If you are a resident of Toronto and fascinated by its history, particularly its architectural history, you may be familiar with the articles featured on BlogTO from time to time which showcase archival material from the City of Toronto Archives. We love seeing pictures of Toronto’s past and have therefore decided to create a handy list of all BlogTO posts we could find which feature such photographs. If you think we’ve missed any, please let us know and we’ll add them.

We’ll keep updating this page with any future posts we come across.

 

Why look at archival photos?

We think it’s fascinating to see how the city has evolved over the decades. Seeing these images helps put the present into perspective and can make us more curious about the past. It almost feels like being a time traveller.

What to do after you’ve browsed through the posts below?

After you’ve enjoyed the historical photographs included in the links below, we suggest you:

• go to the City of Toronto Archives yourself to do your own research or read this blog article about how to conduct research about your own home;
• visit some of the the places you see in the photos to experience the amazing before and after effect in person; or
• sign up for one of the many amazing courses that local storyteller Adam Bunch organizes to get more context about many of the photos you’ll have seen.

 

Toronto through the decades

• Toronto in the late 1700s and early 1800s
• Toronto in the 1850s
• Toronto from 1856 to 1991
• Toronto 150 years ago
• Toronto in the 1860s
• Toronto from the 1860s to the 1990s
• Toronto in the 1870s
• Toronto in the 1880s
• Toronto in the 1890s
• Toronto in the 1900s
• Toronto in the early 1900s on postcards
• More vintage postcards
• Toronto in the 1910s
• Toronto at night from the 1910s to the 1980s
• Toronto in the 1920s (plus some video footage)
• Toronto from the air from the 1920s to the 1980s
• Toronto in the 1930s
• Toronto in the 1940s
• Toronto in the 1950s (plus some video footage)
• Toronto in the 1950s (in colour!)
• Toronto at night in the 1950s and 1960s
• Toronto from above: then & now
• Toronto in the 1960s
• Toronto in the 1970s
• Toronto postcards in the 1970s
• Toronto at night in the 1970s and 1980s
• Toronto covered in parking lots
• Toronto before the construction boom
• Toronto in the 1980s (plus some video footage from this decade)
• More Toronto in the 1980s
• Toronto in the 1990s

The skyline

• The skyline from the 1880s to today
• The skyline since 1957
• The skyline in the 1960s
• More skyline in the 1960s

The harbour & the railway

• The waterfront from the 1800s to today
• The waterfront before the harbour was filled in
• Toronto Harbour in 1919
• Union Station’s predecessor
• Union Station
• The waterfront in the 1970s
• Queen’s Quay
• Queen’s Quay in the 1970s
• Ontario Place from 1969 to 2011
• Railway lands before South Core and CityPlace
• Port Lands

Streets

• Streetscapes covered in soot
• Toronto streets being widened
• Toronto streets in the 1960s
• Toronto streets in the 1980s
• Toronto streets in the 1990s

Intersections

• Major intersections 100 years ago
• Intersections in the 1990s
• Yonge and Queen
• Queen and Bay
• Yonge and Dundas in the 1970s
• Yonge and Bloor from 1924 to 2015
• Queen and Bathurst
• Queen, King and Roncesvalles

Specific streets and neighbourhoods

• The Distillery District
• The Esplanade
• King Street
• King Street West in the 1980s
• Queen Street West in the 1990s
• Fashion District
• Dundas Street
• Kensington Market since the 1910s
• Corktown
• Jarvis Street from the 1890s to the 1960s
• Yonge Street in the 1950s
• Yonge Street in the early 1970s
• Yonge Street in the 1970s
• Mirvish Village
• Yorkville
• Liberty Village
• The Danforth from 1908 to 1965
• Leslieville from 1910 to 2020
• East York in the 1930s and 1940s
• Dupont Street
• St. Clair Avenue
• Eglinton Avenue
• Humber Bay Shores
• The suburbs

Winters

• Toronto’s worst winters
• Snowstorm of 1999
• Winter 100 years ago
• Snow in Toronto from 1896 to 1965
• Christmas 100 years ago

Summers

• Beaches in Toronto
• Toronto Islands
• Toronto Islands from the 1970s
• Toronto Island ferries
• Centreville in the 1970s and 1980s
• Sunnyside
• Sunnyside swimming pool
• Canada’s Wonderland in the 1980s
• The CNE
• The CNE 70 years ago
• The CNE in the 1970s
• Trinity Bellwods Park 100 years ago
• The Scarborough Bluffs 100 years ago

Buildings and structures

• St. Lawrence Market 100 years ago
• City Hall under construction
• The CN Tower under construction
• More CN Tower
• The SkyDome under construction
• Space Age buildings
• Toronto buildings erected in the 1960s
• Sports stadiums
• The Toronto Eaton Centre in the 1970s (plus some video footage)
• More Toronto Eaton Centre
• Yorkdale Mall in the 1960s and 1970s
• Malls (plus some video footage)
• A hut in a North York strip mall parking lot
• The Four Seasons when it was still a motel
• Royal York Hotel
• First Canadian Place
• Allen Gardens
• Bloor Viaduct
• Dufferin overpass
• Stollerys
• Sneaky Dee’s
• Arcadian Court

More photos by theme

• Sporting events
• Grocery stores
• Variety stores
• Hospitals
• Banks
• Remembrance Day 100 years ago
• Fire departments 100 years ago
• The Great Fire (1904)
• The Spanish Flu (1918)
• Coal

Transportation

• The TTC over the last 100 years
• TTC streetcar maps from 1932
• The TTC in the 1950s and 1960s
• Subway stations
• Streetcars
• More streetcars (plus some video footage)
• TTC buses
• TTC buses after the 1950s
• TTC subway map
• The subway in the 1950s
• Subway cars (plus some video footage)
• More subway cars in the 20th century
• The TTC in the 1960s and 1970s
• GO Transit in the 1970s
• Main bus terminal in the 1970s
• The Gardiner Expressway being built
• Highways over the past 70 years (plus some video footage)
• Highway 2
• Traffic in the 1960s and 1970s
• Gas stations
• Taxis
• Toronto airport
• Terminal 2 at Toronto airport

Lost things

• Lost streetcar routes
• Lost train stations
• Lost railway system
• Taddle Creek, a lost river
• Chorley Park, a demolished mansion
• Toronto Arcade, a lost shopping mall
• Lost magnificent buildings
• Lost modern buildings
• Toronto’s first apartment building, St. George Mansions
• Lost restaurants
• Silver Rail bar and cocktail lounge
• Lost hotels
• Walker House hotel
• Lost movie theatres
• Royal Lyceum & Grand Opera House