Toronto Through the Looking Glass: 160 Years of Change

Master of Landscape Architecture candidate, Elizabeth Birks has co-published two articles along with Richard Longley in the March 15-21, 2018 "Toronto Heritage Lost and Found" edition of NOW Toronto.  The content is the story behind the earliest photographs of Toronto's skyline and how they inspired modern creative projects.

The article titled "Toronto's heritage lost, found and reframed" is a photo essay discussing the earliest known historical photographs of Toronto starting in 1856 taken by the trio Armstrong, Beere and Hime. These photos taken from the top of the Rossin House Hotel, which at five storeys was the tallest building in the city at the time were lost for almost 100 years. These historical photos are juxtaposed with present day photographs of Toronto's contemporary skyline, sitting in the same location. These contrasting sets of images highlight the evolution of Toronto from a sleepy lakeside town known to the vibrant multicultural metropolis it is today. 

The article titled "Toronto the Good was one mean city 160 years ago" describes a divided city known as “Muddy York” known for its dirt streets. The social disparities were clear: on one side the vast majority of working people were forced to live within walking distance of their work due to lack of public transit. On the other side were the wealthy church-going merchant and banking elite that could afford to live elsewhere and patronized emerging cultural institutions.