In 1948 the traffic on Yonge Street and other major arterial roads was so bad that the City’s Committee on Works recommended that the stretch of Yonge Street from Terauley Street (near Dundas) to Heath Street (north of St. Clair) be widened to approximately 86 feet. In preparation for this work, Alderman Allan Lamport, who would become Chairman of the TTC in 1955, commissioned a series of photographs along the east and west sides of Yonge Street to document existing conditions.
Since the cost to accomplish the street widening was estimated to be almost $9.5 million, the Board of Control requested the opinion of the TTC. TTC Chairman McBrien advised “that the Commission was of the opinion that…with the removal of street cars from Yonge Street when the Rapid Transit system is completed, it was not necessary, from the standpoint of traffic movement, to widen Yonge Street.”
Thus, the 1948 Yonge streetscape was saved from destruction, at least for a time. Here is a selection from Lamport’s 78 photographs of Yonge Street, showing a few recognizable buildings, and many more that are long gone.
East side of Yonge Street, opposite Teraulay Street (just south of Dundas Street) Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 2.
East side of Yonge Street at Dundas Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 4.
East side of Yonge Street at McGill Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 11.
East side of Yonge Street at Carlton Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 13.
West side of Yonge Street at College Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 14.
East side of Yonge Street at Alexander Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 17.
East side of Yonge Street at Wellesley Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 21.
West side of Yonge Street at Wellesley Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 22.
West side of Yonge Street and St. Joseph Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 25.
East side of Yonge Street at Charles Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 28.
East side of Yonge Street at Bloor Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 32.
West side of Yonge Street at Bloor Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 33.
West side of Yonge Street at Cumberland Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 35.
East side of Yonge Street at Davenport Road Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 41.
West side of Yonge Street at Roxborough Avenue Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 3, Item 52.
West side of Yonge Street at MacPherson Avenue Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 53.
East side of Yonge Street at Price Street Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 55.
East side of Yonge Street at Pleasant Boulevard Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 71.
West side of Yonge Street, south of St. Clair Avenue Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 72.
East side of Yonge Street, north of St. Clair Avenue Fonds 1303, Series 978, File 1, Item 73.