Time to put away that fall gear - the skating season is officially upon us. Toronto's public rinks are now open for shinny and the first Bambi-like forays onto the hard stuff, despite a recent uptick in temperatures.
Unfortunately, there's no more skating on the Don or the Toronto Bay, as there was until around the 1930s and 40s - the temperatures don't get low enough and it was probably never all that safe anyway.
In winters of old, however, every patch of frozen water became prime real estate for skaters, even shallow puddles in vacant lots. Here's a look back at when skaters in Toronto looked like subjects in an L. S. Lowry painting.
Skaters on the Toronto Bay
A frozen Don River near Riverdale Park, looking south to Gerrard
Skaters at Christie Pits
Figure skaters put on an outdoor show
A group of girls take to the ice between 1910 and 1912
Women lace up beside Grenadier Pond in High Park
Skaters on Grenadier Pond
Nervous skaters cling together in High Park
Moss Park skating championships race
Another view of a skate race at Moss Park
Women on the ice at Riverdale Park
Wide shot of a frozen Riverdale Park
A makeshift rink on a vacant lot
Figure skaters show off for the camera at Varsity Arena
Heavy winter coats on display at Varsity Arena
Rinks at Christie Pits, then Willowvale Park.
Skaters at Withrow Park
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: City of Toronto Archives
by Chris Bateman via blogTO
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