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Rare Maps of Toronto

thecharioteer

thecharioteer

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As many of you know, I love old maps, and we've all seen various editions of the Goad Fire Insurance Maps. The Toronto Public Library has recently revamped their website and have posted high-res versions of maps from their extensive collection.

Here are a few:

1792:

maps-r-34-4.jpg


1797:

maps-r-128-1.jpg


1802:

maps-r-133-1.jpg


1802: An elegant survey of the property known as Berkeley House, now part of 333 King Street East:

maps-r-142-2.jpg


1810, the Don River:

maps-r-7-1.jpg


1815:

maps-r-44-1.jpg


1816:

maps-r-149-1.jpg


1833: A different way of looking at the City:

maps-r-14-1.jpg


1848:

maps-r-11.jpg


1852: Early version of Harbourfront:

maps-r-119-1-1.jpg


1853: Proposal for "undergrounding" the railroads:

maps-r-61-1.jpg


1854: Plan of subdivision for the Allan estate:

maps-r-144-1.jpg


1855: Plan of subdivision for part of the Denison estate:

maps-r-104-2.jpg


1877: Plan of Yorkville:

maps-r-150-1.jpg


1880: Plan of the location for the new Provincial Parliament:

maps-r-3-1.jpg
 
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What a great find. My only problem is trying to wrap my brain around the thought that the parliament building's were not there at some point in time.

maps-r-3-1.jpg
 
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In some ways, the maps revolve around dreams, dreams of the city as it could be but ultimately the dream of real estate.....subdivisions and real estate....has anything changed?

1853:

maps-r-107.jpg


1884:

maps-r-74-1.jpg


1887:

maps-r-148.jpg


1910:

maps-r-25.jpg


1913:

ohq-maps-s-r-96.jpg
 
Funny how the Belt Line (or at least, connected land trusts) still seemed to be a real estate factor by 1910--as well as how ambitiously garden-suburbish Cedarvale's original scheme was (hey, Dunington-Grubb must have had pretensions of being a Canuckistani Raymond Unwin)
 
Puts my collection of Toronto maps to shame. My favourite is rather recent. A gas station map that contains the outlines of the proposed Spadina and Crosstown highways.
 
Great comparisons, Brewster!

In the beginning, the ur map of Toronto, 1788:

74b56e9d.jpg


Followed by the iconic (and more realistic) map of 1793 showing the original 10 square blocks in the Town of York:

cfef96aa.jpg


1814:

2052e725.jpg



The Phillpotts map of 1818:

54003474.jpg


Water-lots, 1837. Note that the straight line along the waterfront was related to the windmill at Gooderham and Worts:

87bbfe7a.jpg


Lots for sale in the west end 1834 (another upside-down map):

c9c8ec3b.jpg


1837:

0d845dbd.jpg


The Garrison 1850:

0893f930.jpg
 
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Map by Sir Sandford Fleming, 1851:

e1e8125a.jpg


Boulton map, 1858:

0d37cf41.jpg


1860:

9272f1d7.jpg


1884:

bf9afb72.jpg


1889 (dreams for the Portlands):

ab8fa82a.jpg


1910, further dreams, proposed by the Board of Trade:

maps-r-80.jpg
 
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Charioteer said (about 1837 map above) : "Water-lots, 1837. Note that the straight line along the waterfront was related to the windmill at Gooderham and Worts" The Windmill Line Co-op on Scadding Avenue (The Esplanade at Berkeley/Parliament) is just about on this line, which is still used in descriptions of land in this part of the City. Their website is http://www.windmill-line.coop/
 
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