City of Toronto Archives

Hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm
Location: 255 Spadina Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2V3
Contact: (416)-397-0778; archives@toronto.ca
Access: Open to the public. Must register upon arrival.
Website: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/access-city-information-or-records/city-of-toronto-archives/

The City of Toronto Archives houses an extensive collection of fonds and documents concerning the social, political, and economic development of the city of Toronto. As the official repository of all civic records for the City of Toronto, the Archives acquires, preserves, and makes these records available to City staff and the general public. The holdings consist of council minutes, property tax records, police records, public health records, Toronto Transit Commission records, building permits, by-laws, and maps.

The City of Toronto Archives fonds (1834-2009) contains records from the City Clerk’s Office relating to the City of Toronto. The City Clerk’s Office is responsible for providing a range of statutory, delegated statutory, and administrative services to council, city staff, and the public. Chief among these responsibilities is the oversight and management of the legislative and decision-making processes for Toronto City Council and its committees, which includes preparing agendas, decision documents, and minutes, managing public deputations, recording Council resolutions and decisions, coordinating by-law enactment processes, and accepting tenders. The collection contains 104.6 meters of textual records, 100 maps, 39 architectural drawings, 14 certificates and illuminated manuscripts, 5 sound recordings, 202 moving images, and hundreds of photographs.

The Academy of Medicine, Toronto fonds (1907-2009) consists of 15 meters of textual records, including administrative records, such as Executive Council minutes and annual reports; minutes and other records relating to the organization’s extensive administrative and program committees and special interest sections; publications provided to members, such as bulletins and transactions; member biographies; accession registers and card catalogues for the various library collections (though not the books and periodicals themselves); plans and planning documents related to the academy’s properties; and a smattering of other records, such as visitor registers, financial statements, scrapbooks, certificates, placards advertising academy talks and events, and a small amount of photographs and correspondence. The fonds reveals not only the internal concerns of the medical profession, but also how it reached out to the public to educate them about health issues and concerns. The Academy of Medicine fonds is an excellent source of information for anyone researching the medical profession in Toronto in the 20th century.

The Ontario Medical Library Association fonds (1887-1918) consists of 65 cm of textual records relating to the creation and maintenance of a medical reference library, administered by the Ontario Medical Library Association. The fonds includes book catalogues, registers of visitors, and correspondence. These records will be of interest to anyone researching the history of medicine or libraries in Toronto.

The Toronto Medical Society fonds (1878-1907) contains 18 cm of textual records that comprise the entire run of minutes of the Toronto Medical Society. These records will be of interest to anyone researching the history of medicine in Toronto.

The North York Board of Health fonds (1923-1988) includes 1.63 metres of textual records and consists of the North York Board of Health. Records cover safe milk, water quality testing, monitoring communicable diseases, regulating food production businesses and restaurants, vaccination, smoking, family planning, nutrition, and other health-related topics.

The Toronto Area Industrial Development Board fonds (1928-1983) contains 2.4 meters of textual records and 843 photographs. The fonds consists of nine series of administrative, financial, legal, promotional, and other records of the Toronto Industrial Commission, the Metropolitan Toronto Industrial Commission, and the Toronto Area Industrial Development Board. These records document efforts to promote the advantages of Toronto and its surrounding area for industrial and manufacturing purposes. They document the economic growth and development of the Greater Toronto Area over a half-century, and provide very detailed information on specific industries and individual companies in Metropolitan Toronto.

The Metropolitan Toronto Housing Company Limited fonds (1954-1987) contains 17 meters of textual records. The fonds consists of records relating to the planning, acquisition, construction and maintenance of housing accommodation for elderly persons of limited means in Metropolitan Toronto. The fonds includes correspondence to and from senior executives of the Housing Company, project developers, other levels of governments, community groups, and others, as well as studies, procedures, minutes, inspection reports, work orders, and a wide variety of other records documenting the Housing Company’s work. Additionally, the fonds also includes proposals by and contracts with architectural and construction firms for construction and maintenance of this housing, including requests for quotations, construction specifications, etc. Major subjects covered include health needs of seniors, affordable housing for seniors, land banking, youth skills training, housing for low-income singles, services for the disabled, housing directories, and specific housing projects of the Housing Company.

The Toronto Transit Commission fonds (1920-2014) contains 800 metres of textual records and 4659 boxes of photographs, drawings, plans, and sound recordings. The scope of the fonds covers the evolution of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) over almost an entire century.