The aerial photographs within the Archives' collection cover the current City of Toronto for most years from 1947 to 1992.
These photographs, taken from planes, are close enough to the ground that you can see buildings appearing, disappearing, and changing over the years. You can also distinguish geographic forms (such as rivers that seem to vanish, indicating that they have been channelled into sewers), and neighbourhood features such as parks, roads, etc.
The Archives has these aerial photographs available to view online:
To view and print these maps, you will have to download the free ExpressView Browser Plug-in (MrSID) for Windows from LizardTech.
This plug-in is compatible with Microsoft Windows using Firefox 2 or 3 or Internet Explorer 7 or 8 web browsers.
Aerial photographs from 1950 to 1992 are available to view on the Research Hall computers.
This aerial photograph shows apartment buildings and single-family houses beside a cloverleaf highway interchange. You can use a standard map to identify major roads and landmarks in order to find your property. Fonds 37, Series 12, Item 1960-172
Each aerial shows a part of the city, not the entire city.
An additional but small group of aerials photographs shows areas outside the city core, from 1937 to 1942. These are known as Series 97, Aerial Photographs of Valley Lands. These aerial photographs are also available online.
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