Skip to main content
Heritage Toronto Audio Tours

Heritage Toronto Audio Tours

By Heritage Toronto

Heritage Toronto works to build a better city by bringing people together to explore Toronto’s shared past and peoples’ lived experiences. Heritage Toronto is a charity and agency of the City of Toronto. Learn more at heritagetoronto.org
Available on
Google Podcasts Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Stop 6: Clown Riots & St. Lawrence Hall (Creating Toronto)

Heritage Toronto Audio ToursJun 22, 2021

00:00
09:13
Stop 8: The Types Riot (Creating Toronto)

Stop 8: The Types Riot (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 8 and the final stop on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. This unassuming corner of Front Street became the site of a riot involving William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto’s first mayor.

Stop Location: 145 Front Street E

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: William Lyon Mackenzie, taken between 1851 and 1861. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202106:02
Stop 7: The Home District School & Charles Vance Millar (Creating Toronto)

Stop 7: The Home District School & Charles Vance Millar (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 7 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. The former location of one of Toronto’s first schools connects us to an unusual story about a generation of Toronto children in the 1920s and 1930s.

Stop Location: 185 King Street E

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: Grammar School 'Blue School', Toronto, 1912. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library Archives.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202106:24
Stop 6: Clown Riots & St. Lawrence Hall (Creating Toronto)

Stop 6: Clown Riots & St. Lawrence Hall (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 6 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. In the 19th century, Toronto's King Street East was the site of the popular venue St. Lawrence Hall, home to operas and political rallies. Nearby, one of Toronto's most famous brawls took place in 1855: the infamous Clown Riots.

Stop Location: 157 King Street E

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: St. Lawrence Hall, Toronto, 1885. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library Archives.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202109:13
Stop 5: Cathedral Church of St. James (Creating Toronto)

Stop 5: Cathedral Church of St. James (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 5 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. Once the tallest building in Canada, the St. James Cathedral has a long history as a centre of Toronto community life.

Stop Location: 106 King Street E

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: St. James Anglican Cathedral, 1880. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library Archives.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202105:46
Stop 4: Court House Square (Creating Toronto)

Stop 4: Court House Square (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 4 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. Hidden behind the 1853 Adelaide Street Court House, this small square has hosted public demonstrations, punishments, and executions.

Stop Location: 10 Court St.

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: Court House, 1867. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library Archives.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202104:45
Stop 3: The Old Gaol & Post Office (Creating Toronto)

Stop 3: The Old Gaol & Post Office (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 3 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. Located just off King Street, Toronto Street was home to early public institutions, from the city's seventh post office to public washrooms.

Stop Location: 1 Toronto Street

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

Image: Drawing of the Old Log Gaol, 1888. Illustration by William James Thomson. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org. 

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 22, 202103:44
Stop 2: Berczy Park (Creating Toronto)

Stop 2: Berczy Park (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 2 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. Berczy Park is named for William Berczy (1744-1813), one of the first surveyors and architects of York (now Toronto). The park is located next to the Gooderham Building: Toronto’s iconic flatiron, harkening back to the city’s early industries.

Stop Location: 35 Wellington Street East

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion

Image: The Gooderham "Flatiron" Building, Toronto, 1898.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 21, 202105:20
Stop 1: St. Lawrence Market (Creating Toronto)

Stop 1: St. Lawrence Market (Creating Toronto)

This is Stop 1 on the Creating Toronto: Story of a City audio tour. For over 200 years, people have traded and sold their goods at this Toronto market, which National Geographic named "the world's best food market" in 2011.

Stop Location: 93 Front Street East

Learn more about this stop on the Creating Toronto digital map companion

Image: William Davies Stall, St. Lawrence Market, 1911.

Music: "Highride" by Blue Dot Sessions via freemusicarchive.org.

For a full list of credits, please visit the Creating Toronto digital map companion.

This digital tour, and the walking tour it is based on, were developed as part of Heritage Toronto's Emerging Historian program in partnership with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association. The expansion of our tours program to a digital platform was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.

Jun 21, 202107:30
Creating Toronto: The Story of a City (Full Tour)
Jun 21, 202151:38