The iconic Mr. Christie tower in Toronto was defaced over the Christmas break.

The water tower, located at 2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W., is slated to become part of a mega-development with 15 towers, a GO station, a public park, two schools, two daycares and two public squares. The mixed-use residential and commercial property from First Capital Realty will be built on the site of the demolished Mr. Christie's factory.

The red and white water tower is all that remains of the factory, which opened in 1948, closed in 2013 and was demolished in 2017. The tower might have been lost too, but developers plan to conserve it and move it to one of the development's public squares, according to documents submitted to the City of Toronto.

The plan is to keep the tower in the mega-development planned for the site. Rendering Urban Strategies and Allies & Morrison via City of Toronto submission.

The red and white tower appears to have been sprayed with the word Forte, according to a post on the Humber Bay Shores Discussion Facebook group.

The defacing of the tower happened sometime on Christmas Eve, Marcia Hollings, who has a view of water tower from her condo, tells blogTO.

The graffiti drew mixed reactions in the discussion group — some people wondered why the old tower was still there and others pointed out the historical significance, a reminder of the factory that was there for so many years.

"It's part of the history of the neighborhood," one person wrote.

Other people thought the tagging was crude and ugly.

"Taggers are no different than dogs peeing on fire hydrants," wrote one person.

Some people wondered how the person climbed the tower. Photo by Marcia Hollings

Other people wondered how the person managed to climb the tower.

Forte is a common tag seen around the city and it's not the first time it has appeared on a heritage site. In 2017, the tag was found written across the historic Hearn Generating Station building.

Toronto Police Service tells blogTO they haven't received any calls about the graffiti and the developer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hopefully, the old tower will get a facelift soon but the five-phase development is still in the planning stages and is likely years away from completion.