TLTV Ep 56 - The R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant

The R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is both a crucial piece of infrastructure and an architecturally acclaimed historic building. It is located in the east end of Toronto in the Beaches neighborhood, along the shores of Lake Ontario. The plant was built by 1941 and unlike most modern engineering structures, was also created to make an architectural statement. Fashioned in the Art Deco style, the cathedral-like structure remains one of Toronto's most admired buildings. It is, however, little known to outsiders. The plant has thus earned the nickname The Palace of Purification. Despite its age, the plant is still fully functional, providing approximately 45% of the water supply for Toronto and the Region of York. In 1992, the plant was named a national historic civil engineering site by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. The facility's beautiful grounds remain open to the to the public.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• John
• Goldstein
• Toronto
• Landscape
• TV
• vidcast
• video
• podcast
• city
• urban
• Ontario
• Canada
• HD
• high definition
• GTA
• R.C. Harris
• filtration
• plant
• water treatment
• art deco
• architecture
• Lake Ontario

[deepblue1963]

wasnt there a drinking fountain on the roof at one time?

[TorontoLandscapeTV]

@deepblue1963 -- Good question. I'm not sure if there was or not.

[superman1749]

They filmed lots of tv shows there, such as Mutant X, Robocop the series, Total Recall 2070 and parts of Tekwar I believe. They probably film others there as well. It's a cool building. youtube. com/watch?v=ECrIo3g_SjE

[Pavel2535]

Торонто, город мечты и спасибо за видио! Прекрасно! На Балтике - не хуже, привет от нас.

[bababooey7576]

what a gem. been th rough here twice. proud to have this in our city

[daw2501]

I haven't visited the plant ever since I was in grade 5 and that was more then 20 year ago. After seeing this I really want to pay another visit. Thanks!

[smilliegirl2]

I remember when I was a kid (55yrs ago), soap box derbies were held there, going down the pavement around the building and right down to the bottom. It was fantastic and so much fun. I have always wanted to see the inside and plan on a trip there this summer. Thank you for this film, so beautifully done.

[oneillrealestate]

You definitely captured the serenity (and high winds) at the "Palace of Purification"!

FYI, the south facade of the building (as you can see in 1:20) is currently under scaffolding.