Walking south on Mowat from King St.
Toronto Carpet Factory
King / Mowat / Liberty / Fraser block
The Toronto Carpet Factory (TCF) was built between 1899 and 1920 by the Hayes family. The factory layout is a classical English Industrial style with the operational buildings encircling the Boiler house.
The Barrymore brothers manufactured woven carpets from this location (operated as the Barrymore Carpet plant). Of special interest, the Barrymore brothers converted the carpet looms to make blankets and coats during both World War I and II. They also manufactured furniture just down the street at Atlantic Ave. and King St. (the Barrymore Furniture company).
York Heritage Properties purchased the Toronto Carpet Factory property in the 1980’s and converted it into office and commercial use. York Heritage maintained the historic features including the high ceilings, operable windows, wooden floors, and exposed bricks and columns.
The TCF is now a 300,000-square-foot commercial complex that is home to many forward thinking and creative businesses
The York Heritage Properties owners were visionaries
They were instrumental in kick-starting new life into Liberty Village after the area’s post-manufacturing economy had left for the suburbs. They understood the importance of installing a blanket high speed wireless internet network to attract creative businesses. For many years (in the 1990’s and early 2000‘s) there was more internet capacity in Liberty Village’s .386 sq km community than in the entire 301,328 sq km country of Italy.
In 2001, the partners of the TCF formed the Liberty Village Business Improvement Area to assist the commercial property owners and managers to bring in area amenities and basic city services to this neglected industrial area. Improvements have included pedestrian lighting, sidewalks, curbs, landscaping and safe roads.
The LVBIA was the first non-retail BIA in Canada. Their mandate is to implement initiatives that ensure that Liberty Village remains competitive, attracts new investment, and supports the area as an important employment area for the City of Toronto.
There is more than 2 million square feet of office space, and approximately 500 small-to-mid sized businesses employing more than 6,000 people who contribute more than $5 million in industrial & commercial taxes.
Area Zoning
Liberty Village from Dufferin St to Hanna Ave is designated by the City of Toronto as "employment lands." It is also zoned specifically that high tech / computer uses are permitted. The zoning also allows for artists' live /work spaces. Conversion of commercial over to residential use is not permitted. Residential development is permitted east of Hanna to Strachan, and new under the City of Toronto Act, condo developers wanting to build in the “employment lands” area cannot appeal the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.
Liberty & Mowat
There is a walkway link between the buildings on opposite sides of Mowat Ave. We don’t know much about its history or use; however, it’s an interesting architectural feature that the owners believe is structurally sound.
The building at the southeast corner of Mowat St & Liberty St is angled because rail tracks rounded the corner here. The greater area was referred to as the union track area because it was home to both CN and CP lines.
Rail tracks were all through the area. They brought coal and supplies to the various industries. The tracks behind the Toronto Carpet Factory building have been preserved.
Dufferin Liberty Centre
South side of Liberty St at Dufferin
The Dufferin Liberty Centre, formerly called the Radcliffe Building, was built in 1908 by Sunbeam General Electric. It later became the Canadian Head Office and manufacturing site for the General Electric Company, producing electric clocks, fuses and light bulbs.
This was an important site for the Canadian War effort, as electrical lights were manufactured here for sending oversees, both during World War I and after. Over the decades many additions were added to the building until it reached its present city block size of 234.000 sq ft.
Parking Lot
Looking west along Liberty St, towards Dufferin
The parking lot at the corner of Liberty St and Dufferin St. was originally a factory built in 1916 by the Russell Motorcar Company to manufacture fuses for bomb shells used in World War I. This factory operated 24 hours, 7 days a week, and employed 4000 people, mostly women, as the men were away at War.
Canada Bread
Dead end between Mowat Ave and Fraser Ave
Canada Bread was one of Liberty Village’s last industrial operations. The plant produced 65 million loaves of bread per year for Dempsters (owned by Maple Leaf Foods) The plant, along with two other west Toronto facilities, was closed in 2012 and relocated to a new Hamilton location.