The T.O. You Don’t Know
See your city differently
Discover the Weird and Wonderful Layers of the City
The T.O. You Don’t Know project is a city-wide storytelling experience that invites you to peel back the layers of the city and discover over 25 historic sites, forgotten events, and fascinating stories. It’s a tribute to our city’s past and a reminder that the places you pass by every day have surprising tales to tell.
Plan Your Visit
Toronto You Don’t Know: A City-Wide Storytelling Experience
Discover untold stories across Toronto, in real places, layered with meaning.
Site Stories
Crawford Street Buried Bridge
This place hides a fully intact bridge buried beneath the park, a piece of lost infrastructure most Torontonians walk over without ever knowing it’s there.
- Crawford & Dundas
Coded Tiles Of Little Portugal
In Little Portugal, tiled house façades tell stories. A dove often meant the resident was from the Azores, while Saint Anthony signaled mainland roots.
- Lisgar & Dundas
Lost Home Of Pioneering EDM Club
This place was one of Toronto’s earliest EDM clubs, a hidden landmark in the city’s nightlife history that helped shape the underground rave scene before disappearing from view.
- 185 Richmond St W
Site Of The Continental Hotel
Once a safe haven for lesbian women and Chinese men, the Continental Hotel housed quiet arrangements that helped both communities survive and thrive.
- 150 Dundas St W
The NBA Started Here
This was home court for the Toronto Huskies, Canada’s first NBA team. They lost their debut game by 2 points and folded within a year.
- 60 Carlton St
Site Of Operation Soap
This place was one of several targeted during the 1981 bathhouse raids, known as Operation Soap, a turning point that sparked widespread outrage and galvanized queer activism in Toronto.
- 260 Richmond St E
The Mosque That Used To Be An Orange Lodge
This mosque was once an Orange Lodge, a part of a powerful anti-Catholic network. By 1969, the Lodge declined and the building found new life as a place of worship.
- 182 Rhodes Ave
Lower Bay Street Station
This place sits above Lower Bay Station, a short-lived subway stop closed just months after it opened. It’s been seen in movies more than it’s been used by commuters.
- 1240 Bay St
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Former Site of Sin and Debauchery
Once home to Cup Cakes Cassidy and the Bazoom Girl, this spot was raided in the 1960s by the Morality Squad, all over a lowered G-string. Scandal then, city lore now.
- 287 Spadina
Former Site of Harriet Tubman Centre
Bob Marley once stopped by the Harriet Tubman Centre and played soccer in the parking lot. The photographer who snapped him? Didn’t even recognize him.
- 15 Robina Avenue
Gete-Onigaming Trail
This stretch of Davenport follows Gete-Onigaming, an ancient Ojibwe trail, over 10,000 years old. It once traced the shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois, long before Toronto took shape.
- Davenport Rd
Site Of Infamous Rock ‘n’ Roll Drug Bust
This hotel room at the Westin was where Keith Richards was arrested in 1977. Room 2233 became a flashpoint in Toronto’s brush with rock ’n’ roll infamy. A year later, he was clean, more or less.
- 1 Harbour Sq.
College That’s Pretending To Be In Boston
This isn’t Boston. It’s 85 George Street, the stand-in for MIT in Good Will Hunting. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won their first Oscars off scenes filmed right here.
- 85 St. George St
The Birthplace of Pregnancy Racing
This corner once belonged to Charles Vance Millar, the lawyer behind Toronto’s bizarre Stork Derby. Four women, nine babies each, and $125,000 at stake.
- 55 Yonge St
Former Site of the Crash 'n' Burn Club
In 1977, this basement housed Crash ‘n’ Burn, Toronto’s first punk club. It was loud, chaotic, and short-lived. The neighbours, including the Liberal Party, weren’t fans. It closed after just two months.
- 15 Duncan St
Former Site of Montgomery's Tavern
This was the site of the 1837 Toronto Rebellion.A former mayor led a failed uprising here at Montgomery’s Tavern. The tavern burned, rebels were hanged or exiled to Australia and Toronto got a little less “Good.”
- Yonge St & Broadway Avenue
Site of Rally to Support the Children’s Candy Bar Strike
In 1947, Christie Pits hosted Toronto’s chocolate bar protest. Kids rallied against prices jumping from 5¢ to 8¢, until they were accused of being communist pawns. The movement melted fast.
- Bloor St W & Christie St
Site of Jamaican Patty Wars
In 1985, Kensington Market became ground zero for the Patty Wars. The government tried to rename Jamaican patties. Locals refused. The Jamaican consulate stepped in. The name stayed and February 23 is still known as Patty Day.
- 172 Baldwin St
The Ward, Toronto's Lost Multicultural Neighbourhood
This corner was once part of The Ward, Toronto’s first truly multicultural neighbourhood. By the 1960s, it was gone. But its legacy lives on in the city it helped shape.
- Bay & Dundas St
Site of Reformatory "For Women Unable to be Improved or Fixed”
This was the site of the Mercer Reformatory, opened in 1880 to confine “wretched” women. Sex workers, single mothers, and rebellious girls were locked up, often for years. It finally closed in 1969.
- 1155 King St
Site of Toronto's Former Sexual Supermarket
In the 1970s, Yonge and Bloor was home to strip clubs, body rub parlours, and adult cinemas. Summers brought a pedestrian-only experiment and with it, crowds, clashes, and controversy. The press called it “Sin City.” By 1977, the car-free days and most of the nightlife were over.
- Yonge & Dundonald St
Scene of the Circus Riots
In 1855, clowns got into a brawl with firefighters at a Toronto brothel. The next day, a mob wrecked the circus. Tents down, makeup smeared. The mayor showed up. The clowns fled and never looked back.
- SW Corner Front & Berkeley
Site of Toronto's Last Fatal Duel
This corner was once a farmer’s field and the site of a deadly duel. In 1817, student John Ridout faced off against Samuel Jarvis. Ridout missed. Jarvis didn’t.
- NW corner of Bay & Grosvenor
The Wobble Zone: Former home of Rannie “Bop” Williams' store, Record Corner
Once home to Record Corner, run by Rannie “Bop” Williams, reggae pioneer and collaborator of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. His sound system shook the street, and helped give Kensington its legendary Wobble.
- 63 Kensington Ave
The Wobble Zone: Former home of Stranger Cole's store, Roots Records
Former home of Roots Records, run by Stranger Cole, a Jamaican music legend who worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry. His basslines blasted from this spot, duelling across the street with Record Corner.
- 58 Kensington Ave
Video
Playlist
Watch the Stories Come to Life
Short, surprising videos that reveal the Toronto you didn’t know was there, until now.
The T.O. You Don't Know
Read
The Ward: Toronto’s First Immigrant Neighbourhood
A historic downtown district that became home to generations of newcomers, shaping Toronto’s identity through its rich cultural diversity and community resilience.
Article • 6 min read
More Articles
More About the Project
Toronto You Don’t Know is part of the Museum of Toronto’s mission to connect the past to the present. By surfacing the overlooked, the hyperlocal, and the quietly radical, we’re reminding Torontonians that history is never fixed, it’s layered, and still unfolding.
We want to thank the individuals who generously shared their knowledge and time to help bring this campaign to life, including: Faye Blum, Adam Bunch, Lanrick Bennett Jr, Ysh Cabana, Arlene Chan, Jonny Dovercourt, Gilberto Fernandes, Cecil Foster, Amy Lavender Harris, Sarah Hood, Perry King, Jon Lorinc, Dr. Duke Redbird, Diana Roldan, Rebecka Sheffield, Rad Simonpillai, Howard Tam, Beryl Tsang, and Greg Wong.
Special thanks to Berners Bowie and Lee (BBL) for their partnership on this campaign.
Learn More About our Artifacts
Featuring archival photos, oral histories, maps, and site-based details — from the loud to the nearly lost.