TopNational Historic Site · 1856–1860University College15 King's College CirclePhoto: Nat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
University College · Photo: Nat · CC BY-SA 3.03historic places on the registers
History of University · Canada’s heritage registers
59% of University’s homes were built before 1961
The typical town has 18%: University has 3.4 times the share. Canada’s heritage registers list 3 historic places inside the town, 2 with the highest designation. Scaled to its population the record is long: 3.9 per 10,000 residents, more than 93% of Canadian towns. Its oldest building on the record is University College, from 1856.
Historic places
3
3.9 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
2
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Provincial and local listings
1
provincial and municipal listings with an encyclopedia article
Oldest building
1856
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
59%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
University’s 2 highest designations, each in a photo
First come University College and Royal Conservatory of Music. The photos cover every place on University’s registers. Old pictures of 2 places in University fill their own pages.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
University from 1881 to 1884
The oldest views of 2 of its historic places, in date order. A tap on any picture opens it with its credit.
c. 1881
1884Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where University’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsProvincial and local listings
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 3, by tier
2 Highest designations1 Provincial and local listings
What the map shows is the open record: the federal directory in full, and from provincial or municipal lists only the places Wikidata ties to an encyclopedia article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
2 places in University with the highest designation
They were designated between 1968 and 1995. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. The oldest, University College, dates from 1856; the newest from 1880. Each one opens its own page.
TopNational Historic Site · 1880–1882Royal Conservatory of Music273 Bloor Street WestPhoto: LilyJMills · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Provincial and local listings
One more place University or its province protects
Provincial and municipal listings that Wikidata records and an encyclopedia describes. Each one opens its own page.
LocalOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1891Newman CentrePhoto: Alice Warnier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Homes by age
Little new building in University: 0.9% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
Homes built from 1961 to 1980 make up just 21% of University’s, against 27% in the typical town. Only 3.5% of University’s homes were built from 1981 to 2000, less than the typical town’s 23%. Half of the homes standing in University today were built before 1961.
59%
Before 1961
21%
1961–80
3.5%
1981–2000
12%
2001–15
0.9%
2016–21
UniversityTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Towns its size
University has the most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 7,500 to 7,700 residents, by places on the registers.
University3
The typical town its size has 0. For 9, the registers list nothing.
Neighbours
University and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University | 7,595 | 3 | 2 | 1856 |
| Palmerston-Little Italy | 13,171 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Annex | 30,705 | 1 | 1 | 1876 |
| Kensington-Chinatown | 18,597 | 3 | 3 | 1815 |
| Trinity-Bellwoods | 15,691 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bay-Cloverhill | 17,591 | 2 | 1 | 1883 |
| Wellington Place | 25,729 | 2 | 1 | 1906 |
In brief
University in brief
In University, 59% of homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. There are 3 historic places in all, 2 with the highest designation; University College heads them. No town its size has more historic places: it leads the 16 nearest in population. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: the list grew between 1968 and 1995.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
- Protection. Federal recognition isn’t a planning control: buildings the federal government owns follow its heritage policy, while others are protected only by a provincial or municipal designation.
- The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- The grade. History isn’t one of Canada’s graded pillars, so this page describes and compares without a letter.
- The tiers. National Historic Sites and the most protected buildings form the top tier; recognized federal buildings, stations and lighthouses the second; provincial and municipal listings the third.
Questions about University’s history
How old are the homes in University?
59% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
Which places in University have the highest designation?
These: University College and Royal Conservatory of Music.
What is the oldest building in University?
University College — its record dates it to 1856 (National Historic Site).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).