First Toronto Post Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Toronto's First Post Office |
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| Fourth York Post Office | |
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| Location | 260 Adelaide Street East Toronto, Ontario |
| Built | 1833–4 |
| Original use | Post office and home |
| Current use | Museum and post outlet/authorized postal dealer |
| Governing body | Town of York Historical Society |
| Official name: Fourth York Post Office | |
| Designated | June 16, 1980 |
| Designated | November 26, 1975 |
Toronto's First Post Office is a special historic building. It is also known as the Fourth York Post Office. This building is a National Historic Site of Canada. It is the oldest building in Canada built specifically to be a post office. It was once part of the Royal Mail system in British North America.
After being a post office, it became a boys' school. Later, it was used as a cold storage building. Today, you can find it at 260 Adelaide Street East in downtown Toronto. The building now has a museum inside. It also works as a real post office. The Town of York Historical Society runs it.
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History of Toronto's First Post Office
This post office building opened in 1833. At that time, Toronto was called York. It became the City of Toronto later. Because of this, it has two names. It is the "Fourth York Post Office" because three others came before it. It is also "Toronto's First Post Office" because it was the first one for the new city.
The building served as a post office until 1837. James Scott Howard was the very first postmaster there. Some people, like John Ross Robertson, thought it started as a post office in 1836. Early city guides for Toronto show this building. They also show an older post office was still open. This means Toronto might have had two post offices when it became a city. This building was the newer one.
What Happened After the Post Office Closed?
The building was used for many things after 1837. It became part of a Roman Catholic boys' school. The school left the building in 1913. Then, it was rented out for different uses. This was until 1925. Christie, Brown and Company owned it then. They had a biscuit factory nearby.
In 1925, the United Farmers' Co-Operative Company bought the building. They also bought the school building next door. The old post office became a cold storage warehouse for food. It was used this way until 1956. Then, it was sold again. The building was used for various things until 1971. After that, it was closed and empty. It was going to be torn down.
Saving the Historic Building
Sheldon and Judith Godfrey bought the building. They wanted to fix it up. They found out it was the old post office building. This was a very important discovery! In 1980, it was named a National Historic Site of Canada. This means it is a special place in Canadian history. The building is also protected by the Ontario Heritage Act since 1975. It also has an agreement from the Ontario Heritage Foundation since 2015.
The First Post Office museum opened in 1983. It helps people learn about its history.
Current Use of the Building
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The building re-opened in 1983. Today, it is both a museum and a working post office. It is Canada's oldest post office building that was built for that purpose. You can visit the museum to see how things were long ago. You can also send mail from the postal counter.
Toronto's First Post Office is an official dealer for Canada Post. This means it offers all the usual postal services. The Town of York Historical Society manages the building. They make sure it stays open for everyone to enjoy.
Architecture and Design
The building's style is called late Georgian architecture. It was built to look like homes from that time. Originally, it had three floors. It also had two front doors. One door was for the post office itself. The other door was for the postmaster's home. In those days, postmasters often lived in the same building where they worked.
A fourth floor was added in 1876. This happened when the building was part of the De La Salle Institute. This was a Roman Catholic boys' school. The school built another building next to the post office.
See also
