Toronto's First Post Office (also known as the Fourth York Post Office
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
) is a historic
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the
British Royal Mail, and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys' school (
De La Salle College) and later a cold storage building. Located at 260 Adelaide Street East in
downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Stre ...
, the building now houses a museum and a full-service post office, run by the Town of York Historical Society.
History
![Engraving of Toronto's old Adelaide St Post Office](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Engraving_of_Toronto%27s_old_Adelaide_St_Post_Office.jpg)
The building opened in 1833, before
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
became the
City of Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
. Therefore, the post office is known both as the "Fourth York Post Office" (as there had been three prior post offices in the settlement) and "Toronto's First Post Office" (as it was the first post office to serve the newly incorporated city).
The building served as a post office until 1837.
James Scott Howard served as the first
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
.
Some sources, such as
John Ross Robertson
John Ross Robertson (December 28, 1841 – May 31, 1918) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, politician, and philanthropist in Toronto, Ontario.
Career
Born in 1841, in Toronto, the son of John Robertson, a Scottish wholesale merchant, and ...
, say that this building, although built in 1832, was not used as a post office until 1836.
The first city directories of Toronto identify this building, but they also identify the older post office in town (the second post office) as being an active post office in the city. This would mean that this building was one of two post offices that existed when Toronto was founded and would have been the newer post office of the time.
After the school vacated the building in 1913, the building was leased for various uses until 1925, under the ownership of Christie, Brown and Company, owner of the biscuit factory across the street. In 1925, the United Farmers' Co-Operative Company bought the building along with the adjoining De La Salle building and the
Bank of Upper Canada building
The Bank of Upper Canada Building is a former bank building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the few remaining buildings in Toronto that predate the 1834 incorporation of the city. It is located at 252 Adelaide Street East (originally 28 Du ...
. The post office building was converted into a cold storage food warehouse, and used in this way until 1956, when UFC sold the building. The building was used for various uses until 1971, when it was closed up and left vacant, waiting for demolition and redevelopment. The building, along with the De La Salle and bank building was bought by Sheldon and Judith Godfrey for restoration. The Godfreys discovered that the building was in fact the old post office building. It was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
in 1980.
The property is also protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act since 1975 and also enjoys an Ontario Heritage Foundation Easement Agreement since 2015.
The First Post Office museum opened in 1983.
Current use
![Postal counter (27947519601)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Postal_counter_%2827947519601%29.jpg)
The building was re-opened in 1982 with its present use as museum and period-style post office. The museum is Canada's oldest surviving purpose-built post office, serving as both a museum and full-service postal outlet. Toronto's First Post Office is an authorized full-service dealer for
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...
. Toronto's First Post Office is operated by the Town of York Historical Society.
Architecture
The style of the building is late
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
. It was originally a three-storey building, with two front doors, one for the private residence and one for the post office proper. At the time, postmasters lived in the same building as their post office. The fourth-storey roof was added in 1876, while the building was part of De La Salle Institute (today's
De La Salle College), a Roman Catholic boys' school, which had built an adjoining building between the post office and the Bank of Upper Canada Building to the west.
See also
*
List of museums in Toronto
There are a variety of different museums in Toronto. Types of museums located in Toronto include agricultural museums, art museums, fashion museums, food museums, history museums (including historic houses and living museums), military museums (i ...
*
List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Toronto
This is a list of National Historic Sites in Toronto, Ontario. There are 37 National Historic Sites (french: Lieux historiques nationaux) in Toronto, the first of which was Fort York, designated in 1923.
Numerous National Historic Events also ...
*
List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto
This is a list of the oldest buildings and structures in Toronto, that were constructed before 1920. The history of Toronto dates back to Indigenous settlements in the region approximately 12,000 years ago. However, the oldest standing structures ...
*
Toronto Street Post Office
The Toronto Street Post Office, also known as Toronto's Seventh Post Office, is a heritage building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was completed in 1853 and is located at 10 Toronto Street in downtown Toronto. The building was designed by Freder ...
References
External links
*
Fourth York Post Office– Canadian Register of Historic Places
{{NHSC
City of Toronto Heritage Properties
Former post office buildings
Museums in Toronto
National Historic Sites in Ontario
Philatelic museums
Philately of Canada
Postal history of Canada
Post office buildings in Canada
Buildings and structures completed in 1833
Brick buildings and structures