The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) Building is a six storey building

Building

In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

 erected in 1917 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 by Alfred Chapman for the locally run Toronto Harbour Commission

Toronto Harbour Commission

The Toronto Harbour Commission was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built the Toronto Island Airport in 1939...

. It is now home to the Toronto Port Authority

Toronto Port Authority

The Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...

, a federal agency. Workers from the Port Authority have nicknamed the six-storey structure "The T" due to the familiar T patterning on the outside of the building – meant to be evocative of "Toronto". Formerly sitting on the waterfront, infill over the years has left the building on dry land and civic expansion has left it dwarfed by nearby buildings.

Since 1953, the THC Building has been rumored to be haunted by the ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 of Thomas Cates, its former janitor

Janitor

A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...

, who died of natural causes while working his night shift. He is most often seen in glimpses in the north-western stairwell where he will be sweeping or mopping the floor.

Nearby on Harbour Street is the old Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters

Old Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters

The old Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters, officially known today as 90 Harbour St, is a 5-storey building that was used by the Ontario Provincial Police from the 1973 to 1995 ....

at 90 Harbour Street. Residents complained about the Police Headquarters building for years, but in the late 90's cultural opinion shifted, especially because of the early style of the architecture which is not often seen in these parts anymore. As of 2011 the old police building has been demolished and will be developed as a 75-floor condo known as Ten York.