PortsToronto to Present Rare Photos of Toronto's Historical Waterfront in Free Exhibit at Brookfield Place

More than 50 Archival Photos to be on Display February 8 to 20

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TORONTO, Feb. 4, 2015 /CNW/ - From February 8 to 20, PortsToronto will present a photo exhibit featuring historical images of Toronto's waterfront and South Core at the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place, located at 181 Bay Street.

The exhibit, entitled Making Connections to Toronto's Waterfront – A Historical Retrospective, was curated from the extensive yet rarely viewed PortsToronto archive. The images presented will take visitors on a journey through time by depicting the evolution of Toronto's waterfront, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, the Port of Toronto and Harbour, and other key areas that have played a significant role in the development of the city as a commercial and cultural hub of Canada.

In the early years of Toronto's development, a large portion of the city's current waterfront and South Core areas were either uninhabitable swampland or under water. In the 1900s PortsToronto, then called the Toronto Harbour Commissioners, built the waterfront and constructed more than 2,000 acres of land from the mouth of the Humber River to Ashbridges Bay. Today, the area is home to businesses, residences, parks and some of the most significant commercial and residential development currently taking place in North America.

"The photos selected for this exhibit provide an interesting glimpse of the early days of the modern Toronto waterfront and chronicles its evolution from swampland and ramshackle shoreline to industrial port to mixed-use neighbourhood," said Geoffrey Wilson, CEO, PortsToronto. "From the creation of the Port Lands and the building of the quays that extend into Toronto's Harbour to the development of the Leslie Street Spit and construction of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, the exhibit showcases the transformation of this important area and illustrates the role PortsToronto has played on Toronto's waterfront over the last century."

For high-resolution, downloadable examples of the images that will be displayed as part of the free exhibit, please click here. For more information about the role PortsToronto has played along the waterfront, please click here.

PortsToronto (www.portstoronto.com)
For more than 100 years PortsToronto (formerly Toronto Port Authority) has worked with its partners at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. A financially self-sustaining government business enterprise, PortsToronto owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomes more than two million passengers each year; the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada's largest freshwater marinas; and Terminals 51 and 52, which provide transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port of Toronto. PortsToronto is committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities and has invested more than $5.6 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto's waterfront and beyond. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and is guided by a nine-member board with representation from all three levels of government.

SOURCE PortsToronto

Image with caption: "Summer 1974: View from where the Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre now sits of the CN Tower under construction. The existing PortsToronto (then Toronto Harbour Commission) building, at 60 Harbour Street, is in the foreground. (CNW Group/PortsToronto)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150204_C1810_PHOTO_EN_11826.jpg

For further information: Media Contact: Erin Mikaluk, Senior Manager, Communications & Media Relations, PortsToronto, Tel: [phone], Cell: [phone], E-mail: [e-mail]