Canadian skylines of the past - Page 157

MonkeyRonin · #**3121** Posted **Dec 12, 2020, 10:37 PM**

Oldschool grit - Corktown in the early 1900s:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2013/04/...ke_in_toronto/

Gerard St. just to the north:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2014/11/...ke_in_toronto/

Don River:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/04/...ke_in_toronto/

MonkeyRonin · #**3122** Posted **Dec 12, 2020, 10:40 PM**

Scenes from the West End in the early 1900s:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2020/12/...llage-toronto/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2020/10/...rhood-toronto/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/04/...ke_in_toronto/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/02/..._to_look_like/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/02/..._to_look_like/

And a few downtown:

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/01/...ke_in_toronto/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2011/05/...to_streetcars/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/01/...ke_in_toronto/

https://www.blogto.com/city/2017/01/...story-toronto/

Martin Mtl · #**3123** Posted **Dec 12, 2020, 10:52 PM**

/\ Amazing post. That last picture is gorgeous... and tragic. So much lost.

SignalHillHiker · #**3124** Posted **Dec 12, 2020, 11:02 PM**

I should’ve known better, but I thought those were MTL until I read Martin’s post, went back to last picture, and was trying to think what part of Old MTL like that they would’ve destroyed. Then noticed it’s TO lol Gorgeous pics.

Dr Awesomesauce · #**3125** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 12:54 AM**

Love the Corktown photos.

You can almost hear the plaintive cry of the street vendor selling eel pies, shellfish, dried fish, pickled whatever, unwanted children - ya know, all the usual Victorian stuff.

Kilgore Trout · #**3126** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 4:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

https://www.blogto.com/city/2015/02/..._to_look_like/

Cool!

Chadillaccc · #**3127** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 10:38 AM**

One we haven't seen before, along with two we have seen but with way higher resolution...

From the Calgary Tower, 1970

https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/...yline/17360668

1970, just after the completion of Western Canada's first two residential buildings over 100 meters tall...

https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/...anada/18667546

And an old classic with pretty amazing detail, 1940...

https://www.livabl.com/2014/01/histo...y-skyline.html

VANRIDERFAN · #**3128** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 12:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

1967

Check out the original link for the history behind each image.

https://www.blogto.com/city/2014/09/...Lr456uT_1GiSsY

I'm guessing that the ship in the bottom left is HMCS HAIDA. According to Wiki she was located there from 1965 until 1970 where she was moved to Ontario Place. She is now located in Hamilton at HMCS STAR (Naval Reserve Division) and is the Honorary Flagship of the RCN.

esquire · #**3129** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 5:10 PM**

Some of those Corktown pictures look downright Dickensian.

I will also never not be amazed by vintage Calgary skyline views. Although I have to say, Calgary was not alone in cracking the 100m residential barrier in 1970... 55 Nassau in Winnipeg (109m) opened that year. Edmonton and Vancouver were probably seeing big new residential towers around that time as well.

wave46 · #**3130** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 5:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Some of those Corktown pictures look downright Dickensian.

I will also never not be amazed by vintage Calgary skyline views. Although I have to say, Calgary was not alone in cracking the 100m residential barrier in 1970... 55 Nassau in Winnipeg (109m) opened that year. Edmonton and Vancouver were probably seeing big new residential towers around that time as well.

It's how new those cities are too.

In the early 1950s, Edmonton and Calgary were about ~130,000-160,000 people. They were close in size to London, ON of the time (~96,000) than Winnipeg (city ~235,000, metro ~355,000).

Now one can hardly see the Calgary Tower from some vantage points. Imagine if Toronto had grown so much as to obscure the CN Tower.

whatnext · #**3131** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 6:29 PM**

View of the rooftop garden of the second Hotel Vancouver (demolished) you need to look at it on a laptop of PC to see the detail. Deadmans Island at Stanley Park is visible in the distance top right otherwise everything visible in the background has changed.

[IMG]

roofgarden by whatnextyvr, on Flickr[/IMG]

Credit: Vancouver Archives

J.OT13 · #**3132** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 6:51 PM**

Hull, Qc. 1920 vs 2020.

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/d...c187cd68b5a22c

Chadillaccc · #**3133** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 7:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Some of those Corktown pictures look downright Dickensian.

I will also never not be amazed by vintage Calgary skyline views. Although I have to say, Calgary was not alone in cracking the 100m residential barrier in 1970... 55 Nassau in Winnipeg (109m) opened that year. Edmonton and Vancouver were probably seeing big new residential towers around that time as well.

Ah fuck I totally forgot about 55 Nassau! Edmonton only has comparatively a handful of towers over 100 meters even today including UC, at 25. But you are right, one of them is a 70s residential tower at 121 meters, which would have been the tallest res tower in the west from then until probably the construction of Arriva in Calgary in 2008, or if we're including mixed us buildings, One Wall Centre in Vancouver in 2001. Vancouver didn't pass the residential +100 meter barrier until 2000 with Venus Tower.

MolsonExport · #**3134** Posted **Dec 13, 2020, 9:15 PM**

Vancouver led the way in downtown residential highrises in the West

English Bay (Vancouver) 1965

West End (Vancouver) 1967

Beach Avenue and Davie Street (Vancouver), 1967

Mount Pleasant and downtown, 1969

https://www.livabl.com/2016/05/vancouver-1960s.html

craner · #**3135** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 4:08 AM**

Great page!

niwell · #**3136** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 2:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

And an old classic with pretty amazing detail, 1940...

Amazing pictures - crazy to see the bare prairie so close to the city as recently in the 70s. I think my parents have some old pics taken from Crescent Heights in the late 70s and there's even a substantial difference.

In the 1940s pic what's that fairly substantial building in the upper right near Bridgeland / is it still there?

EDIT: looks like this school https://goo.gl/maps/FV13ywVe5XE3nLyC8

shappy · #**3137** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 3:19 PM**

The Corktown ones are great. I've added current views that match the old:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

You can see the building at the end of the street is still standing

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Most of what was there was taken down for the DVP on/off ramps. The row of houses in the top right area can be see close to the centre of this one:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

38-44 Bright St. - these are the front entrances (obviously fixed up, but the back of the left house in the old pic still has that shape today)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Gilead St from the other way - there is some new residential on the left and a few light industrial/commercial uses on the right

esquire · #**3138** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 3:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Vancouver didn't pass the residential +100 meter barrier until 2000 with Venus Tower.

Interesting. That's a surprising stat - to me, at least - given the relatively large residential highrise population in Vancouver's central parts.

hipster duck · #**3139** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 5:26 PM**

What amazes me more is that some of the buildings in the Toronto Corktown photos survive to this day.

Generally speaking, most cities in developed countries underwent wholesale demolition of shantytown districts like these beginning in the 1930s - or even earlier in places like Paris or New York. It wasn't just the demolition of the structures but realignment of roads and streets so that no trace of these areas exists in any form.

Toronto either surprises you by how much it has changed or by how little it has changed over the decades.

shappy · #**3140** Posted **Dec 14, 2020, 6:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster duck

What amazes me more is that some of the buildings in the Toronto Corktown photos survive to this day.

Generally speaking, most cities in developed countries underwent wholesale demolition of shantytown districts like these beginning in the 1930s - or even earlier in places like Paris or New York. It wasn't just the demolition of the structures but realignment of roads and streets so that no trace of these areas exists in any form.

Toronto either surprises you by how much it has changed or by how little it has changed over the decades.

Well, I suppose Corktown surviving as much as it has is somewhat surprising. But what you describe certainly happened in Toronto.

Regent Park (the 1940's redevelopment wiped out much of the original streets but some were reintroduced in the recent redevelopment)

source

source

Trefann Court (housing destroyed but some layout kept)

source

St. James Town (completely lost)
https://remoteswap.club/story-st-james-town/

St. John's Ward (completely lost - this one looked bad!)
https://www.blogto.com/city/2012/06/...otorious_slum/