Since its reopening in 2003, the Distillery has become a tourist favourite. Photo by Alisha Karim-Lalji.
Culture Behind the Cobblestones
Article by Raynika Awotwi
Video by Raynika Awotwi and Melanie Dziengo. Music courtesy of ccMixter.org.
The copper cobble stones of the Distillery District in Toronto reveals a history of vacancy and a future of cultural and Victorian preservation. One of Toronto’s oldest historical landmarks, the Distillery District is noted for it’s small town charms.
In the video below, Marketing Representative Mathew Rosenblatt discusses how not only the Distillery has created a small town culture, but also a hotspot for artistry and tourism:
Rosenblatt says that landmarks such as the CN Tower or Casa Loma do not create a culture; it is the inhabitants themselves that give a landmark a culture.
“We created a fertile soil and planted the seeds that would create culture,” Rosenblatt says.
The culture was thought of when the Distillery was in its revitalization stages. The idea for the Distillery is that it’s a neighborhood that not only reflects Toronto’s culture, but also creates and adds to contemporary culture.
“Buildings are just to work within,” Rosenblatt says.
Even 175 years ago, the Distillery had a culture—an industrial culture highlighted by windmill operations. After 1990, the Distillery was vacant; Rosenblatt says “rodents and tumbleweeds” highlighted that particular culture. After its reopening in 2003, the Distillery’s culture continues to evolve in terms of more retail shops and restaurants.
If there’s anything Rosenblatt says he doesn’t want the Distillery to be, it’s the Eaton Centre. He says major commodification of the Distillery would destroy its natural, historical essence.
“I think it would be a terrible thing for the city,” Rosenblatt says. “I think we would take a historical landmark and create a clone of every other shopping district not just in this city, but in every other city. That’s not special.”
Although Rosenblatt says the Distillery management is concerned with real estate, he says the Victorian-style buildings within the Distillery allow tourists to enjoy food, retail and restaurants. Rosenblatt also says the history of the Distillery will never change.