Heritage Toronto is an agency of the Municipal Government of Toronto that works to builds a better city by bringing people together to explore Toronto’s shared past and peoples’ lived experiences. It is located in St. Lawrence Hall in the city.

Its programs include tours, historical plaques, the State of Heritage Report, and online exhibits.

Programming

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Heritage Toronto's[1] programming includes Tours, the Heritage Toronto Awards, Plaques, and special projects.

Tours

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From April/May to October, Heritage Toronto offers walking, bicycle and bus tours around the city as well as private tours for smaller groups . Tours are researched, designed and led by local historians, community groups and professionals who volunteer their time.

Heritage Toronto Awards

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Every October, Heritage Toronto hosts an evening of awards. Different award categories recognize the best in new books, architecture and craftsmanship, public history, and community heritage volunteer efforts. The Heritage Toronto Awards have been presented for nearly 50 years.


Year Lecturer Lecture Title
1996 Robert Fulford The Invention of Toronto – A City Defined by its Artists
1997 John Raulston Saul Toronto and the Idea of the Public Good
1998 Ursula Franklin Citizen Politics: Advocacy in the Urban Habitat
1999 George Baird Needed: An Urban Vision for Toronto, Again
2000 Robert Fung & Michael Kirkland Our Last Best Chance: Realizing a Century Old Dream
2001 N/A No lecture this year
2002 David Crombie The Idea of Toronto
2003 Sean Conway Toronto as a Capital: Fence Posts and Fingerprints, the Growth of our Democracy
2004 Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson Green Thoughts in a Green Shade: The Making of a Good City
2005 John Honderich Creative Toronto: Isn't It About Time?
2006 Bruce Kuwabara Toronto's Cultural Renascence: Revival or Survival
2007 David Mirvish The Night of Nights: The History of Theatre in Toronto
2008 John Campbell A Shore Thing: The Future of Toronto's Waterfront
2009 Albert Schultz The Great Toronto Roast
2010 Peter Oundjian "Notes" on Toronto
2011 Cameron Bailey Toronto in Focus: A City of Festivals
2012 Chief Bryan Laforme A Layered City
2013 Gail Dexter Lord Building Heritage With Innovation
2014 Jack Diamond Toronto 1974-2014: A Challenge from the Field
2015 Rahul K. Bhardwaj On Being Nice: Turning Compassion into Our Competitive Advantage
2016 Steven High Our Industrial Heritage

Historical Plaques

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For over 50 years, the Plaques Program has been recognizing people, places and events which have been influential to the city of Toronto. There are multiple kinds of plaques located around Toronto that represent different aspects of the city's history.

  • Bronze Inventory Plaques recognize properties listed or designated under the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties. These plaques interpret Toronto's built heritage.
  • Commemorative Plaques describe people and events in Toronto's history, .
  • In 2009, Heritage Toronto and the Toronto Legacy Project inaugurated a line of historical plaques modeled on the "Blue Plaques" of London, England. These plaques recognize notable Toronto residents by indicating where they lived or worked.

Special projects

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Sounds Like Toronto: The largest digital project by Heritage Toronto, this online exhibit launched in 2021. The digital experience, Sounds Like Toronto, presents 35 stories featuring artists and venues that epitomize Toronto’s music history, and combines exclusive audio and video interviews, 3D objects, interactive tours, and much more to impart both a better understanding of our shared music heritage and the broader social issues that have defined Canadian cultural history.

State of Heritage Report: Released every four years to coincide with Toronto municipal elections, the State of Heritage Report provides a picture of the current state of heritage in Toronto, lays out goals for strengthening the heritage sector and provides recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, senior staff and decision makers to improve heritage management. Prior to the release of the State of Heritage Report, Heritage Toronto hosts the Heritage Matters Mayoral Candidates Debate.

References

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  1. ^ "Heritage Toronto". heritagetoronto.org.