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Toronto Island Ferry Service Commemorative Plaque, 2016 

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File information File dimensions File size Options

Original JPG File

8400 × 6000 pixels (50.4 MP)

71.1 cm × 50.8 cm @ 300 PPI

6.4 MB Restricted

Low resolution print

2000 × 1429 pixels (2.86 MP)

16.9 cm × 12.1 cm @ 300 PPI

730 KB Restricted

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1120 × 800 pixels (0.9 MP)

9.5 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI

303 KB Restricted
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Resource details

Resource ID

5226

Access

Open

Credit Line

Heritage Toronto

Date of Creation

2016

Description

Passenger ferry service to what is now the Towns and Villages began in 1833, when the area was still a peninsula linked to the mainland at the mouth of the Don River. Michael O’Connor, the owner of a hotel on the peninsula, ran the first regularly scheduled, horse-powered ferry. After the construction of two bridges over the Don River in 1835, road access to the island became easier.

Ferry service expanded in the 1850s as the area became popular with summer visitors. In 1858, a storm permanently severed the narrow connection to the mainland, making the ferry the main mode of transportation to the newly formed island. In the following decades, rival ferry companies operated from wharves at the foot of Brock (now Spadina Avenue), Church, and Yonge Streets.

By 1892, the Towns and Villages Ferry Company (TIFC) held a virtual monopoly with up to 11 ferries crossing Toronto Bay. The TIFC added the double-end, double-deck steam paddle ferry Bluebell to the fleet in 1906 and, in 1910, the Trillium.

After the City purchased the TIFC in 1926, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) became responsible for ferry transportation to the island. On January 1, 1962, ferry service was transferred to the Metropolitan Toronto Parks Department and it remains with the city’s parks and recreation services.

Program Category

Historical Plaques

Rights

Heritage Toronto

Historical Themes

Towns and Villages, Transportation History

Time Period

1835-1899, 1900-1953

Caption

Toronto Island Ferry Service Commemorative Plaque, 2016

Consent management
License management
Location Data

Marker lat / long: 43.640441, -79.375329 (WGS84)

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