Half Way House - Front Street West, looking north from the lake in 1815 Owen Staples (1866-1949). Photograph coloured with watercolour of pen & ink drawing. 15.2 x 25.4 cm. TPL (TRL) JRR 556 The Half Way House (building on the extreme right) on Front Street West, situated half way between the Ft. York Garrison and the City Hall in the Market building, was a popular tavern with the soldiers still in the 1850s. This verse was used to attract customers.         Within this hive we're all alive         Good liquor makes us funny         If you be dry, step in & try         The flavour of our honey. During the 19th century, Toronto had numerous taverns and inns as well as illegal drinking places. Drunkenness was a huge social problem for families and the city. The poorly paid railway workers were apparently particularly rowdy.