History
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The rise and fall and rise of St. Lawrence Hall
In 1966, Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall was in terrible shape. The venerable old neoclassical building at the southwest corner of King and Jarvis...
By Chris Bateman -
Bringing the Chinese Canadian Archive into view
On Dominion Day, 1923, Canadians were in a celebratory mood. But those good feelings didn’t extend into any Chinatown. July 1 came to be regarded by the...
By Arlene Chan -
A warning to the Electors of Toronto (or Trump voters)
There has been a lot of critical (and not so critical) thinking and writing in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as the US president (I’m...
By Matthew Blackett -
The story behind the first computer in Canada
In 1949, a team of professors and graduate students at the University of Toronto began building a machine no-one in Canada, and few in the world, had ever...
By Chris Bateman -
When will Toronto love its Modern architecture?
What do you picture when you read the words “heritage building.”? It probably isn’t the Carlton Tower at Yonge and Carlton streets. The...
By Chris Bateman -
2016 Heritage Toronto Awards
The Heritage Toronto Awards celebrate outstanding contributions in the promotion and conservation of Toronto’s history and heritage by professionals and...
By Spacing -
New Fife & Drum issue + call for participation in editorial board
The latest edition of Fife and Drum, the quarterly journal produced by the Friends of Fort York, was recently released. Of interest to some Spacing...
By Shawn Micallef -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 004, Hollywood North
In the wake of the Toronto International Film Festival, we take a look at the film and television industry’s impact on the city. We talk to...
By Spacing Radio -
Heritage conservation districts are long overdue
This is a guest post by Mary L. MacDonald (Senior Manager, Heritage Preservation Services, City Planning) in response to Spacing’s article by...
By Spacing -
The space age Parkway Plaza, Toronto’s first heritage supermarket
It was only a shopping mall, but when the Parkway Plaza opened at Ellesmere Road and Victoria Park Avenue in 1958, it signalled the arrival of space age...
By Chris Bateman -
Book Review: Toronto Then and Now
Toronto Then and Now is an elegant, large-format coffee table book that highlights the past and present of some of Toronto’s most interesting...
By Dylan Reid -
The life and death of Peter Dickinson and The Inn on the Park
Peter Dickinson was dying when he designed the Inn on the Park. From a bed in Mount Sinai hospital, his body weakened from cancer, Dickinson listened to...
By Chris Bateman