East Toronto sites draw crowds to Doors Open Toronto weekend
doors open toronto returns this weekend with more than 160 sites and spaces open across the city, including several in East Toronto. The public can visit places that are normally closed, with some locations open only on May 23 and others on both May 23 and 24.
The East Toronto list ranges from a water treatment plant at Queen Street East and Victoria Park Avenue to a 115-year-old church on Danforth Avenue, along with a lawn bowling club, a food hub, a recording studio, a restored jail and an old gas company yard.
R.C. Harris Plant and Danforth sites
The R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is one of the most prominent stops. It is recognized under the Ontario Heritage Act as a National Historic Civil Engineering Site and has also been named a Canadian Water Landmark by the American Water Works Association. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 23 and 24.
Also on May 23 and 24, the Danforth Mennonite Church at 2174 Danforth Ave. will open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Raw Signal Group at 1414 Danforth Ave. will follow the same hours. The building is one of Toronto’s oldest bank buildings and was constructed in 1919, with Neo Gothic and Art Deco styling.
Gerrard Street East stops
Riverdale Hub at 1326 Gerrard St. E. will open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 23. It began as a silent movie theatre before becoming a multi-purpose arts and community space supporting marginalized and BIPOC communities. The East End Food Hub, in the Glen Rhodes United Church building at 1470 Gerrard St. E., will also open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 23.
Dine Alone Records at 864 Eastern Ave. joins the one-day openings on May 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Leslieville recording studio and store is linked with Canadian artists including Tokyo Police Club, City and Colour, Alexisonfire and Bedouin Soundclash.
Don Jail and 433 Eastern Yard
The Don Jail at Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital, 1 Bridgepoint Dr., will open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 23 and 24. Opened in 1864 and closed in 1977 after more than a century of use, the restored structure is now the hospital’s administrative centre and connects to the modern building by a glass bridge.
The city’s 433 Eastern Yard, constructed in 1912, is one of the few surviving buildings from the former Consumers’ Gas Company complex in the Eastern and Booth avenues area. Two buildings from that three-building industrial campus are now owned by the City of Toronto, while a third remains under Enbridge Gas.
For people planning a visit, the practical choices are narrow and specific: some sites are open both days, while Riverdale Hub, the East End Food Hub and Dine Alone Records appear only on May 23. The weekend’s draw is the same across the route — limited access to spaces that help show Toronto’s industrial, community and architectural history in one sweep.
