Church-Wellesley Village

Hello, welcome to a special episode of Walking in Place. This is Ashley, of course. I'm still going to be on a little bit of a break. But I have been working on this special episode of the Church-Wellesley village for some time now and I really wanted to make sure you all had a chance to hear it and maybe even take the walk yourself especially since the city is, you know, coming back to life. That part of town is always a great place to spend some time especially ahead of Pride Month, which is right around the corner from the time of this release. While obviously usually you hear my voice on these episodes, we have a special guest this time this tour is actually going to be led by community historian and the historian for the church Wellesley neighborhood association Adam when late last summer I went on a walking tour of the village. The tour was part of a series organized by the Church-Wellesley BIA, and I loved it so much that I reached out to the BIA and asked if they wanted to collaborate on a tour. They connected me with my tour guide Adam and since then we've been working together on creating the audio version of this tour. This tour is really Adam's tour, everything is researched and written by Adam. We worked together on the recording and I put this episode together. One last thing. If you've listened to other episodes, you know that I typically include 30 second breaks of ambiance between each stop. We still have them in this episode. But there are so many things in close proximity in the village that each stop takes a little bit longer than usual and the breaks are more spread out. If you're wondering when the next break is coming. Typically it follows directions from Adam or you can look at the timestamps listed in the show notes. As always feel free to skip the breaks if it's not your thing. So without further ado, here is Adams' tour. You will be starting at the Paul Kane House at 56 Wellesley Street East it's just a little bit east of the Wellesley subway station.

My name is Adam Wynne and I will be leading you on this tour today. I will start with an Indigenous land acknowledgement. We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee And the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. We acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with Mississaugas of the Credit. We would also like to acknowledge that the northwest section of the Church Wellesley village is the site of the sand hill burials, a sacred burial site of the Mississaugas that was desecrated by the early European settlers of the area. We welcome you to this walk and invite you to reflect on the history of the land where we are and your relationship to it. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work, live and learn on this land. 

The starting point of this walk is the Paul Kane House Parkette. Paul Kane house park which is located on the north side of Wellesley Street East between the Wellesley subway station and Church Street Church Street was one of the early streets of the town of York. The southernmost section dates to the 1790s. It was extended northwards over time by the 1830s that had reached present day Queen Street and by the 1840s they had reached present day Carlton street; the section between Carlton and Bloor opened as a public street in May 1847. The street was named for lands situated along it that were allocated for use by the church. The name predates the construction of Toronto's first church by several years. The areas north of Queen Street, which was historically known as Lot street were divided into park lots in the 1790s park lots were long, relatively skinny parcels of land running from present day Queen Street to Bloor Street, and there were 32 of these from the Don River westward to what is now Parkdale. Many of these parking lots were granted to wealthy individuals or friends of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe. Paul Kane house is situated on what was park lot seven and park lot seven was granted to John McGill in September 1793. The McGill's were a Scottish family and related to the McGill family of Montreal who McGill University is named after. Now over time, many of the park lots changed hands and were re-subdivided and sold off to various parties in the early 1820s. Alexander Wood, a merchant in the town of York purchased a section of park lots, six, seven and eight. This eventually became known as Molly's wood, Molly's Wood was an undeveloped forested area, a creek flowed through the area. This creek was known as Moss Park Creek and actually flowed down the middle of Church Street until the mid to late 1850s. Along its course the creek fed a brewery, a fish pond and skating rink. It also fed a small swamp on what is now Carlton Street. Many of the streets in the Church-Wellesley village were laid out in the late 1840s and early 1850s, with development intensifying over the following decades. A century later in the 1950s, the area began emerging as an LGBTQ2S+ neighborhood. Paul Kane house 56 Wellesley Street East The Paul Kane house was originally constructed in 1853 as a cottage and it was later expanded over the next 25 years. This was one of the first residential properties constructed in the Church-Wellesley Village. It is now one of the oldest surviving buildings in the area. The Paul Kane House was first home to Paul Kane and his family between the 1850s and 1903. Paul Kane was born in Ireland in 1810 and moved to Canada in 1819. In his youth, he was employed as a furniture painter and later became a portrait painter and traveled to Europe and the United States for further education and training. During the mid 19 century, Paul Kane produced between 400-700 depictions including sketches, illustrations and paintings of the Indigenous peoples of North America, these were largely done in central and western Canada and the United States. Many of these were Eurocentric, and quite a number are now held in the ROM collection. He also published Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America in 1859, while living at the Paul Kane House. Paul Kane died in 1871 and his family continued living at the property until 1903. There's a high school near Edmonton, Alberta, now named after Paul Kane between 1925 and 1973. The property was home to the Evangelical Church of the Deaf. The church was constructed in front of the house, which obscured it from sight during the early 1970s. The church was demolished by a developer which revealed the original 1850s Paul Kane House hidden behind it. The Paul Kane house was initially proposed for demolition at this point in time as it was in a poor condition. During the 1970s the surrounding community rallied together to save the house and turn it into a museum and park. This was some of the first heritage oriented activism in Toronto following the enactment of the Ontario heritage act in 1978. The property was purchased by the City of Toronto and designated a Heritage property the following year in 1985. The property was incorporated into the Church-Isabella cooperative, an addition was added at this time, and the property now contains 18 residential units. The Paul Kane House recently won a heritage grant award to restore the cedar roof and front porch. 

We will now head east on Wellesley Street towards Church Street and stop at 66 Wellesley Street East. 66 Wellesley Street East is an important site in the early HIV AIDS activism of Toronto. 66 Wellesley Street East was originally constructed in 1886 to 1887 and was a Bay and Gable house that was home to Ebenezer Johnson, the Assistant Attorney General of Ontario. Later during the early 20th century, the house was used as a hostel for women and then a hotel for soldiers during World War Two. It later was subdivided into residential apartments and during the late 20th century, the property shifted to commercial use, and various additions were added on the front and rear which drastically changed its appearance. In late 1983. A second floor office at 66 Wellesley Street East became the first home of the AIDS Committee of Toronto, Toronto had its first reported case of HIV AIDS in 1982. In the following years, HIV AIDS killed many gay men. Early community meetings in response to HIV aids were held at the Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University, Jarvis Collegiate and the 519 Community Center. These meetings were coordinated by groups such as the hassle free clinic, The Body Politic, and gays in health care. The hassle free clinic also had an early office next door at 556 Church Street from 1980 until 2000 for the AIDS Committee of Toronto, also known as ACT was formally established in July 1983. In response to the need to provide the public with up to date information and resources, support services and advice regarding the HIV AIDS virus. The organization was largely volunteer based with some paid staff and mobilized the gay community to provide sexual health education and support services for those living with or at risk of HIV AIDS. Its first funding came from a federal job creation grant, while based at 66 Wellesley Street East during the 1980s ACT organized numerous public education and fundraising campaigns the first AIDS awareness week in July 1984, the first HIV AIDS vigil in 1985 and North America's first HIV AIDS hospice and the first AIDS Walk of Toronto in 1988. In 1993, ACT moved to 399 Church Street, followed by a move to 543 Yonge street in October 2015. The organization still remains very active in Toronto. 66 Wellesley Street East is now vacant and pending demolition as part of the redevelopment of the northwest corner of Church Street and Wellesley Street East. I have been advocating that the history of ACT and HIV AIDS activism in Toronto be commemorated within this new development. 

Before we move on to our next stop, I encourage you to take a look at Dapper Lane and the CLTA buttons mural. Dapper Lane, which runs along the side to 66 Wellesley Street East was named to 2019 to acknowledge the entwined relationship barbers have had in the village for decades along the east wall of the dapper lane is the CLTA buttons mural, also known as the pin button pride mural. The pin button pride mural was painted by artist William Craddock as part of the World Pride Church Street Mural Project in 2014. It depicts buttons and pins in the ArQuives collection, which date from 1977 through to 2000 10s. While small the buttons and pins communicate pivotal concerns of the LGBTQ2S+ community to the world. To the next stop, we will head east on Wellesley Street and then cross south across Wellesley Street to the southwest corner of Church Street and Wellesley Street.

On the east side of this corner building just south of the TD Bank branch was the site of the steps. From 1984 until 2005 There were four or five steps leading from the sidewalk to the entrance of what was a Second Cup coffee shop now at TD branch. These steps became famous as a hangout and meeting place for LGBTQ2S+ individuals, many would say "meet me at the steps". While a private space linked to a cafe, this is one of the first publicly visible places that LGBTQ2S+ test individuals could openly congregate. This was also the most popular Second Cup location in Toronto. It was a 24/7 coffee shop and the former manager has said that on some summer nights there would be 200 or 300 people at the steps. The steps were removed in 2005 by building management to prevent loitering on the property. Across the street is Glad Day Books at 499 Church Street Glad Day Books was founded by gay activist Gerald Moldenhauer. In 1970, GLAD Day was Canada's first LGBTQ2S bookstore, now the longest running and oldest surviving LGBTQ2S bookstore in the world. The bookshop was originally based in the Annex and then Kensington Market and then moved to Yonge Street in 1981. In 2012, 23 local LGBTQ2S community members pooled their resources to buy Glad Day in order to avoid closure due to declining revenue. In 2016 Glad Day bookshop moved to its current home at 499 Church Street. This move allowed the bookshop to expand including adding a bar and a small restaurant and event and performance space and a cultural hub. This new location was also wheelchair accessible. Its previous location at 598 Yonge Street was on the second floor and not accessible. The name "Glad Day" originates from the 1790s painting by William Blake. The painting Glad Day depicts a man dancing naked, surrounded by the spectral light of a rainbow. Moldenhauer noted the painting may have represented the Prison Break and was symbolic of liberation from the shackles of oppression and repression. During the 1990s and 2000s Glad Day was involved in a pivotal court case at the Supreme Court of Ontario versus Glad Day Bookshop, Inc. 2003 was a leading decision on pornography and homosexuality. The court found that a statutory scheme requiring the approval of the Ontario film review board before films could be distributed or shown in Ontario violated the guarantee of freedom of expression in section two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Prior to this Glad Day Bookshop had materials seized on the basis of immorality or obscenity. We will continue south a few buildings on Church Street. A few doors South of Glad Day Bookshop, also on the east side of Church Street is 491 Church Street.

Between October 1994 and 2011, 491 Church Street was home to Pink Triangle Press. Pink Triangle Press' roots date back to 1971 in Toronto, when a group of volunteers began to produce The Body Politic. The Body Politic was Canada's Gay Liberation newspaper, which operated from November 1971 until February 1987. They were an activist and organizing group of individuals who initiated many rallies, conversations and participated in many conferences and fundraising initiatives within the Canadian and international lesbian gay communities. By 1976, The Body Politic was being published monthly and in the early 1980s. It claimed circulation of over 9000 nationally and boasted contributions from writers all over the world. In 1978 Pink Triangle Press was incorporated; its name was chosen as a symbol of history and commitment as it comes from the symbols placed on suspected homosexual men in Nazi concentration camps. In 1978, Pink Triangle Press was also charged with publishing immoral, indecent and secure illicit material because of an issue of The Body Politic which included Gerald Hammond's article men loving boys loving men. The press was brought up on similar charges again in May 1982, this time for lust with a very proper stranger. An article on fisting pink triangle press, however, won both cases. In an attempt to broaden pink triangle presses Toronto readership the collective launched Extra and merged Nike ad for Extra was meant to be more upbeat and accessible than The Body Politic by 1985. Extra had taken over its parent publications role at providing local entertainment and community event listings. Extra circulation has soon overtaken The Body Politic which was in financial trouble. So in an effort to save Pink Triangle Press and keep Extra going. The Body Politic was discontinued in February 1987 in 1998, Pink Triangle Press launched squirt.org, a cruising website for gay men and in 2017, they acquired Geist by a gay dating and social app during the 2000s Pink Triangle Press also delved into a number of partnerships with other LGBTQIA2S+ media agencies, including one Oh 3.9 Proud FM out TV, the magazine five and the guide travel magazine prior to being based at 491 Church Street Pink Triangle Press was based at 484 Yonge street, also the home of St. Charles tavern. 491 Church Street was also the location of the neighborhood's early Loblaw. Store which opened in 1931. Although the extent building is newer, we will now continue south on Church Street to the northwest corner of Church Street and Maitland street opposite O'Grady's on the south wall of 524 Church Street at the northwest corner of Church Street and Maitland Street is the full spectrum sculpture launched in June 2014. For World Pride by artists Tamara Sawatzky and l Flanders. Both of public studio full spectrum is a 70 foot long three dimensional optical kinetic wall sculpture consisting of painted wood and reflective adhesive encompassing a spectrum of 102 colors on one side, the piece references both the spectrum that is visible to the human eye as well as the iconic LGBTQIA2S+ symbol of the rainbow viewed from the opposite end, full spectrum evolves into a midnight blue sky with reflective elements representing the candlelight vigils held the memory of the members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community in Toronto who have died from HIV aids since the 1980s. While standing at the northwest corner of Church Maitland I encourage you to look at the Southwest at 55 Maitland street. That is the first high rise building you see on the south side of Maitland street just west of Church Street between 1985 and 1991. The author Peter McGehee lived here at 55 Maitland street with his partner gay activist Douglas Wilson. McGehee wrote boys like us while living here, the protagonist of boys like us is a gay man who moved to Toronto from the southern United States and his best friend has been diagnosed with HIV AIDS. The story shares many parallels to Mickey's own life story as he moved to Toronto from the United States. Both McGee and his partner died of HIV AIDS in the early 1990s. Boys Like Us was published only a few months before McGehee’s death at age 35. In 1991. Douglas Wilson McGehee’s partner was the first openly gay candidate to be nominated by a political party to stand for parliament. The NDP nominated him to represent the federal riding of Rosedale. During the 1988 campaign, he was diagnosed with HIV and subsequently became a major HIV AIDS activist; he died in 1992. On the opposite corner at the southeast corner of Church and Maitland is 475 Church Street, presently home to the church most 475 Church Street was originally constructed in 1864. During the 1860s it was neighborhoods first post office, the postmaster was George farrier burns, a Scottish Canadian settler later uses a 475 church we include a confectionary shop and a refreshment parlor, a blacksmith shop various grocers, a funeral home a butcher shop and appliance store and French inspired bistro us since 2000 to 475 Church Street has housed the church most a neighborhood pub and part of the British inspired Firkin pub chain next door to 475 Church Street is 467 to 473 a Church Street 467 Church Street is home to Woody's established by Alex corn in 1989. Woody's is currently Toronto's longest running gay bar in 1994. Saylor was established when the two venues were combined together, the venue contains a performance space, which often facilitates local drag shows and earlier this year when he celebrated his 33rd Birthday during the 1980s 1990s, we began to see many gay bars and businesses opening on Church Street. There were a handful before this in the 1960s and 1970s. Woody's and Sailor have been important and pivotal locations for community activism, including early HIV AIDS fundraising over time, the upstairs of Woody's and Sayla have also been home to a number of other LGBTQIA2S+ businesses including Extra magazine icon magazine preop the gay and lesbian community appeal of Toronto and the men's room prior to the opening of Woody's 467 Church Street was home to Jingles a gay Piano Bar the building itself at 467 to 473. A Church Street dates to 1864 and was altered in the mid 1890s. It is in the Queen and Revival style with Romanesque Revival and Gothic Revival elements. The first person who lived at 467 Church Street now Woody's with James Watson and his family Watson was the founder of Wills and Watson, which imported and manufactured biscuits, coffee and spices. You lived here from 1864 to 1867. During World War One 473 A Church Street now the UPS store was home to the Consulate of Cuba on the west side of Church Street is 508 to 510 Church Street 508 to 510 Church Street were constructed in 1856 to at 58, and were originally part of a row of houses at 508 to 518. Church Street the first occupants included Arthur homestead, a lawyer and administrator of Osgoode Hall and William Slaton, the secretary treasurer of the Ontario Simcoe and Huron railway, the first railway to manufacture a locomotive here in Canada, which was to Toronto built in April 1853. At the corner of Yonge Street and Queen Street. The 1960s saw the demolition of the middle of the road and the conversion of the houses from residential to commercial use. Since the early 1990s 508 to 510 Church Street has hosted gay bars and clubs. The first was Ghetto Fag, which was a South Asian house music inspired gay bar briefly in operation during 1993 to 1994. Crews opened in 1994 untangles opened several years later, the two venues have since been combined together on the interior and are known as Crews and Tangos. like Woody's Crews and Tangos has been an important and pivotal location for community activism, including HIV AIDS fundraising Crews and Tangos is now one of the villages most popular LGBTQIA2S+ entertainment venues and is internationally known for its drag performances, including drag queens, such as Priyanka, we have competed in one on RuPaul drag race in early 2020 Graywood developments proposed at 14 story mixed use primarily condominium building at 506 to 516 Church Street in June 2022 50825 10 Church sheet was designated under the Ontario heritage act, the house will be retained as part of the redevelopment project but the future of the Crews and Tangos venue remains uncertain. On the exterior of 508 to 510 Church Street is a mural designed by Elicser Elliott and Nadijah Robinson as part of the 2014 WorldPride Church Street mural project. This mural was identified as a heritage attribute of the building, but we'll be removed for masonry restoration. To the immediate south of 508 to 510 Church Street is 506 Church Street Bible six Church Street was constructed in 1872 for the whole family, the whole family were Irish and arrived in Canada around 1850s as refugees of the Irish famine one of the members of the House of family was Frances Esther How also known as Hessie How or Hester How she was born in the late 1840s and arrived in Canada as a toddler she trained to become a teacher, and about 1880 or 1881. She was approached by the chief school inspector James Laughlin, US and philanthropist William Holmes Alan they asked if he would teach a class of delinquent and homeless boys in St. John's Wort than one of the poorest inner city neighborhoods in Toronto. These boys could not be integrated into regular classes due to behavioral problems. How had great success with these students and adopted the policy never to use physical punishment in her classrooms. Within a few years, she was appointed the principal of the Elizabeth Street School in St. John's wort. How soon noticed that young girls were not attending school as they were expected to stay home and attend to younger siblings. She developed the first school based daycare programs in Ontario to encourage young girls to pursue education over the next 40 years How championed and developed many of Toronto's social work programs. One of these was a juvenile court system she used to take delinquents students to see a judge at City Hall and then eventually the judge would come visit the school each Wednesday afternoon. Other initiatives include the first home economic and business classes the first English as a Second Language classes, the first school based clothing drives and lunch programs, fresh air camps, and the first school base little mothers league in North America which taught young women how to care for children how supervised the first school playground to Toronto and assisted with establishing the first parent teacher associations. She eventually became known as the Jane Addams of Toronto. Elizabeth Street School was renamed the Hester How public school in 1912. And the daycare at City Hall is currently known as the Hester How early learning center. How died in 1915 from tuberculosis. She lived at 506 Church Street from the 1870s until 1910. After the stock market crash of 1929 506 Church Street was converted to commercial use. Past uses have included ice cream companies, various bars and restaurants since the early 2000 10s 506 Church sheet was home to boutique bar which closed in late October or early November due to the forthcoming development of 506 to 516. Church Street. Across the street is 457 Church Street, presently home to the Black Eagle. 457 Church Street was originally constructed as a semi detached townhouse in 1872. It was first home to Edward Parker, a local builder in 1915 to 1916 it was renovated for commercial use and housed the hardware business Alexander and son from 1916 until 1959, and then briefly housed several film production companies associated with the nearby CVC in the early 1960s. Various additions were added to the building during his transition from residential to commercial use on the 29th of September 1961. The Fifth Peg music club opened up  457 Church Street. The Fifth Peg was advertised as Canada's most sophisticated coffeehouse. And the most ambitious of Toronto's after hours clubs. The Yorkville coffeehouse project notes a number of prominent performers who performed at The Fifth Peg, including Gordon Lightfoot, Oscar bread and Bill Cosby. In 1963. The Fifth Peg became the establishment. Another coffee house in 1964, the melody room opened up for 57 Church Street, the melody room has been credited with being the first gay bar and clubs situated directly on Church Street to one of Canada's first gay interest publications, which was produced by gay boy publishing later camp publishing was also based at the property during this point in time, Rick curry and Sarah Dunlop. The bar owners also ran the music room another LGBTQIA2S+ venue on nearby Yonge street. Unfortunately, the melody room and the music room was repeatedly targeted by police rates and multiple patients were charged during these rates the melody room and too close to 1966 as a result of a fire that damaged the club, following the fire for 57 Church Street house a seafood restaurant called Seagull by 1984 57 Church Street house the gay bar tanks. In the following years the building houses various gay and lesbian bars including Sapphos, together with the bulldog and the four or five seven. Many of these were owned by gay entrepreneur Janko Naglic in 1997 to 1998 the gay fetish and leather bar the Black Eagle moved into 457 Church Street, it remains in business as of 2022. We will now continue south to the corner of Church Street and Alexander Street.

At the southwest corner of Church Street in Alexander street or the City Park Apartments designed constructed between 1954 in 1957, the City Park Apartments with Toronto's first modern apartment complex and Canada's first high rise community, the 314 storey towers designed in the international style and spaced apart with generous green spaces contain 774 residential units. They were designed by Peter Kasperi, a German Jewish architect who fled to England during the rise of Nazism and eventually arrived in Toronto during the early 1950s. The site of City Park Apartments has a fascinating development history during the 1910s Eaton's began purchasing properties in this largely residential area and eventually acquired over 75% of the properties bounded by Alexander Street, Church Street, Carlton Street and Yonge street. This was part of their plant expansion northwards, linked to the development of the new flagship store at the southwest corner of College Street and Yonge Street in 1928. By 1929 Eaton's did not maintain many of the Victorian and Edwardian homes following the Great Depression and World War Two, Eaton's was looking to sell and offload the properties. In 1952, the City of Toronto declared the area a slum due to substandard housing. This allowed developers less red tape than other districts in the city declaring the area of slum was very controversial, especially as the area was not substandard until a large corporation purchased the properties and neglected them. Many tenants also maintained the houses themselves and property owners who did not sell to Eaton's were also classified as slums. There was great debate about the post war business political relations during this decision in February 1954. Construction of City Park Apartments began construction that was done by Hubert buildings limited, a Swiss company who bought the land from Eatons for $500,000. A month later in March 1954, when the Yonge street subway opened this area of land became increasingly valuable to the close location to public transit and the downtown core. The towers were completed in 1956 to 1957 Rent was initially $90 per month for a bachelor unit and $296 per month for a two bedroom unit. This is roughly $830 to $1,800 in the present day, then a very affordable price for single young people. Historical gay publications such as tab confidential gay tabloid from the 1950s indicate that by the late 1950s, the buildings had already become a hotspot and popular residents for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals they became known as the Queen's palaces. This undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of the church Wellesley village as an LGBTQIA2S+ neighborhood. In 1959. Tab published a letter to the editor from a young gay man living in city park, who was looking to meet other gay men in Toronto. The editors advised of the location of several gay meeting places and noted that many gay people lived at city park and that he should talk to his neighbors tab confidential also published accounts of drag shows and parties hosted at City Park during the late 1950s. However, the unit numbers were never published to protect the attendees and residents from discrimination. The very architecture also played a role to Kasperi noted during an interview that the entire towers are made of reinforced concrete including poured concrete between the units and a special acoustic eliminating plaster in the hallways. This eliminated all noise transmission between units and in public areas. The high rise apartments also allowed a higher degree of anonymity than living in other forms of communal housing such as boarding houses and smaller apartment buildings where landlords and others could pry into personal lives. This was important in an era when gender and sexuality was not a protected human right. Since 1989. City Park has been a cooperative, it's now the largest coop in Canada, the intersection of Church Street and Alexander Street is also in the heart of what was the Alexander wood estate. Alexander Wood was a Scottish merchant and magistrate; he was born in 1772 and arrived in Canada in 1793. And in Toronto in 1797. In 1800, he established a store on King Street, which sold imported wares from the United Kingdom and United States; the first sidewalks in Toronto were installed in front of his shop. In 1810. Wood was embroiled in a scandal where a young woman known as Miss Bailey claimed to have been raped by a soldier and that during the incident, she scratched the genitals of her attacker as the magistrate would investigated the claim rumors began to circulate that Miss Bailey never existed and that would use this as the opportunity to fondle and seduce young men rumors emerged that would was a homosexual, although this has never been verified. In 1827, he purchased an undeveloped parcel of land bounded by present day Carlton Street, Yonge street, Maitland Street and Jarvis Street. Formerly parts of park blocks sixth, seventh and eighth this area became known as Mollywood, after the Georgian era slang, Molly referring to effeminate gay men or homosexuals. Later in the 1830s Wood served as the treasurer of the Society for converting and civilizing the Indians and propagating the gospel among destitute settlers in Upper Canada. This was Christian organization, which established the precursor to the Shingwauk residential school near Sioux Sainte Marie would return to Scotland in 1842 and died there in 1844. Wood had no legal heirs, and it took several years to sort out the inheritance policies. By the late 1840s and early 1850s. The Alexander wood estate or Mollywood, had been subdivided for development and lots were being sold. Alexander St. Alexander place and Wood Street, which run across the former Mollywood property are named for Alexander wood. These were considered first class areas to build houses in the 1850s. There was formerly a statue of Alexander wood at the northwest corner of Alexander Street and Church Street, which was removed earlier this year. We will now head west on Alexander Street, our stop is in front of 40 Alexander Street.

The Garden of 40 Alexander Street was firmly the sight of a house during the 1860s This house was home to Margaret and Charles Congo, Margaret and Charles Congo were some of the Church Wellesley Village’s very first Black residents, Charles Congo was born in 1829 and Margaret Congo was born in 1827. Margaret and Charles Congo were formerly enslaved in Maryland and escaped to Canada via the Underground Railroad prior to 1861. In 1860s 1861, the Congo settled on Emma Street and st. John's wort, then a central neighborhood to the black communities of Toronto. The family then moved to Alexander street around 1861 to 1862. Mr. Congo was employed as a messenger and waiter. Their residence is roughly where the Garden of 40 Alexander street now is. The Congo story was featured in the Underground Railroad records, a book published by abolitionist William still in 1872. The Congos residence was later demolished during the redevelopment of this block in the 20th century. Next door to 40 Alexander Street is 26 Alexander Street. 26 Alexander Street was built in 1863 to 1864. It is one of the last surviving remnants of Alexander Street's original Victorian streetscape. The property owners did not sell to ease in the 1910s and subsequently survived the slum clearing initiatives in the 1950s. The building was first home to the Rottie family, the Rottie family were a large Irish Canadian family during the early 19th century, they owned a tavern on Church Street, which became home to Toronto's first permanent circus. The family later entered the printing industry and municipal politics from the 1890s 1950s 26 Alexander Street was home to the Hartwell family who were jewelers and silversmith. The building remained residential until 1959 When Carmen steakhouse opened here established by Arthur Carmen This is one of a number of steak houses in the neighborhood that were popular with visitors to Maple Leaf Gardens. The restaurants had a number of rooms named after historical figures including the Alexander wood room and the John Graves Simcoe room. The tutor inspired cladding on the outside of the building likely dates to Carmen Steakhouse, the steakhouse closed in 2009. More recently, the building is home to live do eat Shanghai, a French Chinese fusion restaurant in 2013. There was a proposal for a 19 storey building at 26 Alexander Street. It is unclear if this development application is still active. We will continue west on Alexander Street to buddies and bad times theater at 12 Alexander Street. 12 Alexander Street was designed by Harold John Smith in 1912 1913. It was originally the automotive showroom and garage for the white Motor Company. Smith was also the architect of the original Women's College Hospital. The white Motor Company showroom was part of Toronto's Automobile Row, which emerged along Bay Street and Yonge Street in the early 20th century Automobile Row was a large clustering of automotive showrooms and related businesses that emerged following the rise of the automobile. 12 Alexander street remained in use as an automotive showroom for various companies until the 1930s and then became a hardware and building supplies warehouse since 1967. The building has been used as a performance in theater space. The first theater based here was Toronto workshop productions, one of Toronto's first alternative and experimental theater troupes, which was based here until 1988. Buddies in Bad Times was established in 1978, and is now the world's largest and longest running Queer Theater. It has been based at 12 Alexander street since 1992, or 1994. Behind Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is Sky Gilbert Lane Sky Gilbert is a gay playwright, actor, academic and drag performer and the co-founder and former artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Much of his work deals with issues of gender and sexuality and he now teaches at the University of Guelph, the laneway was named in 2014. We will now continue west to Yonge Street to the corner of Yonge Street and Alexander Street. Prior to the 1950s and 1960s. Many gay meeting places were situated around the intersection of Bay Street and Queen Street known as the coroner's redevelopments. Following World War Two resulted in many of these places being forced out of the corners by the 1950s-1960s. Many gay meeting places which eventually evolved into gay bars had opened along Yonge Street and its side streets between college and blur. One of these early Yonge Street gay bars was the Red Lion room, the Red Lion room, colloquially known as The Pink Panther, or the pink pussy was a men's only beer parlor in the basement of the Westbury hotel now the Marriott courtyard at the northeast corner of Yonge Street in which street a block south of where we're standing right now, the red line became a gay venue quite literally as soon as the hotel opened in May 1957, with an estimated 95% of the bars clientele being engaged during the late 1950s. There was also a rooftop sky lounge that was popular with drag queens and the elegant clientele in the mid 1960s. Around 1965 or 1968, the hotel management began changing the bar to try and push gay patrons out. This worked. Recently, King set has proposed redevelopment of the Marriott property with two towers at 75 and 78. storeys in height. I have been advocating that the Red Lion room be commemorated within this new development. Across the street at 484 Yonge Street is the clock tower, the clock tower is leftover from fire station three. Fire Station three was the first Toronto Fire Station North of College Street; it opened in 1870. The rest of the original station was demolished Following the opening of a new station on Grassmere Street in the 1920s. On the 10th of August 1950 The St. Charles tavern opened at 484 Yonge Street the owner of the venue was Charles Hempstead, a wealthy businessman who had significant interest in horse racing and real estate the St. Charles was originally a restaurant Some describe it as a Chinese restaurant and others describe it as a steakhouse which evolved into a gay bar by the late 1950s and early 1960s Hemstead had sold it by 1958, the clock tower became a well known feature of the St. Charles, it began a marketing campaign meet me under the clock, liquor laws at the time prohibited men and women from intermingling while drinking. There was a separate room for ladies and escorts which was later removed from the venue. This meant only requirements also assisted in the venue becoming gay. As the St. Charles was a restaurant it would not have to close for one hour each evening like other beverage rooms, which only sold alcohol. This law, which required beverage rooms to close for one hour, encouraged respectable individuals to go home to their families. This also made the St Charles increasingly popular with clientele as they would not have to do the Yonge Street shuffle each evening to change venues during the hour. The St. Charles became well known for his Halloween balls; these annual events feature drag queens and dance parties. Halloween is both an important and popular holiday within the gay community when gender expression and cross dressing was illegal in Canada Halloween was the one that a year when this was overlooked by the police giving rise to the costume balls that allowed participants to publicly display their sexuality and gender. Gay Halloween balls in Toronto were originally hosted at the electrodes, a hotel bar which opened on King Street East across from the King Edward in that hotel in the 1940s. The electrodes had become a popular gay and lesbian meeting place. However, the bar owners eventually banned Halloween costumes in the 1960s due to crowds attracting an unwanted police presence. This resulted in the Halloween ball shifting to the St. Charles by the early 1970s. The Halloween balls were attracting large crowds of onlookers. Some members of the public yelled homophobic comments at the drag queens and through objects like eggs, toilet paper and ink. The police originally ignored this which brought visibility to the poor relationship between the LGBTQIA2S+ communities and the police, George Heslop and other gay activists put pressure on municipal officials. The police eventually stationed police on the block to close the streets around the St. Charles and prohibited the sale of eggs and other projectiles on Halloween. The Westbury hotel across the street also refused to rent rooms on the side of the building overlooking Yonge Street close to Halloween to prevent objects from being thrown onto the crowds below. By the 1970s 1980s Several discos had opened above the St. Charles tavern, including make a and Charlie's the St. Charles tavern closed in 1987. The Halloween balls later evolved to the Halloween on church festival in the 1990s. We will now continue north on the east side of Yonge Street. We are in the Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District which spans between college and Carleton and Bloor at the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Bredel Main Street was the Parkside tavern. The Parkside tavern was an operation from 1945 until 1986. By the 1960s this had become a well known gay meeting place and gay bar. Prior to the late 1970s and early 1980s Most gay meeting places were owned by heterosexual management. This often led to contempt or acts of homophobia and transphobia between the clients and bar management. During the 1970s management of the Parkside tavern allowed police to spy on patrons using a spy hole in the bathroom and then arrested patrons for cruising or public sex if they touch each other gay activists began community organizing to boycott the bar and eventually the spyhole was covered up the homophobia and transphobia experienced by LGBTQIA2S+ clientele from heterosexual bar management eventually resulted in gay owned and operated bars being established on Church Street during the 1980s Onward. There were a few outliers prior to this though such as the melody room discussed earlier which opened in 1964. We will continue a short distance north on the east side of Yonge Street to 529 Yonge Street.

Right between 1967 and 1971 529 Yonge Street was home to the Garrick Theatre. The Garrick Theatre was run by John Herbert, a gay Canadian playwright, his most well known work was fortune and men's eyes a production about a young man's experience in prison with homosexuality and sexual slavery fortune and men's eyes was produced as a play in 1967. And as a film in 1971. This was one of the first works by a Canadian author to openly include homosexual content. 529 Yonge Street was the third location of the theater and in 1972 John Herbert later established the maverick theater. We will continue north the short distance to 535 and 543 Yonge Street 535 Yonge Street is presently home to the village pharmacy founded in 2001. This was one of Ontario's first pharmacies to specialize in HIV AIDS care and now offers prep and pet services and has three locations in Toronto next door at 543. Yonge Street is the AIDS Committee of Toronto, which we discussed earlier in this episode. We will now continue north to the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Wellesley Street. The intersection of Yonge Street and Wellesley was the site of the Operation Soap protests in 1981 between the 1950s and early 2000s. Toronto bathhouses have frequently been targeted by the police who discriminate against the establishments LGBTQIA2S+ clientele. The most infamous of these incidents occurred on the fifth of February 1981 When Toronto Police raided four downtown bathhouses and arrested 286 gay and queer men as part of operations. So this was the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. As of that point in time, the men were arrested and charged for being found in a common body house. Many of these men were not out and the police outed them to their employers and families. Operation Soap sparked a series of public protests. The largest of these protests started on the evening following the raid. It originated that young and wealthy street where we are standing now over 3000 people gathered in march south to 52 Police Division at Dundas Street and University Avenue at the police station, the protests encountered the human barricade of about 200 officers the protests headed north to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and then a smaller group of 400 or so marched back to Yonge Street. These protests brought the queer liberation movement into the spotlight of Canadian politics and simultaneously helped fuel the Canadian pride movement that had emerged a decade prior. Some refer to these protests as the Canadian equivalent to the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969. Operation Soap was not the last time the police raided gay and lesbian bath houses in Toronto. The rates continued through the early 2000s We will now continue north to the corner of Yonge Street and dundonald Street at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and dundonald Street is 579 to 585 Yonge Street built in the late 1940s. In the art modern style, this building was first home to the Rainbow House Hotel and billiards Hall from 1971 to 1993. This building was home to the legendary metal and rock bar, the gasworks and during the late 1970s, early 1980s, the gay bar Cornelius was based upstairs here behind 579 to 585 Yonge Street running between Wellesley and Donald is chalk Lane chalk was the Mississauga chief who is one of the signatories to the 1805 Toronto purchase, in which the British Crown purchased 250,000 acres of land for the sum of 10 shillings the laneway was named in 2014. We will now go east and dundonald street and then north through James cannon gardens.

James canning gardens and the other linear parks are built directly on top of the Yonge Street subway line. The construction of the subway in the 1950s resulted in a number of buildings being demolished; the sites then became parking lots before being converted to public parks in the late 20th century. The name linear parks refers to them all being in the line directly on top of the subway line. We will stop at the corner of James Kennedy gardens and Gloucester Street to the east of us is Wabenose Lane. Wabenose was Mississauga chief who was one of the signatories alongside Chechaulk to the 1805. Toronto purchased this laneway was also named in 2014. This area of the neighborhood was historically the site of the sand hill burials. The Sand Hill burials were a sacred burial site of the Mississauga as they were unfortunately desecrated by settlers from the 1790s onwards, we will continue north through Norman Jewison Park. Norman Jewison park is named after Norman Jewison. Norman Jewison is an eminent Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter whose career has spanned from the 1950s to the 2000s. His works include Fiddler on the Roof in 1971, and Jesus Christ Superstar in 1973, among many others. In 1988, he founded the Canadian film center for many years, Gerson studio was based at 18 Gloucester Lane, the Yellow Brick Warehouse on the west side of the park, which overlooks the park. We will stop at the north end of Norman Jewison park at seven and nine Isabella street 79 Isabella Street. This building was originally built in the 1940s as a neighborhood grocery store during the late 1970s. The upstairs of the building became home to the hot tub club, a gay bathhouse and disco club. The hot tub Club was raided by the police in October 9079. It may be considered the precursor to Operation Soap in February 1981. The raid was based on obscenity charges due to a pornography film having been shot in the venue. 40 men were charged but none were taken to the police station for processing as runners from the venue alerted a nearby Right to Privacy Committee meeting which resulted in over 100 people rushing into the bar to protest the raid. The Right to Privacy Committee was a large advocacy group active in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s. That focused on the police harassment of gays and their infringement of privacy rights. Following the raid, the building became home to club Isabella and then chops. Chops was the most popular gay bar in Toronto during the 1980s. The founder of chaps was Alex corn, who also founded woody several years later, in July 1988. During the 1970s 1980s, many gay bars were based along Yonge Street and its size streets in what became known as track two. Over time the bars migrated eastward to Church Street following chops. 79 Isabella Street was later home to the gay bars and clubs Badlands from 1990 to 1992, and power from 1992 to 1994 and 1995. Following power, the building became a country western themed bar and then ceased being a club venue around 1995. A grocery store opened there in 1996. There is currently a proposal to demolish 79 Isabella Street and neighboring 619 to 637 Yonge Street to allow for the construction of a 57 storey mixed use primarily condominium building. There has been community advocacy to save some of the buildings on the site from demolition and to commemorate their history including this LGBTQIA2S+ history. We will now head east on Isabella Street to 34 Isabella Street, home to the archive

The ArQuives at 34 Isabella Street. The ArQuives formerly the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement ArQuives, the Canadian Gay ArQuives and the Canadian Lesbian And Gay ArQuives was founded in 1973. by members of The Body Politic. It is now the largest independent LGBTQIA2S+ ArQuives in the world and the only LGBTQIA2S+ ArQuives in Canada with a national scope. The Body Politic was Canada's Gay Liberation newspaper, which operated from November 1971 until February 1987. They were an activist and organizing group of individuals who initiated many rallies, conversations and participated in many conferences and fundraising initiatives within the Canadian and international lesbian and gay communities. The ArQuives were founded out of a need to document and reconstruct the history of LGBTQIA2S+ peoples. The collection was first based out of Ron Damon's basement on Bolton Avenue in Riverdale, and then at The Body Politic offices in 1976. Members of The Body Politic formally incorporated to form pink triangle press which had two sub projects The Body Politic magazine and the ArQuives. On the 30th of December 1977, the police raided The Body Politic offices in response to the article men loving boys loving men. They had been written by Gerald Hannon in the publication a month prior the charges were using the mail system for the purposes of transmitting or delivering anything that is obscene, indecent, immoral, or scurrilous. The police seized almost all the material in the office and did not return it until 1985. The charged were later acquitted. In June 1982, the ArQuives hosted the wild 82 conference on the 100th anniversary of Oscar Wilde's visit to Canada, which was likely the world's first lesbian and gay history conference. A few years later, in 1985, the ArQuives hosted another large conference - Sex and the State: Their Laws, Our Lives – attended by activists, scholars, and activists from around the world. In 1988, the ArQuives moved to the corner of Yonge Street and Granville street in a space shared with the pink triangle press and AIDS Committee of Toronto in 1992, the ArQuives began an institutional reorganization and severed all legal connection to the pink triangle press. The organization then moved to 56 temperance Street, around 2005, the ArQuives acquired 34 Isabella Street for $1 from the Children's Aid Society of Toronto now based next door, they also maintain a storage facility at 65, Wellesley Street East and another offsite facility outside of Toronto. The ArQuives renovated the building and then reopened to the public in 2009 and 2019, the name officially changed from the Canadian lesbian and gay ArQuives to the ArQuives spelt with a Q 34. Isabella street itself was originally built in the late 1850s. In the Italianate style. It is known as the Jared sessions host. Jared Sessions was the first resident of the property and was a Boot and Shoe merchant in Toronto. The building is now a Heritage property, we will continue east to 66 Isabella 66 Isabella Street is the highrise at the northwest corner of Church Street and Isabella street voices of positive woman the first organization in Canada run by and of HIV positive woman was established at 66 Isabella street in 1991. The organization remained active until 2010. We will continue south on Church Street near 577 and 579 Church Street.

577 and 579 Church Street were designed in 1872 and were the first houses built on this block of Church Street. Early occupants included the local Conservative MP William Baines Scarth, who commissioned the construction of the houses and the Church of England training house which trained deaconesses, missionaries and Sunday school teachers. A century later, in 1973 579, church became the home of neighborliness solution, Abelina’s solution advertises itself as being the first business in Canada to specifically tailor its products and services to trans individuals as well as drag queens unfortunately, they appear to have been a short lived business during the 1970s. The current tenants of the building include the new leaf flowers and gifts. The New Leaf was established in 1962 and has been based at 577 Church Street since 1990. And the downtown Animal Hospital the downtown Animal Hospital was established on Hayden street in 1986 and moved to its current location at 579 Church Street in 1996. We will continue south to the intersection of Church Street in Gloucester Street. The Gloucester mansions, the southwest corner of Gloucester Street and Church Street. The Gloucester mansion is a 1910 apartment house in addition to the 1875 Wallace Miller champ house this is an interesting adaptation where the original Victorian house was partially retained and expanded during the early 20th century. This was one of the very first apartment buildings in the Church Wellesley village. The early history of purpose built apartment buildings in Toronto is quite fascinating. The first building permit for a purpose built apartment building in Toronto was issued in 1899, and the building was not completed until 1904. The early buildings built pre 1907 were ultra luxury blocks tailored towards the business and upper class as of 1907. There were eight purpose built apartment buildings in Toronto by 1918. There are 290 purpose built apartment buildings in Toronto by 1912 purpose built apartment buildings in Toronto with the subject of significant controversy due to their alleged facilitation of immorality partly due to their appeal to single individuals who could live on their own in the units without the supervision of family or on site landlords privacy and sanitation related concerns the emergence of landlord legislation perceived risks to property values in the surrounding area a loss of neighborhood green space with the larger building footprints occupying most of the loft and societal bias towards renters versus owners the ability to live on one's own to the private unit contributed to this area emerging as an LGBTQ US District. We talked about this a bit earlier in relation to City Park Apartments calls emerge to prohibit the construction of new apartment buildings within pre established residential areas. Eventually Toronto City Council passed by law 6061 to prohibit the construction of apartment buildings on specific streets, namely established streets that mostly contained house form dwellings; all the developers could still appeal on a case by case basis for an exemption. Another bylaw was passed to limit the size of the buildings and mandate a set amount of outdoor space on the lot. The Chief Medical Officer of Toronto Dr. Charles Hastings also became involved in the debate with the public health focus on the tenement like conditions in summer for Toronto apartment buildings. In 1911 1912. Dr. Hastings testified to Toronto City Council that he had particular concerns over overpopulation, poor ventilation, the risk of fire and some buildings internal rooms having no windows controversy later emerged over bylaw 6061, namely that the prohibition of new buildings was causing rents in existing buildings to skyrocket with rents increasing by 10 to 35%. A collapse in the property market in 1913 to 1914, followed by the advent of World War One resulted in the shift of public focus away from the construction of new apartment buildings in Toronto. During World War One a handful of apartment buildings were constructed in Toronto followed by an increase after the war that peaked with a building boom in 1928. Hover construction of new apartment buildings declined over the following years due to the Great Depression. Notably during this era, the construction of new apartment buildings in many areas required individual bylaws to be passed allowing an exemption for each site. bylaw 6061 was altered in 1941. On the advice of city solicitor, who considered it was illegal for the council to authorize violations of residential bylaws by passing amending bylaws if such action was taken for the benefit of private individuals and not in the general public interest post 1941. The practice continued but whole blocks or streets rather than individual lots was specified whenever an exemption was made. Following World War Two the first apartment high rise buildings were built in Toronto in the 1950s to 1970s condominiums first emerged in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s. About a decade ago in the early 2010's. There was a proposal to demolish these buildings for redevelopment. The local community banded together and managed to save them. They are now heritage properties. This advocacy also resulted in the formation of the church wealthy neighborhood association. We will continue south to the 519 Church Street Community Center 519 Church Street was constructed in 1906. This building was originally an addition to the granite club athletic facility with the original Wing Located to the immediate south. The granite club was founded in 1875 as a curling club and moved to Church Street in 1880. It was immediately next door to the Toronto lacrosse club. The complex contains both indoor and outdoor facilities for both summer and winter recreation. Popular activities included lawn bowling, ice rinks and billiards. The original wing of the granite club burned down in October 1913 due to defective wiring; the granite club later relocated to St. Clair Avenue in 1925. It is now based on Bayview Avenue 519 Church Street later house, the Germany harmony club, the austere Athletic Club and the headquarters of the 48th Highlanders Infantry Regiment by the early 1970s. The building was developed and condemned; it was at risk of demolition but the surrounding community rallied to save it encouraging its renovation into a community center. The 519 Church Street Community Center opened in 1975 since 1976, the 519 Church Street Community Center has offered LGBTQIA2S+ programming. The first was programming for the Huntley youth surfaces to have a group of gay youth use the space. This early programming was controversial with almost a 5050 vote cast by board members to accept the application. 1976 also saw the founding of the Yuk Yuk Comedy Festival in the basement of the 519. Early performers included Jim Carrey and Howie Mandel in 1977 519 passed a resolution to recognize the rights of those who are homeless to use the center in 1982. Following the infamous bathhouse raids by Toronto Police, the Right to Privacy Committee and gay care were developed at the 519. This brought more LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy to the community center in 1980, for the hassle free clinic holds its first ever meeting at the 519 and goes on to establish free medical and counseling services in sexual health. In the 40 years since the 519 Community Center has expanded into an integral hub and center for Toronto's LGBTQIA2S+ communities the surrounding neighborhood and the broader City of Toronto. The center was expanded in 2010 and now offers a diverse range of programming including anti violence initiatives, arts and culture programming, community dropping and support services community led programs counseling, education and training Family Children, Youth and senior programming financial health and legal initiatives newcomer settlement services, trans-specific programming, sports and recreation programs, student placements and various webinar and training opportunities.

Thank you so much for listening and joining this tour of the Church Wellesley neighborhood. Thank you again Adam Wynne for this tour. If you liked this episode, you can find more of Adam’s research on TO Built at ACOtoronto.ca/TObuilt dot php, or you can go to the ACO toronto website, you'll see TO Built right right there at the top and the main. You can also find more of his research on the Church Wellesley Neighborhood Association website, which is CWNA.ca And if you want to reach out to Adam directly feel free to email him at Adam dot g dot wynne. And as always you have any questions for me you can email me at walkinginplacepod@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram again walking in place pod is my instagram handle. I'm on Twitter and Tiktok as well but I'll probably see it the soonest and on Instagram. Until next time, I hope you all have a wonderful summer!