Image: King's College Toronto 1855

Description: The old King's College building in 1855, then being used by the University of Toronto. King's College was granted its Royal Charter by King George IV in 1827. A cornerstone for its first building was not laid until 1842, and only the east wing (shown in the photograph) was ever erected, opening in 1845. In 1849, the parliament of the Province of Canada enacted a bill secularizing King's College, and the successor institution, the University of Toronto, officially opened in 1850. The King's College building, which until then had been used for student residences, was converted into lecture halls, offices, a library and a museum for the new university. The site was reserved by the government for proposed parliament buildings, which were ultimately built in Ottawa when that city was named capital. Rather than reverting to the university, the building was occupied by the "University Lunatic Asylum", a women's mental hospital, from 1856 until some point in the 1860s. The building then remained vacant until it was demolished in 1890 to make way for the Ontario Legislative Building.
Title: King's College Toronto 1855
Credit: This image is available from the Toronto Public Library under the reference number TRL, E 3-5c
Author: Unknown authorUnknown author
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License: Public domain
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