Celebrating the extraordinary made possible when people connect for heritage |
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This week, we announced the 44 nominees for the Heritage Toronto Awards. In 2022, we will gather in-person for the first time in three years to celebrate the power of connections—people working together on projects that better our city, and preserve and explore our heritage.
The 47th Heritage Toronto Awards will be held on October 17, 2022 at The Carlu. This event is Heritage Toronto's major fundraiser of the year, raising monies in support of its public programming. Tickets are on sale now. See heritagetoronto.org for more information.
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We are pleased to profile a diverse slate of nominees and their extraordinary contributions to Toronto's heritage in three categories: Public History, Book, and Built Heritage.
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Thank You for Keeping Us On Track, sculpture by Jordan Sook. Image: Spring Morris
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The Public History Award, presented by Clifford Restoration Ltd., recognizes multimedia and collaborative projects specifically designed to engage, challenge, and educate the public. The 14 nominated projects range from art installations, to audio tours, exhibitions, and short films.
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Indigenous Toronto: Stories That Carry This Place. Art: Monique Aura Bedard. Design: Crystal Sikma
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The Book category highlights written works that engage with all aspects of Toronto's heritage. This year's 24 nominees explore a range of subjects from our Indigenous history, to the modest built heritage of workers' cottages, and the transformation of our rivers and waterfronts into recreational spaces.
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Massey Hall. Image: Scott Norsworthy |
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This category recognizes excellence in built heritage projects through three awards: Adaptive Reuse, Heritage Planning & Architecture, and Crafts & Trades, the latter presented by Heather & Little Ltd.
Among the six exemplary projects nominated are the conservation of a Space Age park shelter and washroom, the adaptive reuse of an Art Deco industrial complex, and the modernization of an iconic historic landmark into a state-of-the-art performance venue.
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Emerging Historians Sponsor |
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Tour participants near Humber Bay Bridge Arch, July 3, 2022. Image: Ashley Duffus |
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START: Humber Bridge Parking Lot (1998 Lake Shore Boulevard West) |
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This Labour Day weekend, join us for a discussion on the Indigenous heritage of T’karonto and Turtle Island, and learn about the inherent rights and intimate relationships of First Nations peoples to these ecosystems. This land-based educational session will be led by a critical Indigenous perspective on the impact of colonialism. |
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September 3 | 3:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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October 1 | 3:00 PM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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R. H. McGregor Public School, February 4, 1929. Image: J.H. McCuaig, Toronto Star/Toronto Public Library |
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START: Bell building (367 Donlands Avenue) |
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With schools set to welcome students back next week, we’re thinking about the history of education in our city as featured on this tour. The R.H. McGregor elementary school, one of the oldest schools still serving children in East York, first opened in 1921. The school is named for R.H. McGregor, an East York school trustee who was later elected to the House of Commons, serving for 36 years until 1962.
R.H. McGregor was one of the earliest multi-room schools. A second wing was added in 1929 which included more classrooms and a large gymnasium.
Learn more about the schools and other heritage of East York on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 7 | 6:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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Tour participants, St. James Town West Park, June 4, 2022 |
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START: Allan Gardens (northwest corner) |
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St. James Town West Park is surrounded by large condominium buildings built from the 1950s onwards that lacked green spaces. In recent years, the community has rallied together to demand improvement of its public spaces. The revitalization of this park is an example with plans in 2023 for new spaces for gathering and local events for community building.
The park is also home to a 2008 mural designed for the Urban Canvas project, a mural series led by Amnesty International Toronto to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The mural features Article 26 - the right to education - with visual representations celebrating teaching from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
See it yourself and explore more of the public art of the area on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 10 | 3:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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Leaside, ca. 1928, aerial view, looking east from Sutherland Drive to east of Laird Drive. Image: Toronto Public Library |
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START: Leaside Memorial Community Gardens (1073 Millwood Road) |
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The Canadian National Railway Company once owned much of the land that now forms Leaside and hired Fredrick Gage Todd, an architect and town-planner from Montreal to design a community based on the Garden City Movement, which promoted self-contained communities, surrounded by a greenbelt, that provided residents with jobs, retail and industry.
The CNR unveiled Todd’s garden city plan for Leaside in 1912. One year later, on April 23, 1913, the town of Leaside was formally incorporated. But little development or construction happened. Only 23 people lived in the area, and by 1924 that number had increased to 500 residents. Instead, the development of industry in Leaside was lead by the war efforts.
Learn more about Leaside’s growth on this tour.
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September 11 | 11:00 AM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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October 8 | 3:00 PM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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231 Mutual Street, August 6, 2022. Image: Ashley Duffus |
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START: Barbara Hall Park (519 Church Street) |
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For nearly three decades, this building at 231 Mutual Street was a recreational refuge for members of the queer community. The Victorian mansion, first built in 1887 as a family residence, was purchased in 1973 by gay activist and lawyer Peter Maloney to establish a bathhouse. Club Baths, one of four steam baths raided by police in the 1981 Bathhouse Raids, was located here. It’s also the location of the infamous 2000 Pussy Palace police raid.
Learn more about the building and the police raids here which sparked community outrage and protest on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 14 | 6:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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Tour participants, 44 Walmer Road, June 19, 2022. |
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Capturing Mid-Century Toronto |
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START: Spadina Subway Station (Walmer Road exit) |
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44 Walmer Road, built 1969 and designed by Uno Prii, stands 13 storeys and once featured balconies with circular cut out designs along the railings. This distinctive architectural feature was removed in a 2001 renovation by the owner who in response to protests over the plans stated he simply did not like the feature.
Learn more about how this happened and the building, and others like it, on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 17 | 3:00 PM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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This tour will be co-led by professional photographer Vik Pahwa.
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Tunnel work on the Yonge subway extension, May 14, 1971. Image: Graham Bezant, Toronto Star/Toronto Public Library |
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START: Mill Street and Old Yonge Street |
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In the 1960s, extending subway service, which stopped at Eglinton, into Hoggs Hollow and North York was controversial. Debates centered on where and how to build the track around Hoggs Hollow because of the Don River and the wet soil conditions.
While additional funding did eventually allow for greater reinforcement of the ground and walls to allow underground tunneling, and to redirect the Don River, Metro planners decided not to extend the line to Steeles Avenue for fear of “overstimulation of urban development”.
More on this public transit history and the heritage and future of the Hoggs Hollow area on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 18 | 11:00 AM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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Tour participants, Modest Hopes & Homes, June 22, 2022.
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START: Sackville Street and Queen Street East |
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Learn about Toronto’s workers’ cottages on this tour. Under threat from development, a few survive in the east end, examples of working class housing built near industrial sites in 19th-century Toronto. Learn about this architectural style, once very common, and also about the families who called them home. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 21 | 6:00 PM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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This tour was developed and will be led by heritage architect Don Loucks and heritage conservationist Leslie Valpy. |
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Tour participants, Pedalling the Parks, September 5, 2021. |
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START: Marilyn Bell Park tennis courts (1389 Lake Shore Boulevard West) |
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Tour participants stand at Toronto Inukshuk Park, formerly Battery Park, which features an Inuit stone structure found in the arctic landscape. The Inukshuk serves as a guide to travellers on land and sea, providing comfort, advice and spatial orientation. One of the largest of its kind in North America, the structure stands 30 feet high with an arm span of 15 feet. Approximately 50 tonnes of mountain rose granite was used to create the Inukshuk, which was made by internationally acclaimed Inuit artist Kellypalik Qimirpik from Cape Dorset, Nunavut.
Explore more of our city’s waterfront heritage on this leisurely cycle along the shoreline. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 24 | 3:00 PM
DONATIONS REQUESTED, LOUDSPEAKER TOUR
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This tour was developed with the support of a generous donation by Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family. |
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Tour participants, Guild Park, June 8, 2019. Image: Ali Mosleh |
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START: Guild Inn (201 Guildwood Parkway) |
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Guild Park features the facades and fragments of more than 50 demolished buildings from the 1950s to 1970s. Here, tour participants explore the brick and stone entranceway from the Granite Club's 1926 location at 63 St. Clair Avenue West. A close look at the keystone reveals the club’s initials and symbols – a curling stone and two corn brooms.
Learn more about this unique park and how it has helped preserve remnants of our built heritage on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 25 | 11:00 AM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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Tour participants, Reggae Cafe Seafood, June 30, 2022. Image: Ashley Duffus |
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START: 1416 Eglinton Avenue West |
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Meet the residents and store owners of Little Jamaica who are keeping their cultural roots and community alive in challenging times. The neighbourhood’s businesses are at the heart of this cultural hub for Toronto’s Caribbean population. Learn about its history, and the impacts resulting from one of the largest transit construction projects in the country and a global pandemic. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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September 28 | 6:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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This tour was developed with the support of a generous donation by Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family. |
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Tour participants, Lamport Stadium, July 30, 2022. Image: Ashley Duffus |
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START: 1155 King Street West |
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Meet the women who overcame persecution and prejudice in their fight for opportunity and justice in 19th- and 20th-century Toronto. From the former site of the Mercer Reformatory, the first women’s prison in Canada, we’ll explore the area’s long-lost factories, immigration centres and rooming houses to uncover the stories of the women who lived and worked here. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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October 2 | 11:00 AM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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This tour was developed with the support of a generous donation by Alex Pike. |
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Tour participants, Creating Toronto, December 11, 2021. |
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START: South end of Market Lane Park |
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Clown around with us as we explore Toronto's oldest neighbourhood - St. Lawrence. We'll share the all-too-true tale of the Circus Riots. In July 1855, a troop of American clowns from S.B. Howes' Star Troupe Menagerie & Circus ended up at a brothel on King Street near Jarvis. These rowdy clowns soon took on some rough-and-tumble local firefighters and the situation escalated into an angry mob. This was no water balloon party and the violence was such that only the arrival of the militia quelled the mob. The aftermath included an inquiry and mass firings and reorganization of both the firefighting and police forces.
More on this peculiar and yet important event in our history on this tour. Last chance to catch the tour this season!
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October 5 | 6:00 PM
$20 FEE, HEADSET TOUR
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Our 2022 Tours season was made possible by our Presenting Sponsor:
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Standard Theatre, circa 1930. Image: City of Toronto Archives |
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Commemorating a cultural landmark in the local Jewish community |
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This week, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Standard Theatre — the first purpose-built Yiddish-language theatre in Canada — with a recently installed plaque at Dundas and Spadina.
Opened on August 30, 1922, the building at 285 Spadina Avenue was designed by architect John MacNee Jeffrey in the Art Deco style, possibly with architect Benjamin Brown. Despite a modest exterior, the 1,500-seat venue was ornately decorated inside.
Over the decades, the building has seen many changes. This cultural center for the Jewish community also hosted rallies by political activists, trade unionists, and communists, and later transformed into a popular burlesque house in the 1960s, and a Mandarin and Cantonese action and kung fu movie theatre in the 1970s.
The development of this plaque was supported by Andrew Stewart, Ontario Jewish Archives, and many generous donors.
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Statistics Canada's report paints a portrait of changing immigration patterns that have been decades in the making. (CBC)
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The city put its $10,000 annual grant to the Friends of Fort York, the non-profit organization that manages the site and uses the money to fund Fort York’s guard program, on hold earlier this year. It also launched an external review that will look at how the group fits into a new museum policy. (Globe and Mail)
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The newest plans for Ontario Place have been called “problematic” and “unacceptable,” centered on an indoor spa mega-project over public access to the site and waterfront. (Toronto Storeys)
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