Toronto 1900

This is what Toronto looked like in the 1900s

Toronto in the 1900s didn't much resemble the city we know today. Not only was the skyline virtually undeveloped—the tallest structures were the Temple Building at 10 storeys and the Trader's Bank Building at 15 storeys—but the Bloor Viaduct was yet to link the east and west sides of the city.

Old Union Station and the Yonge Street Wharf were still the main arrival points for the city, and Hanlan's Point was the place to be during the summer months.

On the flip side, what's now Old City Hall was already a towering and familiar presence, having been completed in 1899, and places like the St. Lawrence Market and the University of Toronto would be easily recognized by anyone able to travel back in time to that period.

In the 1900s, Toronto had a population of approximately 210,000 people, horses and carriages were still common on city streets, and the city suffered one of the worst fires in its history, losing almost all of the main commercial district (bounded by Bay, Wellington, Yonge, and Front Streets).

Here's what Toronto looked like through the 1900s.

1900

toronto 1900

Toronto skyline

toronto 1900

Board of Trade Building

toronto 1900

Cycling club

toronto 1900

King Street20101227-1900-Weston,_Ontario,_GTR_train_station_--_1900.jpg

Weston Train Station

1901

toronto 1900

Avenue and Bloor

toronto 1900

Eaton's factory interior

1902

toronto 1902

Laying asphalt on Elm Avenue

1903

toronto 1902

Jarvis Street

toronto 1902

Entrance to U of T campus

toronto 1902

Yonge looking north from Temperance

1904

toronto 1902

Fire aftermath

toronto 1902

Fire aftermath

toronto 1902

CNE midway

toronto 1902

Candy department Eaton's

toronto 1902

High Park

toronto 1902

St. Lawrence Market

toronto 1902

Toronto Ridings

1905

toronto 1902

Friday deals at Eaton's

toronto 1902

Newsboy

toronto 1902

Tally Ho showing visitors around the city

1906

toronto 1902

Toronto Harbour map

toronto 1902

Crystal Palace (later destroyed by fire)

toronto 1902

Sleighing at Queen's Park

toronto 1902

St. George Street

toronto 1902

Yonge and Front

toronto 1902

Yonge Street Dock

1907

toronto 1907

Bookies at Woodbine Race Track (original)

toronto 1907

Carriage ride

toronto 1907

Cycling in Mimico

toronto 1907

Flagpole painter looking west on Front

toronto 1907

Hanlan's Point Hotel and Regatta

toronto 1907

Bathurst north of St. Clair

toronto 1907

Old (but then new) City Hall

toronto 1907

Old Union Station

toronto 1907

Diving Horse at Hanlan's Point

toronto 1907

The Grange

toronto 1907

Confederation Life Building

Toronto 1900s

Yonge Street Warf

toronto 1907

Yonge north of Bloor

1908

toronto 1908

Queen and James

toronto 1908

Government House

toronto 1908

Yonge and Queen

toronto 1908

Dufferin Racetrack

toronto 1908

University Avenue (with Queen's Park in the distance)

toronto 1908

William Davies Store

toronto 1908

Toronto Street

1909

toronto 1908

Collecting coal

toronto 1908

Queen and Spadina

toronto 1908

Ruins of Hanlan's Point Hotel

Photos by

Toronto Archives and the WikiMedia Commons. Lead photo of cricket at Upper Canada College, 1908. With files from Derek Flack.


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