25 Days that Changed Toronto

25 Days that Changed Toronto was published by spacing magazine and contained articles written by various authors. The days were not listed in chronological order nor were the events that happened ordered by degree of importance, which would have been subjective in any case. The front cover shows the devastation following the great fire of April 19, 1904, which miraculously claimed no lives except that of John Croft, who died while dynamiting ruins two weeks later.

The bathhouse raids of February 5, 1981 were covered, as well as the riot at Christie Pits (August 16, 1933), the opening of the Canadian National Exhibition (September 2, 1879), the first game at Maple Leaf Gardens (November 12, 1931), and the topping of the CN Tower (April 2, 1975).

Other events were profiled that I was unaware of, such as the election of Constance Hamilton, the first woman on city council (January 1, 1920) and the death of five workers in a tunnel fire in Hoggs Hollow (March 17, 1960).

I was surprised to see that Hurricane Hazel (October 15, 1954) and the legalization of Sunday shopping (June 7, 1992) were each given single-page write-ups and not four pages like that for the other days.

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