The Distillery Christmas Market

A reminder of days long gone

Dec 23, 2024

Yes, it’s commercialized. It gets more so with each passing year. Everything about this time of year feels/is commercialized. There is really no escaping it.

There is also no escaping how incredibly beautiful the Distillery District is. Founded in 1832, Gooderham & Worts began as a windmill in the wilderness and between the 1830s and 1890s, grew to become the largest distillery in the world and the largest corporate taxpayer in Canada.1 Its rustic Victorian industrial charm and European inspired walkways, nestled amongst the increasingly widening concrete jungle of Toronto.

For a lack of a better term, most people would consider these images “street photography”. I’m not a fan of that term but I do LOVE the genre. Its connectedness to humanity and the human condition and its intimacy in storytelling makes it my favourite genre of photography.

I’m not going to list the masters of this genre that have influenced me. We all know who they are. Their names have been recited countless times by today’s street photographers. They’re the same for every photographer who has ever been influenced by this genre and every lover of street photography.

There are many photographers and, dare I say it, “influencers” who roam these pathways. Especially during this time of year. Their photographs and videos that fill the platforms sometimes diminishes what an amazing place this is. That over saturation however, should not dissuade you from enjoying the beauty and uniqueness that exists around every corner.

The Distillery is as close to being a perfect locale for street photography if you like your photography to included elements of history, of days gone by. This area’s unique character is unlike any other part of the city. It was designated a national historic site because the “complex is an outstanding example of Victorian industrial design in terms of integrity, historical association and aesthetic qualities.”

I can not emphasize how much I value and treasure this area of the city.

It is beautiful. It is not cookie cutter. It is not bland. It is not sterile. It is not stale.

It is everything that reminds us of how things once were. It is a history lesson. It is an appreciation of the past.

According to the Distillery website, “it is widely regarded as Canada’s premier arts, culture and entertainment destination. A place brimming with creativity and creative people, that can inspire dreams, and a place that can help them come true.”2 Marketing fluff, I know. But hard to disagree with when you’re there.

Beauty in the Everyday

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