Documenting the Island
Artifacts + Objects + Site
Panoramic view of the Eastern Channel, with Daniels students and Tony Farebrother (TICA), July 9 2024.
At the end of 2024, close to four thousand properties across the City of Toronto will lose their ‘listed’ heritage status. This change, as part of the provincial government’s More Homes Built Faster Act 2022 (Bill 23), means that owners of currently listed, but not 'designated', heritage properties will no longer be required to have Demolition and Construction Permit Applications reviewed under heritage protection protocols that have been in place since 1973.
As of this summer there are fifty structures and artifacts in Toronto Island Park with listed heritage status. But, because the Island is owned and managed by the City (there are no private landowners, just private property owners), the Act will have limited immediate impact. None of the houses on Ward’s or Algonquin have ever received heritage status. Nevertheless, concurrent with the release of the City’s new Master Plan for the Island, now is an interesting time to record and document the fifty sites listed on the City's Heritage Register.
Students explored beyond Ward's, visiting Centre and Hanlan's Island, with the aim to document and catalogue all fifty artifacts. On several sites, the artifacts no longer exist.
Students visited the proposed site, a short walk from the Ward's ferry landing dock.
1) View of bowling green and little clubhouse
2) View of the fenced area where the large WIA clubhouse once stood