Continue to explore our city’s stories with these useful heritage resources.
Heritage Preservation Services
Heritage Preservation Services looks after the legal aspects of heritage in Toronto: the protection of historical buildings, the Heritage Tax Rebate and Grant Programs, Heritage Tax Rebate & Grant Programs, and more.
Toronto Community Preservation Panels
Toronto’s four preservation panels, one for each community council district, work to preserve the built heritage of the city’s neighbourhoods. Members serve on a voluntary basis and provide recommendations to the Toronto Preservation Board. Learn more: Contact information
City of Toronto Heritage Register
The City of Toronto’s Heritage Register is a publicly accessible register of properties that have been evaluated and determined to have cultural heritage value. You can search for properties on the register by using the Heritage Register map or searching by the property’s address with the Heritage Property Search tool.
Museums and Heritage Services operates the 10 City of Toronto-owned museums and historic sites and is responsible for the stewardship of 100 heritage buildings.
The collection of the City of Toronto Archives includes more than a million photographs, 10,000 maps and aerial photographs, letters, architectural plans, as well as government records, which include city council minutes, departmental files and reports. Many records have been digitized and are available online.
Toronto Star and Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives (via Toronto Public Library)
Sign in with your Toronto Public Library card to search past issues of the Toronto Star (1894-2015) or the Globe and Mail (1844-2014).
Toronto Public Library: City Directories
Year-by-year residential and business listings for the City of Toronto from 1833 to 1969. Available for free via the Toronto Public Library and archive.org.