Adam Bunch

Recipient of the Stephen A. Otto Award for Research and Documentation

Adam Bunch, author, in 2021, of The Toronto Book of Love (sequel to his 2017 Toronto Book of the Dead) is surely among the most productive, dynamic and engaging of Toronto’s living historians.  

Connecting stories to place is a huge part of Adam’s work. He tries to remind people that they’re surrounded by history, and to see buildings, neighbourhoods and landscapes as places worth preserving, because they are the repositories of our collective history. Combining advocacy with the stories of buildings that might be threatened, Adam drives home the importance of preserving them – buildings like the Scadding Cabin, The Last Joy Gas Station, The Doomed Dupont Landmark That Helped Win the War, York Square and the Ulster Arms. Telling the stories of what we’ve lost and what we risk losing helps people understand the threats to our built heritage that is endangered now more than ever, since passage of Bill 23 – the More Homes Built Faster Act.

In 2024 Adam collaborated with some of his finest fellow historians to present A Night of Strange & Shocking Murders, Toronto’s Wackiest Inventions and Oddball Schemes, The Man Who Mailed Himself Out of Slavery, Strange Tales from the Wilds of Toronto, and the Body Snatchers of Toronto.

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