The current Canadian flag cemented the maple leaf as the country's most recognizable symbol. But ties between Canada and the maple leaf long predate February 15, 1965, when the maple leaf flag officially became the national flag. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag, we're highlighting rare historical items related to the maple […]
Add a touch of Toronto history to your next video call with these 12 vintage virtual backgrounds. Download these free backgrounds of interior photos of Toronto landmarks and other spots from the late 19th and early 20th centuries — and discover a bit of history as you find a favourite! We preserve these images on […]
This temporary page replicates our popular list of city directories available online. We're working to restore the original page on Toronto Public Library's website, currently unavailable due to a cybersecurity attack. All online city directories remain fully available. The links below go to pages where you can download or view directories from 1833 to 2001 […]
As a constitutional monarchy, Canada has held huge celebrations for past coronations of British monarchs. The crowning of King Charles III on May 6, 2023 marks the first coronation in 70 years for Commonwealth nations. Below is a quick overview of this age-old ceremony and six pieces of history tying it to Ontario and beyond. […]
Buckingham Palace announced this afternoon that Queen Elizabeth II has died. Queen Elizabeth II was the Head of State of Canada and the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Toronto Public Library holds hundreds of photos of the Queen from the 1930s to the 1990s. Below is a selection of these […]
Looking for Toronto-themed backgrounds for your phone? Here are 20 unique ones of old Toronto — from 1870 to 1950. There's a bit of history under each wallpaper, too. We made them from our public domain photos, paintings, postcards and maps. The actual items are held in our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, one of the […]
Looking for Toronto-themed backgrounds for your phone? Here are 20 unique ones of old Toronto — from 1870 to 1950. There's a bit of history under each wallpaper, too. We made them from our public domain photos, paintings, postcards and maps. The actual items are held in our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, one of the […]
As the summer heats up, Ontarians cool down in the water! To find out where swimmers of the past made waves in the province, I turned to Digital Archive Ontario. It has over 100,000 digitized photos, maps, postcards and other items related to Ontario's past. Photo from our Toronto Star Photograph Archive, 1972. Portion of […]
Buckingham Palace announced this afternoon that Queen Elizabeth II has died. Queen Elizabeth II was the Head of State of Canada and the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Toronto Public Library holds hundreds of photos of the Queen from the 1930s to the 1990s. Below is a selection of these […]
Buckingham Palace announced this morning that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh has died. Prince Philip was the longest serving consort of a reigning monarch in the Commonwealth, and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. Below are a selection of photos of Prince Philip from our Toronto Star Photograph Archive — as […]