The World Outside These Walls: The Asylum at 999 Queen Street West

Before he gave Toronto High Park, John George Howard was one of the city's most ambitious architects, surveyors and civic figures. Arriving in York in 1832, Howard helped shape the growing city, and his work ranged from elegant homes and public buildings to his most extraordinary project: the Provincial Lunatic Asylum on Queen Street West. Opened in 1850, the enormous institution was considered one of the most modern buildings in North America, complete with running water, heating, flush toilets and a massive central dome. But behind its impressive architecture was a very different story of how nineteenth-century Toronto understood, and treated mental illness. On this fascinating walk, we step into the world of John George Howard, the man behind the architecture, and explore the remarkable story of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum and the people who passed through its doors. Why was an asylum needed in the first place? What happened to people considered "lunatics" before such an institution existed? Why did Howard design the building with wide corridors, natural light, fresh air, gardens and spaces for patients to gather? And how did an institution intended to represent a new, more humane approach to mental illness become surrounded by controversy and scandal? This is not simply an architectural story, it is a story about Victorian Toronto and the changing definition of what it meant to be "normal." And then there is High Park. The same man who designed this remarkable institution eventually retreated from the city's growing bustle to his beloved Colborne Lodge, transforming his property into the landscape we know today as High Park. In 1873, Howard gave 120 acres of his estate to the City of Toronto, helping create one of the city's great public spaces. His life ended where much of his later life had been lived in High Park, and he and his wife Jemima were buried in the tomb he designed for them. Discover the extraordinary man behind the park, the magnificent building that once dominated Queen Street, and the darker human stories hidden behind its grand façade. Because once you know what happened here, you will never look at this part of Toronto or High Park the same way again. This walking tour begins at the gates of old Trinity College in Trinity Bellwoods Park at the intersection of Strachan Avenue and Queen Street West. This walking tour is for all walking levels. Please dress for the season, and hope to see you there. Pay what you like.