R.C. Harris Water Treatment PlantStarted in 1932 and operational on November 1st, 1941, the Art Deco water treatment plant, also known as The Palace of Purification, continues to supply water to Toronto. Located at 2701 Queen St. E. at the foot of Victoria Park Ave, the area was a waterfront amusement park, called Victoria Park, from 1878 to 1906. Then in 1906 to 1932 the site was used as the Victoria Park Forest School (there are some photos from 1913 of the school on the Fallingbrook neighbourhood page.But as Toronto continued to grow in the 1920's and 1930's it was clear a new, modern water filtration plant was required. The focus on architectural design led to a public works building that has captured the imagination of Toronto. For a fictional account of the people who built the plant, see Michael Ondaatje's book In the Skin of a Lion . The buildings have also appeared as various fictional jails in movies over the years. |
List of all subjects. You can also see all the historic photos for a given neighbourhood. We also have a list of all the photos arranged by date.
And you can also go up a level to see the other photos we've put under the category of Other_Historic_Toronto_Buildings photos.
Historic photos of R C Harris Water Treatment Plant
| 1930 |  | Service Building - south elevation - blueprints - R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant 96 years ago - Fallingbrook - 1930 Link to archive record - Map location |
| 1930 |  | Filtration Building - south elevation - blueprints - R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant 96 years ago - Fallingbrook - 1930 Link to archive record - Map location |
| 1933 |  | Building the foundations for the west wing retaining wall of the R.C. Harris Plant 93 years ago - Fallingbrook - Monday, May 15, 1933 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1935 |  | R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant from the south-west 91 years ago - Fallingbrook - Monday, April 1, 1935 Max temp: 3.9°C - Min temp: 0.6°C - 0.8cm of snowfall (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1935 |  | Guniting complete, curve Suction Header No. 1 (a big pipe) in the R.C. Harris Plant along Lake Ontario 91 years ago - Fallingbrook - Thursday, November 28, 1935 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1935 |  | Looking west across the excavation by the Lake in front of the R.C. Harris Plant 91 years ago - Fallingbrook - Monday, April 1, 1935 Max temp: 3.9°C - Min temp: 0.6°C - 0.8cm of snowfall (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1936 | | Twenty ton crane and steel roof frame during construction of the R.C. Harris Plant 90 years ago - Fallingbrook - Thursday, March 26, 1936 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1952 |  | R.C. Harris Purification Plant, east side - lawn, steps, towers 74 years ago - Fallingbrook - Friday, September 26, 1952 Max temp: 16.7°C - Min temp: 10.6°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1952 | | Tower at east side of the R.C. Harris Purification Plant 74 years ago - Fallingbrook - Friday, September 26, 1952 Max temp: 16.7°C - Min temp: 10.6°C (weather details) Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1985 | | Art Deco entrance to the R.C. Harris Plant along Lake Ontario 41 years ago - Fallingbrook - 1985 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 1986 | | Aerial view of the R.C. Harris Plant along Lake Ontario 40 years ago - Fallingbrook - 1986 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 2011 |  | Filtration room, R.C. Harris water treatment plant at 2701 Queen St. E. at the foot of Victoria Park Ave
15 years ago - Fallingbrook - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 2013 |  | Water Plant Rotunda - acrylic painting by Boyer, George, 1954- 13 years ago - Fallingbrook - 2013 Link to archive record - Map location (From the Toronto Public Library) |
| 2015 | | Complete north facade of the Filter Building at the R.C. Harris Plant 11 years ago - Fallingbrook - Monday, July 6, 2015 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |
| 2016 | | Interior - filter operating galleries in the Filter Building R.C. Harris Plant along Lake Ontario 10 years ago - Fallingbrook - Sunday, May 29, 2016 Link to archive record - Map location (From the City of Toronto Archives) |