City
Toronto of the 1960s
Given that Mad Men -- and its yellow-tinged look at 1960s New York -- remains all the rage, I thought it might be fun to take a photographic tour of the Toronto of the 1960s. Well before my time, it's fascinating to see just how undeveloped the city was prior to the 1970s. Although the Viljo Revell-designed (new) City Hall was completed in 1965, many iconic features of Toronto's current landscape had yet to be built.
Particularly obvious is the lack of the CN Tower (completed 1976), but the photos below also reveal a skyline that's yet to feature First Canadian Place (completed 1975), Commerce Court West (completed 1972) and Scotia Plaza (completed 1988). In fact, in the early 1960s, Toronto looks a lot more like Buffalo than the city most of us know and (maybe) love.
Notably present -- and much more dominant on the skyline -- is the Mies van der Rohe-designed Toronto-Dominion Centre. And, not to be forgotten, the seemingly ever-present Royal York Hotel seems to loom much larger back then.
On a somewhat cliche level, the 1960s in Toronto was a time in which the subways were red, the Leafs were Stanley Cup Winners, Nathan Phillips was still mayor (at the very beginning of the decade) and Yorkville was a hippie hub.
Decidedly less cool than New York, but captivating nonetheless.
1963 (Buffalo-esque skyline)
Royal York 1963
View from the observation deck of City Hall 1966
Nathan Phillips Square looking south 1966
Bay and Wellington ca. 1966
Gerrard Street ca. 1966
Skyline 1967
Skyline 1967 (different angle)
Bathurst and Sheppard 1960s (year not specified)
View from Cliffside Drive in Scarborough 1961
1967 Stanley Cup Champions
Photo Credits (in order): petespix75, National Geographic, Old Time Trains, kurtkomit (x2), Toronto History/Toronto Archives (x2), Toronto Archives, pjs_deceased, Toronto Maple Leafs.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/motionblur/sets/72157624562841149/detail/
any depth for ships. If you can find an old map of the harbour, you'll notice the piers are very long because of the shallowness of the harbour.
Pushing the shoreline south helped to deepen the harbour to the depth of around 9 metres. That would be enough for
the ships that would arrive in later decades through the St. Lawrence Seaway system.
I hope this answers your question.
I'm trying to make sense of your question. Can you please
rewrite and pinpoint the "tower's" location? From the sound of it I gather you mean the Bank of Commerce at 25 King St. W., since it was the only other prominent building on postcards of the skyline until the early '60s.
There was also the Toronto Star building on King St. W. and it was fairly prominent on the skyline at 20 storeys.
If these aren't what you're talking about then try to re-phrase so I can better understand in order to reply.
As for Humber Loop comments yes, the connection to Brown's Line is there.
looks to be Walton Street, perhaps. Most of
Walton Street vanished when the southern
extension of the Chelsea was built.
That's quite the honking huge Mercury in
the photo.
Street West. It was demolished in the 1970s
for the building of First Canadian Place.
I remember watching the linotype machines
being hauled out by crane from the 4th or
5th floor during the Star's move to #1 Yonge.
Great pics. I remember my dad taking us to see the CN Tower stub. I only wish we had brought a camera. I do have photos taken from the island with the roof of First Canadian Place still under construction. (Deja vu! It's under construction again!) But those photos were taken with my crappy Kodak Instamatac 110.
It is possible that further extensions to the subway contributed to the Leslie Street spit. The waterfront south of The Esplanade was a product of the 1920s.
----
The excavating of the Montreal Metro was what built the
Expo '67 islands.
The Stanley Cup in the last photo looks superimposed!
I remember when Gerrard Street was "the village" and the centre of bohemia in the late fifties and early sixties before Yorkville took ascendency as the home of the counter culture (until the moneyed boutiques and art galleries took over).
At least, that is what the photo looks like to me.
'Toronto looks a lot more like Buffalo than the city most of us know and (maybe) love.'
'Decidedly less cool than New York, but captivating nonetheless.'
Great pics though!
Toronto today should really be put in the same context as Boston or Chicago. Not only in level, development level and population, but also the type of setting geographically. But even then, Toronto lags behind them.
Oh well.
Nice to see pictures of the city of my youth, when everyone was polite and spoke english.
The street in in the photo is Birchlawn Avenue, looking south towards Fishleigh Drive. Lived there for 10 years. Hasn't changed much!
We watched the Yonge St Subway being built in the late 40's early 50's as my wife worked on Toronto St.
Steinbergs, first store was in Crang Plaza NW corner of Jane and Wilson Ave. A Chain from the USA called Grand Union opened a supermarket there in the mid 50's and Steinbergs took over all their stores in the late 50's. Miracle Mart, owned by Steinbergs opened the store in Crang Plaza in the early 60's.
The "old"Bank of Commerce building,25 King St E was built in 1930 and my father Charles Stiles cut a lot of the stone for the building. For many years, it was the tallest building in the British Empire.
My wife and I were raised in the Earlscourt District of Toronto, both born in 1932, married in 1953. We moved from Toronto for business reasons over 40 years ago but return for a couple of weeks each year for a couple of weeks.
We also travel internationally and still find Toronto one of the most vibrant cities of the world
My husband was born and raised is Scarborough and we would love to see the pictures you have of that area. We would enjoy seeing them if you could email them to my email address of dieppenb1947@yahoo.ca
Thanks Mark
that pic of the milkman brought back memmories.I used to walk with him on his deliveries but I also remember him having a truck in the summer.
Does anyone have any pics of the old tugboats they used to make the crossing to the city in winter?
The later photo shows a '58 Pontiac and a '59 or '6o Oldsmobile in the parking lot.
Love those old RED ROCKETS.
I grew up on fishleigh and remember playing road hockey at the corner of Birchlawn and Fishleigh, I think the house was owned by the Barwells? Anyhow would anyone have a source for class pictures from 1965-1971 from Cliffside PS?
Regards
Dan
Angus.
get a drink in any time of day or night Toronto at that time
was almost a dry city, but it was clean and safe in 67 Maple leafs won the Stanley cup with Tim Horton standing in the second row, now we have Tim Horton's restaurants all over the city and Stanley cup forget about it, Torontonians are happy with anything on the skates we do not care if the Maple Leafs are getting in the play-off's or not just do not take the team away like Atlanta just lost there team.
I loved the Toronto of the 60's those scant few years ago.
But all in all it's a good presentation.
We had a wall-mounted telephone in a phone booth-sized room on the main hall. Our number went from JU to RO9 in the 50s.
Is that the Sutton Restaurant on Bay St. in one of those photos and didn't they have an all you can eat buffet?
Looks like the streetcar loop in Long Branch and if so it is still there.
Toronto is right in the Mid West and if you doubt it, drive a few miles down to London, Ontario and check out all the old women with blue hair. They are the true Ontario denizens.
I grew up in Scarborough near Highland Creek and Kingston Road in the fifties and would love to see your photos from the circulating email you referred to in your post...thank you...Mike
It was the Village on Gerrard St. The Village in the early 1960s ran from Elizabeth St. Along the north and south side of Gerrard St. from Bay to Yonge St. there were Coffee Houses where the Flower Children gathered and the 'Beatniks' wearing black turtle-neck sweaters and berets gathered. There were art and craft shops along the north side of Gerrard St between Elizabeth & Bay with 'The Blue Easel' and 'Unicorn' that began there.
The 'Blue Easel Studio' was on the north side of Gerrard, between Elizabeth & LaPlante St. with the 'Unicorn' next to it. The Unicorn then moved across Bay St. to the south side of Gerrard near the car wash.
In 1960 I worked in Toronto at the Bell (Bell Telephone Company of Canada Ltd)and on Long Distance. A call came in from a famous Hotel at the time and I can't remember the name, but I think it was something like the Red Steer of something similar. Does anyone remember a similar name? I might have it wrong but hoping someone knows.
My grandmother's home where my parents and I lived was across from the Brown's Bread Horse Stables. As a little girl I spent many hours watching the Blacksmiths shoe the Horses, until my Grandmother saw me and told me too stay away from those dirty old men...ha they were probably only in their twenties?
My Mother and Father bought a home in Scarborough, 21 Marta Avenue Birchmount and Danforth Road area.
I attended J.G. Workman School where I met my furture Husband whose Grandfather was a Blacksmith....dejavu.
My Mother and I would often go to Toronto to Simpsons, Younge and Dundas for the day.
Coming from Scarborough we would go to the Lutrelle Loop to catch a Streetcar to downtown Toronto to Simpson's and this was always a great time and oh yeah we always had to have one of thoe delicious Shops'y Hotdogs and Orange Drink.
This is a Great Memory of mine and to share it with my beautiful Mother Frances Mary Travis, kiss,kiss.
Chris.