Toronto in the 1910s was a city of contrasts. On the one hand, the population was growing rapidly, and the economy was strong. Many immigrants were coming to the city, which added to its diversity and vibrancy. The city was also undergoing significant industrialization, with many new factories and businesses being established. This led to the creation of new jobs and opportunities for the people of Toronto.
On the other hand, the city also faced some challenges and growing pains. The influx of immigrants put a strain on the city’s infrastructure and services, and there were instances of overcrowding and poor living conditions in some areas. The city was also dealing with the effects of World War I, as many young men from Toronto enlisted to fight and the city experienced economic uncertainty due to the war. Many people in the city were employed in the manufacturing sector, and the city was a hub for trade and commerce. On the other hand, the city was also deeply impacted by the war.
The city was undergoing major changes and was at the forefront of Canada’s industrialization and growth. Many of the institutions and organizations that define the city today were established during this period, including the Toronto Transit Commission and the Toronto Public Library. Overall, Toronto in the 1910s was a dynamic and rapidly changing city.
#1 Danforth looking east from Pape, 1910s
#2 Construction begins on New Union Station, 1910s
#3 Bloor Viaduct complete, 1910s
#4 Ted Dodd an employee of the Toronto Electric Light Company, 1918.
This company was the first to string and power 50 street lights in the city from their steam powered generation plant at the foot of Scott Street on the Lake Ontario waterfront.
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#5 Arrival of immigrants at (old) Union Station, 1910s
#6 Pro hockey at Christie Pits, 1910s
#7 April 9 is Vimy Ridge Day. Six months after that battle, in October 1917, this photograph captured recuperating veterans gathered on the southwest corner of Yonge and College Street, referred to as Shrapnel Corners.
#8 King Street West, looking east from west of York Street, 1914.
#9 Looking northwest from Queen and Bay streets, 1910.
#10 Workers in horse-drawn buggies excavate building 7 of Kodak Heights, Mount Dennis, Toronto. (Eglinton Ave. W. & Weston Rd.), July 27, 1914
#11 Sleeping in doorway on a hot summer night, The Ward, 1910.
#12 Street railway strike meeting, Massey Hall, 1919.
#13 Bay and Albert streets, view looking southeast, 1918.
#14 Stonecutters commemorative photo of those involved in creating the intricate carvings on the north wing of the Ontario Legislative Building in Queens Park, Toronto, 1913
#15 Polson Iron Works Shipyard in Toronto, 1917. View shows six mine sweepers being fitted out for use in WWI, including the Festubert, St. Eloi, St. Julien, Vimy, Ypres and Messines.
#16 Old Union Station exterior, 1910s
#17 Toronto Street, 1910s
#18 Auditorium Theatre, 1910s
#19 King looking west from Yonge Street, 1910s
#20 Meyer’s Hotel, 1910s
#21 Queen and Terauley streets, 1910s
#22 Queen Street Viaduct under construction, 1910s
#23 Union Station construction, 1910s
#24 Beach Hebrew Institute, Kenilworth Avenue, east side, south of Queen Street East, 1919
#25 The Royal Canadian Dragoons Escort the Prince of Wales as he visits Toronto, Fall 1919.
#26 Jewish missionary Henry Singer in ‘The Ward’, 1912.
#27 Slum house, ‘The Ward’, 1911.
#28 Furniture warehouse, ‘The Ward’, 1910.
#29 Here is a view of the Old City Hall as it looked from the air in 1919.
The image is of particular interest on Remembrance Day for two reasons. Firstly it is unusual to see the location without its familiar war memorial Secondly the aerial view was taken while the Old City Hall was decorated to welcome home the 75th Battalion who would have been on their way home to Mississauga.
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#30 “Early bargain” crowds waiting for the Eaton department store doors to open, Labour Day 1919.
#31 Oblique aerial view of Hogg’s Hollow, which was taken by the Simpson Bros, 1910s
#32 Billing and entering office, ‘Kodak Heights’ 1917. Kodak of Canada headquarters, Eglinton Ave. W. & Weston Rd., Mount Dennis, Toronto.
#33 South Parkdale Station, 1910s
#34 Church and Wellington streets, 1910s
#35 St. Charles Hotel bartenders, 1910s
#36 Looking south from Richmond and Bay streets, 1910s
#37 Northeast corner of Yonge and Shuter streets, 1910s
#38 Public Library at Broadview and Gerrard street, 1910s
#39 Withrow Park from Logan Avenue, 1910s
#40 Yonge and Eglinton, 1910s
#41 Bank of Montreal Building at Yonge and Queen streets, 1910s
#42 Toronto Armouries, 1910s
#43 Eaton’s Delivery Wagons, 1910s
#44 Carlton street looking east from Yonge Street, 1910s
#45 Soldiers leaving from Union Station, 1910s
#46 Men at the recruiting tents, 1910s
#47 Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on St. Clair Avenue West, 1910s
#48 Toronto Waterfront at York Street, 1910s
#49 Bloor Viaduct Construction, 1910s
#50 The Queen’s Hotel, 1910s
#51 Victory Loan Parade, 1910s
#52 Bloor Street Viaduct construction, 1910s
#53 Bathurst Street Bridge, 1910s
#54 Mount Pleast Street near Merton Street, 1910s
#55 North Toronto CPR Station, 1910s
#56 Queen Street looking West from River Street, 1910s
#57 Streetcar track work at Queen and Bond streets, 1910s
#58 Gooderham Worts Distillery, 1910s
#59 Car accident on Bloor Street near Walmer Road, 1910s
#60 Tobogganing in High Park, 1910s
#61 Flooded Don River, 1910s, 1910s
#62 Merton Street, 1910s
#63 299 Queen Street West, 1910s
#64 Allen’s Theatre on the Danforth, 1910s
#65 Union Station Interior, 1910s
#66 Old City Hall, 1910s
#67 The 19th battalion somewhere between August 1914 and May 1915. This is at the exhibition grounds where they trained prior to shipping out in Toronto, Ontario
#68 Royal Flying Corps Canada. Lecture on airmanship, No. 4 School of Military Aeronautics, University of Toronto, 1915
#69 Royal Flying Corps in front of the School of Practical Science (Engineering Building) at UofT, 1917.
#70 Daniel McDougall and Bobby Mitchell outside barber shop at 625 Gerrard Street East, sometime just after 1912.
#71 Mayor Church standing with the Prince of Wales and other dignitaries at Toronto’s City Hall, 1919.
#72 Going to Major Moss’ wedding at the Garrison Church, 1919. Location is Stewart Street west of Portland, south side, looking west.
#73 Mr. Darroch and ‘Majestic”; Black 4 yr.g., driving on Jarvis Street, 1911.
#74 Children of The Ward, 1911.
#75 Chicken warehouse, Agnes Street (Now part of Dundas St. W.), 1910.
#76 Imperial Oil service station after modernization, Toronto, Ontario. Station opened in August, 1918. Located at Danforth and Broadview. Where at Broadview & Danforth.
#77 Imperial Oil service station before modernization, Toronto, 1918
#78 A photo of the gents at Milnes Coal Co. Limited, it was on Esplanade East between Church & Market, 1910s.
#79 Happy Victoria Day! Group at statue of Queen Victoria, Queen’s Park, 1912.
#80 The Prince George Hotel in 1919. Located on the SE corner of King & York streets, it was originally named the Rossin House. The building was demolished in 1969 to make way for the TD Centre.
#81 R.A.F. (Canada) training plane C327, its tail broken during an accident at Camp Leaside, 1918. The camp was located at Laird Drive & Wicksteed Ave., within today’s Leaside neighborhood in Toronto.
#82 299 Queen Street West, as it appeared back in 1919.
#83 Two ladies have their picture taken beside a train at the Grand Trunk Railway’s West Toronto station, 1910s.
The view here is looking south down the line to the area west of where Old Weston Rd. & Westport Ave. intersect. The station eventually served CNR and VIA but became vacant and was demolished in the 1990s.
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#84 They may not look it, but these buildings are a jail. Toronto Municipal Farm for Men opened at Falstaff (now Thornhill) in 1912 and closed in 1939 (it was converted to a hospital). It housed short-term inmates who worked on the farm during their sentences
#85 Toronto Municipal Farm for Men opened at Falstaff (now Thornhill) in 1912
#86 Danforth Ave., Toronto 1910
#87 Palmolive Soap ad in somewhere Toronto, 1919
#88 Morse Street Playground — Festival – August 28, 1915
#89 Inside of 363 Sorauren Ave., 1913.
The building was owned by Columbia Graphophones. The lighting was gas lamp lighting. The building has now been converted to The Robert Watson Lofts. The wood pillars and overhead support beams are still there as are the window openings.
No Greektown as of yet
The Danforth was British, like the rest of Toronto, until after WW2 when Italians, Greeks and others fleeing Europe began to settle there. It only became “Greektown” in the 1970s. Greeks are now a small minority in Greektown.
Thanks for that information. I live at Pape and Danforth in the 70’s
lived just off the Danforth from 1960 to 1967 and there was no Greektown.
actually British, then Italian once they made money moved to Vaughan then greeks
Wow a few houses & a dirt road & a few rails. Just think, it’s going to be called East york in many years . Hard to imagine this being the outskirts of our city!
this was not then or now known as East York.
I love the rail line running down the road.
the street car was pulled by horses and only went as far as Broadview
What is pictured here are temporary construction tracks laid to get the rail cars in to bring in materials to do paving of the road. The real civic car line (streetcar line) would come later and wouldn’t meander like that
My grandparents had a house at Pape and O’Connor. We used to walk to the Danforth for shopping with my grandmother in the 70s. Then in the 80s when I was in high school we’d hang out with friends for dinner at Astoria. Those were such good times.
OMG…..Astoria’s had the best greek food. and that white sause/paste….was to die for. I think it is still there
And so the Ontario Line begins