Toronto, Ontario, Canada (York)
1873

TORONTO, formerly YORK, capital of Ontario, an 1 one of the most flourishing cities in the Dominion, is situated on a beautiful circular bay, on the N.W. shore of Lake Ontario, in York co., 333 miles W.S.W. of Montreal, 161 miles from Kingston, 39 miles N. by E. of Hamilton, and 500 miles N.W. of Washington. Lat. 43° 49' 4" N., Ion. 79° 71' 5" W. Mean temperature of the year 44°4; winter 26°4; summer 63°8 Fahrenheit.

The bay is entered by a narrow opening, and is separated from the lake by a low peninsula about 6 miles long, enclosing a beautiful basin miles in diameter, forming a safe and well sheltered harbor, capable of containing a large number of vessels. The peninsula is called Pleasure Island or Gibraltar Point, and is a favorite resort during the summer months.

The site of the town is low but rises gently from the waters' edge, the observatory being 108 feet above the Lake. The streets generally cross each other at right angles, some almost running parallel with the bay, and intersected by others which have a N. and S. direction, inclining slightly to the W., the whole forming nearly a parallelogram.

The principal streets running E. and W. in the denser portions of the city are Front, King, Richmond, Adelaide and Queen streets; and of the cross streets, lunge, Church, Bay, and York streets. King and Yonge streets are the thoroughfares, and contain the largest number of stores.

The city generally is built of a light colored brick, of a soft, pleasing tint.

The public buildings of the city are substantial in workmanship, and some of them beautiful in architectural design. Many of the stores, especially the wholesale stores, and private dwellings, are quite palatial in their outward aspect and interior structure. It is the seat of Law and Provincial Government, and the headquarters of the Educational Department of Ontario. The principal buildings in connection with these are Osgoode Hall, a fine classic structure, containing all the Superior Law Courts of the province; the Parliament buildings, of plain exterior, but with handsomely decorated and furnished legislative chamber, and well equipped Government offices; the Lieut. Governor's residence, a princely mansion; the Normal School buildings, of Italian design, containing offices and depositories of the Council of Public Instruction; two model schools; one model grammar school and educational museum. There are several handsome common and grammar schools. In connection with higher education there is the University of Toronto, one of the finest buildings on the continent of America, and reckoned second to none on this side the Atlantic as a seat of learning. It is of Norman architecture in its principal features, with massive tower and richly sculptured doorway for its main entrance. It is beautifully situated at the western side of the Queen's Park, a noble public park for the recreation of the citizens, whose spacious avenues are ornamented with rows of stately trees. In the centre of the Park is a finely modeled and well executed bronze statue of Her Majesty. Queen Victoria, by Marshall Wood, England, and a short distance from this there is a monument, erected in honor of those Toronto Volunteers who sacrificed their lives in defense of their country during the first attempted invasion of Canada by the Fenian miscreants (1866.) Trinity College is another educational institution in connection with the Episcopalian Church; and there is also Knox College, for the theological training of students in connection with the Canada Presbyterian Church. The Upper Canada College is an extensive range of buildings and has a high repute as a grammar school and boarding school for buys. There are two schools of medicine in Toronto each having an efficient staff of professors. There is also an ably conducted Veterinary College.

The public institutions are numerous, and many of the buildings appropriated for their purposes have striking features of architectural beauty. Amongst these may be enumerated the Lunatic Asylum, the Crystal Palace, for holding the Provincial Agricultural Exhibitions; the Boys' Home; the Girls' Home the House of Providence; the Protestant Orphans' Home; the Custom House; the Government School of Technology; the new Post Office, a fine specimen of the Italian order of architecture.

The manufacturing interests of Toronto are varied. There are several extensive iron foundries and engineering establishments, railway car building shops, rolling mills, several breweries and a mammoth distillery, carriage factories, tanneries, soap works, spice mills, cabinet factories, one of which is the largest in the Dominion, car wheel works, machine shops of all kinds, pork packing establishments one of these in appliances and arrangements for killing and curing being modeled after the best Chicago houses sewing machine, sash and door, and boot and shoe factories on an extensive scale. Besides these, many other varieties of manufacture and trade are carried on.

Banking is well represented, there being thirteen Banks in the city, six of which have sprung out of the enterprise of Toronto merchants, and are doing a profitable business. These are, the Bank of Toronto, the Royal Canadian Bank, the Bank of Commerce, the Dominion Bank, the Federal Bank, and the St Lawrence Bank. The other seven have their head offices elsewhere and are branches of the Bank of Montreal, the Merchants' Bank, the Ontario Bank, the Bank of British North America, the Quebec Bank, Molson's Bank and the City Bank.

Insurances offices are numerous and their business extensive.

The principal public halls are the St. Lawrence and Music Halls, with several minor ones, and a large one with a suite of rooms attached for the Young lien's Christian Association. There is also a Mechanics. Institute, with class rooms, reading room and library.

Toronto contains 1 synagogue, and about 47 churches, of which 11 are church of England, 5 church of Rome, Wesleyan Methodist, 8 Presbyterian, and the remainder divided among the Baptists, Congregationalists, New Connexion and Episcopal Methodists and other Dissenters. Among the churches most deserving of notice for their architectural merits are St. James' Cathedral (church of England), St. Michael's Cathedral (Roman Catholic), the Metropolitan Wesleyan Tabernacle, Knox, Holy Trinity and St. George's churches.

There are in the vicinity of the city 4 burying grounds, being Potters Field, containing 6 acres; the Toronto Necropolis, with fifteen acres; St. James Cemetery, with 65 acres-the latter 2 at the N.E. extremity of the city, and the former W. of Yonge street; and the Roman Catholic Cemetery, in Power street.

Forty one newspapers and periodicals are published in Toronto, viz., 4 daily, 15 weekly, 5 semi-monthly, 15 monthly, 1 quarterly, and 2 annually. The city is well supplied with water and is lighted with gas; and has an efficient fire brigade.

Its fine harbor affords great facilities for an eaten ire traffic. Lines of steamers run daily during navigation to all the lake ports and ports on the River St. Lawrence. Five lines of railways run through the city, the Grand Trunk, Great Western, Northern. Toronto and Nipissing, and Toronto, Grey and Bruce. These railways connect at all seasons of the year with all places of importance on this continent. The value of real and personal property in Toronto for the years 1870,1871, and 1872 was respectively, 1870, $26,918,457; 1871, $29,277,135; 1872, $32,644,612.

The total value of imports for 1872 was $13,098,133; exports $2,201,814. Pop. in 1817, 1,200; in 1830, 1,677; in 1842, 15,336; in 1845; 19,706; in 1852, 50,763; in 1861, 44,821; and in 1871, 56,692.

Toronto was founded by Governor Simcoe in 1794. Parliament buildings were erected and the Legislature assembled there for the first time in 1797. In 1813, it was captured by the Americans, under General Pike, who was killed in storming the fort, but it was held only for a few days. Since that period the place has made steady progress and has assumed considerable importance as a mart of trade and commerce. In 1834 it was incorporated a city, and its name changed from York to Toronto.

Lovell's gazetteer of British North America; J. Lovell; Montreal, 1873

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