Looking east along Bloor St W towards Perth Ave in the Junction Triangle neighbourhood of Toronto.
The archive photo shows cars, including a Chrysler Six in the right foreground, as well as a horse-drawn wagon waiting for a northbound train to pass. It also shows Milne’s Coal Co. branch yard, one of seven around the city at the time. This stretch of Bloor St W, from Lansdowne Ave to Dundas St W, was notoriously dangerous for pedestrians and drivers, and it was known as the “Bloor Street Gap” or the “Half-Mile Gap”.
In 1925, to improve traffic flow and for pedestrian safety, the railway underpass was constructed, where Bloor St W dips lower to pass beneath the elevated railway bridge. This stretch of the rail line was later abandoned, and since 2009, it has been a part of the car-free multi-use trail called the West Toronto Railpath.
One consistent feature in both photos is the house in the centre-right background; its upper floor can be seen just above the locomotive in the vintage image.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Heritage Toronto: Junction Triangle Transit History
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Sep 18, 1924, pg 11
- The Toronto Daily Star Newspaper Archives: Dec 20, 1924, pg 1
- Friends of the West Toronto Railpath: History
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
