[adma]

Also extant in that shot from the early 30s: Eaton's College, Toronto Hydro--and when was the original Women's College wing built?

Midway at the far right, is that the bus terminal under construction?

 

[thecharioteer]

Good points, guys! Though the Canada Life Building was completed in 1929,

there's another picture that shows the Park Plaza labelled 1930,

which can't be accurate because according to Wikipedia (though I hate to use it as a reference):

"Originally planned to be called the Queen's Park Plaza it was designed by Hugh G. Holman. Construction began in 1928 and was due to be completed in 1929; however, stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression caused its builder to go out of business. The steel framed structure was left partially completed for several years as various attempts to restart it failed. It was finally completed and opened for business in 1936, with rooms costing $3 per night and up."

And in 1930, Queens Park Crescent had not yet been widened:

My conclusion? The aerial is obviously early thirites (not 1929) and there could be a glimpse of the unfinished Park Plaza above the Legislature, the view of the Park Plaza must be at least mid-thirties (not 1930), and finally: we can't always rely on the Archives dates.

 

[adma]

Good points, guys! Though the Canada Life Building was completed in 1929

I thought 1931 is more often given as the completion date--maybe the cornerstone is 1929...

 

[LowPolygon]

My conclusion? The aerial is obviously early thirites (not 1929) and there could be a glimpse of the unfinished Park Plaza above the Legislature, the view of the Park Plaza must be at least mid-thirties (not 1930), and finally: we can't always rely on the Archives dates.

or the street designations for that matter--this is obviously King and Bathurst....

 

[LowPolygon]

A little change of direction, but true to the spirit of "evocative images". This aerial, taken from the Canada Life Building in 1929, shows a moment in time before the Victorian (Edwardian?) city vanishes forever: no tall buildings north of Queen's Park, the Ward intact (along with the Gaol Tzedek synagogue and the Armouries), mature trees on University Avenue, lighting that almost seems surreal in its brightness:

i wonder what are the most important urban developments that finally created the grounds for the emergence of the 'modern city' all the way up to Bloor?

Charioteer: you've detailed the creation of Bay St elsewhere...to me this would seem to be possibly the most defining development; maybe along with Eaton's College St, and the growth of medical and government buildings around Queen's Park? I imagine Park Plaza was significant. as well, i reckon the building of the viaduct must have gradually created the grounds for a kind of connective tissue of development coming from the northeast....

here are a few shots from the same era. as has been pointed out, for some reason a lot of these dates need to be looked at somewhat askance.

i love the out of focus image of bustling rough and tumble Queen Street west in the background. you can see the corner of Queen and York upper left...

here is the site of the Canada Life buiilding prior to construction. again, date seems wrong?

i like this one, as it provides a nice view of the hulking masses that were the Ford Hotel and the Eaton's Warehouse, and a good view of the length of the Armoury, with its picturesque round turrets. what a crazy building!

another from Canada Life tower--good glimpse of the Ward

another aerial view of the Ward, from City Hall tower

a view looking north from the Royal York. you can see Eaton's College under construction

what is that big building where Ryerson now is, in lower left frame? is that the original Ryerson building?

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

"what is that big building where Ryerson now is, in lower left frame? is that the original Ryerson building?" QUOTE. thedeepend.


The NORMAL SCHOOL. (Presently a facade within the grounds.)


Regards,
J T

 

[Uncle Teddy]

Wow thanks for all of these shots.

 

[LowPolygon]

"what is that big building where Ryerson now is, in lower left frame? is that the original Ryerson building?" QUOTE. thedeepend.


The NORMAL SCHOOL. (Presently a facade within the grounds.)


Regards,
J T

thank you!
a lovely building...very early photograph (1856). tower was altered at some point

early 20th C.

 

[thecharioteer]

Speaking of University Avenue:

1897

1910:

August 1, 1914 (day World War I started):

John Phillip Sousa comes to town:

1916:

 

[adma]

another aerial view of the Ward, from City Hall tower

Or rather (as the notation on the left indicates), the now-gone Eaton's Warehouse.

Interesting to notice the name "LYRIC" atop the entrance to that church at Dundas + Bay...

 

[thecharioteer]

Interesting to notice the name "LYRIC" atop the entrance to that church at Dundas + Bay...

I believe that the church was converted to a very early movie theatre. From http://www.rbebout.com/queen/downtown/2pshow.htm :

"The Griffin Amusement Company had six locations in 1910, three downtown later becoming theatres (the Variety, the Lyric north of the Hippodrome, and the Rialto up Yonge Street).

 

[LowPolygon]

Some of the most evocative images of lost Toronto are not so much of the city itself, but images of the interiors of the buildings that made up the city. The best of them are atmospheric, intimate and suggestive of “the way that people really livedâ€. With their quotidian details, and the quiet markers of human presence: furniture, objet d'art, books, decorative accessories, popular pictures on the wall, they tell us less about the buildings, and more about the people; revealing a weath of detail about the texture of everyday life, and the ways we inhabited our domestic and work spaces on a day to day level.

 

[ganjavih]

Vey cool set, thedeepend. Thanks for posting.

 

[thecharioteer]

Some great interiors, deepend, some suprisingly "modern". Here area few more (some not so "modern"):

 

[thecharioteer]

Two more of the Jmaes family: