Walking along East Liberty St.
John Inglis and Sons Manufacturing Co./ Inglis lands
The whole east Liberty Village area is the former Inglis lands, which were vacated by the company in 1981. The Inglis company was a significant contributor towards Toronto’s industrial and cultural progress.
In 1881, John Inglis and Sons opened their Strachan Avenue to Hanna Avenue facilities to expand their successful business of building machinery for grist and flour mills. In 1902, they discontinued this product line and switched to the manufacturing of marine steam engines and waterworks pumping engines.
Two years later, an American named Major J.E. Hahn purchased the John Inglis Company and began manufacturing the Bren Light Machine Gun and Colt aircraft carrier gun used by British and Canadian infantries during World War II. At its peak, more than 17,800 people were employed at this plant.
When the war ended in 1946, the company began to manufacture consumer products for the first time. Fishing tackle, house trailers, oil burner pumps and domestic heaters and stoves were among the diverse products offered.
In the same year, John Inglis Co. Limited negotiated with Nineteen Hundred Corporation (later Whirlpool Corporation) to manufacture home laundry products. The wringer washer was introduced in 1946, and in 1950, production of the automatic washer was added. The line of appliances expanded quickly to include electric and gas dryers, and dishwashers.
In 1981, the company moved from this site to Mississauga.
East Liberty “planned community” approved for this former Inglis lands
A shopping mall formula development, including a 50,000-square-foot Metro grocery store, became a tremendous stimulus for the neighbourhood. New residential development in the form of stacked townhomes and multi-storey condominiums were built, resulting in a self-sustaining live/work community that brings employees, employment and housing opportunities together.
80 Lynn Williams Street
Former A. R. Williams Company / Liberty Storage Warehouse
The Liberty Storage Warehouse was built in 1929. Constructed of brick and steel with brick and stone trim, the building features a 2½ storey rectangular plan under a gable roof with single-storey flat-roofed wings on the east and west sides. The east wall of the warehouse is composed of a portion of the Paint Shop from the Central Prison for Men.
The painted sign identifying the "A. R. Williams Machinery Company - Liberty Street Plant" fills the area beneath the gable end on the south wall. A. R. Williams Company were dealers in machinery and supplies.
East Liberty & Pirandello St
Former Roman Catholic Chapel of the Central Prison for Men
Central Prison was built by the province in the 1870s and closed in 1911. Part of why industry located here was because the inmates were put to work in the area and they were an inexpensive source of labour. The prison's two-storey chapel is all that remains of the prison complex.
Liberty Village Historical Timeline
Take a journey through time to discover how Liberty Village became what it is today.