The Toronto Archives

This afternoon, Mom and I went to the Toronto Archives. It was our first time there.

We wanted to research who lived in our house before us.

The Archives are really close to Casa Loma.
It looked really cool with the snow but I was glad we weren't walking up that hill.

When we got inside we filled out Application Forms so we could use the Archives and we got ID cards to use while we're there.
They have lockers to put our coats and bags. You can take pictures of the documents, save to a USB stick or you can print them there for a fee. 

 I had no idea that the Archives were this huge!!!

We chose to look at the City Directories. They have records from 1834 - 2001.
We searched for our address and then we looked up the name of the person who was living there in those years.

I learnt how to use Microfilm!

We had some un-expected but exciting results!

They had other displays up in the Archives.

They had a map showing the different wards in Toronto through the years.

They had a picture display in the lobby.
I thought these two pictures were cool:

(Search the Archives using the terms "Chinese Couple" to see a better version of this picture.)

(Search the Archives using the terms "Plowing Match Scarborough" for this picture.)

There was a small display about the Great War

And there was also an exhibit called "No Little Plans" which was about buildings and transportation in Toronto.

Here's a link with what you can find out about the history of your house in Toronto.