City
90 years of the TTC in photos and videos
The TTC turned 90 years old today, so I thought I'd put a gift together in honour of our oft-maligned transit provider. The history of public transit in Toronto stretches further back than 1921, of course, but it was that year that a number of independent railway companies came together under the name of the Toronto Transportation Commission (transportation was replaced by "transit" in 1954). According to a press release the TTC sent out today — to my knowledge the only way the Commission has formally marked the event (aside from the September Metropass, which a commenter below points out) — fares were 7 cents back then.
Wow. But, you know, even after 90 years and some 28 billion riders, there are easy ways to see the TTC's connection with its past, be it via our streetcar system (still around for now), the name of our new subways (a reference to the original red rocket PCC streetcars), the remaining fishbowl buses, or the iconic branding scattered across the city. There's no doubt that Torontonians share a complicated relationship with the TTC, but that's not something to discuss at a birthday party.
Here's some of my all-time favourite TTC photos, videos and other memorabilia. For more on the TTC's history, check out Transit Toronto. Lead photo by Jose Ongpin. Happy birthday, TTC!
PHOTOS
Double Decker bus, 1921
Single deck, 1923
Peter Witt streetcar near Queen and Woodbine
Peter Wits outside of Union Station, 1943
Construction begins on the Yonge Subway near Queen, 1949
Rendering for Eglinton Station, early 1950s
Glocester subway car specs
Subway map, 1954
Brand new ticket booth, 1954
King Station, 1954
Canada's first subway opens, 1954
Ditto
Postcard showing classic red Gloucester car (via Ebay)
New bus being painted 1958
New look bus at Rosedale Station
Subway renderings by Sigmund Serafin (via Transit Toronto)
New route map ad, 1963
Hawker Siddeley car 1965
Rosedale Station (note the original tiling), 1966
PCC streetcar, 1967
Bathurst Station, 1967
Toronto Flyer trolley bus, 1987 (via Wikimedia Commons)
New look TTC bus, 1987 (via Wikimeida Commons)
PCC streetcar at the Halton Radial Railway (via Hamish Grant)
Specs for the T1 subway
The Toronto Rocket!
Toronto Rocket interior
Jonathan Guy's TTC typeface posters
Also by Jonathan Guy
TTC typeface history (full poster) by Jose Ongpin
VIDEO
TTC commercial in 1984 (via Retrontario)
TTC commerciali 1987 (Via Retrontario)
TTC Weekday Service (HD) from Kieran Huggins on Vimeo.
Around the Loop from Tyler Freedman on Vimeo.
Related Posts:
- A visual history of TTC Streetcars
- What TTC buses used to look like
- What TTC subway cars used to look like
- When the subway system was shiny and new
- Original renderings of TTC subway stations
- The TTC Art of Sigmund Serafin
- A typological history of the Toronto subway system
- The TTC Font gets the poster treatment
Photos from the Toronto Archives unless otherwise noted
Discussion
18 Comments
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-Wow! Bathurst Station looks as neat as a new pin!
-Wish we still had double-decker buses! Even double-decker mini buses!
-I like the 1954 and 1963 subway maps - they convey what a big deal it was for these transit routes to begin operation.
-An interesting collection of images, well done!
There's the unloading of the first subway cars, the variety of buses during the 80's, 90's and modern era. The progression of subway station design from the first stations on Yonge to the Museum renovations of today. The H-series subway cars that are still all over the system, CNG buses that were ultimately proven to be unfeasible, the articulated GM and Orion buses the TTC operated, some of the more interesting stations of the system (like along the Spadina line).
was on display in stations or subway trains.
It looks like a study map for considering
proposed routes. I don't remember the Rosedale
bus coming down Yonge Street and ending west of
Queen's Park.
I miss the TTC hostesses and their helpful ways
with riders needing directions or wanting to buy
tickets.
i don't know if they were actually using it along the route or if they were just taking it out for a spin as a sort of promotional thing.
i would have LOVED to take a ride on it....i love the streetcar :)
http://shop.jonathanguy.ca/
I am not affiliated with him or know anything about him but thought anyone wanting to buy his artwork should be pointed to the right one.