Bye Bye Blue Bird Building

The Blue Bird Building, located in what was once the heart of Toronto’s thriving garment district near Spadina Avenue and Adelaide Street, was recently demolished to make way for yet another condo in an area undergoing major transformation with numerous developments under construction.

The Blue Bird Building was a point of interest in TXTilecity, a mobile locative app that maps the rich history of Toronto’s rag trade. Many of the handsome brick warehouses in the ‘fashion district’ that once housed the industry are being replaced by generic glass condos with predicted short lifespans.

The two video chapters about The Blue Bird Building feature a story of three generations of Podeswa artists including holocaust survivor Yidel, whose history in Canada began at his cousin’s Bluebird Dress company, and Anna Chatterton’s site-responsive four part performance evoking the garment industry’s past and present.

Heritage Toronto will use the free TXTilecity app, in their walking tour, Crazy Cloth: A high tech trip into Toronto History and Culture.