Liberty Village Toronto

This is what Liberty Village looked like before the condos

For all the development that's shaped Liberty Village over the last 15 years or so, the area's industrial past retains something of a ghostly presence.

Once home to the mighty Inglis factory — a key player in the local war movements of the previous century and a major manufacturer of the Bren light machine gun — the area is marked by a pseudo-suburban housing development that just doesn't seem integrated with the rest of the area.

With the exception of the old chapel from the former Central Prison, this section of the neighbourhood was completely razed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But, interestingly, it was only because of the healthy tension between new and old to the west that such a development was even considered in the first place.

inglis factory toronto

The Inglis Factory in the early 1990s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

The former industrial warehouses found on streets like Hanna, Atlantic, Jefferson, Fraser, and Mowat played host to an IT boom that paved the way for the renewal of the area and the condo-based developments that continue to this day.

By the mid 2000s, the neighbourhood started to undergo huge changes. Most of the Inglis buildings were demolished, following the destruction of the Massey Ferguson site on King West a few years earlier.

A small group of heritage enthusiasts tried to save the industrial character of the eastern end of Liberty Village, but they didn't stand much of a chance given the value of the property in question and the incentives developers had to build residential properties.

What remains now is a thoroughly mixed neighbourhood that lacks the historical identity of something like the Distillery District, but has nevertheless escaped the complete destruction of industrial heritage experienced along the King West corridor.

Behold, what Liberty Village looked like before the condos.

2012214-Liberty-Dufferin-east-1915.jpg

Liberty Street, 1915. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214-King-West-Subway-1915.jpg

King West subway, 1915. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214-Ariel-South-End-Dufferin-1920.jpg

Ariel view of King West and Liberty Village. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-Curtiss-aeroplanes-workers-1926-f1244_it4537.jpg

Curtiss Aeroplane plant, Strachan Avenue. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012216-central-prison-yard-1926-f1231_it0864.jpg

Central Prison Yard, 1926. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012216-central-prison-yard-massey-harris-1926-s0372_ss0079_it0123.jpg

Central Prison Yard and Massey Ferguson Buildings (right), 1926. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214 - Gary Blakeley - Inglis at night.jpg

Inglis factory at night, 1940s (via Gary Blakeley). 

2012217-VeronicaFoster-RonnieBrenGunGirl-smoke.jpg

Veronica Foster, Bren Gun Girl, 1940s (via the Wikimedia Commons).

2012214-Gary Blakeley -War Workers.jpg

War workers, 1940s (via Gary Blakey).

2012214-Gary Blakeley-War worker.jpg

More of Veronica Foster. Compare to shot from 1990s (via Gary Blakeley).

2012215-cental-prison-chapel-1953-TPL.jpg

Central Prison Chapel, 1953. Photo via Toronto Public Library.

2012215-Liberty-Street-70sor80s-s1465_fl0037_id0030.jpg

Liberty Street, late 1970s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-off-liberty-70s-80s-1465_fl0037_id0022.jpg

Off Liberty Street, late 1970s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-liberty-street-1970s-s1465_fl0037_id0024.jpg

Liberty Street, 1970s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-liberty-street-1970s-s1465_fl0037_id0019.jpg

Liberty Street in the 1970s. Compare to 1915 photo above. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-Liberty-Street-1970s-s1465_fl0037_id0021.jpg

Liberty Street and Jefferson Avenue, 1970s (the buildings on southeast and west corners still stand). Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-dufferin-liberty-1970s-s1465_fl0037_id0037.jpg

Dufferin & Liberty streets, 1970s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-strachan-north-80s-s1465_fl0037_id0025.jpg

Strachan Avenue looking towards King Street, 1980s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012215-inglis-early-1980s-s1465_fl0037_id0038.jpg

Strachan Avenue and Inglis factory, 1980s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012216-parkdale_aerial2.jpg

Aerial view, 1980s. Photo by Eugene D. Burles via Trainweb.

2012214-hannah-liberty-1990s.jpg

Foot of Hannah Avenue, Inglis Complex 1990s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214-irwin-toys-1990s.jpg

Irwin Toys (now the Toy Factory Lofts), 1990s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214-liberty-village-1-1990s.jpg

Approaching Irwin Toys, 1990s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012214-central-prison-chapel-lv-early 90s.jpg

Central Prison chapel, 1990s. Photo via the Toronto Archives.

2012216-east-liberty-street-2003.jpg

The birth of East Liberty Street, 2003. Photo by Christ Smart.

2012214-sigma-Inglis Warehouse.jpg

Transition time, 2005. Photo by Chris Smart.

2012214-Axel-AR Williams Factory.jpg

East Liberty Street, 2006. Photo by Alex Luyckx.

Liberty Village

Liberty Village, 2009. Photo by Stephen Sokolov.

2012216-liberty-tom.jpg

Looking west across Liberty Village, 2010. Photo by Tom Ryaboi.

2012216-liberty-recent.jpg

Construction continues, 2012. Photo by Toronto.Pictures.

Lead photo by

Toronto Archives of the Inglis Warehouse rooftopping, 1990s.


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

The TTC will shut down almost 7 km of subway for the entire weekend

Here's when Canadian parents can expect November child tax payments

Canada has a colourful new $2 coin that you can find in your change

Here are the ways Canadians can get free government money for the holidays

Lost window into Toronto's past has been resurrected after Google quietly killed it

'Risk of a crash' triggers recall of over 52,000 GM vehicles in Canada

Axed CTV anchor Lisa LaFlamme stars in campaign celebrating beauty of aging

Here's why a huge 300-ton Toronto crane is actually a protected heritage structure