Toronto's Queer Spaces

More ways of learning about Toronto's Queer Spaces

Offered on select weekends in the tour season (Spring to Fall), this walking tour explores the evolution of 2SLGBTQ+ spaces in the city through the buildings, landscapes and art of the Church & Wellesley Village.

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A Guide to Toronto's Queer Spaces

Compiled for Pride 2022, this illustrated guide to Toronto's Queer Spaces highlights 30 of the city's most iconic queer spaces, past and presented.

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Welcome to Toronto’s Queer Spaces Database, an ongoing project by the Toronto Society of Architects to catalog and document Toronto’s 2SLGBTQIA+ spaces, past and present. Started in 2021 as part of the TSA’s Pride initiatives, this database has been built through a mix of archival research, interviews and community input in the hopes of preserving the history of Toronto’s queer spaces and better understand their urban and spatial characteristics. We recognize that this database is an incomplete list, and that given the limited records available and the fluid nature of queer spaces, it may always be, but we believe this imperfect list makes an important contribution to understanding a spatial history often overlooked in traditional architectural discourse.

The spaces we occupy do not emerge by chance. They are the result of policy and design decisions—intentional or not. By learning more about their history, characteristics, and those who shaped them, it is our hope that we can take more deliberate, thoughtful actions towards our collective futures.

Having problems viewing the database? Our full database is also available through our Google Sheet.

Corrections & Updates

While we have tried to verify all information included, we are continuously updating and revising the database as more data is collected. Items highlighted with (?) mean we have not been able to verify.

If there is a space missing or you believe an entry needs correction, please fill out our form and let us know!

Submit A Space

Toronto's Queer Spaces Map

How have of our city’s queer spaces changed over time?

Click on the map below to learn more about Toronto’s queer spaces, past and present. You can click on each dot to learn more about them, or use the time function to see how the location of queer spaces has changed over time.

What is a queer space anyway?

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Toronto's Queer Spaces Database

Thank You to our Contributors

This project has been made possible thanks to the efforts of countless individuals including Janice M., Kurtis C., Joël L., Amanda E., Cherisse T., Eric W., Kate R., Rebecca P., Ryan F., Samantha B., Simon L., and Spencer L.

Thank you as well to members of the community who have contributed to this project, including the over one thousand individuals who added their memories to our 2024 Pride Street Fair map, and to the class at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture who helped us digitize these memories.

Use and Attribution

This database was created by the volunteers of the Toronto Society of Architects. It’s free to use and share, but we ask that you credit the TSA and any references or contributors that are highlighted as sources when doing so.