The Great Fire of Toronto of 1849, April 7, 1849, also known as the Cathedral Fire, was the first major fire in the history of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Much of the Market Block, the business core of the city, was wiped out, including the predecessor of the current St. James Cathedral. The 1831 building of the Toronto City Hall and St. Lawrence Market south of King was damaged and was torn down. [1]
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Before the fire, Toronto's fire-fighting capabilities were limited to six volunteer companies operating in one fire hall at Court Street and Church Street. Manual pumpers and tankers involved far too much manpower and would prove to be no match for the speed of a major fire. The fire halls existing in Toronto in 1849 were: [2]
A second Fireman's Hall at Bay Street had been built in 1839, but it had closed in 1841, some eight years before the fire.
The fire was discovered at 1 a.m. in the rear of Graham's Tavern on the north-east side of King Street and Nelson Street (Jarvis Street) at George, behind Post's Tavern. The fire consumed Post's Tavern then burned through the outbuildings north to Duke Street. The fire spread through the whole block, destroying the Home District Saving Bank and frame buildings to the east on King Street. [3] At this point, a south-easterly wind had come up. [3] The fire was blown across Nelson Street to Rolf's Tavern and consumed all of the buildings of the Market Block south of Duke Street (Adelaide Street) in the block bounded by King Street East, Nelson, Duke and the north-south back lane east of Church streets. At 3 a.m., the spire of the first St. James Cathedral at Church Street caught fire and the cathedral was soon destroyed. The fire spread to the south side of King Street and the 'old' (1831) Toronto City Hall and market building. [4] It damaged most buildings on the east side of Nelson. [5] At its height, the fire was visible from across Lake Ontario in St. Catharines. [3]
The fire could have spread further, but Toronto west of Church Street was saved by a rain shower at about 3:30 a.m. This wet down the roofs of buildings to the west, making it harder for flying brands to ignite them. [6] The wind was from the north-east, pushing the fire away from the court house, fire hall and St. Andrew's Church west of Church Street. [6] At 4 a.m., troops arrived to assist the firefighters, and it was this assistance that likely saved the buildings on the south side of King Street from major damage. [6] According to The Globe, the fire was mostly extinguished by 5 a.m. [4]
The damage was estimated at CA$500,000 to $700,000, including $58,000 to St. James Church alone. The loss to insurance companies was $239,724. [7] One life was lost, Richard Watson, publisher of the Canadian and Upper Canada Gazette journals, was in the office of The Patriot newspaper at Nelson and Front, attempting to save printer types, when the floor collapsed, and he was trapped in the fire. [7] [4] The Upper Canada Gazette, the first newspaper in Ontario, would not resume publication. [8]
While the buildings on the main streets were brick, the inner buildings along laneways were made of wood and likely fuelled the fire. The early firefighting companies of the time, mostly made up of volunteers, had limited firefighting capability, and Toronto Fire Department was not formed until 1875. Fire hydrants and water tanks or barrels had been added in 1842 by the Metropolitan Water Company, but they were not enough.
None of the buildings within the Market Block (10–15 acres of property) survived, but buildings surrounding the block, such as the Daniel Brooke Building at King and Nelson, were spared. The Toronto City Hall had already been located one block south to Front Street in 1845. Most businesses were rebuilt by the fall of 1849. [9]
Most of the buildings that burned down were made of wood, so in response, the city changed building codes to prevent future losses of this magnitude. St Lawrence Market (1851) was rebuilt and new buildings like St. Lawrence Hall (1851) and the Cathedral Church of St. James (1853) were built to code. This did not mean an end to future fires, as the year 1904 proved in the city's new core. Today, most of the block north of King Street is St. James Park.
York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of Upper Canada, while he made plans to build a capital near today's London, Ontario. Simcoe renamed the location York after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, George III's second son. Simcoe gave up his plan to build a capital at London, and York became the permanent capital of Upper Canada on February 1, 1796. That year Simcoe returned to Britain and was temporarily replaced by Peter Russell.
St. Lawrence is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area, a former industrial area, is bounded by Yonge, Front, and Parliament Streets, and the Canadian National railway embankment. The Esplanade off Yonge St., lined with restaurants, cafés and hotels runs through the middle of the area. In previous times, the area was sometimes referred to as 'St. Lawrence Ward' or more often today as 'St. Lawrence Market', synonymous with the large retail vendor market which is the neighbourhood's focal point. The area is the site of a large city-sponsored housing project of the 1970s, which revitalized an old brownfields area. The boundaries of the St Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and the St Lawrence Market BIA are somewhat larger than those noted above. Both groups have boundaries that extend from Yonge to Parliament Streets and Queen Street East to the rail corridor.
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue; on the north by the CP Rail line where it crosses Queen Street and Dundas Street; on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south; and on the south by Lake Ontario. The original village incorporated an area north of Queen Street, east of Roncesvalles from Fermanagh east to the main rail lines, today known as part of the Roncesvalles neighbourhood. The village area was roughly one square kilometre in area. The City of Toronto government extends the neighbourhood boundaries to the east, south of the CP Rail lines, east to Atlantic Avenue, as far south as the CN Rail lines north of Exhibition Place, the part south of King Street commonly known as the western half of Liberty Village neighbourhood.
Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east–west avenues of Toronto's and York County's grid pattern of major roads. The western section of Queen is a centre for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts. Over the past twenty-five years, Queen West has become an international arts centre and a tourist attraction in Toronto.
King Street is a major east–west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of the first streets laid out in the 1793 plan of the town of York, which became Toronto in 1834.
The Cathedral Church of St. James is an Anglican cathedral in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the location of the oldest congregation in the city, with the parish being established in 1797. The church, with construction beginning in 1850 and opening for services on June 19, 1853, was one of the largest buildings in the city at that time. It was designed by Frederick William Cumberland and is a prime example of Gothic Revival architecture.
Front Street is an east–west road in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First laid out in 1796, the street is one of the original streets of the Town of York. The street was laid out along the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during that time. It remains an important street, with many important uses located along it, including the St. Lawrence Market, Meridian Hall, Union Station and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The eastern section of Front Street, in the West Don Lands, east of Cherry Street, is being rebuilt as a broad tree-lined boulevard, intended to be the pedestrian-friendly commercial spine of the new neighbourhood.
St. Lawrence Hall is a meeting hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. It was created to be Toronto's public meeting hall home to public gatherings, concerts, and exhibitions. Its main feature was a thousand-seat amphitheatre. For decades the hall was the centre of Toronto's social life before larger venues took over much of this business. Today the hall continues as a venue for events including weddings, conferences, and art shows.
Niagara is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located south of Queen Street West; it is usually bordered by Strachan Avenue to the west, Bathurst Street to the east, and the railway corridor to the south, and so named because Niagara Street runs through the centre of it. The eastern portion of this area was first planned as the New Town Extension when Toronto was incorporated as a city. The area was developed as a residential area for the workers of industries located along the CN and CP railway corridors. It remains a working-class neighbourhood that has seen the development of new condominium apartment buildings.
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West. It was created by The Union Act, 1840.
Old Toronto is the part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the boundaries of the City of Toronto prior to 1998. It was incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York County. Toronto periodically grew in size by annexing adjacent land and municipalities.
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
Victoria Square is an unincorporated community in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The community was formed in the early nineteenth century.
James Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the base of the Niagara Escarpment from James Mountain Road, a mountain-access road in the city. It was one of many arterials in the central business district converted to one-way operation in 1956 when the city retained Wilbur Smith and Associates to develop a Traffic and Transportation Plan. Parts of it were restored to two-way operation in 2002. It extends north to the city's waterfront at the North End where it ends at Guise Street West right in front of the Harbour West Marina Complex and the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club.
The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway. It is 80 hectares in size. A former industrial area, the area is being rebuilt as a mixed-use neighbourhood.
Jarvis Street is a north-south thoroughfare in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through some of the oldest developed areas in the city. Its alignment extends from Queens Quay East in the south to Bloor Street in the north. The segment south of Front Street is known as "Lower Jarvis Street" while the segment from Bloor Street to Mount Pleasant Road is known as "Ted Rogers Way".
Old Town is a neighbourhood and retail district in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the first of Toronto's named neighbourhoods, having acquired the moniker no later than 1815, at which time the original town of York was expanding. The old neighbourhood was referred to as "Old Town" by residents, and the new neighbourhood as "New Town". The site still has many buildings dating back to the nineteenth century.
St. Lawrence Market is a major public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The public market is made up of two sites adjacent to one another west of Jarvis Street, St. Lawrence Market North, and St. Lawrence Market South. St. Lawrence Market South is situated south of Front Street East, and is bounded by The Esplanade to the south. St. Lawrence Market North is situated north of Front Street East, and is bounded by St. Lawrence Hall to the north.
St. Lawrence Market North is a public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It hosts a variety of markets, including a farmers' market, an antique market and Christmas trees daily from mid-Nov. to Dec. 24. The site has been a farmer's market since 1803. Several buildings have been built for the Market North, the most recent in 1968. The new Market North structure is now under construction. The St. Lawrence Market combines the North building, the St. Lawrence Hall and the St. Lawrence Market South building.
The Esplanade is an east-west street along the central waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This neighbourhood consists of generally low-rise and mid-rise housing - condominiums, public housing, cooperatives and some town homes between Jarvis and Parliament Streets south of Front Street. The stretch between Scott Street and Market Street is a popular restaurant area.
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