18 Vintage Photos of Toronto in the 1970s That Don’t Look Like the Same City

1. Yonge and Dundas, 1972 — A pedestrian mall pilot project closed Yonge to cars for two summers. The photo shows a brass band, a hot-dog cart, and exactly zero advertising screens. The pilot was killed in 1974 after retailers complained.

2. The Junction, 1971 — Still legally dry. The Junction prohibited alcohol sales until 1997 because of a 1904 referendum that nobody bothered to overturn. The photo shows a soda fountain that operated as a covert speakeasy until at least 1979.

3. Kensington Market, 1975 — A live chicken vendor photographed beside a parked Volkswagen bus. The vendor’s grandson now runs an artisanal pickle shop in the same storefront.

4. The CN Tower under construction, 1974 — Photographed from the roof of the Royal York. The crane operator at the top, Paul Mitchell, would eat his lunch sitting on the unfinished antenna. The photo captures him doing exactly that.

5. SkyDome site, 1978 — Then a CN railway sorting yard. The current pitcher’s mound at Rogers Centre is roughly where freight car #41722 is sitting in this photograph.

6. Subway car interior, 1976 — Wood-grain panelling, fabric seats, no security cameras, a passenger reading a paper Globe and Mail. The car is also visibly empty at 5:40pm on a Friday. That last detail is the most foreign.

7. Honest Ed’s, 1973 — The original neon storefront, with a sign reading ‘OUR BUILDING IS A DUMP! BUT OUR PRICES ARE AS LOW AS WE CAN GO!’ The signs were hand-painted. The painter was Wayne Reuben, who painted them from 1958 until 2016.

8. Cabbagetown, 1970 — Still genuinely working-class. Row houses photographed mid-renovation by their original owners, not by speculators. The same row of houses now sells for $2.4M to $3.1M.

9. The Eaton Centre site, 1976 — Cleared land. A wrecking ball mid-swing on the last block of Trinity Square buildings. The Church of the Holy Trinity, visible at the back, is the only building in the photo that still stands.

10. Queen Street West, 1979 — Punk show outflow at the Horseshoe Tavern. The photographer captured the moment a skinhead and a Doukhobor pacifist were photographed having an entirely civil conversation about plumbing.

11. Bloor and Spadina, 1974 — The streetcar loop is still there. The Robarts Library is brand new and locals are calling it ‘the turkey’ because of its silhouette. The nickname stuck for at least a decade.

12. Toronto Islands, 1971 — A community of 250 squatter families on Algonquin and Ward’s. They were almost entirely evicted in the 1980s. The photo shows a homemade sauna and a child holding a snake.

13. The Don Valley Parkway, 1970 — Two lanes each way. The photographer is standing in the middle lane to take the photo. There are no cars visible in either direction.

14. Allan Gardens, 1977 — The conservatory’s palm house photographed during a city-wide blackout. The greenhouse is lit only by a Coleman lantern. The gardener slept in the boiler room that night to keep the temperature stable.

15. The original Maple Leaf Gardens lobby, 1972 — Photographed during a Conn Smythe-era playoff game. The wood panelling is intact. So is the original ‘NO BETTING ALLOWED’ sign at the box office, which was widely understood to be ironic.

16. The lakeshore at Sunnyside, 1975 — The Palais Royale dance hall is open and full. The amusement park rides have been demolished but the bandshell is hosting a polka night. The photographer was 17 and on a first date.

17. Chinatown, 1973 — Still mostly along Dundas. The photo captures the storefront of Lichee Garden, which was at the time the largest Chinese restaurant in Canada. It seated 800.

18. The original Toronto-Dominion Centre plaza, 1979 — Photographed by Mies van der Rohe’s assistant during a snowstorm. The sculpture in the plaza is being assembled. The man directing the crane is wearing a fur hat. He is not Mies.