The 519

The 519 takes its name from its address, 519 Church Street, a building the City of Toronto opened as a general neighbourhood community centre in the 1970s, serving the broader downtown-east community around Church and Wellesley Streets with recreation programs and social services typical of a municipal community centre of that era.

Becoming an LGBTQ institution

As the surrounding Church-Wellesley Village grew into the centre of Toronto's gay and lesbian community through the 1970s and 1980s, The 519 evolved alongside it, gradually taking on a more specific role serving LGBTQ Torontonians, including support services, counselling, and space for community organizing that had few other formal venues in the city at the time. The centre played a significant role during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s, and remains a central municipal-run institution for Toronto's LGBTQ community today, hosting programming, services and events that extend well beyond its original general neighbourhood mandate.

Sources

• The 519 — About us
• Wikipedia — The 519

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