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Mike Filey’s collection of pictures of Toronto from the earliest days of photography had gained a reputation as one of the most interesting visual archives of the city’s history. This classic look at old Toronto portrays scenes of public life from 1860 to 1950, illustrating how dramatically the urban fabric and environment have changed. There are photographs of the beaches and the islands, of mud streets and gas lamps, of steam engines and trolley cars, amusement parks and the everchanging waterfront. Especially striking are the early photographs of downtown and the aftermaths of the fire of 1904. Out of print for over 20 years, A Toronto Album has sold over 50,000 copies in various editions. It will appeal to Torontonians young and old – and to anyone interested in the evolution of one of the world’s fastest growing cities.

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Established in 1876, Mount Pleasant Cemetery has a rich and textured history. It is the keeper of thousands of stories, each of which has contributed to the history of our city, province, and country. Many of Canada’s most beloved figures rest there – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Foster Hewitt, Glenn Gould, and Timothy Eaton are just a few. Other, less known historical figures are buried there also – the first Canadian soldier killed in First World War and victims of the 1949 Noronic disaster. Along with a fascinating account of the cemetery’s history, this illustrated guide includes descriptions of the remarkable monuments and the beautiful horticultural features. Accompanying maps detailing their locations make this book a perfect companion for a walking tour through the grounds.

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Mike Filey’s «The Way We Were» column in the Toronto Sun continues to be one of the paper’s most popular features. In More Toronto Sketches , the second volume in Dundurn Press’s Toronto Sketches series, Filey brings together some of the best of his columns. Each column looks at Toronto as it was, and contributes to our understanding of how Toronto became what it is. Illustrated with photographs of the city’s people and places of the past, Toronto Sketches is a nostalgic journey for the long-time Torontonian, and a voyage of discovery for the newcomer.

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First published in 1982, I Remember Sunnyside is a mine of golden memories, bringing back to life an earlier Toronto, only hints of which remain today. Like the city itself, Sunnyside was an everchanging landscape from its heady opening days in the early 1920s to its final sad demolition in the 1950s. The book captures the spirit of the best of times a magical era which can only be recaptured in memory and photographs. It also presents the reality of a newer Toronto where change, although necessary, is sometimes regrettable.

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From the 1890s through the 1920s, as horse gave way to machine, the look of Toronto and the lifestyles of its inhabitants were irrevocably altered. From Horse Power to Horsepower is a pictorial history of the vehicles of the era.

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Out of print for many years, this much sought-after guide is being brought back just in time for the megacity's first summer. Mike Filey has expanded his original book to include areas that are now the waterfront of the new City of Toronto, stretching from the west end of Etobicoke to the Rouge River in the east. This valuable guide is an essential tool for anyone with an interest in Toronto: tourists, locals, and even out-of-towners who want to learn more about the lakeside sites of North America's fifth-largest city. The book is divided into three Walks. New and archival photographs and illustrations capture the beauty and charm of the city, while the text provides the history of each site, complete with intriguing and often amusing anecdotes. For residents and tourists, Toronto continues to be a great city to explore. With Discover & Explore Toronto's Waterfront , exploration is made even more exciting.

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For decades Toronto historian Mike Filey has regaled readers with stories of the city’s past through its landmarks, neighbourhoods, streetscapes, social customs, pleasure palaces, politics, sporting events, celebrities, and defining moments. Now, in one lavishly illustrated volume, he serves up the best of his meditations on everything from the Royal York Hotel, the Flatiron Building, and the Necropolis to Massey Hall, the Palais Royale, and the Canadian National Exhibition, with streetcar jaunts through Cabbagetown, the Annex, Rosedale, and Little Italy and trips down memory lane with Mary Pickford, Glenn Miller, Bob Hope, and Ed Mirvish. Filey recounts in vivid detail the devastation of city disasters such as Hurricane Hazel and the Great Fire of 1904 and spins yarns about doughnut shops old and new, milk deliveries by horse, swimming at Lake Ontario’s beaches, Sunday blue laws, and how both World Wars affected Torontonians.

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Mike Filey brings the stories of Toronto, its people and places, to life. Mike Filey’s column “The Way We Were” first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the paper’s first edition hit newsstands on September 16, 1973. Now, almost four decades later, Filey’s column has had an uninterrupted stretch as one of the newspaper’s most widely read features. In 1992, a number of his columns were reprinted in Toronto Sketches: “The Way We Were.” Since then another eleven volumes have been published to great success, with over 5,000 copies sold. In his latest compilation, Filey recounts the story of the controversial (though not altogether surprising) renovations at Union Station, as well as the history of Toronto’s own Kennedy family.

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Mike Filey brings Toronto’s history and the stories of its people and places to life. Mike Filey’s column «The Way We Were» first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the first edition of the paper hit the newsstands on September 16, 1973. Now, almost four decades later, Filey’s column has enjoyed an uninterrupted stretch as one of the newspaper’s most widely read features. In 1992 a number of his columns were reprinted in Toronto Sketches: «The Way We Were.» Since then another nine volumes have been published, each of which has attained great success. Included in this latest compilation are stories about the controversial, though not altogether new, improvements to the TTC’s St. Clair streetcar route, as well as accounts of such fondly remembered gasoline brands as Joy, B-A, and White Rose. Then there are those popular Great Lakes passenger ships that carried thousands to such «foreign» ports as Lewiston and Rochester in New York State. Recounting the unforgettable Toronto snowstorm of 1944 and the tragedy of the fire aboard the SS Noronic prove that not all memories are pleasant ones.

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Mike Filey’s column «The Way We Were» first appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun not long after the first edition of the paper hit the newsstands and front porches on September 16, 1973. Since that day more than three decades ago, Mike’s column has enjoyed an uninterrupted stretch as one of the paper’s most popular features. In 1992 a number of his columns were reprinted in Toronto Sketches: The Way We Were by Dundurn Press. Since then another seven volumes of Toronto Sketches have been published, each of which has attained great success both with Toronto book buyers and with former Torontonians wishing to relive an earlier, gentler time in the city’s past. This ninth volume features a variety of stories, including a look at Toronto’s 1904 inferno, the birth of Rex Heslop’s Rexdale community, a visit to Sunnyside Amusement Park, and a few fascinating tales about the city’s streetcars.

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