Today, the first of November, 2022 marks the end of the wonderful Estonian House in Toronto. After a long, confusing, secretive and emotional selling process, the current contract between the developer, who purchased the lot quite cheaply and the Estonian House Limited Company, has finished. After the sale of the house, the limited company was renting the building from their new owner. As of yesterday, all renters had moved out, and the whole building had been emptied and is no longer accessible to the Estonian community and other friends of the house.
I have had perhaps consecutively 5-6 years of experience at the Estonian House. But somehow the building with its old glory, activities and people has found a warm place in my heart so that this very same heart is full of sorrow, sadness and also a bit of anger. The closing down means a lot to me, I guess this also explains why I have spent and will spend my time promoting the legacy of the building which stood for more than 60 years at Broadview Avenue in Toronto.
I had a photography exhibition of the not-so-known rooms of the house, which was open from May to October. I will present a new gallery of the other photos, which didn’t make it to the exhibition in the next few days. For now, please let me share a little bit of information about Toronto Estonian House history.
Toronto Estonian House
The Toronto Estonian House was located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was established in 1952 as a limited company of the same name. The building has served Toronto’s Estonian community at 958 Broadview Avenue from 1960 until the 31st of October, 2022.
Dozens of different associations and clubs were established over the years and held meetings and events at this location. As well, an Estonian café run by various owners as well as a gift shop selling Estonian artifacts operated until very recently. The building contains halls and rooms of different sizes where both Estonian and other Canadian organizations held events. Almost every Estonian in Canada has had the opportunity at one time or another to visit the building or attend concerts, exhibitions, confirmation parties or weddings here. Many choirs, folk dance groups and Scouts and Guides, Estonian kindergarten, the Estonian Supplementary School and the Pensioners Club considered the Toronto Estonian House as their home. Many of the Toronto Estonian Supplementary Schools graduates continue to be active members of the community.
Two Estonian-owned businesses, Northern Birch Credit Union (formerly Estonian (Toronto) Credit Union Ltd.) as well as Heinsoo Insurance Brokers Ltd, were major tenants of the building. Heinsoo Insurance Brokers also contained the offices of the Honorary Consulate of Estonia from 1976 until the present. Canada recognized the illegal occupation of Estonia defacto and allowed it to operate dejure until 1991 when the new Estonian government re-established the diplomatic connection with the Consulate and the Hon. Consul General Ilmar Heinsoo. Heinsoo Insurance continues to support the Consulate to this day.
Activity in Estonian organizations has resulted in lifelong friendships and marriages and even employment in the Estonian House and the opportunity to continue to use our mother tongue here.
Activities of the Toronto Estonian House have ceased at its current address with the move to central Toronto, next to Tartu College at Bloor and Madison Avenue. The construction of the new building which began in the spring of 2022, is expected to be completed in the next year and a half.
The time has arrived to close the final chapter of the Toronto Estonian House at this location.
Eesti Maja, you are forever deep in my heart!