The Cathedral Church of St. James

This guide to the Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto follows four churches that have stood on this one block, starting with a wooden church that doubled as a War of eighteen twelve hospital and was looted by American troops. It traces the fires that kept striking this spot, from an eighteen thirty-nine blaze to the great fire of eighteen forty-nine that tore through downtown Toronto and left the cathedral a shell. Only a marble baptismal font survived those flames, and it still stands in the nave today.