Toronto Archives
@TorontoArchives
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We maintain & make accessible records of enduring value that give evidence of decisions, policies & activities of the City of Toronto.
255 Spadina Road
Joined August 2011
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Honouring Toronto-born artist Michael Snow who passed away on January 5th at the age of 94. Snow's influential career touched multiple mediums, including some of the City's most iconic sculptures. "Flightstop" Eaton Centre (1979) & "The Audience" Skydome (1989).
#TorontoHistory
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Do you remember the punching bag forest at Ontario Place? We do!
#OntarioPlace
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Today Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 96th birthday.
Happy Birthday Your Majesty.
Our image is a portrait taken in celebration of her first visit to Toronto as monarch in 1959, showing the Queen as a youthful 33 year-old with her young family.
@RoyalFamily
#QueenElizabeth
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Here's a quintessential Toronto scene from circa 1990 to celebrate
#TorontoDay
.
#OTD
in 1834 the Town of York was incorporated as the City of Toronto.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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William Pogue Confectioner's window display
#OTD
in 1931 featuring a dapper
@MrPeanut
! According to the 1931 City Directory, the shop was located at 4 Main St. in
#Weston
! Photo: John H. Boyd,
@globeandmail
:
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Waiting for the bus on a sunny winter day in Scarborough, January 1974
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Toronto has the largest ravine system of any city in the world. Today we're celebrating
#RavineDays
with this pic from Sunnybrook Park in 2014. Learn more here:.
#TorontoArchives
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It's Toronto's 185th anniversary today! City of Toronto in 1834. Watercolour map produced by Ethel G.A. Foster for the City's centennial in 1934. Full map:
#TOturns185
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A snowy day in High Park in 1924. This photo will be 100 years old tomorrow.
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Summer is here! These boys were swimming under the Bloor Viaduct as it was under construction circa 1919.
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Irma James was always on the move! From driving trucks in Trinidad to studying at Humber & getting a job in Toronto driving a school bus, she is an important part of African Canadian & TTC History as the first Black woman streetcar operator hired by the TTC from 1983 to 2007.
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The
#HalifaxExplosion
occurred
#OTD
Dec 6, 1917 when the Mont-Blanc ignited in the Narrows. Photos showing its aftermath by William James.
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Happy 100th Birthday TTC! 🎉 Since its establishment in 1921, the TTC has grown along with TO & helped shape its development. Visit our new TTC web exhibit to learn about CA's 1st subway, rapid transit, the TTC workforce & more!
#100YearsOfTTC
@TTChelps
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Laying the tracks at the King, Queen, and Roncesvalles intersection in 1923. Photo: Alfred Pearson,
#TTC
.
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Toronto's "mistake by the lake". Initially built for football (1959) & modified for baseball, Exhibition Stadium was named one of the worst places to watch & play. Cold weather, far seats, metal bleachers, & seagulls were just a few problems.
#TOHistory
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Maple Leaf Gardens opened
#OTD
, 1931. Hockey game b/w
@MapleLeafs
and
@NHLBlackhawks
. William James Family fonds
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Looking back to
#OTD
Apr 2, 1975 when the
#CNTower
became the tallest building in the world. Here's the Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane "Olga" lifting the final piece to top off the tower. Photo: Ellis Wiley:
@TourCNTower
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This rare colour photo of the legislature from 1945 reminds us how much air pollution used to blacken all the buildings in our city.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Does anybody remember these balloons at Scarborough Town Centre? May 1980, Photographer: Peter Mykusz
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Fifty years ago, in February of 1974, construction on the CN Tower was well underway. Toronto's most iconic building was really starting to take shape!
#TOHistory
#TOArchitecture
#TorontoArchives
#CNTower
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Toronto's last total solar eclipse was on January 24, 1925. Toronto photographer William James (probably W.J. Sr.) took this image from his home at 440 Manning Avenue.
#eclipse
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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A peek inside Lucky Strike Sandwich Shop, 2447 Bloor St W at Jane c 1934. So many great TO restaurant interiors among our newly-scanned Consumers' Gas Co. nitrate negs. We'll be featuring photos from this collection all week:
#oldtoronto
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What winter looked like in Toronto 100 years ago
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Toronto's first Caribana parade August 5, 1967. A spectacular display of costume, colour, liberation, & commemoration of the full Emancipation of enslaved people in Canada in 1838.
#TOcarnival
#CaribbeanCarnival
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Sam the Record Man and A&A Records and Tapes. Elm St. looking east to Yonge St., ca. 1980s.
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Toronto skyline from Toronto Island on a beautiful bright day, Sept 1966. Photo: Ellis Wiley:
#TOturns186
#TorontoDay
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The 1950s in colour! This is Bloor Street West, looking northwest to the intersection of Jane Street, in 1954.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Bloor Street Viaduct, 1926. Hand-tinted lantern slide by photographer William James:
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This 1980 image of Queen Street near Peter Street is one of 36 photos of Toronto street life between 1977 and 1980 that photographer Randall Beaudin recently donated to our collection.
#QueenStreet
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchvies
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A busy winter's day looking north at Yonge and Front Streets, circa 1940.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Honouring architect "Eb" Zeidler 1926-2022. His firms designed the Archives & many Toronto landmarks such as the Eaton Centre, Ontario Place, Toronto Centre for the Arts, & Queen's Quay Terminal. Thank you Eb for making Toronto a place to enjoy.
#EbZeidler
#TorontoArchives
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Today is Toronto's 186th anniversary! We're celebrating by sharing 186 posts featuring our city's history! Let's start things off with this plan of the City of Toronto & Liberties created by J.G. Chewett in 1834 Follow
#TOturns186
today!
#TorontoDay
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It doesn't get much more Toronto than this! View of the
#CNTower
and
#GooderhamBuilding
, looking west from Front and Church streets, ca. 1983. Photo: City Planning Division
#TOturns186
#TorontoDay
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Here's Toronto’s Board of Trade Building just before demolition in 1958. Located at the corner of Yonge and Front streets, it was the site of
#TTC
headquarters from about 1921 to 1958. Photo by amateur photographer, Harvey R. Naylor:
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#OTD
in 1914,
@ROMtoronto
opened its doors for the very first time! Happy Birthday, ROM! Photo: James Salmon, 1922
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Play it again, Sam! View of Sam the Record Man on Yonge St,
#OTD
June 23, 1971. Photo: Harvey R. Naylor:
#TOturns186
#TorontoDay
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Simpson's display windows, Christmas, December 1963. Photos: Ellis Wiley.
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Can you date this image? A snow-covered Danforth Ave and Broadview Ave, looking south. Sometime in January between January 1950 - 1969.
#TorontoArchives
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We just uploaded 17,984 new images to our database. Check out Fonds 620, photographer Avard Woolaver's incredible pics of street life in the 1980s! Here: Yonge Street in '85.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
.
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#EmancipationDay
Aug 1, 1834 marks the day slavery was abolished in British colonies. St John’s Ward housed many who fled enslavement in the United States. Map depicts 4 Black Historic churches that served as social, political & spiritual centers for the 19th c. Black community
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As a tribute to
#CanFilmDay
today, the
@TorontoArchives
will be treating you to a glimpse into Toronto's film-loving past by sharing our newly scanned E.L. Ruddy photos of Toronto theatres, Most photos are from the 1930s. Here's the
@RevueCinema
on Roncesvalles Ave, ca. 1935.
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Arthur Goss' surviving 26000 glass plate negatives are the backbone of the TO Archives photo collection. His images inform a lot of what we know about the built city bet 1911 & late 1930. Some of his most powerful work was for TO Public Health. Explore:
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In 1973
#OTD
Scarborough Town Centre opened. Here's a snapshot from 2004 with iconic hot air balloons which graced the atrium for 35 years
#TorontoArchives
#ScarbTO
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In an alternate timeline, traffic whirls around the war memorial on Vimy Circle, a roundabout at University Avenue and Richmond Street. The design was proposed in 1929, but fell victim to revenue shortfalls after the stock market crash that year.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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#DYK
that the site of the Dufferin Mall was once a racetrack? This is what it looked like from the air around 1930. The photographer was facing east.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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You know something needs to change when Torontonians send a petition THIS long! This ten-foot document from 1849 is a request to the City to allow butchers to open their own shops, and end the St. Lawrence Market's near-monopoly on selling meat.
#TOHistory
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A very colourful and lively Yonge St. in the 1970s. Photos from the Harvey Naylor fonds.
#TorontoDay
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"Fellas, it's been good to know ya." A young Gordon Lightfoot performs at some point in the 1960s. Lightfoot passed away yesterday at the age of 84.
#GordonLightfoot
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Curious about the construction of the north entrance of Spadina Station? Our
#100YearsOfTTC
web exhibit can help! The house was moved to its backyard, the subway structure was built & the house was moved forward again! Easy, right? 😅 Learn more:
@TTChelps
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To give you an idea of how much landfill has changed the waterfront, this is Lake Shore Rd near High Park,
#OTD
1914
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For today's
#DigitizedTO
we are sharing our oldest photos with you! 25 photos by Toronto firm, Armstrong, Beere & Hime, are the earliest known of Toronto and show its downtown streets and prominent buildings. To see what TO looked like in 1856, click
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Scarborough Bluffs, beautiful
#Kodachrome
colour photo taken 70 years ago, April 1948. Photo: Ellis Wiley.
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Congratulations to the
@Raptors
for bringing an
@NBA
championship to our city! It's been a long time coming - in fact, as far back to the first ever
@NBA
game! Here's the original Toronto Huskies at practice Oct 30 1946, prepping for Nov 1st game vs
@nyknicks
at
#MapleLeafGardens
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Photographed
#OnThisDay
50 years ago: the Imperial Six Theatre and Chapman Bros. store at 263 and 261 Yonge Street, just south of Dundas. The theatre is now the Ed Mirvish Theatre and looks quite different.
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Before the Bata Shoe Museum, this house stood on the southwest corner of Bloor Street West and St. George Street. This photo was taken
#OnThisDay
in 1924
#OTD
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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The installation of St. Patrick's Station's classic green tiles.
#StPatricksDay
#TorontoArchives
@TTChelps
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City of Toronto in 1834. Watercolour map produced by Ethel G.A. Foster for the City's centennial in 1934. Full map:
#TOturns184
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Bomb casings stored on Liberty Street, looking east from Dufferin Street, circa 1915. There were several munitions factories in this neighbourhood during the First World War.
#TorontoRemembers
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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114
The real kids of De Grassi Street, July, 1943. The Degrassi television series was named after this Toronto street.
#DeGrassiStreet
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Adelaide and Toronto looking north-east, 1912, with steps leading down to the underworld, or possibly a public washroom.
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Interior of
@StLawrenceMkt
on a busy market day, Sept 13, 1919. Photo: James Salmon collection:
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It's doesn't get much more Toronto than this! View of the
#CNTower
and
#GooderhamBuilding
, looking west from Front and Church streets, ca. 1983. Photo: City Planning Division
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115
Driveway hockey, 142 Faywood, April 1969. Photographer: J. Little
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This glass negative turns 100 tomorrow! The Globe and Mail titled this: First snowfall, car on street.
#TorontoArchives
#TOHistory
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Here's a colourful photo to brighten up your day! Gerrard Street West, north side of street. 1963
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Looking south on Yonge Street towards Old York Mills Road in rural North York Township circa 1936. The building on the left is the Jolly Miller Hotel.
#NorthYork
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Lest we forget. Canadian soldier, reverse arms. Globe and Mail fonds, 1927.
#remembranceday
#torontoremembers
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Pictured here in 1928, Tom Longboat is Canada's first professional Indigenous athlete. The Onondaga long distance runner escaped residential school as a child and went on to break records across North America.
#IndigenousPeoplesDay
. Learn more here
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#OTD
1968, the McLaughlin Planetarium opened to the public! Located at 90 Queens Park, the planetarium was named after R.S. McLaughlin, automotive pioneer & Chair of the Board of General Motors, who donated $2 million for its construction!
#TOHistory
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112
1980s Ontario Place nostalgia. Bumper boats, restaurants, pedal boats, & waterslides!
#TOHistory
#TOSummer
#TorontoArchives
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Movie night! Bloor Street, 1927 on the opening day of Runnymede Theatre. Many lined up excited to see the new theatre, but with a seating capacity of 1,550, unfortunately, thousands were turned away!
#Runnymede
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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Check out that bright, red subway! These iconic trains, known for their flashy colour, were the first to travel on Toronto's subway. Rush hour crowds, 1961. Eric Trussler fonds.
#TTC
#TOturns186
#TorontoDay
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This month we'll be
#MappingOldTO
as we highlight some of the amazing maps and plans we have at the Archives! To start us off, here's a plan of the City of Toronto, Canada West from 1857! Map Lithographer: J. Ellis; Published by Fleming, Ridout & Schreiber
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P is for Parkdale. Guess what was happening at the intersection of Queen Street, King Street and Roncesvalles Avenue 100 years and one day ago? They were fixing the streetcar tracks!
#ArchivesAtoZ
#Parkdale
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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This was what the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street East looked like 50 years ago, in February of 1974. It is now Yonge and Dundas Square.
#TOHistory
#TorontoArchives
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#OnThisDay
125 years ago, a boy gets a drink at the man-dog-horse fountain on the corner of College Street and Spadina Avenue. This fountain design promoted public health by keeping the three species from contaminating each other's water.
#OTD
#TOHistory
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104
New City Hall officially opens
#OTD
Sept 13, 1965. Here we have photos from a recent acquisition showing views of City Hall in 1971 by Brooklyn photographer Irving Hirshon.
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Breathtaking view of the Bloor Viaduct, looking east toward Broadview Ave in the 1920s. Photo: William James:
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Flashback to about 1908 when St. Clair W was still rural enough that you nailed your mailbox to a tree. Rural delivery mailboxes, Parkwood Ave & St. Clair Ave W, just east of Spadina Rd. Photo: William James:
#flashbackfriday
#fbf
#oldtoronto
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A colour photo of the Toronto Board of Trade building on the northeast corner of Yonge and Front Streets, just before it was demolished in 1958. Previously this had been the headquarters of the TTC.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
#TTC
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103
"Excuse me, do you have french fried potatoes?" Purchasing some fast food at Sunnyside in 1914.
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
#FrenchFries
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In 1956 9 year-old All-Star defenseman Ab Hoffman surprised the Little Toronto Hockey League when she turned out to be a girl in disguise. She would go on to be an Olympic runner and the Director General of Sport Canada.
#WomensHistoryMonth
#TorontoHistory
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On this
#LabourDay
, honouring the men & women upon whose labour our great city is built. Mason at work on Avenue Rd sewer 1890's, crew paving Wilton Ave, 1903, Toronto Health Dept Nursing Staff, 1914, WWI Silver Star mother 1918,
#happylabourday
Toronto.
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Yonge Street, decorated for the Christmas holidays, December 1962. Photo: Ellis Wiley.
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We hope you all enjoyed our 186 tweets in honour of our beloved City's birthday. Good night, Toronto! Photo, Steven Rowe fonds, 2018
#TOturns186
#TorontoDay
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Sometimes we find the most puzzling images in our database, like this photo, probably taken on the Beaches boardwalk circa 1985. What kind of cat is this?
#TorontoHistory
#TorontoArchives
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14
102
Play it again, Sam! View of Sam the Record Man on Yonge St,
#OTD
June 23, 1971. Photo: Harvey R. Naylor:
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14
99
Good morning! In case you've been missing this old Toronto institution, here's a photo of Honest Ed's in the 1960s. Photo: Alexandra Studio
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V-E Day celebrations, Bay Street, May 7, 1945. Photo: John H. Boyd,
@Globeandmail
. For more photos showing how Toronto celebrated the end of World War II, visit our
#webexhibit
here:
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