A look at popular Toronto neighbourhoods and landmarks in the early 1900s

Toronto is filled with landmarks, sights and photo-worthy spots. But have you ever wondered what some of your favourite areas in the city were like 100 years ago? City of Toronto Archives is free to access and is filled with old photos of what Toronto looked like in the early 1900s.

We gotta say, it’s pretty cool.

Trinity College Gates

If you’ve been to Trinity Bellwoods Park, then you’ve seen the iconic Trinity College Gates located at the park’s Queen Street entrance. This photo of the gates dates all the way back to 1916. Sweet!

Bloor Street Viaduct

Chances are you’ve seen Bloor Street Viaduct as it’s Toronto’s longest bridge! The Prince Edward Viaduct System, commonly referred to as the Bloor Viaduct, is a truss arch bridge system connecting Bloor Street East with Danforth Avenue.

The roadway has five lanes (three eastbound and two westbound) with a bike lane in each direction, and the subway level connects Broadview Station in the east with Castle Frank and Sherbourne Stations to the west on Toronto’s subway Line 2. This photo is from 1917 during the Viaduct’s construction, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.

Dundas Street and Roncesvalles Avenue

The neat thing about this photo from 1912 of the southeast view at Dundas and Roncesvalles is that nowadays it doesn’t look that much different. The only major difference is that the Merchant’s Bank of Canada in this photo is now a Starbucks.

Distillery District

The Distillery District is a popular Toronto spot home to condos, shops, cafes and restaurants, but back in the early 1900s, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery was up and running! This photo dates back to 1918. Nowadays, the Distillery District holds the largest collection of Victorian industrial buildings in North America, with over 40 heritage buildings, and is considered a National Historic Site.

Old Union Station

Union Station is one of the city’s most frequented spots, and things sure have changed over the years. This photograph actually shows Old Union Station, which was located just west of the present Union Station station and was demolished in 1927.

Woodbine Beach

Torontonians spend lots of time at Woodbine Beach during the summer months. This photograph is a west-facing view of the beach from 1930, before there was a bustling boardwalk, food vendors and more.

North York

It’s hard to believe this is what one of Toronto’s busiest neighbourhoods, North York, used to look like. This south-facing photo near the Miller Tavern from 1930 shows just how much things have changed over the years.

Now that you know what these places in Toronto looked like in the early 1900s, why not check out what they look like today? Happy exploring.

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Taylor Lucas

Associate Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for storytelling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing, she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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