12 Sept 2018

Frederick and Duke

Corner of building with stone insert showing the street names 'Frederick' and 'Duke'

Location: Corner of Frederick and Adelaide
Date photo taken: 7 February 2018
Image 8 in the Remnants Series

This stone marker on the corner of George Brown's St. James Campus building is not a reference to Shakespeare but rather a reminder that Toronto is a city in constant flux. Back when this building was built in 1872 by Christie Brown & Co., maker of good cookies, the streets which ran east to west between King and Queen looked different than they do today. They were more disjointed and in some stretches they were called by different names. As seen on this 1884 fire insurance map, the street which ran between Jarvis and Parliament, north of King, which is today part of Adelaide, was at that time Duke Street. North of it was not Richmond, but Duchess. Hence, this now curious street marker.

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