Heritage Toronto

Wellesley Street after widening east from Bleecker Street. November 8, 1948. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 58, Item 1863.

Six-alarm fire at 200 Wellesley Street East, St. James Town. September 24, 2010. Image by Rémi Carreiro.

Phoenix Rising mural, 200 Wellesley Street, 2014. Image by Diego Rojas. Courtesy of STEPS Public Art.

Creating the Phoenix Rising mural, 2013. Image by Vincent Luk. Courtesy of STEPS Public Art.

200 Wellesley Street East

A Six-Alarm Fire

Opened in the early 1970s, 200 Wellesley Street East is among the largest public housing buildings in Toronto, with over 700 units and a resident population of over 1000. On September 24, 2010, a large fire broke out on the 24th floor of the building. Seventeen people were injured in the fire, which forced the evacuation of building residents, in some instances for months.

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200 Wellesley Street East

Community Action

Following the fire, many tenants filed a class-action lawsuit against the Toronto Community Housing Corp. and the building’s then-operator, Greenwin Property Management. The case made history as the fastest concluded class-action proceeding in Ontario: the court awarded a total of $4.85 million to the residents in compensation for lost property and injuries suffered. The event also spurred changes in how high-rise fires are fought: new equipment and escape plans were introduced to high-rise buildings around the world following the 2010 fire at 200 Wellesley Street East.

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200 Wellesley Street East

Phoenix Rising

In 2013, the side of the 200 Wellesley building was transformed into Toronto’s Tallest Mural, facilitated by STEPS Public Art and the St. James Town Community Corner. Located beside 200 Wellesley Street, the mural depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes, much like St. James Town has. Themes of diversity, accessibility, safety, happiness and other aspects of local culture are weaved into the lower sections of the mural. It took over a year of collaboration with neighbourhood youth, community members, along with artists Sean Martindale and the Toronto Muralists.

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200 Wellesley Street East

Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix Rising mural, nearly 30 storeys tall, is now a celebrated landmark and the upper portions can be seen from different parts of the downtown core. While community concerns about lack of amenities and needs for building repair persist, within this building are the offices for the St. James Town Service Providers’ Network and the St. James Town Corner. The Network looks at such issues as: community safety, opportunities for income generation, needs of the senior community, and opportunities for youth. Opened in 2011, the St. James Town Corner provides residents with spaces dedicated to local initiatives and services for the neighbourhood.

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200 Wellesley Street East

Further Reading

–Francine Kopun, “Fire in the Sky,” The Toronto Star (December 17, 2021).

–“World’s Tallest Mural,” Steps Public Art. stepspublicarg.org.

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200 Wellesley Street East

A Six-Alarm Fire

200 Wellesley Street East

Community Action

200 Wellesley Street East

Phoenix Rising

200 Wellesley Street East

Phoenix Rising

200 Wellesley Street East

Further Reading

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