The Museum of Childhood intends to establish a world-class institution at the Gooderham & Worts site in Toronto, Ontario.

Our Future Home
The Museum may actually be built in what was once part of a whisky factory!

The Gooderham & Worts Distillery is a beautifully preserved complex of 19th-century industrial buildings surrounding the corner of Mill Street and Trinity Street in downtown Toronto.

This location, just a 20-minute walk east from Union Station, is well served by public transportation and parking areas.

The building we hope to occupy, called Rackhouse D, is a fine brick structure that once contained nothing but oaken racks for holding barrels of whisky, from the ground to the roof .

The renovation will provide approximately 30,000 square feet of space. Some of the racks will be kept and integrated into the display so as to remind visitors what the building used to look like.

The complex was begun in 1837, when a still was set up on the site to make whisky out of extra grain brought to the existing mill. The business grew steadily, along with the city as a whole. The large stone distillery, brick malthouse, kilns, warehouses, shops, and offices, all built before 1900, form an outstanding example of Victorian industrial design.

Over 100 buildings were built on the site. Of the 45 historic buildings that remain, 42 (including Rackhouse D) will be restored to new uses.