Women in the Workplace (156 Front Street West) (1905) plaque, 2024.  

Plaque Text

This was the first of many buildings to handle mail orders for The Robert Simpson Company (later Simpson's or Simpsons) department store.

In the 1850s, the shoreline south of Front Street was filled in with garbage and rubble to create flat land for rail lines. With old Union Station across the road and the increase of shipping and receiving, the area became industrial. At this time, women worked mainly in domestic services.

Simpsons was based at at Yonge and Queen Streets in Toronto, but the company was rapidly expanding under the leadership of Harris H. Fudger. In 1893, the company sent out its first mail-order catalogue for shopping at home. This warehouse packaged orders that were sent across the country.

Women typically worked in the mail-order room at Simpsons. During the First World War, most men joined the military, and women took on new roles in warehouses like this one. It was the start of an industrial revolution as women broke free of domestic and desk jobs. However, women were often paid less, and many fired when men returned.

By 1943, there were more than 149 Simpsons mail-order offices in Canada, including a larger warehouse in Toronto on Dalhousie Street. Over time, this building became offices and then part of a tower development in 2024.

Designated in 2006 under the Ontario Heritage Act