Distillery District
| Gooderham and Worts Distillery National Historic Site of Canada | |
|---|---|
 Lieu patrimonial du Canada |
|
| Recognized since | 1988 |
| Type | National Historic Site |
| ID | 1195 |
| place | Toronto |
| Coordinates | 43 ° 39 '2.6 " N , 79 ° 21' 35.2" W |
| Recognized by | Canadian Federal Government |
| Approved by | Historic Sites and Monuments Act |
| Entry Canadian List of Monuments | |
The Distillery District in Toronto is a historic industrial district and a district about 2 km east of the Financial District , which is now used as an artist and entertainment district. The approximately 5 hectare area consists of 44 listed brick buildings and ten streets. It is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial buildings in North America.
The site was built on from 1832 by Gooderham and Worts , a company that rose to become the largest distillery in the world in the late 1860s and produced up to two million gallons (about 80,000 hectoliters ) annually; most of it was for export . The location was also important in terms of transport, as the distillery was at the port and connected to the Canadian National Railway network. This provided good transport links to the rest of Canada and overseas by ship. With deindustrialization in the late 20th century, production decreased; the company was sold to the British group Allied Domecq in 1987 and closed three years later. The site fell into disrepair during this time and was in a partially ruinous state.
In 2001 Cityscape Holdings Inc. bought the site with the aim of turning it into a cultural center. This was followed by an extensive restoration of the building and the transformation into a pedestrian zone. Since 2003, the Distillery District has been used as an amusement and entertainment center with bars, music bars and galleries. Jazz festivals take place on the premises in summer. In the so-called Paint Shop from 1879, the Mill Street Brewery produces beer that can also be tasted on site.
The special atmosphere of this quarter served as a location for more than 800 film and television productions, for example for X-Men , The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock or La Femme Nikita .
