Street Scenes of Toronto: 1917, 1930-1935

Original Footage from the Toronto Archives. Fonds 16, Series 238, Item 14. Features Class BB, and Peter WITT streetcars. Special thanks to the TTC.

[@EmilyTienne]

Never would have thought Toronto’s congestion was so horrible a century ago. Fascinating footage.

[@rickclegg785]

Well it's nice to see they put up with the same kinda traffic issues as we have today lol some things will never change LOL...I still love you TORONTO 🇨🇦

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

Ikr! That makes me laugh.

[@ameliawilder4503]

Well... There were no such things as traffic lights, pedestrian walkways etc. Back then they didn't know. There were little to no traffic laws. Not even sure you needed to get a license at one point in the early development of being a car owner. They were the first generation to experience the world of automobiles. Today people are just impatient and stupid. They know the rules of the roads but choose to not follow them, and drive like they own the streets. And many people drive like that and that is why the traffic is so terrible. That and the slower than a snail's pace construction.

[@GoobNoob]

Nice to see the traffic is as aggressive as always

[@tomkat5626]

It's a miracle Toronto survived this era before the subway came along.

[@johnb9187]

imagine having the ability to go back in time, at will, to any street corner during that era.

[@WestboundPromo416]

that would be amazing i always think of that when i see footage like this

[@mtlicq]

buy a house with $3000

[@dx398]

I would pick up so many chicks with my 2020 wit...

[@karagi101]

@@dx398 You’d be arrested within the first half hour.

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

@@karagi101 Why? How so?

[@trevorgwelch7412]

Lots of free riders on TTC . Same as today -2023 😊

[@canman5060]

Absolute zero safety standard for public transportation in those days.

[@mtlicq]

5:10 Red light runner existed even before traffic lights were installed! That traffic cop's job was really tough doing that all day, OMG! and in Toronto weather... minus 20° anyone?

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

Minus 20? What are you talking about?

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

Minus 20? To my recollection, it never got quite that cold in T.O..

[@mtlicq]

@@eyecomeinpeace2707 EweLeaveInPeace too :)

[@MH-YouTube-Controlled]

I love seeing horses on the streets. My grandfather and aunts kept horses in Toronto. My great-grandfather drove a horse drawn streetcar until electrification in 1894. (My great-grandfather kept his horse at home, they'd go out and back along Queen Street, then home again. One trip a day, every day.)

[@poijupoij]

It looks exactly the same. With older cars.

[@AmareshAsmara]

They should have little screens inside the subways that show this type of footage 😍 so you can watch this while you ride the train

[@96Duelfuel]

This should be forwarded on to the City of Toronto, the TTC and today’s 21st century commuter

[@WestboundPromo416]

i wonder if the person who filmed this knew how important this footage would be

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Westbound Promo - What a singular thought; you’re a born historian.

[@WestboundPromo416]

@@dorianphilotheates3769 goofs like u always reply with a stupid comment like holay go comment on something else

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Amazing footage.

[@harleykaruliscreativity7467]

rush hour is rush hour in every single decade, great video

[@RPRIMICI]

Talk about 'reach out and touch someone' in those 1917 streetcars. I thought riding on the College streetcar in the 1990s was bad/crowded. At least nobody was dangling on the outside.

[@ErbieCouture]

just amazing!!! good OL TORONTO

[@3sunsystem]

Nothing has changed much

[@andrewdupuis1151]

wow its so deterrent back then I was in Toronto in 1990 to see my real dad I stayed there for few months

[@danzig159]

Do you actually know what the word "deterrent" means?

[@Nijat14]

The chaos is even worse now with all the construction

[@revelationthe7sealsarecrac981]

And just imagine Al Capone might have been in one of those cars

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

Was wondering the same-lol!!

[@jaysilva5854]

Man the director of traffic back in that time must have been exhausted gotta be on high alert for long hours.

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

I noticed people riding on the tram without paying lol.

[@datturaokulkarni6604]

Golden days.

[@glen6945]

DAMN 105 YEARS AGO

[@revelationthe7sealsarecrac981]

wow thats crazy no traffic lights.

[@tarasyonka6462]

If you didn't get on the streetcar it was no big deal.

[@purpl3grape]

"Those pesky jaywalkers"

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

I keep expecting to see Captain Kirk and Edith Keeler walking arm in arm down the avenue in the 1930's clips.

[@tdunph4250]

Good one! lol

[@shr3ddur]

no street lights

[@orangewedges]

You can see a traffic cop guiding vehicles through the intersections.

[@glen6945]

oooohhhhyes

[@glen6945]

OHHHYES

[@day1971]

Since that day people trying to pass the streetcars

[@thefreedomlass]

The true Toronto before all that ugly steel and glass.

[@karagi101]

You’re kidding? Right? It was a chaotic, muddy, smog filled mess back then.

[@plunkervillerr1529]

Howdy neighbor ! I`m from the future .NO! I`m not crazy ,what I have to say you won`t want to hear .

[@dsutton777]

No OG sausage vendors 😲???

[@morry1940]

I was born in Toronto on the 22nd of May, 1040.

[@Conquerer13]

I'm going to call your bluff on that one.

[@Dirtbike1234]

1040 or 1940?

[@yonathanasefaw9001]

What?

[@ED80s]

So, your the undead? Lol. Nice typo 🤣

[@glen6945]

AND NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS

[@TubeYouGuru]

When streetcars made sense. They still think they make sense today. They're wrong.

[@randomrazr]

one street car replaces 4+ buses. u want 4 + buses on the already congested streets?

[@TubeYouGuru]

One street car does not replace 4 buses. Wherever you got that stat from is also wrong.

[@randomrazr]

globe and mail. have u not seen the size of the new bonbbardi (i dunno how to spel l it) street cars that toronto is now implementing? more people onto one street car. unless u want to add more buses to the roads and pu more fumes in the air cause of them too. not sure your hate on street cars

[@TubeYouGuru]

I actually work in the traffics department for the city of Toronto. You're referring to Bombardier, which lets not get started with that company that has been nothing but problems from the start. Failed deliveries, faulty product etc etc. Buses can be just as long as street cars (Articulated buses). Street cars have a large amount of problem which aren't always evident. Not only do they require immense amounts of infrastructure (which Toronto streets can't really accommodate and also has a terribly negative effect on surrounding residents and businesses) but they are incredibly expensive. They are also a nightmare in the winter, with tracks cracking, components not working, and the power lines that run them, freezing up causing them to shut down. Granted, they are cleaner, but newer bus emissions are actually quite low. Street cars are actually quite noisy as well, especially with the state of some of the tracks, most people that live around them can attest to the screeching metal or clunking across the tracks. They merely provide a trendy aesthetic to the city and that's about it, but not without a huge cost to everything else. There are a ton of other variables as well, but I feel I've stated enough. The rest of the facts can be sought after yourself, if you care.

[@randomrazr]

waterloo and kitchener implemented a new LRT . whats ur thoughts on them?

[@wolfpak8228]

Toronto is beautiful but the weather

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

Summers too hot, the winters too cold.

[@jayleblanc3598]

1:40 the first ever case of ADHD.....the kid is running in circles LOL

[@TheTimeRocket]

No fat people.

[@timrs2001]

Holy crap you're right. Where are they??

[@northlander4370]

they ride for free ?

[@SnoopyDoofie]

I see dead people.

[@mtlicq]

we are all the same

[@canman5060]

You will call this a third world city by today's standard !

[@bastymanguy]

The lame city hall in Toronto better not have narrowed any of these streets for the sake of building new office towers or condominiums. But I’m sure the scum have

[@frankdiscussion2069]

the time before Toronto became a steaming cauldron of human waste

[@glen6945]

some truth

[@glen6945]

1932---just think all those people are in beer heavean-lol

[@glen6945]

wheres trumps dads car oh wait a minute he was 14 years old lol

[@glen6945]

1917 ww1 is over