You might usually avoid making a trip to the 51 Division station on Parliament St. unless required, but if you are passing by and are interested in some colourful local history, it’s well worth the time to stop in.
Inside the lobby, there are exhibits (photos, uniforms, maps etc.) related to policing in the neighbourhood as it was done from Victorian to modern times. The Cabbagetown Regent Park Museum received seed funding from the Toronto Police Service Board and created this excellent show. It takes only about 20 – 30 minutes to view all of the exhibits.
One of my favourite stories was that describing how officers in the 1800s were required to keep to a specific walking pace and were discouraged from speaking with residents (who were their neighbours). Arresting someone (most commonly for over-imbibing of alcohol), could be a messy affair before carriages and vehicles came into use, as the officer often had to drag the accused down the street to the station house from wherever in the area they were arrested – usually with large throngs of local children noisily following.