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Railway Lands is an area in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally a large railway switching yard near the Toronto waterfront, including the CNR Spadina Roundhouse and the CPR John Roundhouse, it has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. The lands were owned and maintained by the Canadian National Railway and later transferred to the federal crown corporation Canada Lands Company. The area is bounded by Front Street, Yonge Street, Gardiner Expressway and Bathurst Street.^[1] The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the CityPlace neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called South Core.

History

Early history

The first railway, Ontario, Simcoe and Huron (OS&H), arrived in Toronto in 1853 with a station located near the current Union Station. Rivals Grand Trunk Railway and Great Western Railway arrived in Toronto to compete with OS&H. The competition placed a strain on the new station and by 1873 a new Union Station was built by the GTR.^[2] In the 1880s Grand Trunk Railway acquired rival railways (GWR in 1882 and OS&H in 1888) and the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in the city in 1888.

The competition soon meant the second station was strained as well and by 1900 there was a need for a newer station.^[2] From the 1850s to 1920s the area south of the railway lands were filled in to accommodate railway needs. From 1858 onwards the railway expanded in area as the first Union Station was built.^[3] From the 1850s to 1920s, the area south of Front Street was filled in to provide more room for railways, industrial growth and harbour needs.^[4]

On July 13, 1906, the Toronto Terminals Railway (TTR) was incorporated to "construct, provide, maintain and operate at the City of Toronto a union passenger station". It was also responsible for the entire 6.4 kilometres (4.0 miles) long railway corridor on either side of the station, between west of Bathurst Street and the Don River, known as the Union Station Rail Corridor (USRC).

The TTR was jointly owned by the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway who each held 50% of the TTR shares. During station construction, the Grand Trunk Railway went bankrupt, was fully nationalized by the Government of Canada, and merged into the Canadian National Railway which would assume the Grand Trunk's 50% ownership of the TTR (and thus the third Union Station).^[5]

Union Station was opened on August 6, 1927 by the Prince of Wales, although it was not completed yet.^[6] Four days later, the track network was shifted from the former second Union Station. To get to trains, passengers would walk from the south doors to the tracks located several hundred feet to the south while the new USRC viaduct, concourse and train shed was under construction.^[7] Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station was not fully completed until 1930 when construction of the train shed had finished.^[5] The first major change to the Station took place in 1954 when the Toronto Transit Commission opened its Union subway station adjacent to Union Station, buried beneath Front Street.

Redevelopment

1960s–1980s

Going as far back as 1965, when Canadian National (CN) began to shift the functions of many of its yards in the Greater Toronto Area to a centralized facility in the northern suburb of Vaughan, the railways lands were made redundant. The yards' layout was also becoming increasingly outdated then. The area was then slated for re-development for post-railway beginning with plans for the building of a communications tower (the CN Tower) and the massive Metro Centre. Two years into the construction of the CN Tower, plans for Metro Centre were scrapped, leaving the tower isolated on the Railway Lands in what was then a largely abandoned light-industrial space. Development of the Railway Lands slowed between the 1970s and 1980.^[8] The early 1980s saw more redevelopment, with the opening of the Metro Convention Centre in 1984. The late 1980s saw the building of the SkyDome (for which the CNR Spadina Roundhouse was demolished) and the SkyWalk connecting the SkyDome with Union Station.^[9]

1990s–2000s

In the early 1990s redevelopment slowed, but it did see the expansion of the convention centre and the John Street Roundhouse redeveloped into the Roundhouse Park, though it would not be restored until the 2000s. It also saw the redevelopment of the Toronto Postal Building into the Air Canada Centre (since renamed to Scotiabank Arena) in the late 1990s along the eastern boundary of the Railway Lands.^[9]

In the early 21st Century, the remaining area began to change rapidly with residential and then commercial development changing the area's past use. The western portion of the Railway Lands, defined by the city as Railway Lands West,^[1] is today home to the CityPlace neighbourhood built just west of Spadina Avenue, south of Front Street and north of the Gardiner Expressway. Railway Lands Central^[1] is mixed use land slightly east of Spadina to the area east of the CN Tower is home to Rogers Centre and CN Tower and parts of CityPlace. Railway Lands East^[1] is now the South Core neighbourhood and is a mixed used land slightly east of Rogers Centre and is home to Union Station (and Union Station Bus Terminal), Dominion Public Building, SkyWalk, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Roundhouse Park, Steam Whistle Brewing, Southcore Financial Centre, Delta Hotel Toronto, CIBC Square, Maple Leaf Square and the aforementioned Scotiabank Arena.

The railway lands were redeveloped in the early 21st century, with its western portion becoming the neighbourhood of CityPlace (left) and its eastern portion South Core (right).

On August 3, 2016, Mayor John Tory announced a proposal to create a Rail Deck Park, decking over the Railway Lands West section to provide additional parkland in Downtown Toronto. The proposed greenspace would comprise 8.3 hectares.^[10]

The only remaining rail connection is the Union Station Rail Corridor, which is maintained by Toronto Terminals Railway and consists of the narrow area used by tracks leading into and out of Union Station. The SkyWalk transverses a large part of the former Railway Lands, connecting Union Station with the lands south of the rail corridor.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d http://www.toronto.ca/planning/urbdesign/pdf/29railwaylands_wescen_pt1.pdf City of Toronto Area Studies Map
^ ^a ^b Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca (1927-08-10). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
^ Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
^ City of Toronto, History Resources. Toronto.ca (2000-10-23). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
^ ^a ^b Toronto Terminals Railway (November 2007). "Toronto Terminals Railway history". Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
^ Riddell, John (1991). The Railways of Toronto: The First Hundred Years. Vol. Two. British Railway Modellers of North America. p. 14. ISBN 9780919487475.
^ Riddell 1991, p. 14.
^ A visual history of the Toronto Railway Lands. Blogto.com (2011-11-03). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "The history of the Toronto railway lands before South Core and CityPlace".
^ Simmons, Taylor (August 3, 2016). "Massive downtown #RailDeckPark will cover railway tracks from Rogers Centre to Bathurst". CBC News. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

External links

43°38′41″N 79°22′51″W / 43.644662°N 79.380770°W / 43.644662; -79.380770

[wescen_pt1-1] ttps://www.toronto.ca/planning/urbdesign/pdf/29railwaylands_wescen_pt1.pdf City of Toronto Area Studies Map

[2ndunionstation-2] Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca (1927-08-10). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.

[3] Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.

[4] City of Toronto, History Resources. Toronto.ca (2000-10-23). Retrieved on 2013-07-26.

[TTR_History-5] Toronto Terminals Railway (November 2007). "Toronto Terminals Railway history". Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.

[6] Riddell, John (1991). The Railways of Toronto: The First Hundred Years. Vol. Two. British Railway Modellers of North America. p. 14. ISBN 9780919487475.

[FOOTNOTERiddell199114-7] Riddell 1991, p. 14.

[8] A visual history of the Toronto Railway Lands. Blogto.com (2011-11-03). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.

[blogto.com-9] "The history of the Toronto railway lands before South Core and CityPlace".

[CBC_News_2016-08-03-10] Simmons, Taylor (August 3, 2016). "Massive downtown #RailDeckPark will cover railway tracks from Rogers Centre to Bathurst". CBC News. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

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+{{Short description|Redevelopment district in Toronto,  Ontario, Canada}}
+{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
 [[File:Into the sunset.jpg|thumb|The Railway Lands and the [[Union Station Rail Corridor]]. The Corridor is the last remaining rail connection in the area.]]
-'''Railway Lands''' is an area in [[Downtown Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada. Originally a large railway switching yard near the [[Toronto waterfront]], including the [[CNR Spadina Roundhouse]] and the [[John Street Roundhouse|CPR John Roundhouse]], it has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the [[CN Tower]] and the [[Rogers Centre]]. The lands were owned and maintained by the [[Canadian National Railway]] and later transferred to the federal crown corporation [[Canada Lands Company]]. The area is bounded by [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]], [[Yonge Street]], [[Gardiner Expressway]] and [[Bathurst Street (Toronto)|Bathurst Street]].<ref name="wescen_pt1">http://www.toronto.ca/planning/urbdesign/pdf/29railwaylands_wescen_pt1.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]] neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called [[South Core, Toronto|South Core]].
+'''Railway Lands''' is an area in [[Downtown Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada. Originally a large railway switching yard near the [[Toronto waterfront]], including the [[CNR Spadina Roundhouse]] and the [[John Street Roundhouse|CPR John Roundhouse]], it has since been redeveloped and today is home to mostly mixed-used development, including the [[CN Tower]] and the [[Rogers Centre]]. The lands were owned and maintained by the [[Canadian National Railway]] and later transferred to the federal crown corporation [[Canada Lands Company]]. The area is bounded by [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]], [[Yonge Street]], [[Gardiner Expressway]] and [[Bathurst Street (Toronto)|Bathurst Street]].<ref name="wescen_pt1">http://www.toronto.ca/planning/urbdesign/pdf/29railwaylands_wescen_pt1.pdf City of Toronto Area Studies Map</ref> The western portion of the Railway Lands is now part of the [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]] neighbourhood and the eastern portion is now called [[South Core, Toronto|South Core]].
 ==History==
@@ Line 13: / Line 15: @@
 The TTR was jointly owned by the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] and the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] who each held 50% of the TTR shares. During station construction, the Grand Trunk Railway went bankrupt, was fully [[nationalization|nationalized]] by the [[Government of Canada]], and merged into the [[Canadian National Railway]] which would assume the Grand Trunk's 50% ownership of the TTR (and thus the third Union Station).<ref name="TTR History">{{cite web |url=http://www.ttrly.com/history.htm |title=Toronto Terminals Railway history |author=Toronto Terminals Railway |author-link=Toronto Terminals Railway |date=November 2007 |access-date=24 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023065317/http://www.ttrly.com/history.htm |archive-date=23 October 2007}}</ref>
-Union Station was opened on August 6, 1927 by the Prince of Wales, although it was not completed yet.{{sfn|Riddell|1994|p=14}} Four days later, the track network was shifted from the former [[Toronto Union Station (1873)|second Union Station]]. To get to trains, passengers would walk from the south doors to the tracks located several hundred feet to the south while the new USRC viaduct, concourse and train shed was under construction.{{sfn|Riddell|1994|p=14}} Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station was not fully completed until 1930 when construction of the train shed had finished.<ref name="TTR History" /> The first major change to the Station took place in 1954 when the [[Toronto Transit Commission]] opened its [[Union station (TTC)|Union subway station]] adjacent to Union Station, buried beneath Front Street.
+Union Station was opened on August 6, 1927 by the Prince of Wales, although it was not completed yet.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riddell |first=John |date=1991 |title=The Railways of Toronto: The First Hundred Years |volume=Two |publisher=British Railway Modellers of North America |isbn=9780919487475 |page=14}}</ref> Four days later, the track network was shifted from the former [[Toronto Union Station (1873)|second Union Station]]. To get to trains, passengers would walk from the south doors to the tracks located several hundred feet to the south while the new USRC viaduct, concourse and train shed was under construction.{{sfn|Riddell|1991|p=14}} Demolition of the second Union Station began almost immediately and was completed in 1928. The third Union Station was not fully completed until 1930 when construction of the train shed had finished.<ref name="TTR History" /> The first major change to the Station took place in 1954 when the [[Toronto Transit Commission]] opened its [[Union station (TTC)|Union subway station]] adjacent to Union Station, buried beneath Front Street.
 ===Redevelopment===
 ====1960s–1980s====
 [[File:CN Tower footings 1973.jpg|thumb|Construction for the [[CN Tower]] in railway lands in 1973. The area was to be redeveloped, with the [[Greater Toronto Area|GTA]]'s rail lines centralized in nearby [[Vaughan]]. However, most of these plans were scrapped after the tower's completion.]]
-Going as far back as 1965, when CN began to shift the functions of many of its yards in the [[Greater Toronto Area]] to a centralized facility in the northern suburb of [[Vaughan]], the railways lands were made redundant. The yards' layout was also becoming increasingly outdated then. The area was then slated for re-development for post-railway beginning with plans for the building of a communications tower (the [[CN Tower]]) and the massive ''Metro Centre''. Two years into the construction of the CN Tower, plans for Metro Centre were scrapped, leaving the tower isolated on the Railway Lands in what was then a largely abandoned light-industrial space. Development of the Railway Lands slowed between the 1970s and 1980.<ref>[http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/11/a_visual_history_of_the_toronto_railway_lands/ A visual history of the Toronto Railway Lands]. Blogto.com (2011-11-03). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.</ref> The early 1980s saw more redevelopment, with the opening of the [[Metro Toronto Convention Centre|Metro Convention Centre]] in 1984. The late 1980s saw the building of the [[SkyDome]] (for which the [[CNR Spadina Roundhouse]] was demolished) and the [[SkyWalk]] connecting the SkyDome with Union Station.<ref name="blogto.com">https://www.blogto.com/city/2011/11/a_visual_history_of_the_toronto_railway_lands/</ref>
+Going as far back as 1965, when Canadian National (CN) began to shift the functions of many of its yards in the [[Greater Toronto Area]] to a centralized facility in the northern suburb of [[Vaughan]], the railways lands were made redundant. The yards' layout was also becoming increasingly outdated then. The area was then slated for re-development for post-railway beginning with plans for the building of a communications tower (the [[CN Tower]]) and the massive ''Metro Centre''. Two years into the construction of the CN Tower, plans for Metro Centre were scrapped, leaving the tower isolated on the Railway Lands in what was then a largely abandoned light-industrial space. Development of the Railway Lands slowed between the 1970s and 1980.<ref>[http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/11/a_visual_history_of_the_toronto_railway_lands/ A visual history of the Toronto Railway Lands]. Blogto.com (2011-11-03). Retrieved on July 26, 2013.</ref> The early 1980s saw more redevelopment, with the opening of the [[Metro Toronto Convention Centre|Metro Convention Centre]] in 1984. The late 1980s saw the building of the [[SkyDome]] (for which the [[CNR Spadina Roundhouse]] was demolished) and the [[SkyWalk]] connecting the SkyDome with Union Station.<ref name="blogto.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.blogto.com/city/2011/11/a_visual_history_of_the_toronto_railway_lands/ | title=The history of the Toronto railway lands before South Core and CityPlace }}</ref>
 ====1990s–2000s====
-In the early 1990s redevelopment slowed, but it did see the expansion of the convention centre and the [[John Street Roundhouse]] redeveloped into the [[Roundhouse Park]], though it would not be restored until the 2000s. It also saw the redevelopment of the [[Toronto Postal Building]] into the [[Air Canada Centre]] (since renamed to [[Scotiabank Arena]]) in the late 1990s along the eastern boundary of the Railway Lands.<ref name="blogto.com"/>
+In the early 1990s redevelopment slowed, but it did see the expansion of the convention centre and the [[John Street Roundhouse]] redeveloped into the [[Roundhouse Park]], though it would not be restored until the 2000s. It also saw the redevelopment of the [[Toronto Postal Building]] into the [[Scotiabank Arena|Air Canada Centre (since renamed to Scotiabank Arena)]] in the late 1990s along the eastern boundary of the Railway Lands.<ref name="blogto.com"/>
-[[File:Looking West from the CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario -- 2008-05-10.jpg|thumb|left|Railway lands west of the CN Tower in 1999. Shortly after the new millennium, the area saw new development that changed the area forever.]]
+[[File:Looking West from the CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario -- 2008-05-10.jpg|thumb|right|Railway lands west of the CN Tower in 1999. Shortly after the new millennium, the area saw new development that changed the area forever.]]
-In the early 21st Century, the remaining area began to change rapidly with residential and then commercial development changing the area's past use. The western portion of the Railway Lands, defined by the city as ''Railway Lands West'',<ref name="wescen_pt1"/> is today home to the [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]] neighbourhood built just west of [[Spadina Avenue]], south of [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]] and north of the [[Gardiner Expressway]]. ''Railway Lands Central''<ref name="wescen_pt1"/> is mixed use land slightly east of Spadina to the area east of the CN Tower is home to [[Rogers Centre]] and [[CN Tower]] and parts of [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]]. ''Railway Lands East''<ref name="wescen_pt1"/>  is now the [[South Core, Toronto|South Core]] neighbourhood and is a mixed used land slightly east of Rogers Centre and is home to Union Station (and [[Union Station Bus Terminal]]), [[Dominion Public Building]], [[SkyWalk]], [[Metro Toronto Convention Centre]], [[Roundhouse Park]], [[Steam Whistle Brewing]], [[Southcore Financial Centre]], [[Delta Hotel Toronto]], [[CIBC Square]],  [[Maple Leaf Square]] and [[Scotiabank Arena]].
+In the early 21st Century, the remaining area began to change rapidly with residential and then commercial development changing the area's past use. The western portion of the Railway Lands, defined by the city as ''Railway Lands West'',<ref name="wescen_pt1"/> is today home to the [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]] neighbourhood built just west of [[Spadina Avenue]], south of [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]] and north of the [[Gardiner Expressway]]. ''Railway Lands Central''<ref name="wescen_pt1"/> is mixed use land slightly east of Spadina to the area east of the CN Tower is home to [[Rogers Centre]] and [[CN Tower]] and parts of [[CityPlace, Toronto|CityPlace]]. ''Railway Lands East''<ref name="wescen_pt1"/>  is now the [[South Core, Toronto|South Core]] neighbourhood and is a mixed used land slightly east of Rogers Centre and is home to Union Station (and [[Union Station Bus Terminal]]), [[Dominion Public Building]], [[SkyWalk]], [[Metro Toronto Convention Centre]], [[Roundhouse Park]], [[Steam Whistle Brewing]], [[Southcore Financial Centre]], [[Delta Hotel Toronto]], [[CIBC Square]], [[Maple Leaf Square]] and the aforementioned Scotiabank Arena.
 {{multiple image
 | image1=Toronto, Ontario - panoramio.jpg
@@ Line 45: / Line 48: @@
 ==External links==
 {{Commons category}}
+* [https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/9805-cp-official-plan-SP-17-RailwayLandsEast.pdf Railway Lands East Secondary Plan]
+* [https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/8fd1-cp-official-plan-SP-18-RailwayLandsCentral.pdf Railway Lands Central Secondary Plan]
+* [https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/80fb-cp-official-plan-SP-19-RailwayLandsWest.pdf Railway Lands West Secondary Plan]
 * [http://www.trha.ca/virtualmuseum.html Simulation of the history of the Railway Lands]
 * [http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/11/a_visual_history_of_the_toronto_railway_lands/ A visual history of the Toronto Railway Lands], BlogTO

v t e Neighbourhoods in Toronto
Old Toronto	Alexandra Park Allenby The Annex The Beaches Bedford Park Bickford Park Bloor West Village Bloor Street Culture Corridor Bloordale Village Bracondale Hill Brockton Village Cabbagetown Carleton Village Casa Loma Chaplin Estates Chinatown (First Chinatown) Christie Pits Church and Wellesley CityPlace Corktown Corso Italia Corso Italia-Davenport Davenport Davisville Village Deer Park Discovery District Distillery District Downtown Yonge Dovercourt Park Dufferin Grove Earlscourt East Bayfront East Chinatown East Danforth East Toronto Entertainment District Fashion District Financial District Forest Hill Garden District Gerrard India Bazaar Grange Park Greektown Harbord Village Harbourfront High Park North The Junction Junction Triangle Kensington Market Koreatown Lawrence Park Leslieville Liberty Village Little Italy Little Portugal Little Tibet Lytton Park Midtown Moore Park Moss Park Niagara North Toronto Norway Old Town Palmerston Parkdale Playter Estates Port Lands Quayside Queen Street West Railway Lands Regent Park Riverdale Roncesvalles Rosedale Runnymede St. James Town St. Lawrence Seaton Village South Hill South Core Summerhill Swansea Toronto Islands Trefann Court Trinity-Bellwoods Upper Beaches Uptown Toronto Wallace Emerson The Ward West Don Lands (Canary District) Wychwood Park Yonge–Eglinton Yorkville
North York	Amesbury Armour Heights Bathurst Manor Bayview Village Bayview Woods-Steeles Bermondsey Bridle Path Clanton Park Don Mills Don Valley Village Downsview Flemingdon Park Glen Park Graydon Hall Henry Farm Hillcrest Village Hoggs Hollow Humber Summit Humbermede Jane and Finch Lansing Lawrence Heights Lawrence Manor Maple Leaf Newtonbrook North York City Centre Parkway Forest Parkwoods Pelmo Park-Humberlea Pleasant View Rustic Teddington Park Victoria Village Westminster-Branson Willowdale York Mills York University Heights
Scarborough	Agincourt Armadale Bendale Birch Cliff Birchmount Park-Warden Woods Brown's Corners Clairlea Cliffcrest Cliffside Dorset Park Eglinton East Golden Mile Guildwood Highland Creek Ionview L'Amoreaux Malvern Maryvale Milliken Morningside Morningside Heights Oakridge Port Union Rouge Scarborough City Centre Scarborough Junction Scarborough Village Steeles Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan West Hill West Rouge Wexford Woburn
Etobicoke	Alderwood Clairville Eatonville The Elms Eringate-Centennial-West Deane Humber Heights-Westmount Humber Valley Village Humberwood Islington-City Centre West Kingsview Village The Kingsway Long Branch Markland Wood Mimico New Toronto Princess Gardens Rexdale Richview The Queensway-Humber Bay Smithfield Thistletown Thorncrest Village
York	Baby Point Fairbank Humewood–Cedarvale Lambton Little Jamaica Mount Dennis Oakwood Village Old Mill Rockcliffe–Smythe Silverthorn Tichester Weston
East York	Bermondsey Crescent Town Governor's Bridge Leaside O'Connor–Parkview Old East York Pape Village Thorncliffe Park
Italics indicate neighbourhoods now defunct. For information on the evolution of each neighbourhood in general, see History of neighbourhoods in Toronto.