Birds eye view of Toronto harbour (1914)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Initially inhabited for time immemorial by First Nation communities, including the Mississauga’s of the Credit, the Anishinabek, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat, and remaining their ancestral and traditional home today, this area was established as the Town of York in 1793.
Old Fish MarketToronto's First Post Office Museum
Sketching the Town of York
This exhibit showcases a glimpse into the Town of York’s past and into the lives of the individuals who settled here by offering a view of the architecture and landscapes that once adorned these streets.
Third Parliament Buildings (1830)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
From the Town of York Historical Society Collection
University College (1859)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Seeking geographic and military advantage, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe relocated the capital from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake). The original town spanned ten square blocks—becoming the foundation for the Toronto we know today.
View of the City of Toronto, Canada (1858)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
The Town of York’s architecture and landscape has been sketched by various artists and printed in newspapers to encapsulate its rapid change from its beginning in 1793 to its amalgamation into the City of Toronto in 1834 and its continuous expansion into the later centuries.
Panoramic View of the City of Toronto, Canada West (1860)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Panoramic View of the City of Toronto, Canada West
Canadian Illustrated News
Released weekly, it was the first in the world to successfully include a consistent printing of photographs in each issue. The magazine ran from 1869 to 1883 and published over 15,000 illustrations including the following four.
Fort York (1876)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Fort York, Toronto in 1841
John George Howard
Born in Hertfordshire, England, Howard emigrated with his wife in 1832 to the Town of York. While teaching geometrical drawing at Upper Canada College, he began receiving multiple commissions making him one of the busiest architects in Upper Canada during the 30s and 40s.
Toronto Jail (1836)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Being one of Upper Canada’s first professional architects
Howard specifically skilled in the late Georgian and neoclassical style, he designed many estates, churches, homes, civil buildings, and offices, including the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, Colbourne Lodge, and Toronto’s third jail.
High Park at Grenadier PondToronto's First Post Office Museum
High Park at Grenadier Pond ca.1800s
Frederick Victor Poole
An early painter of Toronto, Poole was born in Southampton, England in 1865. He would go on to study in Paris at the Academie Julian and in London with painter Frederick Brown eventually making his way to Canada to teach at the University of Toronto.
Customs House on Front Street (1912)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
During his time in the city, he painted some of the most significant buildings that had been constructed during the early days of York and Toronto while also capturing the changing landscapes that accompanied the city’s expansion.
Customs House on Merchan'ts Wharf (1912)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Customs House on Merchan'ts Wharf
William Smith Jr.'s Home (1912)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
William Smith Jr.’s Home on the east side of the Don River, south of Queen Street East, ca. 1800s
South Side of Younge Street EastToronto's First Post Office Museum
South side of Younge Street East, north of Melinda Street on the west side of King Street, 1845
Owen Staples
Born in Stoke-sub-Hambdon, England in 1866, Staples moved to Toronto in 1885 to study under George Agnew Reid. From 1888 to 1908, he worked for the Toronto Telegram and illustrated the J. Ross Robertson Collection, earning the title “painter of Toronto’s past.”
Garrison at the Foot of Bathurst Street (1796)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Garrison at the Foot of Bathurst Street
King St E, looking W from Victoria St (1889)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
King Street East, looking west from Victoria Street, ca. 1841
Toronto Harbour (1850)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Toronto Harbour 1835, looking west from near foot of Trinity St
Front St W, looking N from Lake Ontario (1890)Toronto's First Post Office Museum
Front Street West, looking north from Lake Ontario at Peter Street (left) to John Street (right), 1815
Some images courtesy of Toronto Public Library Digital Archive Public Domain.
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