Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Slum - Price's Lane (August 27, 1914). City of Toronto Archives, Series 372, Sub Series 32, Item 320. In Low Life, Luc Sante writes of how slum districts in contemporary New York—despite the gentrification of the Lower East Side—are essentially the same neighbourhoods that were slums in the nineteenth century. He writes:......

During Nuit Blanche last weekend the iconic Sam the Record Man sign was lit up over Yonge Street one last time. Now the sign is coming down as demolition begins and the new owners, Ryerson University, transform the site into a Student Learning Centre. It will not disappear for long, however: last year Toronto City Council voted to designate the entire building a heritage site in order to protect the sign, and Ryerson will......

Most of the election signs currently lining the streets of the city stick to identifying local candidates and their party colours. Commentary on the other candidates is rarely seen on lawn signs, while billboards tend to be the domain of lobbyists. This was not the case during the Ontario provincial race in 1948, when passers-by got an eyeful of what the opposition thought of the government. The Rich Uncle Pennybags character getting the boot......

Every Saturday, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. An Alberta-based Conservative leader leading a minority government to the polls. A Liberal leader from Quebec whose initial reputation was built as an intellectual. A NDP leader representing a central Ontario riding. Harper, Dion and Layton? Try Clark, Trudeau and Broadbent, the leaders offered up to Torontonians the last time a federal Tory......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo by Metrix X from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. The mid-nineteenth century rise of Toronto as a city of industry and importance brought its citizens increasing wealth, education, and sophistication. No longer content with the amusements of a colonial backwater, Toronto's culturally maturing society demanded more refined entertainment. So after the Great......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Queen Street West and James Street, looking northeast. William James Sr., 1908. Wikimedia Commons One of the easiest way to grab a snapshot of Toronto's past is to find the nearest microfilm reader (or online archive) and browse any of the newspapers that have chronicled the daily adventures of the city. For......

Today's featured article on Wikipedia is about the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, the 1840–built building that did some important stuff we don't entirely understand in the 19th century, and then got handed over to the University of Toronto Students' Union—then the Students' Administrative Council—in 1953. That means Toronto's little observatory that could ("determine the cause of fluctuations in magnetic declination") has finally joined the illustrious ranks of this month's other featured articles: domestic sheep,......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Front Page of the Globe and Mail from September 9, 1952. On September 8, 1952, four men sawed through the window bars at the Don Jail and crawled over the wall to freedom. The jailbreak of the Boyd Gang—Edwin Alonzo Boyd, Leonard "Tough Lennie" Jackson, Willie "The Clown" Jackson (no relation), and......

To most people, a map is a tool used strictly to figure out which route will get them from point A to point B with the least amount of pain. As time passes, these maps reveal much about period styles of illustration, methods of planning, promised developments that never got off the ground, and changes in street names—Lot West Art Crawl, anyone? In his new book, Historical Atlas of Toronto, Derek Hayes provides commentary......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Advertisement for CBLT's first night on the air. The Toronto Star, September 8, 1952 Once upon a time, Toronto television viewers had to rely on transmissions from south of the border to watch regular programming. While there had been homegrown demonstrations of the technology at venues like the Canadian National Exhibition from......

Torontoist's father (yes, our collective father) has the poster for the 1968 edition of the Canadian National Exhibition (15 Aug.-Sept.2) framed on his wall. A psychedelic time capsule densely jammed with illustrations of the people, characters, and other icons that defined its era, the poster reaches back to a time when The Ex was (or at least made an effort to appear to be) relevant. As the 130th CNE, forty years later, winds down......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo of Temple Building (with IOF signage) on the left and City Hall in the distance from Wikimedia Commons. Hailed as the first skyscraper in Toronto and the British Empire's tallest building for a time, the Temple Building helped usher in a new era of high rise towers that transformed the downtown......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Crystal Palace, 1871. Exhibition Place & CNE Archives Once upon a time, the consort of a queen whose empire stretched across the globe was the president of a society that encouraged the promotion of the finest arts, commercial enterprises, and industrial discoveries in his domain. With other major figures, he organized a......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Dr. Hastings, M.O.H., in his office (January 13, 1925). City of Toronto Archives, Series 372, Sub Series 32, Item 749. In the late 19th century, Toronto's booming growth and industrial development brought with it the problems of slums, pollution, epidemics, poverty, and ill health. Following trends in Britain and the United States,......

Optimism was in the air as the 1970 edition of the Canadian National Exhibition approached. The dawning of a new decade excited the fair's promoters and ad designers, encouraging both to add a modern touch to the Ex's 92nd edition. One of the most controversial exhibits was "Man and his Drugs" at the Queen Elizabeth Building. Described by programmers as "an honest, fearless portrayal of the effects of drugs on today's society," the maze-like......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Chorley Park, residence of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, 1923. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1231, Item 79 Visitors to Chorley Park in northeast Rosedale may notice a cul-de-sac roadbed off Douglas Drive that seems out of place with the surrounding greenery and serenity of local residents enjoying a rest on a bench.......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo of Gordon Sinclair in the Far East (ca. 1930). City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 2098. After a long and controversial career, Gordon Sinclair's obituary called him "soft-hearted, irascible, generous, rude, impulsive, sensitive, boorish, colourful, egotistical, irritating, explosive, warm and irreverent all rolled into one." The description was apt. With......

While P. Jamieson tried to raise a ruckus with their dare to the dozen or so other dry goods retailers located in the vicinity of Queen and Yonge, two competitors would have the last laugh—T. Eaton and R. Simpson expanded rapidly after 1883, with the early versions of their landmark stores in place by the end of the 19th century. Source: The Globe, May 12, 1883......

Image of The Star's coverage from June 21, 1954. News of the city's upcoming experiment with a pedestrian scramble crossing at Yonge and Dundas has been discussed widely. But until Torontoist reader Don Cumming sent us a tip, few of us realized that Toronto first experimented with this idea over 50 years ago. The concept of stopping all traffic so pedestrians can cross an intersection in every direction is also known as a "Barnes......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Flipping through your family's high school yearbooks can be an eye-opening experience. Besides seeing how your elders evolved through their awkward years, you gain an understanding of the environment that shaped them. The rebellious streak now expected of teenagers tends to be suppressed in yearbooks published before the 1970s except for in-jokes......

Is Toronto a dangerous city? And is it getting worse? This week for Metrocide, Torontoist is examining a sea of homicide data and trying to come up with conclusions based not in fear or fantasy but fact. Photo from 1986 by .allen from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. 1981 was the first year for Canada's Wonderland and NOW, the year of the Toronto bathhouse raids, and the year that Terry Fox died. That year, Toronto the......

Not so many of those bright red packs would be seen at an Argonauts game nowadays due to legislation, unless one pokes out of a fan's pocket. The 1969 edition of the Boatmen (10 wins, 4 losses) finished in second place in the East, a game behind the Ottawa Rough Riders. Four players were named to the CFL's all-star team: running back Dave Raimey, offensive guard Charlie Bray, defensive end Ed Harrington, and defensive......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo of The Grange, 1907. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 304. D'Arcy Boulton Sr. recalled his sentiments upon first arriving in Upper Canada in his reminisces, Sketch of His Majesty's Province of Upper Canada. He wrote: "When I first...set my foot on British ground, after residing in the American states,......

If Reba McEntire and Tony Bennett come to Toronto to play, why shouldn't tourists follow suit? Two decades ago, Metro Toronto urged tourists to "discover the feeling" while sampling its neighbourhoods and attractions. The focus of the late 1980s television spot that we've dug up today is the multitude of leisure activities the city offers. Viewers in markets like Cleveland and Detroit were enticed to check out ballet, fishing, gondola rides, horse racing, boutique......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. "La baie et l'île de Toronto" ("Toronto Bay and Island"), Robert Irvine, c. 1815. Image from Wikimedia Commons As crowds on Canada Day proved, the Toronto Islands are a popular destination for city dwellers to make a short escape. Even when they were physically connected to today's eastern port lands via marshes......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo of Orange Parade at Queen's Park in 1912. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 1388. Nowadays, the Orange Order is thought of as a quaint anachronism, a benevolent society that marches every twelfth of July to commemorate the victory of William III at the Battle of the Boyne. But the......

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Mechanics' Institute, William Notman, 1868. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Canada Day weekend is upon us, with the nation's birthday serving as the perfect excuse to celebrate the start of summer. Fireworks, public meals, outdoor concerts—Torontonians will be out in force for these events over the next few days, much as they were......

Every Saturday morning Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Photo of Toronto's Peter Pan Statue, City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1231, Item 716. Those words are inscribed at the base of the Peter Pan statue that stands in the square, now known as Glenn Gould Park, at Avenue Road and St. Clair Avenue. When, in the 1920s, city officials decided to......

When Phase 1 of the National Ballet School was completed just north of Jarvis and Carlton Streets, the "Grand Jeté" project was lauded for its modern but neighbourhood-appropriate design, as well as its restoration of incorporated heritage structures like the former Havergal Ladies' College and Northfield House. Once the flagship school was complete, a less ostentatious but just as impressive renovation was quietly conducted on another property owned by the NBS at Maitland and......

Since it was built in 1887, the Alexandrina Block on College Street west of Spadina has seen numerous tenants come and go, including The Bagel music venue. Among its current elements is a 1970s-style sign promising over a dozen variety of submarine sandwiches. Those hoping for a retro experience will be disappointed as all that remains of the self-proclaimed "Rolls Royce of submarines" is the sign, fully intact and party covered by a tree.......