Old Toronto
| Old Toronto | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dissolved municipality | |||
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| Nickname(s): Toronto the Good, Queen City, Hogtown | |||
| Motto: Industry, Intelligence, Integrity | |||
 City of Toronto before 1998 in red |
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| Coordinates: 43°39′09″N 79°22′54″W / 43.65250°N 79.38167°WCoordinates: 43°39′09″N 79°22′54″W / 43.65250°N 79.38167°W | |||
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 Ontario
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| 'Megacity' |
 Toronto
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| Established | 1834 (City of Toronto) from Town of York | ||
| Changed Region | 1954  Metropolitan Toronto from York County
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| Amalgamated | 1 January 1998 into Toronto | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | List of mayors of Old Toronto | ||
| • Governing Body | Toronto City Council | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 97.15 km2 (37.51 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Total | 736,775 | ||
| • Density | 7,583.9/km2 (19,642/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Area code(s) | 416, 647 | ||
Old Toronto is the retronym of the original city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the Town of York, and became part of York County. In 1954, it became the administrative headquarters for Metropolitan Toronto. It expanded in size by annexation of surrounding municipalities, reaching its final boundaries in 1967. Finally, in 1998, it was amalgamated into the present-day "megacity" of Toronto.
Post-amalgamation, the area within the boundaries of the former city is variously referred to as the "former city of Toronto" or "Old Toronto". Historically, Old Toronto has referred to Toronto's boundaries before the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, when much of city's development was to the east of Yonge Street. The term "downtown core" is also sometimes used to refer to the district, which actually refers to the central business district of Toronto, which is located within the former city.
The former town of York was incorporated on March 6, 1834, reverting to the name Toronto to distinguish it from New York City, as well as about a dozen other localities named "York" in the province (including the county in which Toronto was situated), and to dissociate itself from the negative connotation of "dirty Little York", a common nickname for the town by its residents. The population was recorded in June 1834 at 9,252.
In 1834, Toronto was incorporated with the boundaries of Bathurst Street to the west, 400 yards north of Lot (today's Queen) Street to the north, and Parliament Street to the east. Outside this formal boundary were the "liberties", land pre-destined to be used for new wards. These boundaries were today's Dufferin Street to the west, Bloor Street to the north, and the Don River to the east, with a section along the lakeshore east of the Don and south of today's Queen Street to the approximate location of today's Maclean Street. The liberties formally became part of the city in 1859 and the wards were remapped.
The earliest Toronto neighbourhoods were the five municipal wards that the city was split into in 1834. The wards were named for the patron saints of the four nations of the British Isles (St. George, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, and St. David) and St. Lawrence, a patron saint of Canada (St. Joseph is the principal patron saint of Canada). Today, only St. Lawrence remains a well-known neighbourhood name. The others have attached their names to a variety of still-existing landmarks, including three subway stations. As Toronto grew, more wards were created, still named after prominent saints. St. James Ward is preserved in the modern St. James Town neighbourhood, while the northern ward of St. Paul's has continued to the present as a federal and provincial electoral district.
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