The Queen's Wharf Lighthouse (also known as the Fleet Street Lighthouse, after its current location) is located at Fleet Street just east of the Princes' Gates at the Exhibition Place

Exhibition Place

Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...

 Grounds in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. The octagonal building was originally part of a pair of lighthouses built in 1861 at Queen's Wharf, replacing an earlier lighthouse originally built in 1838. The 11 metres (36.1 ft) three-storey wood structure is one of two major lighthouses in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 harbour (the other being Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

Gibraltar Point Lighthouse

The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario. Completed in 1808, it is the oldest existing lighthouse on the Great Lakes.- History :...

).

This lighthouse along with a second, smaller lighthouse marked the entrance to the Toronto harbour from 1861, and became redundant when a new western channel to the harbour was opened and it was deactivated in 1912. The two lights were lined up to guide ships into Toronto Harbour, which had a narrow and shallow (14 feet (4.3 m) deep) channel over bedrock and shallow sandbars.

The other lighthouse was demolished but thanks to preservation efforts by the Toronto Harbour Commission

Toronto Harbour Commission

The Toronto Harbour Commission was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built the Toronto Island Airport in 1939...

, the remaining light house was relocated from Queen's Wharf to Fleet Street in 1929 and ownership transferred to the City of Toronto.

The building is a bare frame structure, and was never meant to be used as a dwelling by a lighthouse keeper. It currently sits at the edge of a small park about one block north from the current shoreline, and is contained within a small TTC

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

streetcar loop.

Getting there

From the Gardiner Expressway (Highway 2), take the Spadina Ave. exit, go west on West Lakeshore Boulevard. The lighthouse is at West Lakeshore and Fleet St. (which veers to the right of Lakeshore). It is in a park near the Princes Gate of Exhibition Place.

Further reading

• Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein. The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
• Jones, Ray, & Roberts, Bruce (Photographer). Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses (Lighthouse Series) (Paperback) (Old Saybrook, CN: The Globe Pequot Press) p. 69. ISBN 1-56440-899-X.
• Jones, Ray.The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
• Oleszewski, Wes. Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Penrose, Laurie & Penrose, Bill T., (1994-05) A Traveler's Guide to 100 Eastern Great Lakes: Lighthouses (Paperback), Friede Publications, 125 pages ISBN 0923756094, p. 82.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993