Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Crawford Street Bridge, West Side, November 16, 1915. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1231, Item 1615 This Tuesday, May 13, Heritage Toronto will unveil the latest plaque celebrating Toronto's history to commemorate the secret bridge buried beneath the north-west corner of Trinity Bellwoods Park. The unveiling will take place at 4 p.m.......

This Saturday marks the return of Heritage Toronto's Walking Tours for the 14th year with a trip into South Rosedale's evolution from wooded ravine to posh residential development over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. It's the first in a full slate of tours taking place across the city throughout the spring. Researched and led by volunteer historians and neighbourhood groups, the tours focus on different aspects of the city's past, including......

The grand dame of Toronto's performing arts venues, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, celebrates its 100th birthday tomorrow. To mark the event, the Mirvishes have organized a free open house from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., during which you can go on a self-guided backstage tour, eat free grub at the BBQ in front of the theatre (weather permitting), or catch a tribute performance from the original members of the 1969 Canadian cast of Hair.......

Stage Struck: 100 Years At The Royal Alex, a free exhibition commemorating the Royal Alexandra Theatre's centennial, opened yesterday at the Toronto Reference Library. Torontoist was at the opening to oggle at the rare playbills, posters and other paraphernalia that would make any theatre geek weak in the knees. Organized by the Toronto Public Library, the Stage Struck exhibit features photos, design sketches, scripts and souvenir books that highlight the long history of the......

Photo by Eyeline-Imagery in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. In less than two weeks, all of Sam the Record Man's contents are going up for sale at auction. Yesterday, we confirmed with Benaco Sales Ltd., the auctioneers for the property, that the most coveted and contentious part of the building—its entire front façade, including the iconic "THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT" records and "SAM" logos (minus the red backdrop, which is unmovable)—would indeed be part of the sale.......

Torontoist thinks that the city's Festival of Architecture and Design must be the worst advertised fest ever. Complaints aside, there are plenty of great things to go see. Torontoist probably needs to go to Archetype, the DX's sustainable housing show. There are also a number of Heritage Toronto walks, everything from nature walks on the waterfront to the "glory that was Sherbourne." Our friends at Spacing also have an event next week to launch their......