October 17, 2014 at 2:00 pm

cityscape

Ten of Toronto’s Unique Heritage Achievements

From authors to architects and everything in between, a look at the people who have worked to preserve our city's heritage.

By Heritage Toronto

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334937 The Harbord Club—Certificate of Commendation, 1993 Harbord Collegiate, a public secondary school located in the Palmerston-Little Italy/Annex neighbourhood, first opened in 1892. Years later, in 1978, the Harbord Club was founded by alumni to reconnect graduates and former staff; to this day it is still the longest continuously operating high school alumni group in Canada. In 1992, Harbord Collegiate celebrated its centennial with the inauguration of the Harbord Museum and the publication of Happy Ghosts of Harbord: A History of Harbord Collegiate Institute, 1892-1992. Both the museum and Happy Ghosts of Harbord would not exist without the efforts of the Harbord Club, for which they received a Certificate of Commendation from Heritage Toronto in 1993. HarbordClub https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/HarbordClub-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/HarbordClub.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/HarbordClub.jpg 698 400 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/harbordclub/ harbordclub 0 0

334941 The Garden Club of Toronto—1985 Award of Merit Built in 1866, Spadina House was home to James Austin, founder of the Dominion Bank, and his descendants, who lived in the house until 1982. In that year, the house was donated by the family to the City of Toronto and became a preservation project under the direction of the Toronto Historical Board. In the two years that the House and its grounds were being restored, The Garden Club of Toronto researched, planned and financed the restoration to the extensive gardens. After its first restoration in 1985, the house represented all the periods through which it passed; the Garden Club of Toronto took great care to ensure that the landscape also reflected this passage of time. rsz_spadinahouse-flowers https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_spadinahouse-flowers-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_spadinahouse-flowers.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_spadinahouse-flowers.jpg 620 513 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/rsz_spadinahouse-flowers/ rsz_spadinahouse-flowers 0 0

334942 The West Toronto Junction Historical Society—Members’ Choice Award, 2012 The West Toronto Junction Historical Society was formed in 1980 and is a non-profit organization dedicated to uniting individuals interested in the diverse historical heritage of West Toronto. For decades, the Society has continued to work towards preserving and researching the history of the Junction through neighbourhood walking tours, monthly talks, theatrical presentations, photo exhibits, quarterly newsletter the Leader and Recorder, and archives held in the Annette Branch of the Toronto Public Library. The Society’s first award from Heritage Toronto was a Letter of Commendation in 1987 for its publication of West Toronto Junction Revisited, a history of the area. In 2012, the Society’s efforts were doubly recognized, when it received both a Community Heritage Award and the Heritage Toronto Members’ Choice Award for its heritage preservation advocacy. WTJHS https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WTJHS-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WTJHS.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WTJHS.jpg 600 375 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/wtjhs/ wtjhs 0 0

334933 Virgin Records—Award of Merit, 1991 Jarvis Street was once often referred to as one of the most beautiful streets in Toronto, lined with grand mansions that were home to some of the city’s most prominent citizens. Built in 1889, the mansion at 514 Jarvis was once home to Charles Rundle, the builder of Old City Hall. His home was designed by E.J. Lennox, who also served as the architect for Old City Hall and Casa Loma. Virgin Records purchased the site in the late 1980s to use as its Canadian headquarters and received an Award of Merit in 1991 for its restoration of the veranda, stained glass, and many interior features of the mansion. 514 Jarvis St https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/514-Jarvis-St-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/514-Jarvis-St.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/514-Jarvis-St.jpg 375 496 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/514-jarvis-st/ 514-jarvis-st 0 0

334934 Edith Grace Firth—Award of Merit, 1974 Edith Grace Firth was a librarian, historian, and author who spent 30 years developing the Baldwin Collection, an extensive group of primary sources dealing with the history of Canada. She began her career as a reference librarian at the Toronto Public Library before beginning to build the library’s collection of early Canadian primary source materials. Her work has also served as a model for the collection and study of municipal archival records across Canada. 552px-Edith_g_firth https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/552px-Edith_g_firth-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/552px-Edith_g_firth.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/552px-Edith_g_firth.jpg 552 599 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/552px-edith_g_firth/ 552px-edith_g_firth 0 0

334936 Cabbagetown Regent Park Community Museum—Community Heritage Award, 2008 The historic Cabbagetown and Regent Park communities represent some of Toronto’s oldest communities. Regent Park is Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project, but it was also at one time the centre of the Cabbagetown community—a significant portion of the original Cabbagetown was demolished in the 1940s to make way for Regent Park. Established in 2004, the Cabbagetown Regent Park Community Museum’s mandate is to collect, preserve, and display the heritage of these long-standing communities. The museum maintains a collection of objects from the late 1800s to the present day. CabbagetownRegentParkMuseum https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/CabbagetownRegentParkMuseum-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/CabbagetownRegentParkMuseum.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/CabbagetownRegentParkMuseum.jpg 600 608 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/cabbagetownregentparkmuseum/ cabbagetownregentparkmuseum 0 0

334938 Ontario Heritage Foundation (now known as the Ontario Heritage Trust); Richard Always, Chairman—Award of Merit, 1989 Built in 1909, 10 Adelaide Street East is one of the few remaining examples of an Edwardian office building in Toronto. It was first home to the Canadian Birbeck Investment and Savings Company, who commissioned George W. Gouinlock to design the Beaux Arts building. Today it is the Ontario Heritage Centre, home to the Ontario Heritage Trust and several other non-profit heritage organizations. The trust (and its chairman, Richard Always) received an Award of Merit in 1989 for its extensive restoration after they purchased the building in 1985. Ontario Heritage Centre-exterior-01 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ontario-Heritage-Centre-exterior-01-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ontario-Heritage-Centre-exterior-01.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ontario-Heritage-Centre-exterior-01.jpg 460 371 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/ontario-heritage-centre-exterior-01/ ontario-heritage-centre-exterior-01 0 0

334939 Catherine Nasmith, author and editor, Built Heritage News—Award of Merit, 2003 rsz_catherine_nasmith https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_catherine_nasmith-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_catherine_nasmith.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_catherine_nasmith.jpg 679 450 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/rsz_catherine_nasmith/ rsz_catherine_nasmith 0 0

334940 Bill Freeman, author; and Vincenzo Pietropaolo, photographer—Award of Merit, 1999 Bill Freeman is a Toronto-based author who specializes in Canadian history and has received several Heritage Toronto Awards for his writing. In 1999 he and Vincenzo Pietropaolo received an Award of Merit for Casa Loma: Toronto's Fairy Tale Castle and Its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt. It is a beautifully illustrated book with contemporary colour photographs and archival material. Freeman provides a fascinating glimpse into the life of Casa Loma’s owner, Sir Henry Pellatt, in addition to providing a detailed tour of Casa Loma’s most significant rooms. rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman.jpg 1000 1105 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman/ rsz_scanned_by_heritage_toronto_-_casa_loma_book_by_bill_freeman 0 0

334947 Sally Gibson, author—Award of Excellence, 2007 Dr. Sally Gibson is an author, archivist, local historian, and heritage consultant based in Toronto. She has received several Heritage Toronto Awards, including an Award of Excellence in 2007 for her book Inside Toronto: Urban Interiors 1880s to 1920s. The 450-page book investigates the interior spaces and lives of Torontonians of more than 100 years ago—where they ate, slept, worked, and shopped. More than 250 vintage images illuminate the book, with text and captions providing vivid detail and commentary. BookCoverSallyGibson https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BookCoverSallyGibson-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BookCoverSallyGibson.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BookCoverSallyGibson.jpg 500 391 [] https://torontoist.com/2014/10/ten-of-torontos-unique-heritage-achievements-4/slide/bookcoversallygibson/ bookcoversallygibson 0 0

Torontoist is pleased to be the media sponsor for the 40th annual Heritage Toronto Awards and William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture. In celebration of the 40th annual Heritage Toronto Awards coming up on October 21, we’re highlighting 40 of Toronto’s unique achievements in heritage.

The last four decades of the Heritage Toronto Awards have seen a host of impressive books, short publications, media projects, individuals, community organizations, and architectural endeavours that have made significant efforts to recognize, preserve, and promote the city’s rich history.

In celebration of the event’s 40th anniversary, Torontoist has featured 10 past Heritage Toronto Awards winners for each of the past three Fridays. Here now is the fourth and final instalment in the series.

cityscape

Ten of Toronto’s Unique Heritage Achievements

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