The Toronto skyline has changed dramatically over the last century, and that change is accelerating at a rapid pace. Low rise factories turn into medium rise housing which turn into 50-storey skyscrapers. The Toronto City Archives contain a treasure trove of images from early 1900 onwards, documenting the city, usually from the perspective of municipal administration. Over time, these images form part of the Public Domain. Among hundreds of photos showing traffic jams and parking problems (even in the 1920's) and cracks in the pavement are fascinating images of factories, the waterfront, early financial district bank towers. Even more fascinating is photographically (or more correctly through the magic of Photoshop) merging present day views with the archived views to dramatically highlight the changes in cityscape.
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Histographs
December 2012 Gooderham and Worts Distillery Archive Image Overlay(01 of06)
Open Image ModalThis composite image merges the 2012 Toronto skyline with a 1918 public domain photo from the Toronto Archives of the remaining main building in the Distillery District. The rail siding is now a parking lot but the building with the cupula still stands as well. Note the old automobiles.The old rail cars were taken from a 1917 photo taken in almost the same spot. At the time the archival photos were taken, the distillery made acetone for the British war effort,.Other archival photos show that the Lake Ontario waterfront came right up to teh distillery for ships to load and unload. (credit:© George Socka)
December 2012 Toronto Yonge and King Century Old Archive View(02 of06)
Open Image ModalThis composite image overlays the modern day North East Corner of Yonge and King Streets with the view from 1912, 100 years ago. The 1912 image is from a public domain photograph from the City of Toronto Archives (credit:© George Socka)
December 2012 Bathurst Street 1937 Archive and 2012 Toronto Waterfront Skyline(03 of06)
Open Image ModalIn 1937 the foot of Bathurst Street was the centre of industrial Toronto as seen in this public domain photo from the Toronto Archives of the Bathirst Street Bridge. Now its the centre of a growing wall of conods along the waterfront. (credit:© George Socka)
December 2012 Yonge and Front Streets Then and Now(04 of06)
Open Image Modal2012 view with archival images fom 1929 The Hockey Hall of Fame was then a Bank of Montreal, the round building was a TTC office (credit:© George Socka)
December 2012 King Street West at Simcoe Street 1927 Archive(05 of06)
Open Image ModalThis public domain image from the Toronto Archives lines up perfectly with the view in 2012. The Royal Alexandra Theater just to the right of the street car is still there, The Canadian General Electric building with the awnings is still there full of restaurants on the ground floor as is the building with the columns behind the policeman. The streetcar still runs in exactly the same place. The policeman has been replaced by traffic lights though.And the skyline in the distance is all glass and steel now, Metro Hall and the TIFF Bell Lightbox. (credit:© George Socka)
December 2012 Toronto Historic Old Union Station 1927 Archive in 2012(06 of06)
Open Image ModalThis 1927 public domain image from the Toronto Archives is set in the present day glass and steel tower and Rogers Centre (aka Skydome) Renaissance Hotel suroundings (credit:© George Socka)
A series of images on display at the Papermill Gallery at Todmorden Mills, itself a historic building with several images in the archives, shows how downtown has changed.
We now think of union station as old, but there was an even older Union Station in 1927, about the place where the Rogers Centre now abuts the tracks.
The Royal Alex theatre existed in 1927, with street cars running in front of it at King and Simcoe, but the TIFF Bell Lightbox condos tower over the 1927 industrial buildings.
The Hockey Hall of Fame shows some vestiges of the Bank of Montréal it once was, but where Shopsy's gave way to Oliver and Bonacini there was in 1925 an ornate TTC head office building.
The distillery area was a very industrial area, right on the water before much of the waterfront was filled in. Now it is a collection of shops and towering condos.
The gentrification of the railway lands began only a few years ago, but a 1918 view of the Bathurst Street Bridge shows the factories that once employed thousands of Torontonians.
Some archived photos show that some areas have not changed at all. The North East corner of King and Yonge looks the same, except that horse drawn wagons have probably not been seen there is a long time.
These images are on display at the Papermill Gallery from February 27 to March 10. More images are shown in the linked slide show.