Toronto & Niagara Falls in 1954(HD)

Toronto & Niagara Falls in 1954
credit: Eaton's Canada/Archives of Ontario
www.oldtorontoseries.com

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

“...complete subway service for Toronto...” - nearly seventy years on, we’re still waiting...

[@imannonymous7707]

It was then the city has grown . Beyond Scarborough town centre to the north was mostly farms. And there was no train there

[@Peacewind152]

Mind blown by how tiny the 401 and 400 were at this point. Wow.

[@arananation]

imagine it being that small now. The city would crash!

[@brentjacks1412]

I can't believe what pristine condition this footage is in. I find these fascinating. Thank you!

[@OldTorontoSeries]

We will be posting new "old" footage every few days. Make sure to subscribe!

[@brentjacks1412]

@@OldTorontoSeries Subscribed. Looking forward to the "new" footage. Thanks again.

[@banlin5458]

你們捐款了

[@banlin5458]

一样

[@banlin5458]

多谢

[@jacobrocks7]

This was well before my time but it seems so relaxed compared to today ...no smartphones and internet social media..how wonderful

[@imannonymous7707]

It was before a lot of things. And people were quite happy

[@rowbom]

Makes me sad to see how beautiful and rural Niagara area used to be. Will never be that way again

[@DragonActual]

I hope there's footage lying around of what malls used to look like. I miss those water fountains

[@JIFILMS]

This is a masterpiece! Love the film score. It conjures up images of old Disney movies from that era. There’s nothing like these beautiful archival documentaries shot on film. The irony is that the Toronto housing demand of 1954 is exactly the same in 2022. Traffic and congestion never ending. The rapid expansion is still expanding 68 years later to no end.

[@boratb258]

Two people out of high school working in a factory could buy a house back then, my grandparents were two factory workers who saved their money and bought a house. Today you need a minimum of 200K a year of household income. Middle class is now minimum 70K a year.

[@imannonymous7707]

@@boratb258 my grandmother paid 11000 dollars for a semi detached in 61....she put a thousand dollars down on it. It's in the beaches, it's still there. It's a lot more now lol

[@auntiedough2488]

My parents arrived in Canada during this period. They met at a dance at the Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel in the mid 50s. Fascinating to see what it looked like when they arrived.

[@Viggypop571]

So nice and clean.

[@vassa1972]

Wow I was born at Toronto East general hospital in July 1972

[@niemi5858]

I was 4 years old living in Toronto when this was filmed. Where did the years go! They must be piling up somewhere.

[@maz1702]

@@MannL0VE good question I'm also curious to know

[@unknownninja4430]

they're piling up at the 401 today

[@KJB484]

Love the cars driving on the 401!

[@imannonymous7707]

Yea me too , they were simpler times, as they say and they dont build cars that well anymore

[@lrmguitars1224]

Ya and there actually moving

[@Armlesscrayon]

I grew up in the green belt outside of Stoney Creek/Binbrook. This is how I remember Toronto and Niagara as a child in the 60’s..

[@imannonymous7707]

This is Toronto the way my grandparents told me of..the place my father grew up and the way I wish it was still. ..progress isn't always a good thing

[@JustFluffyQuiltingYarnCrafts]

Wonderful video! Thanks for sharing. ❤

[@alien_may_in_Canada]

Thank you for sharing your video!

[@DeathWish1974]

So clean and soooooo white

[@RC-Flight]

Wow can’t believe how open the area of the 400 Hwy at the old Easton’s warehouse. That’s Finch Avenue and 400 w8th open farm land, sure has changed. I remember going too the discounted sales at that very Easton’s warehouse with my mother as A kid in the 60s and 70s

[@alien_may_in_Canada]

Same here!

[@imannonymous7707]

If i recall correctly i believe eventually they had a similar store that liquidated at warden and eglinton. But it was much smaller and later going into the early 90s i believe. I miss eatons, that was a sad day they closed their doors

[@bskinny9009]

I grew up right behind the Eatons west of the 400. My house wasn't built yet in '54.

[@hhefner9659]

Did you attend St. Judes CS and St.Basil's HS?

[@jango1970]

I remember shopping at an outlet store (Eaton's or Sears) at Weston Rd and Sheppard Ave West (south side).

[@playbimbo]

@@jango1970 Eaton's Warehouse, it was located on Sheppard and Arrow Rd.

[@bskinny9009]

@@hhefner9659 Yes, I went to both schools.

[@fringeminority3224]

Wish we could go back to this time. Much simpler 😪

[@David-hi1ej]

Segregation was still a thing back then

[@lawrencelewis2592]

I first came to Toronto in 1989 and rode those red subways.

[@glen6945]

they were called the red rockets

[@pumpkinpie896]

@@glen6945 no ttc back then ?

[@johnmcgahern3946]

@@pumpkinpie896 Red Rocket was slang for the subway trains, it was still known as the TTC - Take The Car

[@jango1970]

wonderful. At 0:31, "looking up ... [University Ave] at Queen's Park [College St and University Ave]", I saw a castle-like building on the right. It seems to be located on east side of University Ave, north of Dundas St. It has towers at each corner, like a castle or cathedral. I think it is the old armouries which was at 361 University Ave, near Armoury St. That is the adress of the former "University Ave Armouries" or "Toronto Armouries" built in 1894. It was destroyed in 1963. A courthouse building is there now. Osgoode Hall (courthouse) is just south of it.

[@imannonymous7707]

Didn't know that... cool I know osgoode hall. Yes I see it. Cool

[@bunbee2023]

Correct…..and you can even see SickKids hospital just down University Avenue….amazing!!

[@stemp2004]

I recognized quite a lot. & Wow So many Union Jacks. Very British 😮 very cool!Casa Lomaa irecognizess, queens park and down at the harbour front etc. So was the Hydro was partly why the growth was so much??

[@magicworldbyjorg]

..a cool video keep up the great content.. Thank you…

[@SM-fj4kz]

Seeing the CNE was the most exciting part

[@stewartgillis4851]

It was such a beautiful city.

[@hhefner9659]

was

[@stewartgillis4851]

@@hhefner9659 yep.

[@generalgrant3189]

2nd that - WAS

[@imannonymous7707]

Ya

[@ingridwootton-mota231]

You are right.....WAS....a nice place....not anymore

[@dylanb2142]

that eatons building is where my house now stands off sheppard ave west near weston rd...how times have changed so drastically.

[@hhefner9659]

No, that is still industrial/warehouse, you might be think where Woolco was located.

[@Laughandsong]

I am born in what used to be the biggest city in Canada and so glad I moved to what used to be the second city 28 years ago.

[@stepheng3667]

Must of felt good to get away from the peppers?

[@northmorgan5797]

Those apartme that we all see that look so old was SOOO pristine for them at that time

[@randomrazr]

a more civilized time

[@thegoldendog7991]

As a kid I recall many peach tree groves in Niagara Falls. Most of them now have been replaced with vineyards. It’s fine of course because I drink more wine than I consume any peach related foods lol.

[@remiguillette109]

Thank you ❤

[@faithedem1900]

Awesome video! The music tho 👌

[@lolli2943]

This is the year my mum was born. Very cool :)

[@devas1993]

Beautiful

[@peterjeffery8495]

It was a treat to see all 4 lanes of the mighty 401 circa 1954. I'd love to know exactly where that piece was filmed. They tell us that in 1954 TO was Canada's 2nd biggest city, so in what year did Toronto overtake Montreal as the biggest city in the country? This seems like a cozy group of Torontobergers, anybody know the answer?

[@AgathaLOutahere]

And I have read that today the 401 thru the GTA is the busiest freeway in N. America.

[@user-wn5th8nt9f]

AWESOME!!!! Love Niagara Falls back in the 60's and 70's...but I love looking at old footage like this. If you want to see more of Niagara Falls, may I recommend the movie NIAGARA starring Marilyn Monroe. Simpler times

[@kevinolesik1500]

68 years ago

[@Shamsithaca]

Looks like a warm and often sultry hot city.

[@rowbom]

Is this all filmed in 1954, of is some of it in the sixties. Some of the buildings look too modern to be the fifties

[@AgathaLOutahere]

Why does downtown Toronto still have the same streetlight fixtures after so many decades?

[@datturaokulkarni6604]

Right.

[@SophisticatedAss]

Love all these but it also reminds us how outdated our infrastructure is and desperately need more investment into things like subway and streetcars

[@paulbadics3500]

When U of T was about "research & learning" & there was a focus on "industry" as opposed to just "services"

[@LeRoi715]

Today VIA announced train from Ottawa starts at 4:19 and arrive in Toronto at 8:47 M-F; how about the train from Toronto to Ottawa for us w/out the car,eh? or Montreal/Quebec City?Thank you VIA! Cheers to that. How abut showing us the history of our TRAINS including VIA?

[@georgejetson1025]

Do history of Barrie pls

[@sda9995]

My grandpa was 37 in 1954

[@privateconfidential4775]

2022: Hasn’t Changed or Improved At All!!!Colgged and Congested Now

[@karlq9133]

真好啊，50年代我们还在大跃进

[@FishNChips90]

Correct me if I’m wrong but the narrator sounds like Knowlton Nash

[@mitchbarredo3990]

Now look at it.

[@karinakim5706]

Idk why the old footages make me depressed like shit 😕

[@SVMatt]

cool

[@ranyranyranyrany3974]

We have the same subway. What is wrong with this place now in 2022?

[@generalgrant3189]

LOTS

[@mikedrown2721]

👍👌👏😊❤️🇺🇸

[@glen6945]

ace

[@rapperintheend-time1867]

This was the violent-free city.

[@clauderain4888]

The 401! Zero traffic and cars going 60km/hr

[@Armlesscrayon]

60 “miles” per hour back then. 🙂

[@matthewsemenuk8953]

"modern plants and buildings" lul 1954 .. whats an Eatons?

[@arananation]

0:15 cheap hydro power 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@genrevz]

Cheap hyrdo power. Ohh good old days.

[@silveryrealm]

did he say 2nd largest? like whattttt? lol

[@GpL_2000]

Montreal was bigger at the time, the city of Toronto was just the downtown potion of what is modern Toronto. The city expanded in size and population to become a mega city in 1998. The amalgamation of Old Toronto (Downtown), Etobicoke, Scarborough, East York, North York and York.

[@PhamVans]

Back when people were more creative with their time and money rather than just building condos.....

[@suprabrajbhandari548]

80 years later and still not a good subway

[@GpL_2000]

Someone needs to refresh on their rudimentary math skills.

[@generalgrant3189]

Even in 1954 - idiots driving the 4 lane highways too close to the vehicle in front.

[@Argonaut121]

The year I was born, in Toronto. Have lived here ever since. The changes in the city from then to now are astonishing. It was such a boring place back then, and so interesting now.

[@hhefner9659]

lots of white people and everyone was happy got along.

[@rogerthomson9461]

Yes interesting drive by shootings . Real improvement. Remember when you were a kid and people left the keys in their car when they went shopping?

[@meerkat1954]

Interesting = drugs and gang warfare?

[@BrianShaneRushton]

To the people reading this and longing for the past, maybe the present isn't so great for you right now but looking at the past with rose colored glasses isn't the answer. This comment section is full of people romanticizing the past. The truth is the past was just another day like today, people still had problems, the world was still chaotic, there was uncertainty about the future and concerns about health and money just like today. If you could talk to people in those days it wouldn't be hard to find people like you who miss their version of "the good old days". Yes, this is obvious, but clearly needs to be pointed out

[@thegoldendog7991]

Why does it need to be pointed out as you say? If people find comfort remembering their past so be it. I recall fondly my childhood with my now deceased parents and sister. Things were better then in some ways. Yes, problems existed. Race relations, war, etc. There’s no such thing as the perfect time, but I can tell you that where I lived, life was more simple. Even as a young adult many years ago working, buying my first home, starting a family and just living was easier. Easy? No. Easier? Yes. Identity theft wasn’t a thing like now. You weren’t bound by security and privacy agreements. Internet bullying didn’t exist. Ask parents who have lost kids to suicide if this is important. I could go on and on. This isn’t rose coloured glasses talking. This is clear recollection. I don’t long for the past. What would be the point, but my past was good, so excuse me if I like to recall it fondly.

[@gnomeyg959]

I agree.. it was not that great back then. Europe was still rebuilding from the slaughter of WW2, kids had nuclear attack drills in schools and women weren't allowed to open a bank account. If your husband raped and maimed you in a drunken rage you had zero options but to take it. Gay men were "criminal sexual psychopaths" and measles still killed hundreds of Canadians each year. No birth control, no treatment for cancer, half the diseases hadn't even been identified yet. Complain too much? Institutionalized and lobotomized. I'll take today's problems over all that any day. Oh, and don't even get me started on the racism and residential schools.

[@leinad5243]

Pre Trudeau era

[@adamsolomon7877]

No minorities back then. Oh how I wish we could go back to those days

[@Philvalentine7]

It’s not really minority anymore when we are the majority. get used to it.

[@gkb9088]

Before Toronto became a shitte-hole.!

[@RusskiCommieBot]

Beautiful footage before the tyrants took over Canada. May God make their land free again. #BankRunCanada #BankRunWorld

[@timyumichuck9262]

One of the ugliest cities even then

[@superpaul2099]

if they only knew what a shit show it would become!

[@Diabolik3]

Yo man it's Toron'o not Toronto man...