At Ontario Place & the CNE

This gallery features photos at and around Ontario Place and the Canadian National Exhibition.

The Canadian National Exhibition, initially known as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, first took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Toronto and area.

Exhibition Place, a 192 acres (78 ha) site along Toronto's waterfront just west of downtown, features several permanent buildings and structures, including significant heritage buildings.

Historically, it is the site of Fort Rouillé, an 18th-century French fort, marked by a monument. As part of the settlement of Toronto by the British, the site became a military reserve for use by the Toronto Garrison of Fort York and cleared of forest in the early 19th century. The Exhibition received permission to use part of the reserve in the 1870s and expanded to use the whole reserve by the 1920s. In the 1950s, the site was expanded south of Lake Shore Boulevard by landfill, and reduced in size on its northern boundary by the construction of the Gardiner Expressway.

Ontario Place is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place. It opened on May 22, 1971, and operated as a theme park centred around Ontario themes and family attractions until 2012 when the Government of Ontario announced that it would close for redevelopment.

Locations: Ontario Place, CNE
Date: Various