Rare Maps of Toronto

[thecharioteer]

Infrastructure 1858:

 

[thecharioteer]

Estates:

Maryville Lodge (NE corner of King and Ontario) 1802:

http://www.townofyork.com/model/legend46.html


Rusholme (NW of Dundas and Dovercourt) 1862:

http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/Rusholme.htm


Terauley Cottage (site of Holy Trinity Church, NW of Yonge and Queen) 1845:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Simcoe_Macaulay

 

[W. K. Lis]

Speaking of Sunnyside, an interesting map from 1894:

1913 (wonder about the "Rolling Mill" at Indian Road and Lakeshore; gone by 1924):

1924:

Used in conjunction with other source maps (see this link for transit maps), we can see how some routes following the roads they took. In this map, it show a premium fare route that followed Indian Road to downtown since Indian Road was able to be used to get to the Lake Shore.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

This is one I happened across some years ago, from 1894. Not sure how rare it is though.

 

[thecharioteer]

It is a beauty though, bleeepbluuup! Here's one from 1889 that has a rather fanciful version of the waterfront:

 

[ShonTron]

Re: the Belt Line

1890:

Note the Humber Loop Line, which ran from Swansea to West Toronto via Baby Point, shut down by the 1900s. It was part of the same scheme as the Belt Line, a way to make money off subdividing property by building railways to serve them.

The western Belt Line/Humber Loop Line didn't fare even as well as the more well-known Belt Line, of which most survived as an industrial spur until the 1960s (slowly being cut back until vanishing in the late 1990s) and the Don Valley portion used for the Canadian Northern's mainline into Toronto (now CN/GO Richmond Hill), the only remaining part of the line constructed as the Belt Line.

A small part of the western route remained as an industrial spur, crossing the Queensway and tracks up until the 1960s at grade, and part of it resurrected for a decade as the bypass for the Toronto Suburban Guelph electric interurban until 1931.

 

[ShonTron]

That's exactly what it has to do with. The Park Lot system of land grants under Lt.-Gov. Simcoe resulted in only one continuous east-west street (Queen Street, formerly Lot Street) and major north-south streets, laid out too infrequently and with no respect to topography (as can be seen in the 1793 map below, the first north-south artery laid-out east of Yonge was right on the Don River, which became Bayview further north):

...

As can be seen on some of the maps previously posted, each grantee (Denison, Allan, Jarvis) subsequently subdivided his land according to his own designs.

Which is why the city went about the process of connecting all those subdivided streets to make proper east-west arterials once streetcars and auto traffic necessitated it. Dundas used to be 5 streets between Ossington and Yonge, even more to the east. Duke and Duchess were merged into Adelaide and Richmond at Jarvis, Syndenham with Shuter, though Eaton's was mostly responsible for allowing Carlton and College to be connected.

The legacy of the Park Lot system can be a drag for navigating the city on a bike (if wishing to avoid busy traffic) or on foot (disjointed, some long blocks), but it did give us many potentially interesting jogs.

 

[thecharioteer]

Civic improvements 1908. Proposed diagonal streets and new parks:

Some details:

 

[thecharioteer]

1891: A beautifully drawn map from The Mail newspaper:

 

[thecharioteer]

Two maps from 1878:

 

[thecharioteer]

A 1932 geological map (The original file is 15 MB and is best seen on the U of T website below as the detail is quite amazing):

http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/dvhmp/Scans/G_3501_C5_1891_41G.jpg

Also from U of T, a map from 1913:

http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/dvhmp/Scans/G_3501_C5_1891_22g.jpg

 

[W. K. Lis]

A lot of airports are shown in the above first map.

 

[thecharioteer]

A lot of airports are shown in the above first map.

All centred around Downsview, as well.

 

[Goldie]

A 1932 geological map (The original file is 15 MB and is best seen on the U of T website below as the detail is quite amazing):

http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/dvhmp/Scans/G_3501_C5_1891_41G.jpg

This is a wonderful map and, fortunately, contains evidence of the abandoned RR line that I have been interested in for many years.
Long ago, I discovered an abandoned right-of-way that ran through Scarborough and was visible on Ellesmere.
On this detail of the map, I have circled the spot where the CNoR line once crossed Ellesmere Rd.
The "Then & Now" photos shows how part of the abandoned RR was finally used for housing.

 

[brewster]

This is a wonderful map and, fortunately, contains evidence of the abandoned RR line that I have been interested in for many years.
Long ago, I discovered an abandoned right-of-way that ran through Scarborough and was visible on Ellesmere.
On this detail of the map, I have circled the spot where the CNoR line once crossed Ellesmere Rd.
The "Then & Now" photos shows how part of the abandoned RR was finally used for housing.

Interesting Goldie. Where this railway crosses a river in Thompson Park should be worth a look to see if there is any evidence of a bridge.