Rabble-rousing feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman died in Toronto in 1940.

Although she only lived in Toronto on three occasions over a 14-year period, and never for more than a year and a half at a time, Emma Goldman had an outsized cultural impact on the city. The well-known anarchist and feminist whom J. Edgar Hoover dubbed “the most dangerous woman in America” filled local lecture [...]

Back in 1901, the holiday weekend was a washout.

Since 1845, Torontonians have been enjoying a holiday on May 24 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday. Following her death in 1901, a federal act declared that date (or May 25 if the 24th fell on a Sunday) would thereafter honour Britain’s longest-serving monarch. While it’s easy to imagine that the decision was made out of [...]

In Grade 10 I read The Chrysalids, a John Wyndham science fiction that starts out describing an agrarian culture where they talk of God-like old people who could move the Earth into walls and hills. There were enough clues in the first chapter that I soon figured out that the book was describing the future, [...]

Where Toronto’s public transit vehicles go for rest or repairs.

Every year, Heritage Toronto works with local photographers to create Building Storeys, a visual documentation and anecdotal exhibit of our city’s heritage sites. This year’s exhibit—which is on view at the Steam Whistle Roundhouse throughout the month of May—is dedicated to rail and marine transportation. Over the month, Torontoist and Heritage Toronto are exploring the [...]

The last spike was driven in the transcontinental railway in 1885, satisfying a commitment made to British Columbia by the Canadian federal government. The railway would unite the Confederation, open up new lands for colonization, and provide greate…

Space historian David S.F. Portree talks to Wired about SpaceX’s upcoming launch to the International Space Station.

© 2004-2012 Rebecca Bollwitt – Miss604.com. If you are not reading this via official Miss604 channels, this content is being reproduced without permission. Grouse Mountain is as much a summer playground as it is a snowy winter destination. The Grouse Grind tests endurance, performances at the peak entertain, ziplines thrill, the resident grizzly bears awake [...]

Andy Suknaski, award winning poet and visual artist, has passed away at age 69. -Photo sent to me by Dale Caragata. Andy is front-center. Andy was from my home town of Wood Mountain, and I have some memories of him as I grew up. He lived only a block away (not big odds on that, [...]

I am 532 pages into Robert A. Caro’s The Passage Of Power, the fourth …

Forget Hallmark and Big Flora — Mother’s Day is (and always has been) for radicals: Mother’s Day began in America in 1870 when Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation. Written in response to the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, her proclamation called on women to use their position as mothers to [...]

For those of you that are interested in US foreign and covert policy history, this is of import. From The Boston Globe…

“A federal judge has ruled that a final volume of the CIA’s three-decade-old history on the failed Bay of Pigs invasio…

Celebrating a suburban golden jubilee back in ’72.

The summer of 1972 was a momentous one for the Borough of North York. The growing suburban municipality celebrated its 50th anniversary that year with a series of special events throughout that spring and summer. Among the souvenirs was a special edition of the Mirror newspaper which traced North York’s past, present, and future, excerpts [...]

Click here to read my Metro column about a dangerous habit that seems to be taking over Calgary.  It’s rare for a city to tear down the old, to replace with the new, I find especially in Canada.  Yet, every month, more and more beautifully old buildings seem to be coming down and more and [...]

Moving Torontonians in red or silver trains since 1954.

Every year, Heritage Toronto works with local photographers to create Building Storeys, a visual documentation and anecdotal exhibit of our city’s heritage sites. This year’s exhibit—which is on view at the Steam Whistle Roundhouse throughout the month of May—is dedicated to rail and marine transportation. Over the month, Torontoist and Heritage Toronto are exploring the [...]

Political genius in a bottle…or really, genius generally!  So, I must admit to something right off the bat: I’m a whiskey on the rocks drinker. For those of you who are purists you’re saying “Paul, the ice waters down the …

A tour of the last surviving World War II German POW camp in Canada reveals hopeful plans for its future.

Seventy years ago, a provincial reform school for boys on the outskirts of Bowmanville was transformed into a POW camp for captured German officers during World War II. Today, the surviving structures of Camp 30 are fighting another war, against vandals and time. Victory appears to be a possibility. Recently, Torontoist joined a tour of [...]

“Government does not work on logic,” a wise man once told your humble e-scribbler.  “It works on the basis of history.” When faced with a new problem, people tend to do what they did before, not what might make sense in the new circumstan…

“Government does not work on logic,” a wise man once told your humble e-scribbler.  “It works on the basis of history.” When faced with a new problem, people tend to do what they did before, not what might make sense in the new circumstanc…

These are my notes from the 2011 Marxism conference in Toronto. The series starts here.* * * *I was especially interested in this talk, as for much of my life I would have considered myself a reformist in the Keynes mode. I slowly learned that reform c…

These are my notes from the 2011 Marxism conference in Toronto. The series starts here. * * * * I was especially interested in this talk, as for much of my life I would have considered myself a reformist in the Keynes mode. I slowly learned that reform…