We are deep into the Holiday season right now and now that I’m not stuck in bed with the cold, I can finish my shopping and get some presents wrapped (thank goodness, I was so far behind).
For today’s post I wanted to share with my readers images of what the Christmas season looked like in Toronto in years gone by, particularly 1960s and older.
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Vintage Images Of Toronto Christmas Seasons
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Christmas Fleet 1956 outside of the CNE Prince’s Gates.
![1950s Vintage Photo: T.T.C. Christmas Fleet, G.M.C. TDH 4512 buses and 1 Can-Car trolley coach. Photo taken at C.N.E. Prince's Gates, [Toronto, Ont.] Dec. 16, 1956.](https://www.vintageinn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/a054112-v8.jpg)
The hustle and bustle of the season at shopping malls is not just a modern-day issue. This image from downtown Toronto in 1935 shows you the traffic jams that have been going on for days leading up to Christmas.
1920s St. Lawrence Market building all decked out for Christmas.
City Hall Christmas Tree in the 1950s (now called ‘Old City Hall’). Residents of Toronto will notice the ‘Eaton store’ in the background. This is now a mall called ‘Toronto Eaton Center’ but no longer holds an Eaton store.
Christmas light tour circa 1950s.
Toronto annual Santa Claus Parade (see Blog post HERE).
December 23rd, 1930-Childrens Christmas Party via the Lions Club. Can someone explain why there are kids dressed as clowns in the crowd?
Further Reading: Vintage Photos of Christmas Parties
Snapshot of what was under the Christmas Tree at Miss Marjorie Lang’s home in 1930s Toronto.
Christmas windows at one of the big department stores in Toronto (either Simpsons, or Eatons. I believe Simpsons).
Christmas Carols for everyone! Wanting to make sure that everyone remembered their carols, the Toronto Telegram inserted the below leaflet into their paper for their readers to have (circa 1960s).
Santa’s helpers are everywhere, like on airplanes (Trans Canada Airlines to be exact) taking the first consignment airmail from Toronto to Winnipeg in 1939.
Family in Toronto unwrapping their Christmas presents in 1953 (notice the vintage Archies and Krazy Kat comics? ohhh want!).
And there you have a snapshot into what Toronto looked like during Christmas of times gone by. I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into another view of the city I live in.
Further Reading:
Liz 🙂
Love love love–even though the window dolls were creepy. 🙂
Vintage dolls are creepy..period. lol!
What a fun, wonderful holiday season post. It’s always such an informative blast to see what has – and hasn’t – changed much on Toronto’s sprawling urban landscape over the decades. How great is that Christmas window display? What vintage lover wouldn’t enjoy waking up to those same items these days, too?
Happiest Christmas countdown wishes!
♥ Jessica
It is fun to see the differences, I fully agree 🙂 I love that the Bay still has their windows today..woohoo!!
Liz 🙂
love all of these
thanks!!
Enjoyed these old photos! I like the look of the women’s costumes in the snowman parade and the outfits of the women in the queue for the Christmas lights tour.
I love all their outfits too! That is what really drew me to the pics. Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Liz
The market photo isn’t “the North York Market”. It’s the old North Market building of the St. Lawrence Market, which is in downtown Toronto, on the northwest corner of Front Street East, at Jarvis. That North building was the second one on that site. The North building is where the Saturday Farmers’ Market and Sunday Antuques Market took place.
That old building was demolished in the 1960s, and replaced by a squat, fugly, Brutalist, concrete box of a building, as a 1967 Centennial Project. At the time, it was intended to be a “temporary” North Market building.
That “temporary” eyesore lasted nearly 50 years. The demolition/archaelogy process began 2 years ago, and only recently finished. Until the newest North building (multi-storey, and with courtrooms) is built, the Saturday and Sunday Markets are in a large, metal-framed tent, directly south of the South building.
Hi there. Thank you for the info, I got that from the Toronto archives so I guess it might of been a typo. I have deleted the mistake.
Loved the photos and memories but a small correction. The gates of the CNE on Bathurst are the Prince’s gates not Princess.
My apologies. That is a typo on my end.
Liz