City of Toronto Archives Commemorative Plaque, 2011
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Resource ID
4990
Access
Open
Address
255 Spadina Road
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2011
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
City of Toronto Archives Commemorative Plaque, 2011
Description
Appointed City Archivist in 1960, Robert Woadden (1922-2010) transformed the attic of Old City Hall into the first municipal archives in English-speaking Canada. Before then, thousands of photographs on glass plates, and boxes of records dating back to 1834, were scattered around the leaky attic. Woadden recognized their historical value and began designing an operation that properly catalogued and preserved them. He introduced centralized records management to City of Toronto department heads, convincing them that records of enduring value should be preserved and transferred to the Archives. When the new City Hall opened in 1965, the Archives moved into the basement and gained much-needed space. Woadden directed the growth of the City of Toronto Archives until he left in 1975 to become the Deputy City Clerk. The Archives went on to win the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of American Archivists in 1981 - the first Canadian recipient and the first municipal archives to be so honoured. The City of Toronto Archives moved to this location when it was merged with the Metropolitan Toronto Archives in 1998.
Marker lat / long: 43.676555, -79.407281 (WGS84)