Toronto of the 1910s

Toronto of the 1910s is remarkably well documented in photographs. In fact, so much so that what I thought might be a less interesting entry in this series of historical decade posts is anything but. Whether it be the soldiers heading off to war at old Union Station, the style of the signs and advertisements on downtown streets, or just how undeveloped the city was north of St. Clair, the photos below offer a portrait of Toronto that's fascinatingly removed from what the city is like today. And yet, images of the construction of the Bloor Viaduct, current Union Station, and places like the North Toronto CPR Station (now the Scrivner Square LCBO) can't but remind one that for all the demolition that took place in the 60s and 70s, numerous structures from the early portion of the century remain crucial to the city to this day.

So what was Toronto like in the 1910s? Well, the Maple Leafs were yet to exist, the tallest skyscrapers were the Canadian Pacific Building (at 15 floors) and the Royal Bank Building (at 21 floors), the Ford Model T was a regular feature on city streets, and public transportation was handled by the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) and the Toronto Civic Railways (TCR). Like the 1940s, it was also a decade defined by the war in Europe and a subsequent population boom. In 1901 Toronto consisted of 208,000 people, but by 1921, that number had exploded to 522,000.

Here's a glimpse at what it all looked like (captions above each image).

1910

Arrival of immigrants at (old) Union Station

Old Union Station exterior

Toronto Street

Auditorium Theatre

King looking west from Yonge Street

South Parkdale Station

Church and Wellington streets

1911

St. Charles Hotel bartenders

Meyer's Hotel

Queen and Terauley streets

Queen Street Viaduct under construction

1912

Looking south from Richmond and Bay streets

Northeast corner of Yonge and Shuter streets

Pro hockey at Christie Pits

Public Library at Broadview and Gerrard streets

Withrow Park from Logan Avenue

Yonge and Eglinton

1913

Bank of Montreal Building at Yonge and Queen streets

Toronto Armouries

Danforth looking east from Pape

Eaton's Delivery Wagons

1914

Carlton street looking east from Yonge Street

Soldiers leaving from Union Station

Men at the recruiting tents

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St. Clair Avenue West

Toronto Waterfront at York Street

1915

Bloor Viaduct Construction

Construction begins on New Union Station

The Queen's Hotel

1916

Victory Loan Parade

Bloor Street Viaduct construction

Bathurst Street Bridge

Mount Pleast Street near Merton Street

North Toronto CPR Station

1917

Queen Street looking West from River Street

Streetcar track work at Queen and Bond streets

Union Station construction

Gooderham Worts Distillery

1918

Car accident on Bloor Street near Walmer Road

Bloor Viaduct complete

Tobogganing in High Park

Flooded Don River

Merton Street

1919

299 Queen Street West

Allen's Theatre on the Danforth

Union Station Interior

Old City Hall
Check out more of the series via these links:

• Toronto of the 1920s
• Toronto of the 1930s
• Toronto of the 1940s
• Toronto of the 1950s
• Toronto of the 1960s
• Toronto of the 1970s
• Toronto of the 1980s

All photos sourced from the Wikimedia Commons.