An Evolving Block in The Ward
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Un pâté de maisons en évolution dans le Ward

An Evolving Block in The Ward , Beginning in the 1840s, the first families to settle on this block - and elsewhere in St. John's Ward - lived in modest wood-frame and brick homes. Many people built and owned their dwellings, some of which had separate workshops and privies. Some residents worked out of their homes in occupations such as shoemaking and sewing, while others made a living as labourers, plasterers, and carpenters. Families supplemented irregular or seasonal income by adding rental homes on their properties or taking in lodgers. As newcomers established themselves, they often progressed from smaller rear houses to larger cottages that faced onto the street., By the 1880s, the block had transformed into a largely rental neighbourhood. The population of The Ward swelled as new working-class immigrant families and labourers arrived. Many single-family homes were converted to rooming houses. Landlords also added more dwellings on their properties to house workers, some of whom laboured in nearby factories and warehouses., The overcrowding of buildings and people contributed to poor living conditions by 1900. City officials sent medical officers, nurses, and photographers to document life in The Ward and other working-class neighbourhoods. Blaming a lack of housing controls, their reports expressed concern about health and hygiene. Meanwhile, newspapers and reformers portrayed The Ward as a slum, feeding into the public's anxieties about the cultural differences of new immigrant groups., Ultimately, these concerns led to the demolition of housing in The Ward to make way for new municipal and industrial projects. By the 1940s, most homes on this once-vibrant block had been demolished, and the area was later paved over. Its use as a parking lot helped preserve the remains of former buildings, which were uncovered by archaeologists in 2015.,