Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Labor Lyceum

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted June, 2013

On the southwest corner of Spadina Avenue and St. Andrew Street can be found this 2013 Heritage Toronto plaque. This is what it says:

Coordinates: 43.65430 -79.39880

Established in 1913 by Henry Dworkin and Sam Easser, the Labor Lyceum Association sought to advance the interests of the city's Jewish trade union movement. Through the sale of $5.00 stock certificates, the Association purchased the houses at 344 and 346 Spadina Avenue in 1924, adding meeting rooms in 1929.

The Labor Lyceum operated as the headquarters for the non-Communist trade unions of the primarily Jewish garment district. The seasonal nature of the textile industry meant that workers could socialize and strategize here during slow work periods. The Labor Lyceum also served as an important cultural centre for various Jewish societies and fraternal organizations. It hosted a range of activities from lectures and rallies to dances, plays, and concerts. In the 1940s, the provincial Co-operative Commonwealth Federation held political conventions here.

Beginning in the 1950s, the Jewish community moved out of the Spadina Avenue area. The Labor Lyceum, however, remained significant to new immigrant groups and their labour activism. In 1971 the building was sold and the Labor Lyceum moved to Cecil Street.

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