The Missing Plaques Page

There are several plaques that seem to have gone missing in the city. I have made several attempts to locate the following plaques based on the location information I was given but I've been unsuccessful. If anyone knows anything about the location of any of these plaques, please contact me at the email link in the menu above. Your help would be most appreciated. Credit will be given for any plaques found. Thanks.

Plaque Title: Alexander Muir
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 9 Mackenzie Crescent
Plaque Text: Alexander Muir (1830 - 1906) Schoolmaster, poet and the author of 'The Maple Leaf Forever,' lived here from 1891 - 1901. He was inspired to write the song in 1867 following a walk in Leslie Gardens, during which a maple leaf is said to have fallen and clung to his sleeve. Muir was born in Lesmahagow, Scotland, and came to Upper Canada with his parents at an early age. He was educated in his father's school in Scarborough, and at Queen's University. After teaching in various centres, he became the principal of Gladstone Avenue Public School in 1888.


Plaque Title: Avenue Road Church
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 243 Avenue Road at Dupont Street
Plaque Text: Built in 1899 as the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, this church was designed by architects Gordon and Helliwell. The bold use of white Kingston limestone makes the building a significant landmark. In 1925 it became the Avenue Road United Church. Known as the Stone Church during the late 1930s, it was taken over by the Church of the Nazarene in 1941, with Charles Templeton as preacher. The building was gutted by fire in 1944, but was later restored.


Plaque Title: Bank of British North America
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 49 Yonge Street
Plaque Text: On this site, in 1845, Bank of British North American built its first branch in Toronto. present building, designed by architect Henry Langley, replaced original in 1875. building later underwent several alterations, some under direction of Burke, Horwood and White, Architects. In 1918 Bank of British North America was incorporated into Bank of Montreal, which retained a branch here until 1949 when Imperial Bank purchased building. After Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank merged in 1961, a branch of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce continued to operate here until 1978. Restoration and renovation work by Greymac Trust Company was completed in 1982.


Plaque Title: Court House Library/County of York Law Association
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: Court Street at Toronto Street
Plaque Text: The Court House Library was established in the York County Court House on Adelaide Street East for the use of the judiciary and members of the legal profession in York by the county of York Law Association. 30 December 1985.


Plaque Title: Court House Square
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: Court Street at Toronto Street
Plaque Text: Between 1826 and 1838, Court House Square was used for a variety of religious and political gatherings. David Willson and his Children Of Peace (builders of Sharon Temple in Newmarket) held assemblies here. Supporters of William Lyon Mackenzie rallied here after his ejections from the Legislative Assembly in 1832. With its proximity to the Home District Court House and the jail, the square was used for public floggings and for punishment in the stocks - their last recorded use: Ellen Halfpenny, for drunken and disorderly conduct in 1834. The first hanging here was on 23 October 1828: Charles French for the midnight shooting of Edward Knowlan. The most famous hangings, and the last performed here, were on 12 April 1 1838: Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews, for their participation in the 1837 Rebellion.


Plaque Title: Elizabeth (Elsie) Gregory Macgill
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 4 Taddle Creek Road
Plaque Text: Elsie Macgill was the first woman graduate in engineering from the University of Toronto in 1927 and the first female member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. Although crippled by polio, she contributed significantly to the development of the Canadian aircraft industry 1934-43, designing the Maple Leaf II Trainer and overseeing production of Hurricane and Helldiver fighter planes. After the war she served as technical advisory to the United Nations Civil Aviation Organization. She was President of the Canadian Federation of Businesses and Professional Woman's clubs 1962-64 and later a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1971 and received the Professional Engineer's Gold Medal in 1979.


Plaque Title: First Methodist Church
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: King and Jordan Streets, one block west of Yonge
Plaque Text: In summer of 1818 first Wesleyan Methodist Church was erected in York at corner of King Street on south side, and what was later known as Jordan Street. Reverend David Culp was first minister appointed. Chapel was a low, frame structure, 4 metres square; later it was enlarged to 12 metres by 18 metres. Its builder was Mr. Petch. building had a double doorway towards King Street;re was a window on each side of entrance and three windows on each side of building. A high, square pulpit and simple wooden benches furnished interior. entire cost was about $250.00, which took congregation three years to raise. In first Methodist church it was custom to separate men from women, to right and left side of building. This chapel continued in use as a place of worship for 15 years. In 1833 it was converted for a time into 'Theatre Royal'.


Plaque Title: G. Gooderham House
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 135 St. George Street
Plaque Text: This was the residence of George Gooderham (1820-1905), a man prominent in the financial, commercial, educational and cultural life of Toronto. He was president of the family business, Gooderham and Worts Co. (Ltd.), founded by his partner William. The house, built 1889-1892, was designed by David Roberts, Jr. in the Romanesque style. The imposing exterior, skillfully executed in red brick and Portage sandstone, is enriched by the decorative stone carving of Holbrook and Mollington. Fine craftsmanship throughout identifies this house as an excellent example of this period. Since 1910 the building has been occupied by the York Club.


Plaque Title: Humber River Industries
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: Humber River east side
Plaque Text: After founding the settlement of York (Toronto) in 1793, Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe established the first government-owned industries in the Toronto area. The King's Sawmill with its dam and pond, was located on the west bank of the Humber River. Sawn timber was floated a short distance downstream to the King's Shipyard near here, where such vessels as Gunboats, Batteaux, Scows and the Schooner known as the 'Toronto Yacht' were constructed. These establishments helped to meet the needs of the new town and Garrison of York. They were the first step in Toronto's rise to industrial prominence.


Plaque Title: Immanuel Baptist Church
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 100 Wellesley Street East
Plaque Text: On this site stood the Immanuel Baptist Church from 1889 - 1967, designed in the Early English Gothic style by Smith and Gemmell. It represented one of the oldest continuing Baptist congregations in Toronto, which was originally formed as the Alexander Street Baptist Church, a Gothic white brick structure, in use from 1866-1888. The active mission work of the church resulted in the establishment of other churches and Sunday Schools throughout the city. In 1967 the congregation relocated to Finch Avenue East.


Plaque Title: Jarvis Street Collegiate Institute
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 361 Jarvis Street
Plaque Text: On this site in 1871, the Toronto High School, established in 1807 as the Home District Grammar School, occupied a new two-story structure. It was designed by Toronto architect William Kauffman. The first female pupils were enrolled at that time and were taught by Mrs. Howe, the school's first woman teacher. Male and female departments were separated with double doors and seven foot fences. In 1873 the school became the Toronto Collegiate Institute and was renamed Jarvis Collegiate Institute in 1890. In 1924, students, led by principal John Jeffries and Janie Thomas, a former pupil and teacher at Jarvis for 42 years, marched from the site to the school's new location at Jarvis and Wellesley Streets. Most of the building was demolished in 1928, but the Jarvis Junior Vocational School, a pioneer in vocational training for boys, continued to occupy this site until 1963.


Plaque Title: Little Norway
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: On a little knoll in Little Norway Park at the corner of Bathurst St and Queens Quay
Plaque Text: Here, during World War II, the Royal Norwegian Air Force trained its air and ground crews. Land for a training camp was provided free by the Toronto Harbour Commissioners at the foot of Bathurst Street, west of the ferry dock. The camp, known as 'Little Norway', was opened officially on November 10, 1940, and by the end of that year, 500 officers and men were stationed there. 'Little Norway' consisted of seventeen buildings, including a hospital, headquarters, schools, recreational hall, depot, guardhouse, barracks and messes. Colonel Ole Restad, Commander of the R.N.A.F. in Canada from May 1941 to April, 1945, was an outstanding sportsman and winner of an Olympic world medal. In 1943 the 'Little Norway' operation was transferred to the Muskoka airfield. A total of 2,657 personnel served in the R.N.A.F in Canada. Most expenses for their training were paid for by the Norwegian Merchant Navy.


Plaque Title: Pape Avenue Cemetery
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 313 Pape Avenue, just south of Gerrard St. East
Plaque Text: This cemetery, consecrated in 1849, marks the establishment of an organized Jewish community in Toronto. At the time 35 Jews were living in the city. Seven years later the first synagogue in Ontario, later to become Holy Blossom Temple, was established in rented premises above Coombe's drug store at Yonge and Richmond streets. Holy Blossom continues to administer this cemetery. The first burial took place here in 1850 and the last in 1947. The half-acre site was purchased by Judah George Joseph and Abraham Nordheimer from John Beverly Robinson, chief justice of Ontario. At the time, Pape Avenue was known as Centre Road. This site sat amidst prime farmland on the outskirts of the village of Leslieville and was accessible only by a dirt road from Queen Street.


Plaque Title: Parkdale Curling Club-Masaryk Memorial Institute
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 220 Cowan Ave. just south of Queen Street
Plaque Text: The Parkdale Curling Club, designed by Architects Darling and Pearson, was built in 1898. Its unique classically influenced symmetrical façade masks one of the earliest exposed double hinged steel trusses in the country. In 1907 it became the Pavlova Roller Rink and later was one of the most popular dance halls in the City. 'The Pav' as it was affectionately known, was at one time operated as a tennis club and later purchased by Masaryk Memorial Institute. It was renamed in honour of Czechoslovakia's first president and operated as a culture centre for many years until in 1979 when the City of Toronto purchased the property for use as a community centre. Rehabilitation was funded with the assistance of the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture.


Plaque Title: Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 34 King Street West
Plaque Text: On this site in April, 1923, the Toronto Half Company of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve which later became H.M.C.S. 'York' was formed under the command of Lieutenant Gordon B. Jackson, R.C.N.V.R.


Plaque Title: Savarin Tavern
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 336 Bay at Adelaide
Plaque Text: Savarin, a popular restaurant and tavern for nearly fifty years, was built at 336 Bay Street in 1928, and was work of firm of N.A. Armstrong, architects. It was designated in 1980 under Ontario Heritage Act. To provide for redevelopment of site, Queenstone Limestone façade with Bronze windows was dismantled and stored while a new building was erected. façade was reconstructed in an enclosed courtyard, during a major renovation of Northern Ontario Building at North-West corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets in 1982.


Plaque Title: Silver Rail Tavern
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 225-227 Yonge Street
Plaque Text: The Silver Rail was one of Toronto's first licensed cocktail lounges. It has remained at the same location on Yonge Street since April 2, 1947. Curious Torontonians would ride the Street car along Yonge Street to catch a glimpse of patrons lined up, waiting to enter. For the first time in Toronto, it was possible for diners to drink a glass of wine or enjoy a cocktail with a fine meal. The interior has remained almost unchanged for 50 years while the face of Yonge Street has changed. The Silver Rail took over the space originally occupied by Muirhead's Grill and Cafeteria. The interior was designed by architect N.A Armstrong in 1934. The Silver Rail is an early example of mixed use, incorporating a bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. It became a central fixture of downtown Toronto night-life.


Plaque Title: Upper Canada Veterinary School
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 42 Temperance Street
Plaque Text: Professor Andrew Smith, appointed by the Board of Agriculture of Upper Canada, founded the first veterinary school in Canada on this site in 1862. A prominent figure in Toronto, her served as the first president of the Ontario Veterinary Association, which was located here from 1874-1914 and was the first chairman of the Ontario Jockey Club, established in 1881. The College moved to University Avenue in 1914 and to Guelph, Ontario, in 1922.


Plaque Title: Walter Houston
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 354 College Street
Plaque Text: Walter Houston, star of Broadway and Hollywood, was born in Toronto, 6 April 1884, and raised near here at 11 Major St.[2 streets west of Spadina] At the age of sixteen, he made his first stage appearance in a minstrel show at Massey Hall, joined a local repertory group, and later, in vaudeville, toured Canada and the United States. In the 1920s Huston came into prominence on Broadway as a dramatic actor and became famous for his rendition of 'September Song.' He worked in a number of films with his son, screen writer and director, John Huston. In 1948 both won academy awards for the film, 'The Treasure of Sierra Madre.'


Plaque Title: Women at the University of Toronto
Location as given by Heritage Toronto: 18 Monteith Street
Plaque Text: One hundred years ago women won their struggle for admission to classes at the University of Toronto. Although they had been allowed to write the matriculation examination of the university from 1877 onward, and even won scholarships for their performance, it was not until March 1884 that provincial legislation permitted female students to attend classes. The first three women began classes on October 6, 1884. Within a week they were joined by three others and by the end of that first year there were nine: May Bald, Ella Gardiner, Margaret Langley, Eliza Balmer, Nellie Spence, Caroline Fair, Alice Jones, Mary Lennox and Jennie Stork.