Financial District, Downtown

- Union Station, First Canada Place, Toronto Dominion Centre, Scotia Place, Commerce Court, Royal York, CN Tower, Rogers Centre, King St, Bay St, Front St, Bay St, Yonge St

The Financial District of Toronto is where you find the most impressive skyscrapers, the most important banks and corporations, the most luxorious hotels and apartments, nice restaurants and enterteinment. It is the financial heart of Canada and is situated between the southern and most central part of downtown and the harbourfront, mostly along Yonge St, King St, Front St and Bay St, south of Dundas Square. It was originally planned as New Town in 1796, as an extension of the Town of York. It is the most densely built-up area of Toronto. Since it is mainly a business area, the area is almost deserted on weekdays and evenings, in typical North American style. Approximately 100 000 commuters enter and leave a common weekday.

Union Station is a large historic railway station that you find downtown, next to Front Street, opened in 1927. It was built in beaux arts style and has a grand hall. It is a Natinonal Historic Site of Canada since 1975. Much of the station was under redevelopment and everything was messy during our visit. Opposite it is the legendary Royal York Hotel, the tallest building in Canada from the 1929-31, and the tallest building in the British Empire upon completion. This 28-storey building was built by the Canadian Pacific, the national railroad company, now it is a Fairmont hotel. With 1600 rooms it was the largest hotel in Canada for a time. In 1931 it was surpassed by the 34-storey Commerce Court North.

The tallest building in Canada (TV towers are not counted as buildings) is the 71-storey First Canadian Place (298m to the roof) from 1971, a white building in international style. It is 355m tall to the height of the antenna, upon completion it was the tallest building in the world outside New York and Chicago. It is followed by Trump Tower from 2012 (277m to the spire) and the impressive posmodern 68-storey red granite Scotia Place from 1988, 2nd tallest building in Canada for a few years. 4th tallest is the significant, postmodern TD Canada Trust Tower from 1990, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, with its significant spire, part of the Brookfield Place complex, that also includes a similar looking tower, a galleria and Royal Bank Plaza, a skycraper with glass windows made of gold (but they had to be replaced because of the heat)! Many of the skyscrapers that are not in the immediate business district are lined along Yonge Street. Eaton Centre, Toronto's most popular shopping mall, the Old and New City Hall, and Nathan Phillips Square, can also be found near the financial district. Dominating several blocks downtown is a complex caleld Toronto Dominion Centre (TD Centre), designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It consists of black box shaped skyscrapers (Manhattan style) from the 1960s, the tallest one 223m high. There are also nearly 100 stores and restaurants, and the Gallery of Inuit Art can be found here.

CN Tower, built in 1976 and situated just west of the financial district, was the world's tallest freestanding structure in the world for 34 years, still without competition dominating the skyline. It is, at a height of 553m to the top of the mast, still the tallest TV tower in North America, and the tallest tower in the western hemisphere, second tallest tower in the world (Canton Tower in China is now somewhat taller). The observation deck is a very popular attraction, it features both an indoor and an outdoor section, a glass floor and a revolving restaurant. Even higher up, at the 147th floor, you can visit the SkyPod. Right next to CN Tower is the Rogers Centre, a huge sports arena that is famous for its roof that can be opened and closed according to the weather. It was built in 1989 and is 95m high to the top of the dome. Hockey Hall of Fame (a museum about hockey and hall of fame) is situated in a former heritage bank building in the East end of the Financial District.