Skip to main content

Processing

ResourceSpace
Account Menu
  • Log in
  •  Dash
  •  Featured collections
  •  Recent
  •  Knowledge Base
 All resources



By date

 New content RSS feed

 Geographic search

 Advanced search


Log in

Username
Password


 Apply for an account

 Forgotten password?

Powered by Powered by ResourceSpace
%BROWSE_INDENT% %BROWSE_EXPAND% %BROWSE_TEXT% %BROWSE_REFRESH%
Browse by tag
Featured collections
Collections
Workflow
Browse

Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, Commemorative plaque, 2023.  

Full screen preview
Resource tools
File information File dimensions File size Options

Original JPG File

7350 × 4650 pixels (34.18 MP)

62.2 cm × 39.4 cm @ 300 PPI

3.0 MB Restricted

Low resolution print

2000 × 1265 pixels (2.53 MP)

16.9 cm × 10.7 cm @ 300 PPI

423 KB Restricted

Screen

1265 × 800 pixels (1.01 MP)

10.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI

224 KB Restricted
  •  Add to collection
Resource details

Resource ID

10406

Access

Open

Address

2401 Steeles Avenue West, Toronto, ON M3J 2P1

Credit Line

Heritage Toronto

Date of Creation

2023

Description

Enter text here Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel was among the first Jewish funeral homes in Toronto. Founded in 1922 by Henry Benjamin, who came to Canada from Eastern Europe, the business provided traditional Jewish funeral rituals, which require that the deceased receive a purifying cleansing. A Jewish person must watch over the body until the burial happens as soon as possible after death. Benjamin was a member of Toronto’s Chevra Kadisha (burial society), volunteers who are responsible for the sacred trust of caring for the dead and assisting with burials. He owned a grocery near College and Montrose Streets and used his delivery wagon to take bodies to the cemetery. By 1927, he provided traditional Jewish funeral services full-time. In 1928, the business moved east to Spadina Avenue near Kensington Market, which was the centre of Toronto’s Jewish community. Henry Benjamin died in 1939 and the business passed to his son Joe. Over time, the heart of the Jewish community moved north on Bathurst Street. In 1977, Joe’s son Michael opened a purpose-built Benjamin’s Park Memorial Chapel in this building. Benjamin’s descendants, including his great-grandchildren Marc, Jordan, and Barbi, continued to provide funeral services for Toronto’s Jewish community.

Historical Themes

Business History, Faith and Religion, Immigration and Multiculturalism

Program Category

Historical Plaques

Time Period

1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today

Caption

Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, Commemorative plaque, 2023.

Consent management
License management
Comments
Related resources