With the holiday season upon us, local media is full of advice on how to celebrate. From picking the best Christmas tree to a litany of gift guides, there is no shortage of tips. We like to draw our inspiration for holiday cheer from the history, even though it requires traditionalists to wade through pages [...]

Where pucks once flew 15 feet or more on the ice, shoppers will stare at a 15-foot wall of cheese. Today’s grand opening of the new flagship Loblaws store at Maple Leaf Gardens is a long-awaited step in the repurposing of a Toronto landmark. Along with Ryerson University’s Peter Gilgan Athletic Centre at the Gardens, [...]

The gold scissors were ready. The red, green, and gray ribbons on the platform were taut for the ceremonial cut. Standing in for Ontario Premier George Stewart Henry, Attorney General W.H. Price finished addressing the crowd in the waiting room. At 12:30 p.m. on December 19, 1931, Price took the gilded shears, snipped the tri-coloured [...]

As Toronto grew in the 1920s and its population pushed northward, traffic pressures on the few downtown arteries that ran north of Bloor Street intensified. During that decade, city planners devised several street extensions to relieve increased traffic on Avenue Road and Yonge Street. Of extensions proposed for routes like Bay, Jarvis, and Sherbourne, the [...]

While the state funeral planned for Jack Layton tomorrow is unique for being the first held for an opposition leader, it won’t be the first time a former councillor lies in state in Toronto’s seat of government. That honour was also bestowed upon two men who rose from council to the mayor’s office but died [...]

During a scorcher of a summer like the current one, the kitchen stove may be one of the last places you want to hang out. Sure, you make delicious meals there, but the additional heat on a humid day can make even the most patient cook cranky. As most 1930s housewives lacked access to up-to-date air conditioning methods, it’s understandable that on a sweltering day, a factory-produced pie with a homey name might appeal more than a homemade dessert made by a real-life Mrs. Moody.

Inspector Charles Greenwood on motorcycle, circa 1932. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 1009. Imagine a Toronto City Council that almost turns down a request for additional funding from the Toronto Police Service and its union during a time of financial restraint. While a pay raise for officers, in our current political climate, doesn’t [...]

Every weekend, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Casa Loma, southern exposure with garden in foreground. Casa Loma: Canada’s Famous Castle (Toronto: Kiwanis Club, 1938). How many headaches can one millionaire’s folly cause? If the rich person was Sir Henry Pellatt [...]

Source: the Telegram, January 9, 1930. Though you are under no obligation to buy, you can’t help but notice the hovering salesman as you wistfully glance at coats you can barely afford. Like clockwork, every 90 seconds he asks if he can help you try one on or find the coat of your dreams. Every [...]

Advertisement, the Toronto Star, November 11, 1931. Full-size version. For several years, local lovers of Target (or, as some fans call it, Tar-zhay) have drooled at periodic rumours that the American discount retailer would set up shop north of the border. Time and time again they were let down by failed courtship attempts between Target [...]

Source: The Toronto Star, March 3, 1932. While the worsening economic conditions of the early 1930s caused many a retailer to retrench their operations, Dominion Stores tried to boost consumer confidence when the grocery chain triumphantly opened a new store at Bloor and Dovercourt in early 1932. As the new location was book-ended by two [...]

Every Saturday at noon, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Advertisement, the Telegram,, February 12, 1932. Image courtesy Silent Toronto. Like children elsewhere across the continent, young Toronto moviegoers in the 1920s and 1930s eagerly awaited the next installment of the [...]