Fire destroys part of historic Toronto church housing Group of Seven artworks

By The Canadian Press on June 9, 2024.

A four-alarm fire ripped through St. Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto on Sunday morning, severely damaging a national historic site that housed murals by the Group of Seven.

Fire officials say the blaze broke out shortly before 8 a.m., eventually shooting through the domed roof of the Byzantine-style building.

Officials say there were no occupants and no injuries at the 124-year-old church in the city’s Little Portugal neighbourhood.

Early paintings by three Group of Seven artists were installed in the church in the 1920s.

Toronto Fire Services spokesman Deepak Chagger says there is “no indication that anything was saved,” though the loss of the iconic works has not been confirmed.

Officials say crews have extinguished the main body of the fire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2024.

8
-7