Your History

The Paradise Theatre

Heritage Toronto — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:42:52 -0500

By Jamie Bradburn

Personal story: the first time I went to the Paradise was to see Robert Altman's Nashville. The print was faded, but watchable; my seat was in rougher shape. The armrest was barely attached to the rest of the chair with either duct tape or chewing gum. While some people would have hightailed it to the nearest theatre with stadium seating, the improvised fix gave the Paradise a certain charm.

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:28:25 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Phone app brings Toronto architecture to life (Globe & Mail)

LOOKING BACK: Annis house continues to welcome guests on Kingston Road (Inside Toronto)

King George school marks 100 years of education (Inside Toronto)

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:02:35 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Demolition of historic Toronto house has locals fuming (Toronto Star)

Hume: Heritage is the way of the future (Toronto Star)

Two North York residents to be invested into Order of Ontario (Inside Toronto)

Monty's Inn escapes budget axe (Inside Toronto)

The Toros - Toronto's Other Hockey Team

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:04:58 -0500

By Jamie Bradburn

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:37:49 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Casa Mendoza and The Real Jerk brought quirky personality to Toronto (Toronto Star)

Scarborough councillors reject heritage designation for home built in 1939 (Inside Toronto)

Heritage plea for Macphail home gets lukewarm response (Inside Toronto)

What Yonge Street looked like in the 1950s (BlogTO)

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:15:51 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

A bolder and more balanced Toronto (Toronto Star)

A look inside the Flatiron (Toronto Star)

A Toronto that might have been (Globe & Mail)

As Toronto's east end grows and changes, Jilly's remains (National Post)

2011 North York Modernist Architecture Forum

Heritage Toronto — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:11:00 -0500

On Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, a dialogue on post-war suburban architecture was presented by the North York Community Preservation Panel (NYCPP) together with The City Institute at York University (CITY) at the North York Civic Centre.

To see video of the event, please click on the following links:

Presentations

Discussions

Moderator:

Christopher Hume, Toronto Star columnist

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:40:13 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Does a 34-storey building belong in the Distillery District? (Toronto Star)

Toronto's Flatiron building sold for $15 million (Toronto Star)

Old City Hall bells saved by the bureaucrats (Toronto Star)

‘A little oasis in the middle of the city' (Toronto Star)

Huskies and Hoops

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:02:28 -0500

By Jamie Bradburn

With the Raptors set to return to action on Boxing Day, we look back at Toronto's first major league basketball team.

Given that basketball was invented by a native of the Great White North, perhaps the fates were at work when the first game of the league that would become the National Basketball Association was played in Toronto on November 1, 1946. That distinction would be one of the few highlights of the short existence of the Toronto Huskies. Poor personnel decisions, a problematic star attraction, and lousy gate receipts all proceeded to sink big-time basketball before it could establish itself in Toronto.

Rebellion in York Township

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:57:18 -0500

By David Wencer

On the afternoon of July 6, 1936, angry citizens of York Township stormed the local relief office and occupied the building. They held the township's relief officer and later the township's Reeve as their prisoners, along with several employees of the relief office. The crowd's demands? That relief in the township be restored to its earlier levels, so that the unemployed and impoverished of York need not live in the newly-erected tent village.

The Globe, July 7, 1936 edition

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:05:51 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Brilliant new life for the Gardens (Globe & Mail)

Yonge Street's seedy past (The Grid TO)

New digs in old school (Town Crier)

Museum too important to close (Town Crier)

A Gardens Gallery (Torontoist)

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:00:40 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Saving the Montgomery Inn (Toronto Star)

End of days at 48 Abell St. (Toronto Star)

A Toronto tour through ‘man's imprint on the environment' (Globe & Mail)

Conversion of churches into condos a 'labour of love' (Inside Toronto)

Indecent Toronto

Heritage Toronto — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:52:01 -0500

By David Wencer

In July of 1930, Toronto passed a new by-law concerning clothing on public beaches. The previous by-law, from 1904, stated that "any person wearing a proper bathing dress, covering the body from the neck to the knees may bathe at any time in the public waters within the city limits." In contrast, the 1930 by-law was vaguer in its description, re-defining proper bathing attire as "sufficient to prevent indecent exposure of his person." The ambiguity of the new by-law resulted in some minor conflict over the next decade, as Torontonians debated what level of exposure qualified as "indecent."

Sunnyside, 1924 (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 219a)

New Plaque - Willowdale

Heritage Toronto — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:08:01 -0500

On November 17th, Heritage Toronto and the North York Historical Society presented their latest plaque honouring the history of Willowdale.

Heritage Toronto's Chief Historian Gary Miedema told stories of the village to over 500 students of McKee Public School in North York - from Jacob Cummer's small farming community to a modern, multicultural suburb.

The plaque will be installed in the coming weeks at the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Church Avenue, North York.

Gary Miedema shares stories with the students

From left to Right: Councillor John Filion, Gunild Speiss (NYHS), Kel Crossley (NYHS), Mari Rutka (School Trustee)

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:22:08 -0500

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Hume: City museum closures loom (Toronto Star)

Fate of Sam The Record Man's sign uncertain (Toronto Star)

Air and Space Museum prepares for final 'Last Post' (Globe & Mail)

Follow the cobblestoned street to the city's best new-but-old condos (National Post)

The 1936 Heat Wave

Heritage Toronto — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:48:20 -0500

By David Wencer

In late June of 1936, a heat wave - generally considered to be the worst ever recorded on the continent - began in the North American Midwest. Over the next few weeks the heat spread to the northeast, reaching southern Ontario in early July. On July 8, steadily climbing temperatures reached 95° Fahrenheit, or 35° Celsius, at midday, rising to a record high of 104.5°F (40.3°C) in the late afternoon. Temperatures exceeded 103°F (39.5°C) the next two days, and remained in the high 90s through to the 14th, with the meteorological office reportedly recording temperatures as high as 140°F (60°C) in the sun.

Array of photos from the July 10, 1936 Evening Telegram showing Torontonians sleeping outdoors

The Story of Plant #1 at Downsview

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:48:36 -0500

By David Wencer

Downsview's aviation history traces its origins to De Lesseps Field near Jane Street and Trethewey Drive where, in 1928, de Havilland Canada had its first facility. De Havilland was, up until World War II, a relatively small aircraft company in Canada, initially established by the British de Havilland Aircraft Company to construct Moth aircraft out of parts manufactured in England. At the time of de Havilland Canada's founding, the Moth was standard equipment for most flying clubs.

Factory before the war (Canadian Air & Space Museum)

Islington Village iTour

Heritage Toronto — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:21:01 -0500

Heritage Toronto has launched the fourth in its series of iTours, of Islington Village in Etobicoke.

Supported by the RBC Foundation, iTours are visual and audio tours that are a convenient way to explore Toronto's heritage, and visit areas of the city that are difficult to navigate with larger groups of people. iTours feature archival photographs, taking viewers on a photographic journey of the people, places and events that have shaped Toronto, and commentary from those who have shaped the neighbourhoods profiled.

The Islington Village iTour presents a microcosm of the changing patterns of urban development, right up to the present. Over the last two centuries, a number of waves of population growth have transformed this place, and left their mark. The main street has changed from a well spaced out collection of homes, churches, stores, hotels, and the municipal offices, to a completely built up, late-twentieth century commercial street.

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:02:52 -0400

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Yonge Street's oldsters make room for a glitzy neighbour (Globe & Mail)

Cemetery Sojourn: Mount Pleasant (Torontoist)

Projecting Toronto (Torontoist)

Cemetery Sojourn: The Necropolis Cemetery (Torontoist)

Cemetery Sojourn: St. John's Norway (Torontoist)

The 2011 Heritage Toronto Award Recipients

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:57:35 -0400

Heritage Toronto is pleased to announce the recipients for the 37th Annual Heritage Toronto Awards. The Awards celebrate outstanding contributions by individuals and community organizations, as well as industry professionals and associations, in promoting and conserving Toronto's history and heritage landmarks. Award recipients were announced at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 4th at Koerner Hall, the Royal Conservatory of Music.

This year, nominations were solicited from the public in four categories: the William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship Award; Book; Media; and Community Heritage. Independent juries reviewed the nominations and recommended the award recipients.

Heritage Toronto presented its Special Achievement Award to the late heritage developer Paul Oberman.

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:04:54 -0400

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

If these old walls could talk (Toronto Star)

History deserted and left to rot (Toronto Star)

Plane museum told to vacate (Town Crier)

Historicist: I Sing The Body Hygienic (Torontoist)

A look back at when Toronto was kind of filthy (BlogTO)

Heritage in the News

Heritage Toronto — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 09:51:55 -0400

Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.

Toronto's iconic Flatiron is up for sale (Toronto Star)

Reading the narrative of Toronto's mid-century architecture (Globe & Mail)

Jane-Finch.com receives Heritage Toronto Award (Inside Toronto)

Residents association takes steps toward creating a historical society (Inside Toronto)

The First Nations Stories within The Shared Path

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:38:02 -0400

Join us for the official unveiling of The First Nations stories within The Shared Path/Le Sentier Partagé, Toronto's latest Discovery Walk and Historical Park.

On Saturday October 22nd, Representatives of Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the New Credit, and Huron-Wendat First Nations will unveil their Shared Path plaques. Afterwards enjoy a riverside bonfire.

Location: Etienne Brule Park, on the east side of the Humber River, north of the Old Mill Bridge
Rain Location: The Lambton House, 4066 Old Dundas Street
Time: 1:30pm - 3pm

Access to Etienne Brule Park:
By TTC: From, Old Mill Subway Station, walk north to Old Mill Road and take Old Mill Road over the Humber River to Etienne Brule Park
By Car: Free Public Parking available in Etienne Brule Parking lot

Allenby Plaque Presentation

Heritage Toronto — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:57:12 -0400

On Sunday, October 2nd, Heritage Toronto, along with Councillor Paula Fletcher, ESSO, Tim Hortons and ERA Architects, presented a plaque which honours the former Allenby Theatre.

The Allenby Theatre (also re-named the 99cent Roxy) opened in 1935 and was designed by the well-known Toronto architectural firm Kaplan and Sprachman. Kaplan and Sprachman were responsible for the design of roughly seventy-five percent of all movie theatres in Canada between the years of 1921 and 1950. At the time of the Great Depression, the Allenby stood as a landmark building on Danforth Avenue because of its level of Art Moderne detailing and scale in relation to the adjacent commercial properties. It was chosen for designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as a representative example of the style of theatre constructed between the Wars.

Our current Statement on the Core Service Review

Heritage Toronto — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:11:19 -0400

Thursday, September 29th

On Tuesday, September 27th 2011, Toronto City Council met to consider the Core Services Review report from Executive Committee. The Executive Committee report called on Council to consider closing some museums, divesting Heritage Toronto, and to review "the option of consolidating Museum Services (Culture) and Heritage Preservation Services (City Planning) with an independent Heritage Toronto and report its feasibility to the Executive Committee."

Council took those items into consideration. Council voted, to remove the motion authorizing the divesting of Heritage Toronto, and to remove the motion authorizing the closure of some museums. Instead, Council approved the following motions:

Councillor Michael Thompson moved the following motions

1. The City Manager be requested to review the City's heritage assets to find operational efficiencies and strengthening fundraising ability, by considering public/private models adopted by other levels of government and by reviewing the partnership model adopted by the City's successful Bicentennial program.