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.
Toronto skyline
Board of Trade Building
Cycling club
King Street
Weston Train Station
Avenue and Bloor
Eaton's factory interior
Laying asphalt on Elm Avenue
Jarvis Street
Entrance to U of T campus
Yonge looking north from Temperance
Fire aftermath
Fire aftermath
CNE midway
Candy department Eaton's
High Park
St. Lawrence Market
Toronto Ridings
Friday deals at Eaton's
Newsboy
Tally Ho showing visitors around the city
Toronto Harbour map
Crystal Palace (later destroyed by fire)
Sleighing at Queen's Park
St. George Street
Yonge and Front
Yonge Street Dock
Bookies at Woodbine Race Track (original)
Carriage ride
Cycling in Mimico
Flagpole painter looking west on Front
Hanlan's Point Hotel and Regatta
Bathurst north of St. Clair
Old (but then new) City Hall
Old Union Station
Diving Horse at Hanlan's Point
The Grange
Confederation Life Building
Yonge Street Warf
Yonge north of Bloor
Queen and James
Government House
Yonge and Queen
Dufferin Racetrack
University Avenue (with Queen's Park in the distance)
William Davies Store
Toronto Street
Collecting coal
Queen and Spadina
Ruins of Hanlan's Point Hotel
Toronto Archives and the WikiMedia Commons. Lead photo of cricket at Upper Canada College, 1908. With files from Derek Flack.
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