Location: Lombard Street
Date photo taken: 20 July 2020
I've always liked this building. For those curious, like me, about its original purpose, it used to be spelled out in stone over the door, but the words "City Morgue" have long since departed. This was Toronto's third morgue, or "dead house" and it served the city in that capacity for almost 70 years. Built in 1908, it contained
14 body receptacles and was considered "commodious" in its day, but by the 1960s the city had grown almost 10-fold and this facility could no longer keep pace. A new morgue was constructed and this building was turned over to other uses. If you're interested in an in-depth history of the building, you can check out "
I See Dead People (On Lombard)" by Kristine Morris, on her blog,
Lively Legacy of Lombard Street. Details on the first 2 morgues can be found in Chapter 2 of
Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto.
