Aerial Photos Toronto

This is what Toronto looked like from the air from the 1920s to 1980s

Aerial photos of Toronto offer a chance to explore how the city has changed over the years. There's no better way to get a sense for how Toronto's built environment has expanded than by looking at the city from the air over the decades. 

Many buildings we're familiar with seeing on the skyline may be absent, so it's fascinating to see how our beloved Toronto looked before they were built. 

Here are some aerial photos of Toronto from 1920 to the 1980s.

aerial photo toronto

King West and what is now Liberty Village in 1920

aerial photo toronto

Toronto Islands, 1920

aerial photo toronto

Toronto Islands and Hanlan's Point Stadium, where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run

aerial photo toronto

The Distillery District was just a touch bigger in 1927

aerial photo toronto

Looking north across Toronto, around 1929

aerial photo toronto

Downtown Toronto, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Bayview and Lawrence in 1930

aerial photo toronto

Above what is now Pearson International in 1930

aerial photo toronto

Northern Secondary School, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Queen's Park, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Maple Leaf Stadium near Bathurst and Lake Shore, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Toronto Islands, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Mount Dennis and Kodak Plant, 1930

aerial photo toronto

Looking southeast across Toronto 1930 (The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building was quite prominent back then)

aerial photo toronto

Chorley Park in 1930 (the trace of which can still be seen from the air)

aerial photo toronto

Aerial with R-101 Dirigible in view, 1930s

aerial photo toronto

Downtown Toronto, 1932

aerial photo toronto

Maple Leaf Gardens and the now demolished Normal School (Ryerson campus today)

aerial photo toronto

Bathurst north of Eglinton had yet to be developed much in the 1930s

aerial photo toronto

Above Forest Hill in 1935

aerial photo toronto

Different Angle, same year

aerial photo toronto

The current site of the Island Airport, 1937

aerial photo toronto

Above Toronto in the 1940s

aerial photo toronto

East York Aerial, 1942

aerial photo toronto

St. James Town Aerial, 1942

aerial photo toronto

The Garden District, 1942

aerial photo toronto

High Park Aerial, 1942

aerial photo toronto

Rosedale north to St. Clair Avenue, 1942 (notice the Rosehill Reservoir was yet to be covered)

aerial photo toronto

Summerhill CPR Station, 1950

aerial photo toronto

Damage from Hurricane Hazel north of Toronto in 1954

aerial photo toronto

Looking southwest from around Jane and Lawrence, 1950s

aerial photo toronto

A freshly demolished Maple Leaf Stadium, 1960s

aerial photo toronto

The TD Centre has arrived, late 1960s

aerial photo toronto

Hello to the CN Tower, mid-1970s

aerial photo toronto

The Port Lands in the 1970s

aerial photo toronto

Exhibition Stadium and the CNE grounds 1980s

Photos by

The Toronto Archives. With files from Derek Flack. 


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