25 retro photos of what Toronto looked like in the 1980s
It goes without saying, but Toronto has changed dramatically since the 1980s, when much of the city's skyline was still a long way from taking shape.
The SkyDome was still under construction during the latter half of the decade, the Air Canada Centre (now Scotiabank Arena) hadn't even opened yet, and many of the sky-high office buildings and towering condos that now define Toronto's skyline were nowhere to be seen.
Even the Eaton Centre looked vastly different, with now-defunct department stores like Eaton's and Simpsons serving as its anchors. Countless other businesses, restaurants, and shops that once drew steady crowds have also since disappeared or changed so much they're practically unrecognizable today.
Here are 25 photos of what Toronto looked like in the 1980s.
Dundas looking east from Yonge, between 1980 and 1989.
Yonge looking north to Dundas, between 1980 and 1989.
Yonge and Dundas intersection view from Eaton's in 1983.
Spadina Avenue at Dundas Street West in 1981.
Spadina looking south from Queen in 1983.
Ontario Place restaurant patio between 1980 and 1984.
Ontario Place Forum between 1980 and 1987.
Toronto skyline from a ferry in 1985.
Dundas Street West at Ossington Avenue from the northwest corner in 1983.
Yonge Street, east side, north of Shuter Street in 1987.
Old streetcar at Queen and Yonge in 1983.
Nathan Phillips Square between 1982 and 1986.
King Street West, looking west across Yonge Street in 1982.
SkyDome under construction in 1988.
Front looking east to Spadina in 1986 or 1987.
Bloor and Bathurst, sometime between 1983 and 1989.
Bloor looking east to Yonge, between 1983 and 1989.
Yonge looking north from Eglinton, between 1982 and 1986.
Yonge and Dundas in the 1980s.
Eaton Centre in 1981.
Gould and Yonge in the 1980s.
Ontario Place looking northeast from above between 1980 and 1988.
Skyline from Toronto Harbour in 1981.
Church and Queen in 1980.
Temperance looking east to Yonge between 1982 and 1986.
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