Located near the mouth of the Humber River are the Palace Pier and Palace Court condominiums. Their names honour the old Palace Pier.

The idea for a waterfront amusement pier was borne in the 1920s to rival nearby Sunnyside Pavilion. The Pier was designed to resemble the Palace Pier in Brighton, England. It was designed by Craig & Madill, a Toronto based firm that would later design the CNE bandshell.

On January 10, 1931 the cornerstone was laid but construction was slow. In fact, years passed before it was complete. The photo here shows the pier in July 1931 only partially complete. The onset of the Depression made matters work but finally the Palace Pier opened in June, 1941.

The Palace Pier extended 550 metres into the water with a 19 foot wide boardwalk, that would have given patrons a spectacular view of the lake and city. This commanding building included floodlights that lit the building from below periodically.

The Palace Pier was initially a roller skating rink but evolved into a major dance hall that was widely popular during World War II and the postwar years. The pier went through a variety of name changes from Strathcona Roller Rink to the Queensway Ballroom but due to confusion, the name was returned to the Palace Pier.

Numerous well known acts played here including the Dorsey Brothers, Les Brown and Duke Ellington. Later the building was used for boxing matches, high school dances and for numerous other events. Unfortunately, the pier was destroyed by fire in 1963, and the site later reconfigured into condominiums and a public park.

An historical plaque by the Etobicoke Historical Board near the site remembers this once important landmark.

Sources:

http://www.torontoplaques.com/Pages_PQR/Palace_Pier.html

I Remember Sunnyside, pg 102-103.

Unbuilt Toronto 2: More of the City that might have been. p. 204-205put out