Is Toronto a dangerous city? And is it getting worse? This week for Metrocide, Torontoist is examining a sea of homicide data and trying to come up with conclusions based not in fear or fantasy but fact. Photo from 1986 by .allen from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. 1981 was the first year for Canada's Wonderland and NOW, the year of the Toronto bathhouse raids, and the year that Terry Fox died. That year, Toronto the......

Not so many of those bright red packs would be seen at an Argonauts game nowadays due to legislation, unless one pokes out of a fan's pocket. The 1969 edition of the Boatmen (10 wins, 4 losses) finished in second place in the East, a game behind the Ottawa Rough Riders. Four players were named to the CFL's all-star team: running back Dave Raimey, offensive guard Charlie Bray, defensive end Ed Harrington, and defensive......

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. Photo of The Grange, 1907. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 304. D'Arcy Boulton Sr. recalled his sentiments upon first arriving in Upper Canada in his reminisces, Sketch of His Majesty's Province of Upper Canada. He wrote: "When I first...set my foot on British ground, after residing in the American states,......

If Reba McEntire and Tony Bennett come to Toronto to play, why shouldn't tourists follow suit? Two decades ago, Metro Toronto urged tourists to "discover the feeling" while sampling its neighbourhoods and attractions. The focus of the late 1980s television spot that we've dug up today is the multitude of leisure activities the city offers. Viewers in markets like Cleveland and Detroit were enticed to check out ballet, fishing, gondola rides, horse racing, boutique......

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. "La baie et l'île de Toronto" ("Toronto Bay and Island"), Robert Irvine, c. 1815. Image from Wikimedia Commons As crowds on Canada Day proved, the Toronto Islands are a popular destination for city dwellers to make a short escape. Even when they were physically connected to today's eastern port lands via marshes......

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. Photo of Orange Parade at Queen's Park in 1912. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 1388. Nowadays, the Orange Order is thought of as a quaint anachronism, a benevolent society that marches every twelfth of July to commemorate the victory of William III at the Battle of the Boyne. But the......

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. Mechanics' Institute, William Notman, 1868. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Canada Day weekend is upon us, with the nation's birthday serving as the perfect excuse to celebrate the start of summer. Fireworks, public meals, outdoor concerts—Torontonians will be out in force for these events over the next few days, much as they were......

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. Photo of Toronto's Peter Pan Statue, City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1231, Item 716. Those words are inscribed at the base of the Peter Pan statue that stands in the square, now known as Glenn Gould Park, at Avenue Road and St. Clair Avenue. When, in the 1920s, city officials decided to......

When Phase 1 of the National Ballet School was completed just north of Jarvis and Carlton Streets, the "Grand Jeté" project was lauded for its modern but neighbourhood-appropriate design, as well as its restoration of incorporated heritage structures like the former Havergal Ladies' College and Northfield House. Once the flagship school was complete, a less ostentatious but just as impressive renovation was quietly conducted on another property owned by the NBS at Maitland and......

Since it was built in 1887, the Alexandrina Block on College Street west of Spadina has seen numerous tenants come and go, including The Bagel music venue. Among its current elements is a 1970s-style sign promising over a dozen variety of submarine sandwiches. Those hoping for a retro experience will be disappointed as all that remains of the self-proclaimed "Rolls Royce of submarines" is the sign, fully intact and party covered by a tree.......

We've looked at a few abandoned roads before, but this one is a little different: it's a recently-abandoned on-ramp to the southbound Don Valley Parkway from westbound York Mills Road. The current DVP ramps at York Mills were reconfigured during construction to the overpass beginning in 2005. The northwestern loop of the cloverleaf was eliminated entirely except for one small detail: most of it is still there. After all, why remove it completely when......

For Torontonians of a certain age, the name Johnny Lombardi is as iconic as Sam the Record Man or Honest Ed. But for more recent arrivals to the city or tourists who don't know his backstory, the grinning statue of Lombardi sitting on a garden bench at College and Grace can seem a little mysterious. Other than a placard thanking sponsors for the erection of this statue and a quotation etched into the stone,......

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. Photo of Sunnyside Beach in 1924 from Wikimedia Commons. When Sunnyside Amusement Park officially opened on June 28, 1922, it was grandly proclaimed to be ushering in a new era for the city. Addressing a crowd of thousands, R. Home Smith, chairman of the Toronto Harbour Commission, said that "Toronto is upon......

While Torontoist usually shows how the city has been used by movie producers, home-grown small-screen productions have also made ample use of our city's streets since CBLT came on the air in 1952. Back in 1971, comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster used downtown as a backdrop for an exciting new sport, city golf. Over the course of 18 holes, cameramen preserved pieces of the city that development has changed significantly in the ensuing......

Further proof of the modesty employed in late 19th century advertising. Call this a prequel to last week's featured ad, as Welland Vale was one of the bicycle manufacturers whose line was amalgamated into CCM later on in the year this was published. Originally a manufacturer of wagon wheels when the company started in the 1860s, Welland Vale also produced hand tools and farm implements. After divesting its bicycle line and the wagon wheel......

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. One of the most eyecatching murals on display in Toronto is the colourful piece that acts as a gateway to Croft Street near College and Bathurst. The Monty Pythonesque design may provoke chuckles but the story it relates is a serious one, as the work honours the street's namesake, the only recorded......

Way up in the very northwestern corner of the city, the old Indian Line used to mark the boundary between Etobicoke and Peel Region (Mississauga and Brampton). The road carved its way through farm fields and across a bridge over the Humber River before continuing north past Steeles Avenue. Most of the old road was effectively wiped out by the initial construction and subsequent widening and extending of Highway 427 starting in the late......

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. Canadian Bank of Commerce Building. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 409 Now dwarfed by everything around it, the Canadian (Imperial) Bank of Commerce Building (25 King Street West) once dominated the Toronto skyline. For three decades, its 34-storeys and 141-metre height made it the tallest building in the......

Photo by khalijkhazar from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. One of the city's most popular annual events, Doors Open Toronto, returns this weekend for a ninth edition, welcoming the public for free into 150 important, historic, and just plain interesting buildings across the city. It would be virtually impossible for one person to take in all of the participating sites in one weekend, so it's best to pace yourself and visit a cluster of buildings......

Every Saturday morning, beginning today, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Covers of Superman #1 (Summer 1939), Superman #6 (September-October 1940) and Adventure Comics #103 (April 1946), all pencilled by Joe Shuster. All characters depicted above copyright DC Comics. For a 70-year old, Superman looks good for his age. Since his debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, the Man of......

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.......

Photo of the Toronto Centre for the Arts by selosa On Thursday, Cameron Mackintosh’s revival of My Fair Lady makes its long-awaited Toronto debut. Just as significantly, however, its arrival brings a new lease on life for one of the city's finest major theatres.......

Every Saturday morning, beginning today, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. The southwest corner of Yonge Street and Montgomery Avenue is rich with history. Montgomery's Tavern, the spot where William Lyon Mackenzie and his followers launched the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, is honoured with a plaque. Oulcott's Hotel served customers and community groups in the late 19th century. The current......

Today's ad offers an ideal 1970s entertainment lineup for upper middle class patrons on business, vacation, or a wild night in the suburbs. The Royal Box offered dinner theatre twice a night. The "merely posh" Le Continental filled the decade's appetite for romantic meals loaded with soft jazz and slabs of meat (chateaubriand for two, ma belle amie?). Katsura supplied a then-exotic Japanese dining experience. The Brandy Tree offered fancy drinks and a piano......

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. Palmerston Boulevard, looking south from Harbord Street, 1908. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 7200. Palmerston Boulevard is one of the best examples of an intact turn-of-the-century residential street in the city. Stone gates at College and Bloor mark not only a name change—where Palmerston Avenue becomes Palmerston Boulevard—but also a......

In the fall of 1997, the Metro Toronto Zoo had something of a clearance sale, divesting itself of merchandise branded "Metro Toronto Zoo." On January 1st, the Megacity would be coming, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto would be no more, and the Zoo—to be renamed simply the "Toronto Zoo"—would be prepared for the change. The Metropolitan Toronto Police, however, were not quite as on the ball. Two years later, in 2000, the organization finally......

Two ads for local bakeries lay side-by-side in an evening newspaper. One will become an international food empire (albeit one in the midst of boardroom turmoil), the other will find that a walking loaf of bread does not ensure longevity. George Weston (1865–1924) entered the bread business at the age of 12, learning the craft at several local bakeries. At 17 he purchased two bread routes that mark the beginning of the company that......

Toronto's extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn't always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city. The two great Canadian heroes prep for an adventure, Shakespeare-style. Strange Brew is not a great film, but it sure is......

Every Saturday morning, beginning today, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Telegram Building, southeast corner of Bay and Melinda, 1940s. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 8908 Mention "Bay Street" and the usual image is the financial institutions that line its sidewalks. Many of those rushing to the office with a newspaper in hand may not realize how......

Is invisibility a type of discrimination? This is the question posed by the ROM's latest exhibit Out From Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember. Billed, shockingly, as the "first of its kind in Canada," it's clear that disabled people as a minority group have not had their voice properly heard thus far. "Today, we're making history," said Sheldon Levy, president of Ryerson University, Wednesday at the ROM. Their School of Disability Studies is the......