The
Toronto Islands were created in 1858 after a tremendous
storm
separated Toronto's eastern
peninsula from the city's
mainland. Once
the Islands had been formed they immediately became a popular
summer playground containing
hotels,
amusement parks, and
summer
cottages.
A
housing crisis during
World War II led to the
winterization of Island cottages and marked the beginning of year round
occupancy on the
Islands. Once the war was over, the city
mandated that all the
Island houses be
demolished so that the Toronto Islands could be
used
exclusively as
parkland.
Only the communities of Ward's Island and Algonquin Island survived
the city's wrecking crews. However, their status remained clouded until
1994 when the
province of Ontario signed a 99 year
lease with Toronto
Island residents, that finally
secured the
future of the "Islanders" and their
neighbourhood.
The Toronto Islands are
accessible by
ferry or
water taxi at the foot of Bay Street and Queen's Quay.