University of Toronto

This guide to the University of Toronto's main college building follows a single night, Valentine's Day 1890, when a packed party turned into a fire that raced up a wooden staircase and into the college library above. You'll hear how Toronto's fire brigade struggled against the blaze, what the university lost from its shelves, and how rival colleges and donors from across the British Empire responded within days. It traces the debate that followed over whether to rebuild at all.