The Gardiner is the expressway Toronto loves to hate.

Controversial from the get-go, it was initially built in stages between 1955 and 1966, completely transforming the city's waterfront.

When completed in 1966, the Gardiner extended from west of the Humber River to Leslie Street. Since then, there have been more than a few calls to demolish the highway, replace it with a tunnel, or to turn it into a park.

None of those have come to pass, and the highway still stands tall across Toronto's waterfront.

Here are photos of the birth of the Gardiner Expressway.