Gradlife

Jump to Comments

Roughly two years ago my parents relocated from the hustling & bustling (and sometimes entertaining) Toronto district of Bloor and Dufferin, to what I would suggest is its anti-thesis – the “big” town of Cobourg, Ontario. Now, despite my lack of excitement over Cobourg, I will admit that its downtown has a certain “small-town charm” as they say, and some of its buildings date back to the 1830s, which is fairly impressive by Canadian standards. One such building is that which is now the Victoria Retirement Residence, built in 1832.

 

Well, imagine my surprise when I realized this building was originally what is now Victoria College at U of T! Cobourg was a bustling place back in the early to mid-1800s thanks to its large port. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Grand Truck Railroad, transport dynamics changed, and Cobourg lost the momentum it briefly held (and I’d argue, never really regained, but I’m just a “hater”).

 

Originally the Upper Canada Academy in 1831, and named Victoria College ten years later, the College became a site of conflict between the Town of Cobourg and The University of Toronto in 1884. Quite a hot topic of its time, it took a lawsuit to decide whether the College would stay or go. But as we know, eventually the affectionately known “Vic” found its way to U of T in 1892, and remains a prominent building on campus.