The Stone Distillery is an 1859 heritage industrial building in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest and largest building in the

Distillery District The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. ...

complex of Gooderham & Worts Distillery buildings.

Description

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

shipped from nearby

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

and double-timber beams for a total of $150,000, the equivalent of $3,800,000 in 2015. The building was constructed to house a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, power house, and mashing and

distilling Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

functions in the five-storey main building, and

fermenting Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

in the one-storey western extension. The Stone Distillery has a dominating presence in the Distillery District, owing largely to its massive size and materials. The 300 by building is an outstanding representation of Victorian industrial architecture, while also echoing ancient Florentine architecture. Each storey in the main building is separated by a course of stone, and the larger first floor and square windows seat it firmly to the ground. The simple facade is punctuated by a rhythmic pattern of windows separated by circular iron tie plates. The entire building is also tied together by a simple colour scheme of warm grey limestone with dark green accents on the windows, doors, and other ornamentation.

History

In 1869, an explosion in the fermenting cellar caused a massive fire to engulf the building, destroying the wooden interior, but leaving the stone and machinery largely undamaged. The building was reconstructed and reopened in May 1870. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the distillery was used to produce explosive agents for the war effort, but returned to distilling in 1945 and remained productive until 1990. For the next ten years the distillery no longer produced alcohol, but instead served as the backdrop for hundreds of

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s, such as

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

, in part helping to earn Toronto the name "Hollywood North". In 2001 a major revitalization project began in the Distillery District, and in 2003 it was opened as a pedestrian-only arts and cultural centre. Today the building is home to restaurants, galleries,

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

s, and other services.

References

External links

Distillery District Heritage website
{{coord, 43.6498, 79.3600, type:landmark_region:CA-ON, display=title Buildings and structures in Toronto Limestone buildings Industrial buildings completed in 1861 Distilleries in Canada Burned buildings and structures in Canada 1861 establishments in Canada West Canadian companies established in 1861

Description

History

See also

References

External links