Dennis Hanagan – The Bulletin

The Town of York Historical Society wants to hit the road later this year and give history lessons to people who live in downtown Toronto condos.

“We want to put together, I guess for lack of a better word, a road show,” says society president and Garden District resident Jennifer McIlroy.

The society plans to spend the summer creating a PowerPoint presentation about the history of Downtown Toronto and then in the fall take it to condos where society members would tell residents about the lives and times of the people who once lived on the land where their soaring towers now stand.

The society did a dry run with a small-scale project about a year ago at 25 The Esplanade. “We put together a presentation and we said ‘look, right here where this building is, this is what happened,'” says McIlroy.

The history would focus on the area bounded by Adelaide, Parliament, Front and Yonge, known as the “10-block area.” Permission would be sought from condo boards to make the presentation.

With condos springing up all around the Downtown core and with new people moving in, the society wants to make sure the city’s history is not lost.

“There’s a proliferation of condo development going on right now. We’re in danger of losing some of the old lore of the area. People can move into these great condos without knowing the three-dimensional breathing they’re doing,” says McIlroy.

McIlroy explains what she means by three-dimensional breathing. “When you walk down the street and you move into your condo you have to know the (1837) Rebellion took place here, and Toronto’s first post office is right here.”

She continues: “So when I say three-dimensional I mean it’s not just what’s in your face and what you’re feeling today. You’re also breathing in the history and the souls of the people that came before.”

“There’s so much transience right now, so to establish what went on here is also to establish a little bit of home and identity,” McIlroy concludes.

The society makes its home at Toronto’s First Post Office at 260 Adelaide St. E. It was built in 1833 and remains a fully-operational post office with a museum of early York and an 1830s-style room to write letters with quills and ink and close them with a wax seal for mailing.

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto Realtor with Century 21 Regal Realty. He did not
write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who are
interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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