Today Sat Sun
It is forcast to be Mostly Cloudy at 10:00 PM EST on February 03, 2012
Mostly Cloudy
6°/-1°		 It is forcast to be Partly Cloudy at 10:00 PM EST on February 04, 2012
Partly Cloudy
1°/-1°		 It is forcast to be Partly Cloudy at 10:00 PM EST on February 05, 2012
Partly Cloudy
7°/-4°

Posts Filed Under: Historicist

Historicist: Nights Out At The Naaz Theatre

From a village in Punjab to the first dedicated Bollywood theatre in North America.

By Kevin Plummer

The Naaz Theatre, 1430 Gerrard Street East, 1981, from the Toronto Public Library.
1 Comment

Historicist: The Dennison School of Speech Correction

How a future mayor overcame a stammering problem and helped others with speech issues.

By Jamie Bradburn

Left to right: James C. McRuer, William Dennison (seated), and Mayor Nathan Phillips, swearing in William Dennison as city controller in 1959. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 1276.
1 Comment

Historicist: The Cree & Ojibway Indian Hockey Tour

In 1928, two teams of aboriginal hockey players embarked on a barnstorming tour through Ontario and the northeastern United States.

By Kevin Plummer

Cree and Ojibway hockey teams, 11 January 1928, from City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 5619.
3 Comments

Historicist: Maclean’s Super-Amazing Captain Toronto Section

Was "Canada's National Magazine" hoping the rest of the country would hate Toronto more or was there love hidden under the sensational headlines?

By Jamie Bradburn

Cover, Maclean's, April 1972.
2 Comments

Historicist: “The Warmest Welcome, At An Inn”

For more than 100 years, a modest hotel graced the northeast corner of King and York Streets.

By Kevin Plummer

Shakespeare Hotel, c. 1865, from {a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shakespeare_Hotel,_northeast_corner_of_King_and_York_streets.jpg"}WikiMedia Commons{/a} (Originally from the {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torontohistory/4504689658/"}City of Toronto Archives{/a}).
1 Comment

Historicist: The Crash of Streetcar Number 1502

A streetcar accident led to a tragic Christmas Eve a century ago.

By Jamie Bradburn

Map of accident site, the Telegram, December 26, 1911.
3 Comments

Historicist: The Two John Boyds

A father-son photography duo captured 80 years of Toronto's history.

By Kevin Plummer

Freezing rain with cars parked on the street, ca. 1925, by John Boyd Sr., from {a href="http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=000003194988"}Library and Archives Canada{/a} (PA-104956).
4 Comments

Historicist: Hospitality Without Pretension

From first nights in Toronto to one-night stands, the Ford Hotel saw a broad cross-section of life.

By Jamie Bradburn

Postcard of the Ford Hotel. Image courtesy of {a href="http://www.oldstratforduponavon.com/toronto.html"}Postcards of the Past{/a}.
7 Comments

Historicist: Armed with a Felt Pen and a Sense of Humour

Master of the cartoonist's pen but burdened by inner turmoil, George Feyer is a long-neglected mid-century pop culture figure.

By Kevin Plummer

Photo of George Feyer on CBC's {em}Razzle Dazzle{/em}, 1961, by Albert Crookshank, CBC Still Photo Collection.
1 Comment

Historicist: A New Home for Coaches

As the Toronto Coach Terminal approaches its 80th anniversary, a look back at its beginning.

By Jamie Bradburn

Acting Premier, Attorney-General W.H. Price, severing silk tape that officially dispatched the first coach from the Bay Street motor coach terminal, December 19, 1931. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 9028.

Historicist: The Lasting Legacy of Darling and Pearson

Frank Darling and John A. Pearson defined an era in Canadian architecture.

By Kevin Plummer

2011_11_19_ImpBank_415
3 Comments

Historicist: The War Is Over

As a Mail and Empire headline put it when word spread that the First World War was over, the "city celebrated in orgy of joy."

By Jamie Bradburn

Family reads Armistice Day headlines, November 11, 1918. Pictured left to right: Mrs. J. Fraser, Jos. Fraser Jr., Miss Ethel James, Frank James, and Norman James. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 892.
1 Comment

Historicist: Arch Enemy of the NHL

A renegade Toronto hockey team owner, and the contentious path to the creation of the National Hockey League.

By Kevin Plummer

Photo of a typical Ontario Hockey team, 1915, by George Irwin, from Provincial Archives of Ontario (C 119-1-0-0-42).
4 Comments

Historicist: In Potter’s Field

Toronto's first non-denominational cemetery.

By Jamie Bradburn

Plaque on 2 Bloor Street West commemorating Potter's Field.
3 Comments

Historicist: Storm’d At With Shot and Shell

Canada's first Victoria Cross recipient, Alexander Roberts Dunn, was a native of York, Upper Canada, who fought in the Crimean War and charged with the Light Brigade.

By Kevin Plummer

Richard Caton Woodville's {em}Relief of the Light Brigade{/em}, 1897, from {a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Relief_of_the_Light_Brigade.png"}Wikimedia Commons{/a}.
2 Comments

Historicist: I Sing The Body Hygienic

In his typically over-the-top style, veteran Toronto newspaper columnist McKenzie Porter's provided pointers on when and where to use the bathroom.

By Jamie Bradburn

Illustration by Sasha Plotnikova.
1 Comment

Historicist: Shuffling the Provincial Political Deck

One party got the boot. One party launched a dynasty. One party became the first to have female MPPs in its caucus. The tale of the 1943 Ontario election.

By Jamie Bradburn

Source: the Globe and Mail, July 28, 1943.
3 Comments

Historicist: A Perfect Crime, Forgotten

"We're completely in the dark," a Trans-Canada Air Lines official admitted after thieves took gold bullion from Malton Airport in 1952 in a seemingly perfect and still-unsolved caper.

By Kevin Plummer

Globe and Mail of September 26, 1952.
4 Comments

Historicist: Birth of a Public Transit Provider

As the TTC faces budget cuts during its 90th anniversary month, a look back at its beginnings as the successor to a decrepit, underfunded transit provider.

By Jamie Bradburn

Unveiling the streetcars of the future, courtesy of the Toronto Transportation Commission. The Telegram, August 24, 1921.
2 Comments

Historicist: Queen of the Great Lakes Aflame

The 1949 fire aboard the SS Noronic took 199 lives. As the worst disaster in Toronto's history, the tragedy led to both heroism and a grisly aftermath.

By Kevin Plummer

2011_09_10_a136452_640