Toronto then and now.....

[tboy]

Here's a shot of the rush hour congestion on Yonge St looking north in 1945. This was the reason the subway was built "to separate commuters from the moving of goods and services".

Look familiar? Especially the line up of street cars.....

Here's photos from other eras:

[FONT=Times New
]Toronto of the 1920s
https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/08/toronto_of_the_1920s/
[FONT=Times New
]Toronto of the 1930s
https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/11/toronto_of_the_1930s/
[FONT=Times New
]Toronto of the 1950s


[FONT=Times New
]https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/11/toronto_of_the_1950s/

• [FONT=Times New
  ]Toronto of the 1960s
  

https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/08/toronto_of_the_1960s/

• [FONT=Times New
  ]Toronto of the 1970s
  

https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/09/toronto_of_the_1970s/

• [FONT=Times New
  ]Toronto of the 1980s
  

https://www.blogto.com/city/2010/10/toronto_of_the_1980s/
Photos from the Wikimedia Commons

 

[Esco!]

Really cool.

Thanx Tboy

 

[Chunky]

Fun photos to look at bud. I guess texting wasn't an issue back then?

 

[BlueBalls]

Thanks Tboy. Good work :great:.

 

[tboy]

You can thank my father for these photos. He found the blog site and sent it to me.

I find it really funny how in 1945, they had an issue with streetcars jamming the streets yet in 2005, they said: let's clog up the roads more with TTC R.O.W.s (ie: st clair).

It's actually earie how similar that Yonge St photo looks to any given day on Queen nowadays.

One of the links had a map of the streets circa 1950 and there wasn't much north of Eglinton. I remember going up to York Mills with my parents to an auction and swam in the pond behind the jolly miller tavern. There was nothing there back then, just empty fields and woods.

 

[Hammer]

You can thank my father for these photos. He found the blog site and sent it to me.

I find it really funny how in 1945, they had an issue with streetcars jamming the streets yet in 2005, they said: let's clog up the roads more with TTC R.O.W.s (ie: st clair).

It's actually earie how similar that Yonge St photo looks to any given day on Queen nowadays.

One of the links had a map of the streets circa 1950 and there wasn't much north of Eglinton. I remember going up to York Mills with my parents to an auction and swam in the pond behind the jolly miller tavern. There was nothing there back then, just empty fields and woods.

A friend of mine had to close shop during the St Clair fiasco. It was hell for 2 years hoping it doesn't happen to Eglinton or many will lose their investments.

 

[tboy]

^^^ I heard that. I also heard that many shops are closing down because people just can't get there via a car. Plus it is insane to try and get a delivery.

I remember working on a job at Bathurst just north of st clair. I made the mistake of turning onto st clair eastbound and made it about 3 blocks before I stopped. For 30 minutes. You see, at Avenue Road they only made a left turn lane for 4 cars and about 80 were waiting. This effectively stopped traffic and only allowed 1 car through the light each time.

What complicated the issue even more was the construction site at the corner had blocked off 1 1/2 lanes for loading/unloading. So they had blocked the parking lane AND the through lane (which wasn't a big problem because only every 3rd car was using it to go straight through).

I really, REALLY think all these city planners, roads works, have no clue as to what they're doing.

 

[tboy]

Back to the photos for a moment:

There's that shot of Gerrard St from the '60s.....funny thing is, it STILL looks just like that, 50 yrs later lol....hasn't changed a bit!

What's sad is that during the 70's they didn't think to preserve any of the old facades or buildings. There was some great architecture back then. Now they are trying to but they've lost so much.

I'm really glad they saved college park/simpsons building. That adds so much character to the area.

 

[Dan]

Awesome photos Tboy. Amazing to see how the street-scape has changed over the years.

 

[Nothingtodo]

The guy with the hat is my Dad :intello:.

 

[Lorenzo]

Great find Tboy. The quality of the pictures being old are excellent.

 

[Bubba]

Wonder how much the car would fetch now if in were mint condition.

 

[Nova5]

Here's a shot of the rush hour congestion on Yonge St looking north in 1945. This was the reason the subway was built "to separate commuters from the moving of goods and services".

Look familiar? Especially the line up of street cars.....

It certainly does ...

 

[tboy]

Wonder how much the car would fetch now if in were mint condition.

All depends on the model. This one looks like a delivery "truck" so it wouldn't be as high as the Model T or Model A. A perfect condition 1932 Model A pickup was sold about 2 months ago for $9800.00 in Atlanta. This was P E R F E C T. Everything was original, even the hand crank at the front. The upholstery was replaced but it was replaced with the correct type, pattern, knap etc. Oh yeah, no rust and NO body work needed to be done. if memory serves it was the original paint too....(black of course lol)

 

[Esco!]

Antique cars arent worth what they used to be. The bottom really fell out of the old car business during the 90's

 

[Stubby]

The guy with the hat is my Dad :intello:.

LOL, you have many fathers. You give the word bastard a new meaning :intello:.

 

[Cycleguy007]

LOL- 1960's....

Pic of the last TO Make Belief's Stanley Cup Champs... :tongue: