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I propose that the article be split into 11 pages due to the large size of this article. This list and the ten sub-sections. They would be joined by a common compact Table of Contents. See this page List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto (1794–1819) as an example of a sub-page. The main list page would contain the current lede, while the rest of the content would be moved to the sub-pages. Alaney2k (talk) 16:52, 25 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I would vote to reject the idea. I think lists are more useful when the entire content is on a single page as it makes it so much easier to find multiple entries across the different time periods. The user would not have to know the date in advance to find the entry of interest. Is a long page really a problem to be solved? Hilmar (talk) 14:53, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
There absolutely is an issue with long pages, its terrible for readability and technical accessibilty of the page. There is a reason why we have a guidelines against long articles, WP:AS, and is even reinforced in its section on list splits.
That said, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the solution to the list size issue isn't to split the article, but to reduce the size and scope of what's included. A split would only invite the creation of additional sublists like "oldest buildings (1920–1929)" and so on, which doesn't solve the underlying problem. We already have over 200 entries just up to 1869, and the number increases almost exponentially in the decades that follow. By the midpoint of the list, it's clearly in conflict with Wikipedia's WP:NOTADIRECTORY policy. And really, given the word "oldest" in the title, you'd expect a much stricter inclusion threshold to begin with. Leventio (talk) 23:34, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Leventio: That's true. I do think 20th century buildings especially don't qualify as oldest. I think the idea for this article began when it was not known about the number of heritage buildings there are in Toronto. Since that time, the heritage list has been published online and TOBuilt has expanded. We could simply trim it to a date or an era. We have the Town of York period, pre-Confederation era, etc. Or use a number to trim it. I don't believe there has been consensus. And I don't have an idea who to consult. Alaney2k (talk) 07:03, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I mean, if I were to suggest a cut off, it'd be 1869. It gives us a list of around ~230 buildings, with all former cities in Toronto having meaningful representation by that time. It brings us right past Confederation, and rounds up to a nice 75 years from 1794. This I feel is still provides a comprehensive listing of the oldest buildings in the city without creeping into directoryism, while also meeting the needs of WP:AS.
That all said, I'm not entirely opposed to years like the 1870s or something else, but this list definitely needs to be pared down. It'd also provide us as editors the room to expand this article in other meaningful ways, like what was done with List of tallest buildings in Toronto recently. Leventio (talk) 22:20, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I would support somewhat, but I'd tend to think it shouldn't lead to too many sublists. Perhaps splitting into two time periods would be enough, maybe 1794-1867 and 1868-1919 (with confederation as a rough split point) or something similar. Platttenbau (talk) 12:11, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
