The 1960s were a time of great change and social upheaval in Toronto, as in many other cities around the world. The city was undergoing rapid growth and development, with many new immigrants coming to the area to take advantage of the economic opportunities. The 1960s also saw the rise of the counterculture movement, with young people challenging traditional social norms and advocating for change. The city’s music and arts scenes were vibrant and lively, and Toronto played host to many important cultural events during this time. Some notable events from the 1960s in Toronto include the opening of the CN Tower in 1976 and the formation of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.
The two buildings that transformed Toronto were built: New City Hall (1965) and the TD Centre. Streets like Yonge and Bloor were a cluttered mess of irregularly shaped signs; subways were red, flags, awning, and giant signboards, but there was an undeniable beauty in the chaos. Now everything has been changed; the city is more populated and vibrant today.
Below are some stunning photos that show Toronto streets in the 1960s.
#1 Colonnade on Bloor, Toronto
#2 Exhibition Park bandshell, Toronto
#3 Forest Hill Dominion, Toronto
#4 Hot chestnuts, Toronto
#5 Icebreaker ferry, Toronto Harbour
#6 Island ferry, Toronto
#7 Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto
#8 Queens Park Parliament buildings, Toronto
#9 Rosedale Park, Toronto
#10 Steam Power Station Toronto, Toronto
#11 Subway train, Toronto
#12 Toronto City Hall
#13 Toronto City Hall
#14 Toronto Island blessing the boats
#15 Toronto Island blessing the boats
#16 Toronto street scenes
#17 Toronto street scenes
#18 Toronto street scenes
#19 University Avenue, Toronto
#20 University Avenue, Toronto
#21 Westbury Hotel & City Park apts, Toronto
#22 Yonge & Bloor, Toronto
#23 Yonge & Dundas, Toronto
#24 Yonge St, Toronto
#25 Yonge St, Toronto
#26 Yonge St, Toronto
#27 Yonge St, Toronto
#28 View looking north, 1960s
#29 View looking north, 1960s
#30 Northwest corner of College & Dovercourt, 1960
#31 New bridge, Steeles Avenue West, East of Dufferin Street, 1960.
#32 Lothian Mews. The front entrance was through an archway in the building directly east of the University Theatre. And it backed onto the then parking lot (now park) on Cumberland, 1960s
#33 Kensington Market, March 24, 1967.
#34 Toronto skyline from the island, Sept. 1966.
#35 Punch Buggy!!! and ‘New’ City Hall, June 1966.
#36 CNE in the early 1960s, looking east towards the Princes’ Gates, and the skyline as seen from the city.
#37 CHUM booth set up at Eatons Yorkdale in the 1960s
#38 Parliament & King looking west, 1962
#39 Enjoying a Summer’s day in 1967 around Grenadier Pond, onlookers pay little attention to a passing “GO train” on the Lakeshore line – at the time a new experimental commuter train service operated by the Government of Ontario, that eventually grew into the present day GO Transit system.
#40 TTC Streetcar 4410 Kingston Road line travelling eastbound on Queen Street East at Church Street. 4 July 1968.
#41 TTC Streetcar 4643 Kingston Road line heading eastbound on Queen Street West at Bay Street. 5 July 1968.
#42 Walmer Road, 1960s
#43 King and Dufferin area, 1960.
#44 Nortown trolley buses. TTC should have kept the trolleys. in 1953 there was a Proposal for a Lawrence trolley bus and an Eglinton west trolley bus, 1964
#45 Bloor Danforth streetcar interchange at Bloor Yonge, 1960s
#46 City Hall, from a Kodachrome slide dated July, 1966.
#47 Flo’s in Yorkville, 1960s
#48 The Inn on the Park Hotel postcard, 1966
#49 This Peter Witt used to sit next to (east of) the building at 545 Lakeshore Boulevard. The sign on the window indicates that car 2300 was the first one built for the TTC in 1921 and was retired in 1963, the same year that the Canadian Railroad Historical Association acquired the car.
#50 Tabor Park Vocational School, 1966
Tabor Park Vocational School designed by Webb, Zerefa and Menkes Architects, was constructed in 1964 and opened on September 7, 1965 by the Scarborough Board of Education. This junior vocational school was tailored to students who were described slow learners and special needs aiming for jobs after high school.
