A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.
Explore the nearly 25,000 worldwide plaques on the Big Map big map screenshot
The most recent plaques:

Mount Sinai Hospital

This brick façade was once part of the first Mount Sinai Hospital, an institution founded in 1922 to provide medical services particularly for the city's many Jewish immigrants. Since existing...

This brick façade was once part of the first Mount Sinai Hospital, an institution founded in 1922 to provide medical services particularly for the city's many Jewish immigrants. Since...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Mackenzie House

Mackenzie House was the last home of William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto's first mayor, outspoken newspaper editor, and primary leader of the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada. The defeat of the rebels...

Mackenzie House was the last home of William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto's first mayor, outspoken newspaper editor, and primary leader of the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada. The defeat of the rebels...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Mount Pleasant Cemetery

In 1874 the Trustees of the Toronto General Burying Grounds hired H.A. Engelhardt, who was in the forefront of landscape gardening in Canada, to plan the transformation of ravine and plateau...

In 1874 the Trustees of the Toronto General Burying Grounds hired H.A. Engelhardt, who was in the forefront of landscape gardening in Canada, to plan the transformation of ravine and...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

The Maltese Community of Toronto

A small number of immigrants from Malta first arrived in Toronto in the late 19th century. By 1916, having fled overpopulation and unemployment, some 200 Maltese had established themselves in...

A small number of immigrants from Malta first arrived in Toronto in the late 19th century. By 1916, having fled overpopulation and unemployment, some 200 Maltese had established themselves...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Mary Pickford

Born in 1893 in a house which stood near this site, Gladys Marie Smith appeared on stage in Toronto at the age of five. Her theatrical career took her to Broadway in 1907 where she adopted the...

Born in 1893 in a house which stood near this site, Gladys Marie Smith appeared on stage in Toronto at the age of five. Her theatrical career took her to Broadway in 1907 where she adopted...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Maple Leaf Gardens 1931-2011

From the day it opened in the fall of 1931, Maple Leaf Gardens has been a social and cultural hub in the City of Toronto. Best known as a "cathedral of hockey", it also hosted political rallies,...

From the day it opened in the fall of 1931, Maple Leaf Gardens has been a social and cultural hub in the City of Toronto. Best known as a "cathedral of hockey", it also hosted political rallies,...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Major-General The Honourable Aeneas Shaw

Aeneas Shaw, a son of Aeneas, 9th Chief of Clan Ay, was born at Tordarroch, near Inverness, Scotland. A Loyalist, he served in the Queen's Rangers during the American Revolution, and later settled...

Aeneas Shaw, a son of Aeneas, 9th Chief of Clan Ay, was born at Tordarroch, near Inverness, Scotland. A Loyalist, he served in the Queen's Rangers during the American Revolution, and later settled...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

McMaster Hall

This building was designed by the Toronto firm of Langley, Langley and Burke, specialists in church architecture, to house Toronto Baptist College. The structure typifies the High Victorian style...

This building was designed by the Toronto firm of Langley, Langley and Burke, specialists in church architecture, to house Toronto Baptist College. The structure typifies the High Victorian...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

McGill Street Arch

This stone arch is from the former St. Andrew's United Church (built in 1923) on Bloor Street East at Park Road. The City of Toronto purchased the arch when the church was demolished in 1981. The...

This stone arch is from the former St. Andrew's United Church (built in 1923) on Bloor Street East at Park Road. The City of Toronto purchased the arch when the church was demolished in 1981....

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

The Macdonald-Mowat House 1872

Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, purchased this house in 1876 and lived here 1876-78. It was built in 1872 in the French Second Empire style by Nathaniel Dickey, a Toronto...

Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, purchased this house in 1876 and lived here 1876-78. It was built in 1872 in the French Second Empire style by Nathaniel Dickey, a...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Michael Shepard Residence

The property now comprising York Cemetery was granted by the crown by letters patent dated May 9th, 1805 to Joseph Shepard, and was acquired by the trustees of the Toronto General Buying Grounds...

The property now comprising York Cemetery was granted by the crown by letters patent dated May 9th, 1805 to Joseph Shepard, and was acquired by the trustees of the Toronto General Buying...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Morley Callaghan

Morley Callaghan wrote 18 novels and over 100 short stories, all about Canadians. Critically acclaimed around the world, he has been compared with Chekhov and Turgenev. He sold his first story...

Morley Callaghan wrote 18 novels and over 100 short stories, all about Canadians. Critically acclaimed around the world, he has been compared with Chekhov and Turgenev. He sold his first...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Massey Hall

Since its opening in 1894, Massey Hall has served as one of Canada's most important cultural institutions. A gift to Toronto from wealthy industrialist Hart Massey, it provided the city with...

Since its opening in 1894, Massey Hall has served as one of Canada's most important cultural institutions. A gift to Toronto from wealthy industrialist Hart Massey, it provided the city with...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Milton Acorn and Gwendolyn MacEwen

Canadian poets Milton Acorn (1923-1986) and Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941-1987) were married in February 1962 and, attracted by the Toronto Island's natural beauty, moved into a cottage north of here,...

Canadian poets Milton Acorn (1923-1986) and Gwendolyn MacEwen (1941-1987) were married in February 1962 and, attracted by the Toronto Island's natural beauty, moved into a cottage north of here,...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Mount Pleasant Cemetery

Almost the entire 80 ha of land now comprising Mount Pleasant Cemetery extending from Yonge Street to Bayview Avenue was purchased in 1873 in what was then the Village of Deer Park. Following...

Almost the entire 80 ha of land now comprising Mount Pleasant Cemetery extending from Yonge Street to Bayview Avenue was purchased in 1873 in what was then the Village of Deer Park....

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)

A pioneer of media studies, this University of Toronto professor became famous in the 1960s for his provocative theories about the impact of print and electronic media on human perception and...

A pioneer of media studies, this University of Toronto professor became famous in the 1960s for his provocative theories about the impact of print and electronic media on human perception...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Montgomery's Inn

This structure was built around 1830 for Irish immigrants, Thomas and Margaret Montgomery, who operated an inn here on their large, prosperous farm. Situated on Dundas Street, one of Upper...

This structure was built around 1830 for Irish immigrants, Thomas and Margaret Montgomery, who operated an inn here on their large, prosperous farm. Situated on Dundas Street, one of...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Meetings of Parliament 1841-1866

Following the destruction by fire on 25th April 1849 of the building in Montreal used by the Legislature of the Province of Canada, the sessions of 1850, 1851, and 1856 to 1859 were held in...

Following the destruction by fire on 25th April 1849 of the building in Montreal used by the Legislature of the Province of Canada, the sessions of 1850, 1851, and 1856 to 1859 were held in...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Memorial Wall Plaques Dedicated to Patient Labourers

These patient-built walls are a testament to the abilities of the people whose unpaid labour was central to the operation of asylums in the Province of Ontario during the 19th and 20th centuries....

These patient-built walls are a testament to the abilities of the people whose unpaid labour was central to the operation of asylums in the Province of Ontario during the 19th and 20th centuries....

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown

Massey-Harris Company

This office building, constructed in 1883, is the only surviving structure from the Massey-Harris manufacturing complex. Designed by notable Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, the building combines...

This office building, constructed in 1883, is the only surviving structure from the Massey-Harris manufacturing complex. Designed by notable Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, the building...

  • toronto
  • ontario
  • alan brown