The Toronto Archives started in 1960 in the attic of the old city hall when various city department heads were convinced that important records should be kept in special conditions for future generations. It was later moved to the basement where there was more space for everything since 1792.
About 50,000 of its 1.2 million photographs are available online, so I had to go in person to make copies of its other records. Some of the oldest photographs of the city were prints from the mid-1850s.
Before the seven municipalities were amalgamated into the City of Toronto in 1998, the six other non-Toronto municipalities housed their archives in their own city halls. Now, everything is in one centralized location built in 1992 on Spadina Road between Casa Loma and Dupont subway station.
The exhibition area on the main floor changes themes every now and again. I love trains and was thrilled to see panels on the history of the Toronto Transportation Commission and the construction of subway lines. The stacks are absolutely stacked. It’s so tall that a special forklift elevator contraption is used to help archivists store and retrieve records.
Researchers can book a time to view records. There are light boxes for slides, microfilm machines, and book scanners to read and reproduce records. It probably provides better services than most other government departments.
