Toronto of the 1890s was a place where the skyline was dominated by churches, and dense construction took up what would now be considered only a small portion of the downtown core.
But, it was also beautiful place. Along with the construction of buildings like the Flatiron (Gooderham Building), the Ontario Legislature (Queen's Park) and the Armouries (sadly gone), the expression "city within a park" resonates with particular force when looking at these images.
What was Toronto of the 1890s like? Well, the tallest building was the Beard Building at seven storeys, the Distillery District was just that, public transit might involve the use of horses and E.J. Lennox was the resident star-chitect.
Here's what it all looked like.
1890
Confederation Life Building
Jarvis Collegiate
Knox College
University College, U of T post fire
Victoria Row
Yonge North of Queen
1891
Horticultural Gardens
Single track, double deck car
Snow sweeper
1892
E. J. Lennox
Gooderham House (now York Club)
Laying tracks for electric cars
1893
Old Union Station
Toronto Railway Company (a predecessor to the TTC)
1894
The Esplanade
Map of the city
1895
Queen's Park
Toronto Bay
Toronto City Hall (early in the decade)
Yonge Street
1896
Gooderham and Worts (Distillery District)
Metropolitan Methodist Church
Queen approaching Dufferin
Single Truck car at Broadview and Danforth
University Avenue
1897
College Street
Looking south from Queen's Park
Yonge Street
1898
North Parkdale CPR Station
Proposal for Victoria Square
1899
Cyclist passing City Hall
Don Jail
Knox College
by Staff via blogTO
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