Toronto's vast underground city started with 126-year-old tunnel you can still use

Toronto's labyrinthine PATH system has grown to extend through much of the downtown core, connecting businesses with an immense underground city that impresses and baffles tourists and locals alike.

But you may be surprised to learn that the oldest pedestrian tunnel in downtown Toronto remains a part of the modern-day PATH system, and you may have walked through this modern passageway without even realizing you were passing through the birthplace of our underground city.

Toronto's present-day pedestrian tunnel network has grown through, and in some cases survived over a century of major downtown redevelopments, but none have witnessed as much change as the very first tunnel, which dates back to 1900 and can still be traversed to this day.

The oldest section of the PATH was built at the turn of the 20th century when the large T Eaton Co. main store at Yonge and Queen was connected with its bargain annex building to the northwest on Albert Street.

Construction of the pedestrian tunnel between the Eaton main store and the Eaton Annex, circa 1900. Photo: Toronto Archives.

The tunnel was the lone survivor when both the main Eaton store and its bargain annex were redeveloped; the Eaton Centre taking over the former main store site in 1977, and Bell Trinity Square replacing the former Eaton's Annex site in 1980.

However, the city's pedestrian network had grown significantly by the time of these redevelopments, and the tunnel proved more valuable to landowners than the two buildings it once connected.

The modern PATH system's growth really took off during this period, following the construction of a tunnel linking the Richmond-Adelaide and Sheraton Centres in the 1970s, which, in turn, connected to the then-new Eaton Centre and Bell Trinity Square developments via the preserved tunnel.

There are no surviving visual cues for the pedestrians passing through this tunnel, and a walk through this section of PATH today is pretty much indistinguishable from anywhere else along the system. 

You're not going to see any late Victorian-era industrial design here, nor any evidence of historic value. Despite over one and a quarter century of history, this tunnel's current aesthetic is about as modern as it gets.

Like many utilitarian spaces in this town, it was never really viewed as a significant heritage asset, and was likely viewed as incongruous with the modern designs of the two buildings it ultimately connected following redevelopment of the two Eaton properties.

A far cry from the single tunnel built in 1900, the modern PATH network connects more than 75 buildings and hosts a staggering 3.7 million square feet of retail space, including approximately 1,200 restaurants, shops and services.

Atrium at Bell Trinity Square, where the Eaton's Annex once stood. PATH level visible at the bottom of the image.

The single tunnel connecting two downtown properties has since grown into a network that generates an astonishing $1.7 billion in annual sales, including a whopping $271 million in federal, provincial, and municipal tax revenue, and supports an estimated 4,600 jobs.