Oral History Collection of Toronto’s Displaced Chinatown

Grab lunch in the area, then join us to launch 16 stories of Old Chinatown brought together in a new oral history collection!
About this Event

Come hear the collective voices of a beloved time, place and community of Toronto that continues to spark memory, imagination and conversation. Through personal storytelling, we will revisit the area known as Old Chinatown that underwent significant neighbourhood change starting in the 1950s and 1960s with construction of the new city hall and civic square.

Together, we will celebrate the safeguarding of this community memory as the new Oral History Collection of Toronto’s Displaced Chinatown preserved at University of Toronto Libraries, Special Collections, in the Richard Charles Lee Chinese Canadian Archives.

Featuring the voices of (listed in order of interview date) :

• Robin Young
• Keith Lock
• Kwoi Gin
• Lily Eng
• Jim Rosenthal
• Ken Chong
• Judy (Judith) Ng
• Arlene Chan
• Mary Cheung
• Judy Chan
• Dorothy Zahora
• The Chung siblings (Archie, Anna & Bonny with Jack)
• Willy Jong
• Julie Jai
• Mavis Garland
• Alfie Yip

This is a free, public event. Registration is needed for our ordering of refreshments, thank you!

[Image courtesy of Winnicki, W.R. (1969). Chinatown in Transition: The Impact of the New City Hall and Court House on Toronto’s Chinatown. Undergraduate thesis, University of Waterloo. Caption: “Looking south along Elizabeth Street with Dundas Street West running east-west in foreground. In the shadow of City Hall things are quiet on Friday morning in Chinatown.” Image used under fair dealing.]

Agenda

🕑: 12:30 PM
Doors Open
🕑: 12:45 AM
Chinatown Community Lion Dance performance
Introductory remarks – June Chow, Archivist
Presenting the voices of Old Chinatown – Melanie Ng, PhD History candidate
Talkback
Refreshments enjoyed