As the book title suggests, it contains 50 photos of Toronto landmarks from 1903. Here are the 20 buildings from the list that sadly no longer exist, from across Toronto and the Island.
Arlington Hotel – Corner of King and John Streets.
Built 1889, and demolished sometime shortly after 1932, now the TIFF Lightbox at 350 King Street West. (See other historic photos from King Street West here.)
Board of Trade Building – Corner of Front and Yonge Streets.
Built in 1892, and demolished 1958. Now an office building at 33 Yonge Street. (See many other downtown Toronto historic photos here.)
Broadway Tabernacle – Spadina Avenue (Methodist)
Built in 1887, demolished in 1930 and replaced with a four storey commercial building that still stands today at 1618 College Street – north east corner of College and Spadina. (For more historic photos from the area see the Chinatown (Spadina Ave) page.)
Crystal Palace – Exhibition Grounds
Built 1878, demolished 1906 after a fire. This version in the photo, on the Exhibition Grounds, used much of the original 1858 structure from King Street West and Shaw Street. The site is now the home of the Horticulture Building (built in 1907 after the fire) at the CNE, at 15 Saskatchewan Road. (We have lots of historic photos from the CNE here.)
Custom House – Corner of Front and Yonge Streets
Built 1876 and demolished in 1919 to make way for the current Dominion Public Building at 1 Front Street. (See many other downtown Toronto historic photos here.)
Government House – Simcoe Street
Official Residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Built 1868, demolished 1912. Now the site of Roy Thompson Hall at 60 Simcoe Street. This is considered the third Government House in Toronto, with the final Chorley Park in Rosedale replacing this house. (We have historic photos from all versions of Government House including this one on Simcoe Street.)
Hanlan’s Hotel – On the Island
Built in 1880, demolished in 1909 and now the site of Hanlan’s Point Beach, just west and south of the Island airport. (We have lots of historic photos from the Toronto Islands, here.)
Loretto Abbey – Wellington Street, West
Built in 1877 and demolished in 1961. The all-girls Catholic school was established in 1847 calling various locations home, leaving this location in 1927 to move to its current location in Hogg’s Hollow at 101 Mason Boulevard. The land at 403 Wellington Street West is now part of ‘The Well’ complex. (For other historic photos from around Wellington Place click here.)
Normal School – St. James Square
Headquarters of the Provincial Educational Department, built in 1896, demolished 1958 with only the facade saved, now the entrance to the Toronto Metropolitan University Recreation and Athletics Centre at 50 Gould Street. (We have many historic photos around the Normal School, here.)
Post Office – Adelaide Street East
Built in 1874, demolished in 1958. The Mackenzie Building now stands on this location at 42 Adelaide Street East. (Lots of historic photos from this area of Toronto – Old Town – here.)
Provincial Asylum – Queen Street West
Built in 1848 with the buildings being replaced over time since then. The location at 999 Queen Street West remain a location for CAMH, and some of the brick wall around the site has been saved. (Trinity Bellwoods historic photos here.)
Queen’s Hotel – Front Street, West
Built in 1844 on the site of older hotels, then demolished in 1927 to make way for the Royal York Hotel that still stands at 100 Front St West. We have more information and photos of the Queen’s Hotel here, and of the Royal York Hotel, here.
Rossin House – Corner of King and York Streets
Built 1863, demolished in 1969 to make way for the Toronto Dominion Centre at 66 Wellington Street West. More details and historic photos of the Rossin House Hotel here.
Royal Canadian Yacht Club, City
The RCYC has operated two locations in Toronto for years. One on the island, which is still operating, and one in the city – the current city location is land-locked on St. George just north of Bloor. In 1903 their city location was also on the water, before much of the Toronto waterfront was pushed farther south. This photo is likely from the Esplanade.
The Lakeside Home for Little Children – Lighthouse Point
The Hospital for Sick Children ran a summer home for convalescent children at Lighthouse Point on the Toronto Islands. It was built in 1891 and stopped operating in 1928, but the building stood, renamed the Chetwood Terrace apartments until the mid to late 1950’s when it was demolished. Lots of historic photos from the Toronto Islands, here.
The Temple Building – Bay and Richmond Streets
Erected by the Independent Order of Foresters, the Temple Building was built in 1896 at 62 Richmond Street West. At 11 storeys all, it was one of Toronto’s first skyscrapers. It was the world headquarters of the Independent Order of Foresters until 1953, and was eventually torn down in 1970. We have lots of interior and exterior historic photos of the Temple Building online here.
Toronto General Hospital – Gerrard Street East
This version of the hospital was built in 1854 and demolished in 1912 at 380 Gerrard Street East, not far from Riverdale Park.
Toronto Militia Armories – University Avenue
Built in 1894, also also known as the University Avenue Armories and the Toronto Drill Hall. It was demolished in 1963 and replaced with the Toronto Courthouse at 361 University Avenue.
Trinity University – Queen Street West
Built in 1852 for Trinity University, with the first woman student was admitted in 1884. The school moved east to join the rest of the University of Toronto and the grounds were taken over by the City of Toronto, which used them for a while to house a recreational facility but then demolished them in the late 1950s. The land is now the Trinity Bellwoods Park at 790 Queen St West.
Union Station – CPR and GTR
This version of Toronto Union Station was built in 1873 as the depot of the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk Railways. It was demolished 1927 and the new Union Station was built just east. The land is now the Skywalk pedestrian bridge at 151 Front Street West.
All of these photos, along the others not included here, are from https://archive.org/details/fiftyglimpsesoft00unse_0/page/14/mode/1up