music Garden is one of the city's most enchanted locations. The park design is inspired by Bach's 'First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello', with each dance movement within the suite corresponding to a different section of the garden.
  14. HTO Park & Yolanda VanderGaast 'Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial'
    339 Queens Quay West
    Located in Toronto's Inner Harbour, this unique park includes grassy hills, a long sand beach extending along the water's edge, stationary yellow shade umbrellas and Muskoka chairs. Stylized as HTO, the name is word play between the chemical element of water, H2O, and the common abbreviation for Toronto, TO. Billed as 'Toronto's Urban Beach', HTO park is an inviting space that highlights contemporary landscape design. Also found in the park is an eye-catching waterfront memorial by Yolanda VanderGaast that is intended to commemorate the firefighters who have perished in the line of duty in Toronto since 1848. The sculpture depicts a firefighter cast in bronze rescuing an infant with flames at his feet, with 6 columns of black granite listing the names of the 145 firefighters who have died.
  15. Harbourfront Centre
    235 Queens Quay West
    Situated on 10 acres of prime waterfront real estate, the Harbourfront Centre is a dynamic cultural space that offers event space, galleries, theatres, and much more. Once part of a bustling harbourfront, the land was mostly an industrial wasteland by the 1970s, and the Government of Canada created a crown corporation intended to revitalize Toronto's waterfront. The Harbourfront Centre opened in 1991 as a not-for-profit charity, and the area was transformed into an international platform for culture, with many of the old industrial buildings being repurposed for artistic use. One of the most prominent of these buildings is the Queen's Quay Terminal, a heritage-designated Art Deco building dating to 1927 that was originally a storage warehouse. In 1983, it became one of the first major industrial buildings in Toronto to be repurposed for commercial and residential use, and is now a strikingly beautiful retail, office, and residential complex. Today the Harbourfront Centre hosts over 4,000 events and programs and attracts millions of visitors each year. Among the more prominent events hosted here include Kuumba, which occurs each year during Black History Month, showcasing Black creativity through dance, storytelling, art, and theatre.

Accessibility information: All points of interest in this stroll are viewable from the street or from paved park paths.

The StrollTO itineraries may follow routes that do not receive winter maintenance. Please review winter safety tips and for more information contact 311.

Soundtracks of the City

From global superstars to local favourites and ones to watch, the Soundtracks of the City playlists all feature artists who have called Toronto home. Whether it’s a lyric about the neighborhood, an artist representing a cultural community, or a tie-in to the StrollTO itinerary itself, all the music reflects connections to an individual ward or the City as a whole.

Music was chosen based on an artist’s Spotify presence and each song’s broad appeal, as well as its associations with the cultures, languages and ethnicities that reflect Toronto’s neighborhoods and diverse music scene. Soundtracks of the City combines 425 songs that feature more than 500 different local artists or acts, showcasing songs in 23 different languages.