This week's Throwback Thursday takes us back to the summer of 2002, north of the entrance to the Steam Whistle Brewery at Roundhouse Park. The landscape of the park is sparse and dry, while in the background, Harbourfront's early condos are rising over the parking garage that looms over the Gardiner Expressway. On the left are the completed One York Quay towers of 1990, while behind the lamppost, Urbancorp's Riviera Condos have reached their structural topping-off at 24 storeys. Opened in 2003, the residential development added over 500 units to Toronto's Central Waterfront, with many more set to join in the coming years. On the left side of the photo in front of One York Quay, two cranes can just be made out. They are for the construction of the first two towers of the three-phased Waterclub Condos, the tallest of which would eventually rise 37 storeys.

Riviera Condos under construction in July 2002, image by Edward Skira

Flash forward 15 years to today, and we see a dramatic change to the cityscape surrounding the park, while the park itself has been greatly improved. The Steam Whistle signage on the water tower now pops out in its green branding, while railcars provide a glimpse into our past at the Toronto Railway Museum now onsite. On the east end of the park, the former Don Station acts as a shop and the start point for the popular children's train ride throughout the park. Intentionally zoomed out to cover more of the park's backdrop, this photo below shows how much has changed. For one, the ugly parking structure is now mostly hidden in this view by growing trees, while many new developments are now home to a thousands of people.

A slightly wider perspective of Roundhouse Park in 2017, image by Greg Lipinski

Starting on the left, we catch a glimpse of architectsAlliance's Ïcë Condominiums standing as the tallest buildings in the neighbourhood, while Infinity Condominiums, the first residential development in South Core, sit in front of Ïce. Nestled behind is Tridel's Ten York, which is climbing ever higher to its final floor count of 65 storeys. In the middle, the three Waterclub Condos towers are complete, as a the two Riviera towers.

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!