Helsinki was relocated in 1640 from the mouth of the Vantaa river to the Vironniemi district, forming a part of the village of Töölö. There were already farms in the area, which had been impoverished in the 16th century during the war with Russia, and gradually taken over by the Crown. In 1643 Queen Christina of Sweden donated the village to Helsinki for expansion.
     The city started renting out parcels of land for cultivation and habitation during the 19th century. The first tenants were craftsmen and the petit bourgeoisie but there were also some gentry. In the late 19th century even more people were living in this area than to the north of Pitkäsilta, the long bridge.

     Conditions were poor - water and sewer systems were unheard of. The area was made distinctive by the Russian soldiers, with their sauna on the shore of the Töölönlahti bay, garrisoned in the Tykistöpiha or Arsenal Yard, the site currently occupied by the large hotels. The last of these barracks buildings served as the district library for Töölö until 1968. The barracks were demolished in the beginning of the 1970s.
      The beginning of the 20th century was an appropriate time to attach Töölö to the city's development plan, designed by Lars Sonck and Georg Nyström. In the 1906 city plan Töölö was already divided in two parts - Etu ('upper') Töölö and Taka ('nether') Töölö.