The Ward

The story of the growth and destruction of Toronto's first 'priority neighbourhood.'

From the 1840s until the Second World War, waves of newcomers who migrated to Toronto - Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American and Chinese, among others - landed in 'The Ward.' Crammed with rundown housing and immigrant-owned businesses, this area, bordered by College and Queen, University and Yonge streets, was home to bootleggers, Chinese bachelors, workers from the nearby Eaton's garment factories and hard-working peddlers. But the City considered it a slum, and bulldozed the area in the late 1950s to make way for a new civic square.

The Ward finally tells the diverse stories of this extraordinary and resilient neighbourhood through archival photos and contributions from a wide array of voices, including historians, politicians, architects, storytellers, journalists and descendants of Ward residents. Their perspectives on playgrounds, tuberculosis, sex workers, newsies and even bathing bring The Ward to life and, in the process, raise important questions about how contemporary cities handle immigration, poverty and the geography of difference.

Contents & Contributors

Introduction - John Lorinc

Searching for the Old Ward - Shawn Micallef

No Place Like Home - Howard Akler

Before the Ward: Macauleytown - Stephen A. Otto

My Grandmother the Bootlegger - Howard Moscoe

Against All Odds: The Chinese Laundry - Arlene Chan

VJ Day - Arlene Chan

Merle Foster's Studio: 'A Spot Of Enchantment' - Terry Murray

Missionary Work: The Fight for Jewish Souls - Ellen Scheinberg

King of the Ward - Myer Siemiatycki

Where the Rich Went for Vice - Michael Redhill

A Fresh Start: Black Toronto in the 19th Century - Karolyn Smardz Frost

Policing the Lord's Day - Mariana Valverde

'The Maniac Chinaman' - Edward Keenan

Elsie's Story - Patte Roseban

Lawren Harris's Ward Period - Jim Burant

'Fool's Paradise': Hastings' Anti-Slum Crusade - John Lorinc

Strange Brew: The Underground Economy of Blind Pigs - Ellen Scheinberg

The Consulate, the Padroni and the Labourers - Andrea Addario

Excerpt: The Italians in Toronto - Emily P. Weaver

Arthur Goss: Documenting Hardship - Stephen Bulger

Fresh Air: The Fight Against TB - Cathy Crowe

The Stone Yard - Gaetan Heroux

William James: Toronto's First Photojournalist - Vincenzo Pietropaolo

The Avenue Not Taken - Michael McClelland

Timothy Eaton's Stern Fortifications - Michael Valpy

Settling In: Central Neighbourhood House - Ratna Omidvar and Ranjit Bhaskar

Toronto's Girl with the Curls - Ellen Scheinberg

Chinese Cafes: Survival and Danger - Ellen Scheinberg and Paul Yee

Defiance and Divisions: The Great Eaton's Strike - Ruth A. Frager

Elizabeth Street: What the City Directories Reveal - Denise Balkissoon

Growing Up on Walton Street - Cynthia MacDougall

Revitalizing George Street: The Ward's Lessons - Alina Chatterjee and Derek Ballantyne

Taking Care of Business in the Ward - Ellen Scheinberg

'A Magnificent Dome': The Great University Avenue Synagogue - Jack Lipinsky

Reading the Ward: The Inevitability of Loss - Kim Storey and James Brown

Toronto's First Little Italy - John Lorinc

The Elizabeth Street Playground, Revisited - Bruce Kidd

Divided Loyalties - Sandra Shaul