Sitting amongst the houses of expensive South Hill neighbourhood is a large, brick building, hiding what is one of Toronto's most important buildings when it comes to water infrastructure. Only a sign out front, indicating "High Level Pumping Station", with the occasional Toronto Water truck nearby, hints to what this building houses. One of 22 that pump water from Lake Ontario throughout the city, High Level is the only one with a permanent staff maintaining operations around the clock.

The property that High Level sits on has housed water infrastructure since the 1870's, when it was the location of the Yorkville Waterworks. Then, it was used to take water from the nearby Castle Frank Brook (now buried), pumping the water to nearby Yorkville. The waterworks were eventually replaced, with the High Level as we know it commencing operations in 1906. Since then, the property has been expanded multiple times (the most recent in the 1950's), but always with the same goal - getting water from the lower reaches of the city to the upper parts; a task it does in conjunction with the other 21 pumping stations.

What sets High Level apart is the fact that it is the main control node for the entirety of Toronto Water's operations; all other facilities (including the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant) are remotely controlled from this location. As such, High Level is the only facility that has a permanent staff that maintains operations at all hours of the day. A backup facility does exist at the John St Pumping Station, however, should High Level not be functional for whatever reason.

I drove by this facility daily on my route to and from work, so needless to say I was quite happy to see it on the Doors Open list. And I was not disappointed with what I saw, now visible to all.