East York has left its mark on the rest of Toronto through the red bricks supplied by the Don Valley Brick Works. In more recent times, the oases of its riverside parklands have been enjoyed by people from all over the city.

• Council proceedings
• Assessment rolls
• Other municipal records
• City directories
• Fire insurance maps
• Maps

• Aerial photos
• Reports
• Books
• Photographs
• Other information

Between 1983 and 1995, East York listings appear only in the "central" and "east" editions of the directory, which are not published every year. After 1995, East York listings appear in one volume entitled "City of Toronto (east of Yonge) and East York."

Directories before 1960 are available on microfilm, found in the self-serve cabinets in the Microfilm Room at the back of the Research Hall. Directories from 1960 to 2001are available in hard copy on the shelves in the Research Hall.

The Archives also has a copy of a Directory and Map of the Township of York (917.13540025 ON8 1909) for 1909, which includes listings for East York villages. Ask Reference Desk staff to retrieve this directory for you from closed reference.

Fire Insurance Maps

A small part of western East York appears on fire insurance maps on microfilm starting in 1890. A larger area appears in the 1910 revised volumes. Larger areas can be found in the volumes for 1944, 1950, and 1956. They are found in boxes titled "Goad's" or "Underwriters'" in the metal cabinets in the Microfilm Room at the back of the Research Hall.

Each set of maps begins with a key map and an index of street names. You can use either to find your area. A key to the symbols used in the maps is found on the bulletin board in the Microfilm Room at the back of the Research Hall.

Maps

To find maps showing East York, look in the binder in the Research Hall labelled "Cartographic Collection," or use the Gencat database. Reference Desk staff can show you how to use the database. The Archives also has several atlases that may be useful. They are found in the section titled "Atlases" in the main area of the Research Hall.

Aerial photos

The aerials cover the East York area from 1947 to 1992. Each aerial shows a part of the city, not the entire city. Use the index maps for each year, available on the large tables by the lockers, to find the identification number of the aerial photograph(s) you wish to see. The identification number for a particular area changes from year to year up to 1983, so before 1983, you must look up each area separately for each year. Starting in 1983, the identification numbers stay the same for each year. Once you have an identification number, you may then look at the aerials, which are arranged by year and identification number in the large map cabinets by the lockers.

When using the aerials, please wear the white cotton gloves provided, to protect the photographs from fingerprints.

An additional but small group of aerials shows areas around the Don River from 1937 to 1942. These aerials are known as Series 97, Aerial Photographs of Valley Lands. These are available on computer in the research hall.

Reports

The Archives holds published reports regarding East York, including those on topics such as public transit and roads. Look in the Research Hall Library in the "Government Reports" section under the category you are interested in, or search the Gencat database. Of particular interest is the Brief of Reeve True Davidson, East York Township, to the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Government (1964).

Books These general reference books are available in the Archives Research Hall Library and are a good place to start your research:

"Unitility house," Leaside, November 15, 1945, Fonds 1266, Item 100206

Books on more specific East York topics may be found by searching in the Gencat database. These topics might include landmarks (such as Todmorden Mills) and people (such as Charles Sauriol and True Davidson).

Photographs To find photographs of East York places and events, search on your research topic in the Gencat database.

Don Valley Brick Works, circa 1891, Fonds 1128, series 379, Item 1160

Other Information

For general information, see the information file titled "East York." You may also find other information files about more specific topics, such as smaller communities within East York (such as Leaside), and landmarks (such as the Don Valley, the Don Valley Brick Works, and Todmorden Mills). For a list of information file titles, please consult Reference Desk staff. For a list of East York mayors and other municipal information, please ask Reference Desk staff for the binder entitled "East York Reference Highlights." For information regarding origins of street names and street name changes, see the back of the binder titled "Street Names M-Z" in the Research Hall.