.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)
Wednesday marks 185 years since the Town of York was incorporated as the City of Toronto.
On March 6, 1834, Toronto had a population of just over 9,000 and its main boundaries were Bathurst Street in the west, Dundas in the north and Parliament in the east.
As of 2016, the city had a population of 2.732 million and had grown in size to encompass the former municipalities of Etobicoke, North York, York, East York and Scarborough.
Toronto is now the fourth-largest city in North America by population and a global destination for tourism, business, arts and a variety of cultures.
There’s a lot this city has to be proud of, and with that in mind, people have been marking its birthday throughout the day and sharing their celebrations on social media.
Mayor John Tory started the morning by proclaiming Wednesday “City of Toronto Day” on Twitter.
Tory also asked social media users to use the hashtag #TO185 when sharing their birthday wishes online.
The CN Tower, which was built in 1976, and the University of Toronto, which was first established as the King’s College in 1827 when Toronto was still York, were among the Twitter accounts wishing the city a happy birthday.
The Fairmont Royal York, which officially opened in 1929 on Front Street, also wished the city a happy birthday online.
When 28-storey Royal York opened its doors, it wasn’t only the tallest building in Toronto at the time, but also the tallest building in the entire British Commonwealth.
Get daily National news
Other landmarks in the city are also celebrating, including St. Lawrence Market.
They shared an old photo of the South Market building, which was built in 1845 and was once home to city hall.
The Blue Jays, Maple Leafs, Raptors and Argos all wished the city a happy birthday, as well, with the Raptors tweeting that Toronto “(doesn’t) look a day over 134.”
The Toronto sign in Nathan Phillips Square was lit blue Wednesday morning to celebrate, and a two-day festival is planned there for this weekend.
From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, Nathan Phillips Square will be filled with live entertainment, food trucks, local vendors and even a beer garden for the Celebrate Toronto event.
PHOTOS: Historical images of Toronto
WATCH: A tour of Toronto’s oldest movie theatres
Comments