Show Notes
The Zoo is a Scarborough institution. But it raises the question: what is a zoo in Toronto’s eyes? Is it an animal sanctuary? A school field trip factory? A conservation lab? On this episode of Muddy York, we'll look at the history of the high-minded, ethically ambitious and chaotically managed mega-zoo that we know today as well as the Riverdale Zoo that came before it.
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More from Muddy York: A Toronto History Podcast
Halloween will soon be upon us and so this episode focuses on the dead of Toronto. Mt. Pleasant Cemetery is famous for its natural beauty and for the many important people buried there. But its story begins with a different cemetery that was erased and forgotten alongside many of the people who were buried there.
Toronto the Good - that nickname has fallen out of fashion over the years, but it used to be quite common. This episode is about the man who first coined the term. His name was William Holmes Howland and he was running for mayor. Check out this episode to learn all about him from Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.
Okay, it was the Junior World Series, but it still counts.
It took more than 20 years to build the current Union Station. Over the next century, new lines like TTC, GO and VIA would arrive, it would nearly be knocked down to make room for a new development called Metro Centre and the rail lands around it would slowly be replaced by the lakeshore neighbourhoods that we know today. A year before its 100th anniversary, learn about the history of Union Station on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast.
In 1972, the Toronto production of Godspell featured one of the greatest casts in the history of theatre, including Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas and Paul Shaffer among others. Nick Davis has directed a new documentary about that show called You Had to Be There and he is here to talk about this sometimes-overlooked piece of Toronto cultural history.