[LINK] "Keeping Toronto's past alive"

[rfmcdonald]

I so need to get to the Toronto Public Archives again. It's located just up the street from one of my habitual subway stops.

It is dated Nov. 15, 1792, and it is a chart of Toronto Harbour signed by Joseph Bouchette.

It is one of her treasures.

It is also one of your treasures: a gift to Toronto and its residents made 75 years ago by a descendant of John Graves Simcoe.

Teeple, as the city archivist, is anxious to share the wealth of writings, maps, photographs and records of all kinds that cram the archives, on Spadina Rd. near Dupont St., just down the hill from Casa Loma.

Her mission, in her own words:

"Toronto is a major city that's got a very illustrious past. I think we are responsible to ensure that Toronto's history is preserved and made accessible to its citizens."

The archives shelter millions of documents, in 123,000 boxes. Some have obvious significance: The city's original incorporation document from 1834 lies here. So does the official version of the City of Toronto Act, deposited by Mayor David Miller and municipal affairs minister Brad Duguid on New Year's Day, 2007.

Some are merely wordy, such as the official minutes of all Toronto council meetings, including the minutes of the city, borough, village and Metro municipal governments that preceded them.

But the archives also house myriad images: a million photographs; thousands of maps; a collection of antique glass projector slides.

Here's the link to the archive's website.