Background
Mike Filey was born on October 11, 1941 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a child, Filey's family lived on Bathurst Street, just south of the iconic Honest Ed's discount store.
Filey attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute.
Heritage Toronto
Mike Filey received the 2009 Jean Hibbert Memorial Award.
Filey earned a degree in chemical technology from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University).
(Pictorial history of the Toronto streetcar system from th...)
Pictorial history of the Toronto streetcar system from the days of the horse-drawn trams through electrification in 1894 and the years through to the end of 1954 when the subway opened. Black and white photos on every page, intelligently captioned, restore the streetcars to their lines throughout the city.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CG1IHE/?tag=2022091-20
1974
(The year was 1910 and signs of progress were in the air. ...)
The year was 1910 and signs of progress were in the air. That June, a new steam ferry for the Toronto Island Company was launched and christened the Trillium. Only briefly mentioned in the local dailies at the time, the double-end, side-padded island ferry cruised the waters of Toronto Bay for nearly fifty years. After forty-six years of service, the Trillium retired in 1956, only to be saved from the scrap yard in 1973. The Trillium made its second debut in 1976 as a fully operational steam ferry and is still in service today. As the Trillium reaches the century mark, Mike Filey revisits the history of this fascinating Canadian ship. With a new preface and updated photographs, including some in colour. Filey traces Trillium’s remarkable rise, fall, and rebirth in a book that honours one of Toronto’s most interesting treasures.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1554887372/?tag=2022091-20
1976
(This special collection gathers the first three volumes o...)
This special collection gathers the first three volumes of the Toronto Sketches series, a fascinating compendium of Mike Filey's columns about the people and history of Toronto. These are essential reading for history buffs and for people who want to understand their city.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLMJQ2G/?tag=2022091-20
1994
(This book captures the spirit of the best of times - a ma...)
This book captures the spirit of the best of times - a magical era that can be captured only in memory and photographs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKAEAYW/?tag=2022091-20
1996
(The TTC Story features 75 magnificent black-and-white ima...)
The TTC Story features 75 magnificent black-and-white images that illustrate the major "transit event" in each year of the TTC’s existence.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHMNZG2/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(Mike Filey has revised his original book to include areas...)
Mike Filey has revised his original book to include areas that are now the waterfront of the new City of Toronto.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMP7FJ0/?tag=2022091-20
1998
(This special collection gathers books four to six of the ...)
This special collection gathers books four to six of the Toronto Sketches series, a fascinating compendium of Mike Filey's columns about the people and history of Toronto. These are essential reading for history buffs and for people who want to understand their city.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLMJQ80/?tag=2022091-20
2000
(This classic look at old Toronto portrays scenes of publi...)
This classic look at old Toronto portrays scenes of public life from 1860 to 1950, illustrating how dramatically the urban fabric and environment have changed.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHMNZDA/?tag=2022091-20
2001
(A companion edition to A Toronto Album, this is a photogr...)
A companion edition to A Toronto Album, this is a photographic journey through bustling Toronto from the late 1930s to the early 1970s.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHMNZFS/?tag=2022091-20
2002
(Hurricane Hazel battered southern Ontario in 1954, leavin...)
Hurricane Hazel battered southern Ontario in 1954, leaving thousands homeless, millions in property damage, and, worst of all, 81 people dead. On the 50th anniversary of the storm, Jim Gifford has captured that fatal night in the voices of those who survived it. Includes more than 100 never-before-published photographs.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKAEAU6/?tag=2022091-20
2004
(This special collection gathers the seventh to the ninth ...)
This special collection gathers the seventh to the ninth volumes of the Toronto Sketches series, a fascinating compendium of Mike Filey's columns about the people and history of Toronto. These are essential reading for history buffs and for people who want to understand their city.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLMJQ8U/?tag=2022091-20
2006
(In this lavishly illustrated volume, Toronto historian Mi...)
In this lavishly illustrated volume, Toronto historian Mike Filey regales readers with the best of his meditations on everything Toronto, including stories of the city’s past told through its landmarks, neighbourhoods, streetscapes, social customs, pleasure palaces, politics, sporting events, celebrities, and defining moments.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHMNY9U/?tag=2022091-20
2008
(This special collection gathers the volumes ten through t...)
This special collection gathers the volumes ten through twelve of the Toronto Sketches series, a fascinating compendium of Mike Filey’s columns about the people and history of Toronto. These are essential reading for history buffs and for people who want to understand their city.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016LMHJJA/?tag=2022091-20
2015
Mike Filey was born on October 11, 1941 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a child, Filey's family lived on Bathurst Street, just south of the iconic Honest Ed's discount store.
Filey attended high school at North Toronto Collegiate Institute and earned a degree in chemical technology from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University).
Following a nine-year post-graduation stint with what is now the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Mike Filey worked in event planning and public relations with the Canadian National Exhibition for 5 years and Canada's Wonderland for 4 years.
However, in the beginning of the 1970s, Filey turned his interests to his true vocation - researching, documenting and speaking about Toronto's history. He has written over two dozen books on various facets of Toronto's past. Some of his most popular books have been about the Toronto Transit Commission, an interest he has had ever since he first relied on streetcars at age eight to get from his home at Bathurst and Bloor to the Wychwood Public Library at Bathurst and St. Clair. Other topics have included Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Sunnyside, a collection of "Then and Now" photos of Toronto, several other collections of old photos, and 9 books full of "Toronto Sketches'.
All of Filey's books are chock full of photographs from his own collection and historical details, presented in an accessible style that gives them great appeal to both Torontonians and professional historians alike.
Filey has contributed a popular weekly column entitled "The Way We Were" to the Toronto Sun since 1975. He is also featured on his own radio show on the New AM 740 at noon every Sunday.
Filey is much in demand to lead guided tours of Toronto and present illustrated talks on aspects of Toronto's history, the most popular of which is "Toronto, Then and Now." He is also the number one Toronto "history expert" of choice for the many radio and television stations that call on him to be interviewed on Toronto history issues. Much of this work has been done on a volunteer basis.
Currently, Filey and his wife, Yarmila, live in Willowdale, Toronto.
(In this lavishly illustrated volume, Toronto historian Mi...)
2008(This special collection gathers the seventh to the ninth ...)
2006(Pictorial history of the Toronto streetcar system from th...)
1974(This special collection gathers the volumes ten through t...)
2015(This special collection gathers the first three volumes o...)
1994(This special collection gathers books four to six of the ...)
2000(This classic look at old Toronto portrays scenes of publi...)
2001(Hurricane Hazel battered southern Ontario in 1954, leavin...)
2004(The TTC Story features 75 magnificent black-and-white ima...)
1997(A companion edition to A Toronto Album, this is a photogr...)
2002(This book captures the spirit of the best of times - a ma...)
1996(This illustrated guide includes descriptions of the monum...)
1999(Mike Filey has revised his original book to include areas...)
1998(As horse gave way to machine, the look of Toronto and the...)
1996(The year was 1910 and signs of progress were in the air. ...)
1976
Through his whole life, Mike Filey has had a passion for retro automobiles. His special interest in the field is 1955 Pontiac Laurentian. His wife Yarmila presented him on for his 50th birthday. Filey also has deep patriotic feeling towards his native city of Toronto and expresses a great interest in its history with which most of his career is connected.
Mike Filey married a woman named Yarmila. They live together in Willowdale, Toronto.