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Tag: toronto

Vintage Photos of Toronto’s Meetings, Committees & Clubs

Today’s Vintage Photo Tuesday is focusing on Toronto Life in the 1940’s & 1950’s, specifically the meetings, committees and clubs that gathered there.

Let’s begin!

Vintage Photos of Toronto Meetings, Committees & Clubs

1940s & 1950s

Tall men in front of the bar, short men behind it. 1956 National Cash Register Rod & Gun tour of O’Keefe’s Pub, Toronto.

1950s vintage photo of the National Cash Register Rod & Gun Club tour of O'Keefe's [Pub] in 1956.
Source: Toronto Archives

Russell Spanner (centre) & Friends at Club Norman around 1951. Russell was a 1950’s Space Age Furniture designer in Toronto. Stay tuned on a future post all about his designs.

1950s vintage photo of Russell Spanner (centre) and friends at the Club Norman. Fantastic 1950s hats on our ladies at the table.
Source: Toronto Archives

Toronto Symphony Women’s Committee ca 1945.

1940s vintage photo of the Toronto Symphony Women's Committee Group Photo in 1945
Source: Toronto Archives

Walsh Advertising-1950’s Creative Art Meeting for what appears to be for a car.

1950s vintage photo consists of two photographs showing a group of men and a woman looking over brochure designs of cars.
Source: Toronto Archives

Vickers & Benson Advertising conducting a meeting at the Club One Two in the 1950’s (maybe about their competition above??).

1950's Toronto Advertising Meeting at Club One Two. 1950s Vintage Photo
Source: Toronto Archives

Another advertising meeting but this time at the famous O’Keefe’s Pub (this pub was clearly popular in the 1950’s with the working set). What do you think is happening in this photo? Did Esther’s work get chosen?

1950's Vintage Photo of an advertising launch at Toronto O'Keefe's Pub. Image features super 1950s fashions.
Source: Toronto Archives

1956- a reception for the Canadian Olympic Team and members of the Canadian Olympic Association in the office of City of Toronto Mayor Nathan Phillips.

1950s vintage photo of a reception for the Canadian Olympic Team and members of the Canadian Olympic Association in the office of City of Toronto Mayor Nathan Phillips in 1956.
Source: Toronto Archives

Go Meteor Now! 1956 Meeting at the Historical Royal York Hotel for Ford’s the “Meteor” automobile.

Further Reading: Vintage Glamour-The Historic Royal York Hotel, Toronto Canada

1950s vintage photo of a 1950s meeting at Royal York Hotel for the launch of Fords Meteor Car Vintage Photo
Source: Toronto Archives

Shell sales meeting at the King Edward Hotel-1950’s. Complete with a showgirl handing out gifts and drunken sing-a-longs.

1950's Shell Sales Meeting at the King Edward Hotel with girl in showgirl outfit. 1950s Vintage Photo
Source: Toronto Archives
1950's Shell Sales Meeting at the King Edward Hotel. 1950s vintage photo of a hotel room party.
Source: Toronto Archives

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Vintage Photo Tuesday! Share your favourite photo in the comments section below.

Further Reading:

Liz

Happy Birthday Toronto! Souvenirs of Toronto’s Past

Vintage Toronto: 1960s Original Air Canada Toronto Travel Poster

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.

Vintage Toronto: Royal Alexandra theatre toronto vintage program 1929
Source: Etsy

Inside of the Royal Alex program.

Vintage Toronto: Royal Alexandra theatre toronto vintage program 1929 inside page
Source: Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: 1920s Vintage Photo: Soldiers at Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Canada, which is showing the British film Balaclava (1928) after it was reissued as a talkie
Source: Wikimedia

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.

Vintage Toronto: 1930s vintage postcard for Toronto, Canada.
Via Etsy

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 Toronto: Vintage Original 1920s Felt Pennant Sewn Letters for St. Hilda's College, University of Toronto
Via Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: Vintage 1950s ladies wool school blazer jacket from Northern Secondary School in Toronto

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).

Vintage Toronto: 1930s Willards Chocolates Box Vintage Toronto History
Via Etsy

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.

Vintage Toronto:  Vintage 1930s Novelty Popcorn & Salted Peanuts Glassine Bags - Toronto Made, Used at Maple Leaf Stadium
Source Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: Toronto Maple Leafs baseball 1950s vintage image
Source: Pinterest

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).

Vintage Toronto: 1940s Vintage Magazine Cover: Vintage (March 17, 1945) RARE! The Star Weekly | Toronto Star magazine WWII-era issue. Cover of a female soldier.
March 17th, 1945. Source: Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: TTC 1940s Vintage Ticket - Instant Collection- Toronto Transit
Source: Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: Eaton's guide to Toronto in the 1950s. The 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.
Source: Etsy

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.

Vintage Toronto: 1953 Metropolitan Toronto Vintage Visitor's Guide
Source: Etsy

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

Vintage Toronto: Canadian National Exhibition 1950s vintage scarf
Source: Etsy

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:

Liz 🙂