July 2024

EVENTS

Big Gay Out at Hanlan’s Point

Join us for a free event commemorating the anniversary of one of the first Pride events in Toronto at Hanlan’s Point.

Bring your own lunch and learn about the history of queer advocacy and activism on the Toronto Islands and beyond. The festivities will begin with introductory remarks from guests followed by an unveiling of a new Heritage Toronto plaque. In addition to interacting with informative displays and listening to stories on our 2SLGBTQ+ heritage, we'll enjoy a picnic together.

Please pre-register for more event details and to secure your free spot.

TOURS

Being Black on King

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Inglenook Community School (19 Sackville Street)

Discover the Black history that spans King Street East, including how St. Lawrence Hall was an important place for meetings on the abolition of slavery, hosting the North American Convention of Colored Freemen on September 11, 1851.

Attendees considered the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed those who had escaped enslavement to be captured and returned to the Southern states. It was not revoked until 1864, and during this time, about 20,000 Black people settled in Canada, resulting in a 50% increase in the community's population. More on the tour!

Rail Lands

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Chinese Railway Workers Memorial (9 Blue Jays Way)

Learn how the railways transformed Toronto from a small British settlement to a cosmopolitan city.

Did you know? The history of the Bathurst Street Yard dates back to the 1880s. Once known as the Spadina Yard, it serviced several historic railway companies and now forms part of the Union Station Rail Corridor. Commuter trains now comprise the largest use with over two million people commuting daily to Toronto. 

St. James Town

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Rekai Family Park (625 Bloor Street East)

Discover the history of the largest high-rise community in Canada. Once featuring grand Victorian houses on every corner, St. James Town is now home to many diverse cultures and immigrants from around the world.

Tour participants (seen above) stand near 200 Wellesley Street East to view a 30-storey mural. Depicting a phoenix rising from the ashes, in 2013, youth from the community came together to commemorate a devasting fire while transforming the side of the building with this artwork.

Presented by

Greektown on the Danforth

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Pape Subway Station (743 Pape Avenue)

Does it seem lately like life is full of Herculean tasks or Gordian knots? Is this reference a bit all Greek for you? Embrace it, and join us as we seek the Midas' touch and explore the history and rich heritage of our Greek community along the Danforth—from eateries, restaurants and businesses, to parades and festivals.

Presented by

Walking with Anna Jameson

NEW FOR 2024

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: TIFF Bell Lightbox Theatre (350 King Street West)

Play your part in 1830s Toronto while following the footsteps of nineteenth-century author Anna Jameson. Considered by some to be the first English female art historian, after her marriage, she travelled to Canada between 1836 and 1838. She described Ashbridge’s Bay (seen above), as an ecosystem once teeming with life—a place with thousands of birds, turtles, and fish.

Audience participation during the telling of Anna’s life story is encouraged. While you may be asked to play the groom, an English earl, or other small part, no acting experience or fancy accent needed for this interactive walk. Get ready for some fun!

Campus and Cosmos

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Munk School of Global Affairs (315 Bloor Street West)

Discover how Toronto became the “centre of the universe” for astronomical research, education, and public outreach over the last 150+ years.

Did you know? The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy was one of Toronto's first observatories. Originally named the Dominion Meteorological Building, the telescope dome is still prominent on this 1907 heritage building and was built to house a 6-inch Clark telescope.

Making Change at Honest Ed's

NEW FOR 2024

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Honest Ed’s original location (581 Bloor Street West)

Explore the vibrant Bloor and Bathurst area—its important sites of Black history, including Blackhurst, a hub for Toronto’s Black community—and learn how Ed Mirvish’s bargain store transformed the neighbourhood.

Presented by

TD Festival of South Asia

FREE

Gerrard Street East 

Meet us at our tent! During the TD Festival of South Asia, we'll celebrate the diverse heritage of Toronto's South Asian community while experiencing the tastes, sounds, and sights of this free special event.

Indigenous Paths and Presence

NEW FOR 2024

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Bedford Park Community Centre (81 Ranleigh Avenue)

See the Bathurst and Lawrence area through an Indigenous lens as we journey through the natural environment, learn about wampum belts, and explore Toronto's first suburban shopping centre whose official opening was marked by cannon fire.

Black History Unburied

FREE, $10 donation suggested

Riverdale Park (191 Winchester Street)

Meet us at our tent! During the Cabbagetown Farmers' Market, we'll offer special tours where you'll hear gravesite tales that feature notable Black community members buried at the Toronto Necropolis (one of the city’s oldest cemeteries), from freedom seekers to business leaders, from restaurateurs to Canada's first Black postman.

Yonge Street Architecture

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: College Park (44 Gerrard Street West)

What has got these architecture fans craning their necks and looking way, way up? Hint: They are at Old City Hall. Designed by architect Edward James Lennox, the building opened in 1899. As for what got them laughing later, you'll have to join the tour to find out as we explore the architecture of the neighbourhood that surrounds Toronto’s iconic road, Yonge Street. 

Presented by

Jewish Life on Lawrence

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: Eitz Chaim School (1 Viewmount Avenue)

Follow the postwar development of the Jewish community on Lawrence Avenue West. We’ll visit the area’s many schools, yeshivas, and synagogues, including Congregation Habonim Toronto, founded by Holocaust survivors; and the iconic bakeries and kosher restaurants like the United Bakers Dairy Restaurant, where a lunchtime meal has become decades-long Jewish family tradition.

Presented by

Creating Toronto

FREE, $10 donation suggested

Location: Northside of Market Street (Front Street and Market Street)

Meet us at our tent outside the St. Lawrence Market where we'll offer special tours exploring how today’s megacity started from 1793 plans for a ten-block townsite in the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood that included allotments for a church, jail, and courthouse.

Presented by

Anti-Greek Riots

$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)

Start: 433 Yonge Street

Learn how a misunderstanding between a returned First World War veteran and a Greek diner owner resulted in one of Toronto’s biggest riots. This event destroyed the majority of Greek-owned business in the downtown core and highlighted the grievances of masses of soldiers returning home from war.

Presented by

EXPLORE

Bollywood Dreams and Bazaar Scenes

From the founding of the Naaz Theatre in the 1970s, which first drew crowds to the area, to how the Gerrard India Bazaar is reinventing itself for younger generations today, our newest digital story has us immersed in the tantalizing sights and scents of Toronto's Little India. Discover how Indian and Pakistani newcomers to this neighbourhood dared to realize their dreams and longing for home by establishing this vibrant community.

This story was researched and written by Emerging Historian Sarah Takhar and made possible by the generous support of our Emerging Historians Champions:

PLAQUES

New plaque honours Black labour activist

On June 14, we unveiled a plaque commemorating Jack White at the Market Gallery, celebrating his enduring legacy with family members and labour leaders.

John Edgar (Jack) White (1925-2002) was the first Black union steward for the Canadian National Railway (CNR), the first Black representative for the Ironworkers Local 721 and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario, and he was among the first Black Canadians to run for provincial office with the NDP in 1963. 

In 1964, while working on the Prince Edward Viaduct, White was laid off by the subway contractor, sparking a major labour disruption. For two and a half weeks, in solidarity, his crew stopped working, resuming only when White was rehired. 

The plaque will be installed near Castle Frank subway station later this summer.

HERITAGE TORONTO AWARDS

Final call for nominations!

DEADLINE: Sunday, July 14 | 11:59 PM

Last chance to help recognize the remarkable contributions of individuals and organizations to our city's heritage. Nominations are open for three categories: Book, Built Heritage, and Public History. Submit your outstanding project for the 49th Annual Heritage Toronto Awards before the fast-approaching deadline.

Image Credits

Graphic with image of Hanlan's Point Gay Day Picnic, 1972. Photograph by Jearld Moldenhauer. Courtesy of the ArQuives.

Tour participants at St. Lawrence Hall, Being Black on King, July 22, 2023. Image by Johnny Wu.

Tour Participants, High Rail Park, June 25, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.

Emerging historian, Ori Abara, leading the St. James Town tour, September 26, 2021. Image by Herman Custodio.

Greektown on the Danforth tour, June 23, 2024. Image by Hammad Khalil.

Ashbridge's Bay east of Leslie Street, Toronto, August 31, 1915. Image: Toronto Harbour Commissioners / Library and Archives Canada

Campus & Cosmos tour, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, May 13, 2017.

Honest Ed's marquee, 581 Bloor St W., circa 1984-1990. Image courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.

Heritage Toronto tent at the Festival of South Asia, Gerrard St., July 30, 2023.

Indigenous people dancing. Cornelius Krieghoff, 1855. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

Black History Unburied tour, Abbott grave. July 11, 2023. Image by Oscar Akamine.

Tour participants, Yonge Street Architecture, June 27, 2024. Image by Hammad Khalil.

Jewish Life on Lawrence tour, June 20, 2024. Image by Hammad Khalil.

Animals in Urban Toronto tour, St. Lawrence Market, September 15, 2018. Image by Herman Custodio.

Anti-Greek riots tour, July 7, 2019. Image by Herman Custodio.

Display at Chandan Fashion, 1439 Gerrard Street East, May 19, 2024. Image by Hammad Khalil.

Brock James, LGA Architectural Partners, accepting for the Albert Campbell District Library, Adaptive Reuse Award, Heritage Toronto Awards, October 30, 2023. Image by Herman Custodio.

Jack White plaque unveiling with Lisa Skeete, CUPE Ontario; Yolanda McClean, Secretary-Treasurer CUPE Ontario, Andria Babbington, President of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council; Sheila White, plaque applicant; Al White, son of Jack White; Steve Neveu, Ironworkers Local 721; June 14, 2024. Image by Rachna Shah.