Impacts of Settlement

1886

If you take a close look at this image, you'll see an abundance of ships in the harbour (very important to 19th century Toronto). You'll also see Yonge St. emerge as the longest road extending north.

1893

At this time, the Garrison River is almost entirely buried. The Don River has already been significantly straightened. The city is becoming more and more industrialized.

1904

The Great Fire of 1904 decimated the downtown core. Toronto spent the next decade rebuilding the Financial District.

1929

By 1929, the Royal York took its place as the centrepiece of the Toronto skyline. There's a new Union Station, and the land south of Front St. has expanded through various fill efforts (land reclamation!).

1935

Here we're looking south across the U of T campus in the 1930s. That's Lake Ontario in the background.

The Canadian Bank of Commerce Building (now Commerce Court) has taken the crown as the tallest building in the city.

1940

It's hard to believe that almost the entire waterfront between Front St. and Lake Ontario was filled with what were called the Railway Lands . Basically all of this land was owned by rail companies.

At this time, Toronto is still very much an industrial city, as demonstrated by the busy waterfront area.

1967

It's here that you can begin to see the modernization of Toronto with the black steel construction of the TD Centre, which marked the rise of the Financial District. You can also see the New City Hall (1965) in behind it.

The rest of the city is starting to get visibly more dense as well.

1974

Here's the CN Tower as it's being built.

Commerce Court West has been completed, and First Canadian Place is on the way.

A population boom has lead to the rise of concrete apartment complexes across the city.

Mid 1980s

This shot looks north toward Toronto across the Islands in the mid 1980s before the birth of the SkyDome.

The skyline has taken its modern shape, but it still looks sparse, especially between the Financial District and the CN Tower.

Early 1990s

The SkyDome appears! (Now called the Rogers Centre).

The Railway Lands (outlined in red) have been mostly destroyed in preparation for the massive CityPlace condo development.

Next time you drive into Toronto, notice that this whole area is filled with condos now.

Late 2000s

This photo was taken by Derek Flack from an airplane on his way to Pearson International Airport in 2007.

While Toronto might not be as dense as some cities, you can see an obvious area of heavier development through the downtown core.

2014

In this photo by Jimmy Wu from June 2014, we can see the increasingly dense core of Toronto, and the profound condo development along the waterfront.