Paying homage to Toronto’s longest-running public library
The first of several Carnegie libraries built in the city, the Yorkville branch opened on June 13, 1907.
Today the Toronto Public Library is the largest public library system in North America. It’s made up of 100 branches, and circulates a collection of over 10 million items, including books, CDs, DVDs, and eBooks.
But, of course, it had to start somewhere. And the oldest surviving reflection of that start celebrated its 116th birthday in June 2023.
Before we get to that, let’s back up a bit. The official beginning of what’s now the TPL came in January 1883, when Toronto approved the Free Library By-Law, creating a governing body and framework for the system that was to come.
In 1884, the Toronto Public Library opened at Church and Adelaide, and its first two branches followed shortly. But they — and several branches to come — were housed in dedicated or rented space in existing buildings.
That practice changed with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. In 1903, the Scottish-American philanthropist and library proponent agreed to send $350,000 for the creation of a new central library and three branches. In exchange, the city had to create an annual budget for the libraries, and donate the sites for the buildings.
The first of the Carnegie libraries opened in Yorkville on June 13, 1907 — 116 years ago — and is still open today. That makes it the city’s longest-running library.
Some quick facts about the Yorkville library:
- The Beaux Arts style building was designed by city architect Robert McCallum, and constructed of yellow brick with Ohio sandstone. Its arched entryway features two statuesque columns to either side.
- The building was granted heritage status in 1973, and underwent a renovation and expansion in 1978. But the exterior looks largely the same now as it did when first built.
- According to Toronto Public Library records, the building was completed for exactly $27,328.65. Sadly, the Bank of Canada inflation calculator goes back only as far as 1914, so we can’t say exactly what that would be in 2022 dollars. (But, for fun, $27,328.65 in 1914 dollars would be $682,305.30 today.)
The other libraries created with that first grant opened in 1909 and 1910, and included the new central library at College and St. George, a Queen and Lisgar branch, and a Riverdale branch.
More grants followed the first, and a total of 10 libraries were built within current City of Toronto boundaries. Seven of them — including the Yorkville branch — are still in use today:
- Annette Street (1909)
- Beaches (1916)
- High Park (1916)
- Riverdale (1910)
- Weston (1914)
- Wychwood (1916)
- Yorkville (1907)
Tap or click on any branch name in the list above, or simply check out the map accompanying this article, to see the Carnegie branch locations.
This is an updated version of an article originally published in 2022.
Code and markup by Bridget Walsh & Kyle Duncan. ©Torontoverse, 2023