Happy Birthday Toronto! Souvenirs of Toronto’s Past

Today Toronto celebrates it’s 184 Birthday (at time of posting)! Happy Birthday!!! As many of you know my adopted hometown is Toronto and I have lived here since 1999 when I moved here for school and instantly fell in love (with the city and later with my husband). Where I live in the city, I can walk to local groceries, bars, restaurants and public transportation (that takes us to all the fun things in the city). Our little piece of paradise is perfect for our lives and it’s also a GREAT place to visit. So for today’s post I wanted to showcase some cool vintage souvenirs/items from Toronto’s past that one might of collected to remember their visit or time in the big city (p.s. the items below are all for sale at time of this post, if you wish to take a piece of Toronto history home with you).

Lets begin!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note: If the item you clicked on is no longer available, don’t fret! The websites listed are updated daily with new product. Do a search and see what other fun vintage items you might find!

When you visit Toronto, attending the theatre was/is a must! Here is a vintage program from the Royal Alexandra Theatre (still standing) stating the upcoming announcements for the week of Dec 2, 1929.

Inside of the Royal Alex program.

Soldiers at Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Canada, which is showing the British film Balaclava (1928) after it was reissued as a talkie (Source).

Postcards were once a very popular way of communicating with friends and family about the fun you were having on vacation (my husband and I still send postcards on our trips). This 1930s Toronto postcard featuring our city hall (this building still stands but is no longer our city hall), is a beautiful example of this mode of communication.

1920/1930’s Felt Pennant for St. Hilda’s College. St. Hilda’s was founded in 1888 as a women’s college & residence affiliated with the University of Trinity College. Initially St. Hilda’s students took separate pass lectures, but in 1894 all Trinity classes were opened to women. By 1904 the colleges merged with the University of Toronto and eventually would cease to be used as a building for education (Source). The building still stands today.

Vintage 1950s ladies wool school blazer jacket from Northern Secondary School in Toronto (avail as of July 20th, 2022 HERE).

Source: Etsy

Sweets for your Sweets-Signed 1930’s Willard’s Chocolates Box. Willards is a Toronto brand that opened it’s doors in 1917 (In 1954 Willard’s was purchased and their named remained till 1968).

Canadians love their hockey but we also love our Baseball and in Toronto it’s all about the Toronto Blue Jays.

The below item is a Vintage 1930s Novelty Popcorn & Salted Peanuts Glassine Bags – Toronto Made, used at Maple Leaf Stadium.

Photo of a young boy with 2 members of the 1950’s Toronto Maple Leafs (not the hockey team).

Further Reading: The (Non Hockey) History of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens-Pre 1970s

Local magazines are a great way of taking home a piece of the city or country you were in. The Star Weekly magazine was founded by J.E. Atkinson, the publisher of the Toronto Star (newspaper) and began it’s life in 1910. It was an attempt to create a Canadian counterpart to the popular British type of Sunday newspapers. Initially the Weekly was a grab-bag of features, articles by the daily paper’s reporters, advertising and pieces purchased cheaply from syndicates. Before long, however, the Weekly had comic strips, good illustrations and cartoons, and by 1920 it was lavishly using colour (Source).

Getting around the city is pretty simple (most times) because of our TTC system, the Toronto Transit Commission. We have streetcars, buses and subways to get you where you need to go and when you need to transfer onto another route, you need to take a ticket transfer. These tickets have been around for years like the vintage 1940s one seen below.

Further Reading: The “Kitschy” 1950s Toronto Subway Song

The T. Eaton Company (Once Canada’s largest department store chain) welcomes you to early 1950’s Metropolitan Toronto. The below guide was created for the American tourist to easily get around the city and point them to the direction of the Eaton’s flagship store.

Further Reading: Fashion Highlights of an Eatons Catalogue-Fall & Winter 1934-35 & Highlights of a Canadian Eaton’s Catalogue, Fall/Winter 1940-1941

One more city guide from 1953 calling Toronto, The “Queen City” (never heard this nickname before).Cover Art: Toronto skyline as seen from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

The Canadian National Exhibition is the last 2 weeks of the summer and is beloved by residents and visitors alike. It’s basically a giant fair, with rides, food building, exhibitors, shows and animals and so much more. The 1950’s souvenior scarf below is a marvelous way to remember the fun that was had.

Further Reading: See Vintage Photos from the Canadian National Exhibition

Just like how the CNE marks the end of summer, it also ends today’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed browsing souvenirs of Toronto’s past. Happy Birthday Toronto!

Lastly, if you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I like to post about cool and fun vintage history posts on my city. I have done several over the years, and if you click on the link HERE you can check them all out.

Question Time: When you travel what things do you like to bring back that will remind you of your trip? Let me know in the comments below!

FURTHER READING ON VINTAGE TORONTO:

• Vintage Toronto 1920s-1960s Archived Blog Posts

Liz 🙂