People in Caledon learn a bit of Toronto history from Mike Filey

Historian Mike Filey was signing copies of his book Toronto; Then and Now when he addressed the annual general meeting of the Caledon Heritage Foundation. The history of Toronto is a rich one, filled with many colourful anecdotes.

Noted Toronto historian Mike Filey related some of them recently when he addressed the annual general meeting of the Caledon Heritage Foundation.

Filey has several books to his credit, including his latest one, entitled Toronto; Then and Now. He said that project includes a collection of pictures of the city, both from the past and present. Many of the old photos have been contributed from private scrapbooks.

He showed several pictures of the waterfront area, dating from various periods. There was a time when Front Street was at the water’s edge, with the Harbour Commission Building being constructed on land that was jutting out into the lake. Now it’s about a quarter of a mile inland, thanks to substantial land filling that has taken place.

He also showed some pictures of a time when University Avenue was lined with trees.

Some of the anecdotes Filey related had their amusing side.

He told how Union Stations was completed and ready for trains in 1920. But he pointed out that since various levels of government had been involved in the project, it seems no one thought to move the railway tracks to the new station. So it sat idle for another seven years, before being officially opened by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) and his younger brother Prince George. Despite that, Filey said it took another three years to get things really going. In the meantime, officials with Canadian Pacific evidently got tired of waiting, and built their own station on Yonge Street.

Another item he brought up was that famed aviator Amelia Earhart flew her first plane while serving as a Red Cross nurse in Toronto.

Filey showed some picture of the Toronto skyline from various periods, including from the late 1930s, when the prominent features were the likes of the Royal York Hotel and the Canada Life building, in the days before it had its weather beacon at the top. “That was the beacon that told you what the weather was like two hours ago,” he quipped.

Some of the stories were more serious, however. Filey offered some details of the fire that engulfed the Noronic in Toronto Harbor, at the foot of Yonge Street, Sept. 17, 1949. The blaze broke out early in the morning and by dawn, he said there were 119 dead.

Many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Filey said they were taken to the Horticultural Building at the Canadian National Exhibition. The annual flower show would have just ended, meaning the space would have been available to try and identify the bodies, but that wasn’t easy. He added there’s a grave in Mount Pleasant Cemetery where they think 25 victims are buried. He said the exact number buried there is not known because in some cases, they were just able to bury ashes.

He also had some comments about the Toronto City Centre (or Island) Airport. It was named the Port George VI Island Airport in 1939, in honour of the Royal visit that year. The first commercial flight to land there was carrying the Tommy Dorsey orchestra when they played at the CNE.

Filey commented on how there has been talk of building a tunnel to the airport from the mainland, adding that is nothing new. There have been 14 attempts to build a connection over the years. In 1935, the Conservative federal government of R.B. Bennett actually put up the money for the connection, but there was an election before the project got going and the Liberals under William Lyon Mackenzie King took over. Mackenzie King was a good friend of Sam McBride, who had a couple of terms as mayor to Toronto. McBride also lived on the island, and didn’t want a lot of cars in his neighbourhood, so the PM took the money back.

Filey’s talk included a couple of admonitions, including warning people to resist efforts to change street names.

He said there used to be a street in Toronto named in honour of a man named Owde, who was an early licence inspector with the city. Some years ago, a group of immigrants from Europe lobbied to have the name changed to reflect their old country.

“The City buckled,” he said, adding the street ended up with a name that has “absolutely no connection with our city and history.”

He had some information about the origins of some of the other street names. Yonge Street, for example, was named after Sir George Yonge, who served as Secretary of War under George III.

Filey also commented on some of the unique aspects of Toronto, such as the presence of black squirrels, something that is rare elsewhere. He said Americans are often impressed by that.

He also recalled conducting a tour, which included Americans, along University Avenue, and the came to the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald at Queen’s Park. One woman in the group asked why there was such a statue of the man who invented the hamburger.