Results tagged “heritage”

The future of the historic David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill could be decided in a hearing that wraps up today. The University of Toronto sold the 190-acre property to a developer last summer, who told a Conservation Review Board hearing yesterday that their plans for the site preserve the three historic buildings but don't include a public park. At the other extreme, the Richmond Hill Naturalists want to see the entire site preserved as a park, research facility, and operating museum. Coming up the middle is the town of Richmond Hill, which wants to set aside the forested western half of the property that includes the buildings while allowing development on the eastern half. The Observatory's rich history and importance to the town as a large greenspace in the middle of suburbia should all but cinch the case for preservation of a significant portion of the site.

The strange thing about heritage in Toronto is that we don't really appreciate what we've got until it's neglected, threatened, or already gone. By the time we get around to caring, it's frequently too late to preserve anything. Yet somehow, perhaps despite ourselves, Toronto is blessed with a sizable complement of heritage buildings scattered throughout the city. The urge to preserve our built heritage stretches back at least 130 years; the York Pioneers, who claim to be the oldest historical society in Ontario, moved John Scadding's cabin from the banks of the Don River to its current location on the grounds of Exhibition Place in 1879. In other cases, our built heritage is torn down seemingly out of spite.

Jarvis Street, circa 1910. (City of Toronto Archives)

Toronto has been called a city of neighbourhoods: The Beach, Yorkville, Chinatown, Little Italy, Greektown, The Annex; all have their defining characteristics that make them appealing to locals as well as visitors. And when it comes down to it, most of these areas are well-defined by the intersection of two major streets.

Will people ever appreciate the fine architecture or heritage value of such widely-detested buildings as Robarts Library or the Sheraton Centre? If history is any guide, they will—but only if the buildings manage to survive our collective hatred (or apathy) for another 40 years or so.

The short story is an unfortunate middle child. Not romanticized like poetry, nor widely read like novels, the short story finds refuge in literary journals, the New Yorker, and writing contests. In fact, the Toronto Star, Broken Pencil, and Eye Weekly all have contests ready for your masterpiece. First, stalwart Toronto Star has its annual short story contest. The top prize includes $5,000 and tuition to the Humber School for Writers for Creative Writing....

A few months ago, Torontoist wrote about the practice of façadism in the downtown core. Façadism—which refers to the practice of retaining the front face, or "skin," of an old building and affixing it to a newer, usually larger structure—has become increasingly popular in recent years as the city continues to grow up and out at its breakneck pace. Façadism began to be seen in Ontario after the 1975 Heritage Act, which gave municipalities...