The story of the growth and destruction of Toronto's first 'priority neighbourhood.'From the 1840s until the Second World War, waves of newcomers who migrated to Toronto - Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American and Chinese, among others - landed in 'The Ward.' Crammed with rundown housing and immigrant-owned businesses, this area, bordered by College and Queen, University and Yonge streets, was home to bootleggers, Chinese bachelors, workers from the nearby Eaton';s garment factories and hard-working peddlers. But the City considered it a slum, and bulldozed the area in the late 1950s to make way for a new civic square. The Ward finally tells the diverse stories of this extraordinary and resilient neighbourhood through archival photos and contributions from a wide array of voices, including historians, politicians, architects, story-tellers, journalists and descendants of Ward residents. Their perspectives on playgrounds, tuberculosis, sex workers, newsies and even bathing bring The Ward to life and, in the process, raise important questions about how contemporary cities handle immigration, poverty and the geography of difference.'The Ward shines a light on one of Toronto's most historically significant and most forgotten neighbourhoods. Instead of a straight history, the book's editors opted to present the Ward through multiple short essays, each with its own unique point of view. The result is a fascinating and varied look at an area that once concurrently defined the city and acted as its biggest shame. As a result of the Ward's eventual razing, there are few artifacts left to teach newer generations about this important part of Toronto's history. This book helps correct that.'- 2016 Toronto Book Awards Jury Citation'[The Ward] shouldbe of interest to Canadians anywhere, reminding us that we all came from some place else.'- Michael Enright, CBC Sunday EditionContents & ContributorsIntroduction - John LorincSearching for the Old Ward - Shawn MicallefNo Place Like Home - Howard AklerBeforethe Ward: Macauleytown - Stephen A. OttoMy Grandmother the Bootlegger - Howard MoscoeAgainst All Odds: The Chinese Laundry - Arlene ChanVJ Day - Arlene ChanMerle Foster's Studio: 'A Spot Of Enchantment' - Terry MurrayMissionary Work: The Fight for Jewish Souls - Ellen ScheinbergKing of the Ward - Myer SiemiatyckiWhere the Rich Went for Vice - Michael RedhillA Fresh Start: Black Toronto in the 19th Century - Karolyn Smardz FrostPolicing the Lord's Day - Mariana Valverde'The Maniac Chinaman' - Edward KeenanElsie's Story - Patte RosebanLawren Harris's Ward Period - Jim Burant'Fool's Paradise': Hastings' Anti-Slum Crusade - John LorincStrange Brew: The Underground Economy of Blind Pigs - Ellen ScheinbergThe Consulate, the Padroni and the Labourers - Andrea AddarioExcerpt: The Italians in Toronto - Emily P. WeaverArthur Goss: Documenting Hardship- Stephen BulgerFresh Air: The Fight Against TB - Cathy CroweThe Stone Yard - Gaetan HerouxWilliam James: Toronto's First Photojournalist - Vincenzo PietropaoloThe Avenue Not Taken - Michael McClellandTimothy Eaton's Stern Fortifications - Michael ValpySettling In: Central Neighbourhood House - Ratna Omidvar & Ranjit BhaskarToronto's Girl with the Curls - Ellen ScheinbergChinese Cafés: Survival and Danger - Ellen Scheinberg & Paul YeeDefiance and Divisions: The Great Eaton's Strike - Ruth A. FragerElizabeth Street: What the City Directories Reveal - Denise BalkissoonGrowing Up on Walton Street - Cynthia MacDougallRevitalizing George Street: The Ward's Lessons - Alina Chatterjee & Derek BallantyneTaking Care of Business in the Ward &ndash Ellen Scheinberg'A Magnificent Dome': The Great University Avenue Synagogue - Jack LipinskyReading the Ward: The Inevitability of Loss - Kim Storey & James BrownToronto's First Little Italy - John LorincThe Elizabeth Street Playground, Revisited - Bruce KiddDivided Loyalties - Sandra ShaulCrowded by Any Measure - John LorincA Peddler and His Cart: TheWard's Rag Trade - Deena NathansonToronto's Original Tenement: Wineberg Apartments - Richard DennisExcerpt: Tom | The Ward by John Lorinc, Paperback | Indigo Chapters