Distillery District's Dark Secrets

This is part 2 in a series of profiles on places we visited during this past weekend's Doors Open Toronto.

Down at the Distillery District the doors were thrown open to buildings few of us ever get to see inside. Within the dusty Scale Tank Loft (above & below) we checked out the tanks and scales used by the government to measure and ultimately tax the booze which flowed out of Gooderham & Worts until the 1990's.

We wandered into the open Rack House where booze was stored for 2 years at a time until it was allowed to be sold, another government intervention.

I was most excited to get into the Kilns Building and Tunnel but regrettably didn't have the time to wait in the long line leading down into these secret catacombs.

Instead, my friends and I wandered through the street level galleries, like my favourite the Monte Clark Gallery, and found some artists on the upper levels who willingly threw their doors open too.

I'm still amazed when I hear from friends that they've never visited this part of Toronto which boasts North America's largest example of Victorian Industrial architecture and is a popular spot for filming in Toronto. It's lovely but packed during the day with pedestrian only sidewalks brimming with people and pooches. Given its eerie history it's fun to wander through the Distillery's dark and empty pathways by moonlight too.

Photos 1 and 3 by sookie, photos 2, 4 and 5 by Mike Rotenberg