Category: Arts & Humanities, Image, English, Toronto Public Library, Toronto, Canada, Ontario
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Opera Atelier holds a unique place in the North American theatre community, producing opera, ballet and drama performances that draw upon the aesthetics and ideals of the 17th and 18th centuries. Featuring acclaimed international soloists, period ballet (Artists of Atelier Ballet), original instruments, elaborate stage décor, exquisite costumes and most importantly, an imaginative energy, Toronto-based Opera Atelier has attained international recognition.
Introduction The second half of the nineteenth century was a time of wealth, optimism and growth in Toronto. Architecturally, it was an era that would drastically change the appearance of Toronto forever. A small but dedicated number of architects would infuse Toronto’s landscape with a variety of structures, possibly, the most striking being the churches, with their soaring spires, ornate towers and other Gothic Revival attributes. This exhibition honours one of these architects, Henry Langley, and features the Toronto churches that he designed, built and completed. Henry Langley, 1836-1907, was born in Toronto. He obtained his architectural training by apprenticing for seven years with an established architect, Scottish-born, William Hay, 1818-1888.
Welcome to Local Flavour. This virtual exhibit surveys the various aspects of eating in Toronto over a span of 125 years. To turn the pages of Toronto's, click your mouse near the edge of the page to the right and then drag the mouse across to turn page. Or use the 'Next page' and 'Previous page' buttons at the top to flip through pages. You can also use the 'Go to page...' dropdown menu to quickly jump to any section of the exhibit.
Gone Fishin’ Torontonians have a long and happy tradition of heading north to cottage country during the long, hot days of summer. In the 1860s the Muskoka Club was established by a group of Toronto adventurers who led annual expeditions to the Muskoka wilderness. By the 1870s several of the members had purchased land on Lake Joseph, and the tradition of summer cottaging was born. In 1898 a group of professors and alumni from the University of Toronto joined together to purchase recreational property in Go Home Bay, on Georgian Bay, held as shares in the Madawaska Club. Many of the cottagers in Go Home are descendants of those first Madawaska Club members.
Blessed with many ravines, wooded lots and parklands, early Toronto residents were able to enjoy many winter outdoor activies right in their own neighbourhoods. Sleighing, tobogganing, bobsledding, skating, curling, hockey, skiing and snowshoeing were all popular forms of winter recreation. As the city grew and prospered, clubs and associations formed, championships were organized and new facilities were built to meet the demand. Horse drawn sleighs were used to transport goods from farm to city stores in wintertime and wealthy businessmen had them in their stables. Toronto companies would occasionally decide to reward their employees by organizing group horse sleigh rides in High Park. Letter, 29 December 1883 Tobogganing became a popular sport in the late 19th century.
Panorama of the City of Toronto, 1857 Rossin House Hotel In 1857, the roof of the hotel provided the ideal vantage point from which Armstrong, Beere & Hime photographed their Toronto. The Rossin House, on the southeast corner of King and York streets, was the tallest building in the newer commercial district of Toronto when it opened that year. It was one of the city’s pre-eminent hotels, with an 1866 guide claiming: “What the Fifth Avenue Hotel is to New York, and the Windsor is to Montreal, so the celebrated Rossin House is to Toronto.” The Rossin House was destroyed by a fire in 1862, and was rebuilt in 1863.
Garden City: Public and Private Gardens in Early Toronto Early Toronto residents, politicians and local entrepreneurs transformed the City by creating public gardens and offering services and supplies to the gardening industry. As a result of their efforts, nineteenth century Toronto emerged as a more liveable community and a popular tourist attraction. By the late 1800s, guidebooks were referring to Toronto as the “Queen City”, the “Holiday City”, and the “ideal summer city”. In the fall and winter, city residents and visitors congregated for social events and recreation in churches, hotel dining rooms and concert halls.
The Osborne Collection Toronto Public Library’s Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books is one of the world’s foremost historical collections of English-language children’s literature. Located in the Lillian H. Smith branch , the Osborne Collection holds over 80,000 items, including manuscripts, books, book-related art, archives, ephemera and book-related games. Our collection ranges from a 14th-century manuscript of Aesop’s Fables through medieval books of manners, moral tales of the Puritan era, 18th-century chapbooks and hornbooks to Victorian classics of fantasy, adventure, and school stories up to 1910. We also collect modern notable books published after 1910.
About the Collection If you love the performing arts, you'll want to visit the fifth floor of the Toronto Reference Library , home of the Performing Arts Centre . It's a diverse collection of material and services devoted to theatre, music, film, television and dance. This includes the Bill Glassco Collection of original manuscripts from Tarragon's founding director, and early scripts from some of Canada's leading playwrights. To see more of our theatre collection materials online check out these other virtual exhibits: Also, visit the Canadian Theatre Record which contains many items from the Performing Arts Centre. To explore other Toronto Public Library virtual exhibits, click here .
Toronto Orphanages and Day Nurseries Introduction In the early half of the nineteenth century, it was common practice for orphaned or deserted children to be bound into apprenticeships. By mid-century, adoption and institutional care began to emerge as alternatives to apprenticeship. Orphanages or children's "homes" and day nurseries provided residential care for children in need. By the 1920s, institutional care was gradually phased out and replaced by programmes of foster care, or "boarding out". Day nurseries evolved as the pre-cursor to daycare centres. Reports and Papers from Toronto's early child care agencies reflect society's evolving attitudes towards childcare and the work ethic from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
