Leaside Towers Legacy

Expansive suites…surrounded by trees, ravines, water and sky….

Exquisite views, unrivaled in Toronto….

Every conceivable amenity….

Intended to be the best rental buildings in Canada, Leaside Towers has dominated the East York skyline since the early seventies.

The developers planned the buildings for long term tenants – 85 for families and 95 for adults only. Both buildings were “pet friendly” from the beginning, something almost unheard of in Toronto rentals at that time. The landlord even reconfigured apartment units per tenant requests.

Unlike most rental properties in the GTA, tenants from the early years still live here, some for almost fifty years. They remember features available today in only the fanciest condos. Heat and air conditioning all year, all the time, that automatically switched between cooling and heating as temperatures rose and fell. Driveways that melted snow as it touched the ground. Car jockeys. Double windows and insulated, soundproof walls. High speed elevators with oiled wood interiors and no-touch buttons. Real concierge service (then called “doormen”) who accepted and stored parcels and opened doors for tenants. Multiple lobbies with comfortable furnishings. Furnished lounge areas with TV adjacent to laundry rooms that had air conditioning and ravine views. Corridors with marble, grass cloth, and hardwood paneled walls and custom lighting. Built-in telephone and cable TV outlets. Daily maintenance “walkabouts” and common area cleaning.

And, most importantly, a large full-time staff that took pride in its work and a landlord who took pride in his legacy achievement.

True lends a hand. East York Mayor True Davidson places handprint (top) in slab of cement which will be place atop the tallest Leaside Towers apartment building, in Thorncliffe Park, during topping-off ceremony yesterday. The Toronto Star, June 25, 1970. Photographer: Mario Geo.

In their new home on the 22nd floor of Canada’s tallest apartment building, East York’s Leaside Towers in Thorncliffe Park, Toronto Mayor William Dennison and his wife stand by the window looking at the view. After living 25 years in Rosedale, the Dennisons sold their home and moved yesterday. East York Mayor True Davidson will move into the 43-storey building soon. The Toronto Star, August 28, 1970. Photographer: Boris Spremo.

At front door of Leaside Towers Apts., 85 Thorncliffe Park Drive between 1 and 1:50 p.m. Salvation Army Men and Women in uniform with canvassing kits, setting out in parade formation to storm the cliff dwellers for contributions to their $1.4 million May campaign. The Toronto Star, May 22, 1974. Photographer: Jeff Goode.