New plaques for Emancipation Month commemorate stories of Black resistance and success | |
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For Emancipation Day on August 1 we were honoured to participate in a community march marking the date in 1834 when slavery was abolished in Canada. Organized by the Blackhurst Cultural Centre, the event ended with a community gathering at Christie Pits Park, where we unveiled a new plaque on Peggy Pompadore (circa 1766-1827), a Black woman enslaved in Toronto with her children.
Slavery was legal in Upper Canada (now Southern Ontario) when Peggy was born. A challenging story to tell, Peggy appears in very few historical records; most are written by her enslavers. The plaque contains a single image of an advert offering her for sale, which starts: "To be sold, a black woman named Peggy...". We know she took great risks to resist her oppression. Several times, Peggy ran away or refused to work and was put in jail. Peggy's plaque will be installed permanently near Front and Sherbourne later this year.
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Below we highlight two more plaques on our city's early Black heritage. While both also address the history of slavery, like Peggy's story, they speak of resistance, bravery and leadership. | | |
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LOCATION: 50 Adelaide Street East | |
James Mink was born in Kingston. His father was enslaved at the time.
Mink became a respected Black Toronto businessman, opening the prominent Mansion House Inn and Livery Stable on Adelaide Street around 1850. With his brother George, he started a public bus service. The brothers also had a contract to transport prisoners between jails in Toronto and Kingston. Mink often hired Black men to drive his vehicles.
Read the plaque
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John Merriwether Tinsley
(1783 - 1892)
| LOCATION: To be installed later this year in the Bay & Dundas area | |
John Tinsley was a Black man from Virginia who was born into slavery. Freed at age ten, he became one of Toronto’s most prominent Black business owners.
Tinsley moved to Toronto in 1842 where he purchased property in St. John’s Ward. He started his own construction company and added to his real estate holdings over time by constructing a series of cottages and tenements in the district. Tinsley’s construction company provided many freedom seekers with their first jobs in Canada.
Tinsley died at 109, making him one of the longest-living Canadians at the time.
Read the plaque
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Greektown on the Danforth | |
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TONIGHT, August 3 | 6:30 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Pape Subway Station (743 Pape Avenue)
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Learn about Toronto’s Greek community and its settlement on the Danforth during the postwar years. This walk will explore Greektown, from its foundations in faith and family, to milestone community events, and the evolution of businesses and restaurants, including the creation of Flaming Opa Cheese as a tourist spectacle. | |
Tour developed and led by the Hellenic Heritage Foundation. | |
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Saturday, August 5 | 11:00 AM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Huron Square (Huron Street and Dundas Street West)
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Discover the past and present along Spadina Avenue; the shifting demographics that saw a thriving Jewish community transition to Toronto’s Chinatown.
Did you know? According to Chinese mythology, the Dragon’s Gate is located at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain. Many carp swim upstream against a strong current; few make the final leap over the waterfall. If successful, the carp is transformed into a powerful dragon. The story illustrates the importance of hardwork and dedication, and is depicted in a mural on Spadina Avenue (seen above). More on the tour!
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Tour developed with the support of a generous donation by Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family. | |
Service & Scandal in the Mayor's Office | |
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Saturday, August 5 | 3:00 PM Part 2
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Comstock Pavilion at St. James Park (120 King Street East)
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Explore the legacy of Toronto’s mayors beyond the sex and crack cocaine scandals. In this second part of this series of walks, we’ll learn about the city’s history through the lives of our chief magistrates, including more recent mayors Tommy Church, father of the TTC, and Nathan Phillips, “mayor of all the people”. | |
Building Community on Bloorcourt | |
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Sunday, August 6 | 11:00 AM
Saturday, August 19 | 3:00 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Bloor Street West and Dufferin Street (northwest corner)
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On this walk, explore this neighbourhood transformed by generations of immigrants: from postwar Italian and Portuguese migrants, to more recent Ethiopian and Eritrean newcomers. Home to families and artists, Bloorcourt is defined by the community spirit of its small businesses, celebrated through the local Rosina Shopkeepers Project, and local hubs.
NOTE: This experience includes a special behind-the-scenes visit to the Paradise Theatre.
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Tour developed with the support of a generous donation by Kate Marshall. | |
Writing Change in the Annex | |
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Thursday, August 10 | 6:30 PM
Saturday, August 19 | 11:00 AM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Seaton Park (14 Albany Avenue)
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Explore the Annex through the work of women writers who called the neighbourhood home, from Carol Shields to Gwendolyn MacEwen to Kim Moritsugu.
Did you know? In the 1970s, Brunswick Ave (seen above) had a bohemian atmosphere. A community of writers, photographers, playwrights, and musicians formed with frequent barbecues and sounds of folk music in the air. Author Katherine Govier was among the residents. Her collection of short stories, “The Fables of Brunswick Ave,” was inspired by the famous writers and other residents who lived on her street. More on the tour!
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Saturday, August 12 | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
30-minute tours offered at 11:15 am, 12:15, 1:15 and 2:15 pm
FREE
St. Lawrence Market (Market Street)
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Meet us at our tent for a free walk through the history of Toronto! Explore the hidden gems of the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood, once the old Town of York, and connect today's bustling city with remnants from the past. | |
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Saturday, August 12 | 3:00 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
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. | |
Tour developed with the support of a generous donation by Alex Pike. | |
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Sunday, August 13 | 11:00 AM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
High-Level Pumping Station (35 Poplar Plains Road)
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On this walk, discover how public works have shaped Toronto. Using examples from the South Hill area, we’ll explore some of the infrastructure that makes life in the city possible, from drinking water filtration and distribution, to transportation, to electricity, and trace how these modern systems connect back over the past thousand years to Indigenous trail networks. | |
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Thursday, August 17 | 6:30 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Eitz Chaim school (1 Viewmount Avenue)
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Follow the post-war development of the Jewish community on Lawrence Avenue West. On this walk, 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 United Bakers Dairy Restaurant, where a lunchtime meal has become a decades-long Jewish family tradition. | |
Tour developed with the support of a generous donation by Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family. | |
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Sunday, August 20 | 11:00 AM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Sculptor's Cabin (Guild park and Gardens)
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Discover what remains of the historic buildings of Old Toronto at Guild Park, nestled atop the Scarborough Bluffs. As we wander among the architectural fragments of demolished buildings, we’ll hear stories of the artists, advocates, and architects who helped to shape the early landscape of the city, and preserved these remnants from that time. | |
This tour developed with Friends of Guild Park. | |
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Sunday, August 20 | 3:00 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Bluffer's Park Parking Lot (west end)
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Immerse yourself in the history of the beautiful Scarborough Bluffs, one of the most significant geological features in Toronto. On this walk, we’ll travel thousands of years exploring the area’s lengthy Indigenous history evidenced by the oldest artifacts found in all of Toronto; its unique ecology, including the presence of three endangered bat species; and its heydey as a resort and recreation destination. | |
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Tuesday, August 22 | 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
30-minute tours offered at 3:15, 4:15, 5:15 and 6:15 pm
FREE
Cabbagetown Farmers Market (Riverdale Park)
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Join us for this free tour experience. Meet us at our tent for the day’s schedule of walks featuring gravesite tales of 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. | |
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Thursday, August 24 | 6:30 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Inglenook Community School (19 Sackville Street)
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On this walk, discover the Black history that spans King Street East: from the first Underground Railroad site excavated in Canada, to one of Toronto’s first soul food restaurants whose name, design and atmosphere surfaced the history of slavery in the US and Canada, while also celebrating the community leaders who risked everything to ensure freedom. | |
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Saturday, August 26 | 11:00 AM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Sir Winston Churchill Park (301 St. Clair Avenue West)
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Wander through the leafy streets of South Hill, as we learn about the early 20th-century history and architecture of the neighbourhood. On this walk, we’ll explore community green spaces and hear stories of wealthy heiresses, war heroes and everyday families, and how they are linked to historically significant properties, including a collection of Eden Smith homes and a former Mothercraft hospital and residence. | |
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Saturday, August 26 | 3:00 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Rekai Family Parkette (625 Bloor Street East)
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Discover the history of the largest high-rise community in Canada on this walk. Once featuring grand Victorian houses on every corner, in the 1960s, St. James Town became the centre for young, single lifestyles. It’s now home to many diverse cultures, welcoming new immigrants from around the world. | |
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Sunday, August 27 | 3:00 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Barbara Hall Park (519 Church Street)
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Discover the stories of Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ community on this walk — from advocacy fuelled by the Bathhouse Raids and the AIDS epidemic, to the belonging and celebration found at the City Park Apartments, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and St. Charles Tavern. Learn about efforts to strengthen the Church-Wellesley Village today and build the community for the future. | |
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Thursday, August 31 | 6:30 PM
$9.85 FEE ($8.00 ticket + $1.85 Eventbrite transaction fee)
Chinese Railway Workers Memorial (9 Blue Jays Way)
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Learn how the railways transformed Toronto from a small British settlement to a cosmopolitan city, tracing their role from today’s quick modern commute to their historic contributions to telecommunications and the tourism industry. A means to connect, these same railways carry stories of fraud, abuse and harassment experienced by Indigenous communities, Chinese workers and Black porters.
NOTE: This experience includes a visit to outdoor displays at the Toronto Railway Museum.
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Tour developed with the support of a generous donation by Andrew and Sharon Himel and the Himel Family. | |
Remembering Toronto’s 1918 Anti-Greek Riots | |
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On this day, in 1918, Toronto saw the end to a violent episode in its history. Over three days in August, 50,000 people had participated in riots that injured hundreds and caused significant property damage. Many of the rioters were veterans and the target was Toronto's Greek community.
Discover the history of these riots, why they were absent from Toronto’s collective memory for decades, and how the story has been recovered in recent years.
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This digital story was developed by Emerging Historian Elizabeth Compa and made possible by the generous support of our donors and program champion: | |
What does heritage mean to you? | |
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We're working on a new State of Heritage Report, building on insights made in 2019 on the important role heritage plays in fostering social cohesion and the challenges of representation and participation in heritage work.
Beginning this summer, this public policy project which Heritage Toronto has undertaken in intervals for over two decades, will continue to research and identify the ways heritage contributes to city building. For this issue though, we are moving beyond the snapshot approach and are seeking a meaningful path forward—one that prioritizes fresh perspectives and new narratives, and embraces difficult discussions.
We invite you to join in the conversations. For the Emancipation Day March on Bloor event, we asked attendees about Toronto's Black heritage. We'd be interested in your thoughts too. Complete the survey on Toronto's Black heritage and you'll also have a chance to a $100 gift card for the Blackhurst Cultural Centre. The winner will be announced on August 10.
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Housing: Pushing the Envelope | |
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Our program partner, the Ontario Association of Architects, has an open call for presentations at its next conference in May 2024 in Niagara Falls. The conference theme will focus on addressing housing challenges in diverse communities, providing attendees with an opportunity to learn, network, and contribute to creating equitable housing in Ontario and beyond.
If you've insights and expertise on topics such as sustainable housing design, affordable housing construction, and innovative housing solutions that cater to diverse communities, checkout the conference website for details and contact information for non-members.
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Quebec has designated Montreal’s Chinatown neighbourhood a provincial heritage site, protecting nine buildings in the district from demolition or significant alteration without permission. (Toronto Star) | |
A statue of the late Queen Elizabeth is expected to be raised on the grounds of Ontario's legislature by this fall, the government said, ending a years-long delay and reigniting a conversation about the commemoration of historical figures. (CBC) | |
The cultural heritage value of the properties has become an issue after the city received applications for a site plan control, official plan amendment and zoning bylaw amendment last September that would allow for the redevelopment. (CBC) | |
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Image Credits
Emancipation Day event with unveiling of Peggy Pompadore plaque, August 1, 2023.
James Mink plaque, 50 Adelaide Street East, August 2, 2023.
Sketch of John Tinsley, 1890, The Globe.
Greektown on the Danforth tour, July 16, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.
Tour participants, Dragon's Gate Mural on Spadina Avenue, June 8, 2023. Image by Johnny Wu.
Tour participants, Mackenzie House on Bond Street, July 2019.
Tour participants, Building Community on Bloorcourt, July 20, 2023. Image by Johnny Wu.
Tour participants on Brunswick Avenue, June 11, 2023.
Creating Toronto tour, August 28, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.
Toronto Carpet Factory on Bad Girls tour, July 30, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.
High Level Pumping Station, 1906. Image: City of Toronto Archives
Tour participants, Jewish Life on Lawrence, July 9, 2023. Image by Oscar Akamine.
Tour group, Guild Park, June 8, 2019. Image by Ali Mosleh.
Scarborough Bluffs from Bluffers Park shoreline at sunset, September 23, 2013. Image by Robert Burley/ City of Toronto Archives.
Toronto Necropolis, May 30, 2019. Image by Kristen McLaughlin.
Restauranteur Howard Matthews, Underground Railroad Restaurant, King Street, 1978. Image by Dick Loek/Toronto Star
Soccer game, Sir Winston Churchill Park, 1974. Image by Erin Combs, Toronto Star/Toronto Public Library collection
Tour group for St. James Town, September 26, 2021. Image by Herman Custodio.
Church Street sign, August 6, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.
Rail Lands tour group at Union, June 25, 2022. Image by Ashley Duffus.
Vendome Cafe, 305 Yonge Street, May 17, 1922. Image: City of Toronto Archives
Emancipation Day event, Christie Pits Park, August 1, 2023.
Marlington Apartment Building on Eglinton West, 1550 Eglinton Avenue West, November 23, 2022.
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