Downtown Fort William is the location of Thunder Bay City Hall, and numerous other government offices.

In 1883 the Canadian government transferred responsibility for the Transcontinental railway to the private Canadian Pacific Railway, which subsequently relocated the Lake Superior terminus from the Fort William Town Plot (West Fort William) to the lower Kaministiquia River, seven kilometres downstream from Westfort.

The south core has a larger aboriginal population than much of the rest of the city, and the lowest average income in Thunder Bay.

[7] The John Howard Society, an organization dedicated to assist people who have come into conflict with the law, is located in the old YMCA building.

It is operated by the century-old Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society and has three floors of galleries, including a jail cell and recreation of a Fort William street from the early 20th century.

[13] The CBC's Thunder Bay studio is located on Miles Street on the former site of St Joseph's Convent.

[14][15] St Patrick's Cathedral, the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Thunder Bay, was built in 1963 at the corner of Donald and Archibald streets.

[20] The Fort William Gardens is located at the corner of Vickers and Miles streets, and is a 4,700 seat arena.

[25] Fort William Central School (built 1895) was located at the corner of Miles and May streets, and was demolished in the late 1950s for Paterson Park.

[22] Fort William Collegiate Institute was a secondary school located just south of the core which closed in 2005.

[27] The street layout in Downtown Fort William is based on a grid, which is interrupted at several points by Victoriaville Mall, Paterson Park and the former McKellar General Hospital.

Routes that use the terminal include 1 Mainline, 3M Memorial, 4 Neebing (limited), 8 James, 10 Northwood, 12 East End, 14 Arthur, 16 Balmoral, and 18 Westfort.