John Inglis Co. Plant

The Bren light machine gun was manufactured by the John Inglis Company.

The factory In Toronto produced them for the Canadian and British governments in the 1940s. By 1943, it was producing 60% of all Bren guns produced worldwide.

The Inglis facility was quite large, with many buildings. It's not clear whether the building in this gallery was used for Bren production or not. It offered few clues as to its history.

When these photos were taken, it was a simple, empty shell. It had obviously been derelict for a number of years given the quantity of graffiti and destruction inside.

For the longest time I'd thought this place was the Massey-Harris/Ferguson plant. As it turns out, that building was on the other side of the nearby railroad tracks. There are enough archival aerial shots at this website to convince me.

Located in an area now known as Liberty Village, this area has been the focus of a large redevelopment project.

All of the industrial buildings have either been demolished or converted into condominiums over the past 15 years. It was inevitable that this building would be demolished to make way for yet another condo project.

In 2009, it was demolished.