The Archives hosts exhibits and events throughout the year. Find out what’s on.
The backbone of the City of Toronto Archives’ photographic collection is a series of over 40,000 prints and negatives created by the City’s Department of Public Works. This series is broken into ninety-nine subseries alphabetically arranged by the commissioning department or subject area. Photographs created for the Roadway Section form Subseries 58
These images, taken by staff photographers Arthur Goss and Howard McDonald, during the first half of the 20th century record road widening, re-surfacing, streetcar track laying and sidewalk construction projects, but also capture the city’s roads, sidewalks, houses, and storefronts. Although the images are documentary in nature, they reveal the creativity of the photographers who made them, showing a range of compositional strategies and framing approaches.
This exhibit highlights the versatility and flexibility of these images, by removing their original documentary context and arranging them by visual themes, associations, repetitions and typologies. The installation invites comparison and allows subtle differences to emerge between features of the urban landscape. This survey will appeal to anyone interested in a close examination of historical photography, archives, and Toronto’s built environment.
Since 2017, photographer Zackery Hobler has been documenting and walking alongside prescribed burn technicians working across southwestern Ontario.
In this talk at the City of Toronto Archives, Hobler will present images from his first photobook, Beneath Two Skies, contextualized by archival records and staff involved with the City’s Traditional and Prescribed Burn program. More details available at Contact Festival.
Every corner of the city has its own stories, but Elizabeth Street in the heart of the community once known as The Ward, has more than most. Join the Toronto Archives to learn how archival records can reveal details about the many generations and cultures of new Canadians who lived and worked on Elizabeth Street from the 1840s through the 1970s, and how the same research techniques can be applied to your own neighbourhood. Please visit Doors Open Talks for registration details.
For one day only, go behind the scenes of Canada’s largest municipal archives. Tour the Spadina Records Centre, the secure, climate-controlled facility where 130,000 boxes of one-of-a-kind Toronto history are stored. You can also explore the digitization lab and chat with staff, immerse yourself in the feature exhibit, Subseries 58, and browse City Directories to discover who used to live in your house. For further information see our page on the Doors Open website.
For further information or to explore the history of Toronto communities, please visit our archival collection.