SLIDESHOW: The Toronto Star gives a century’s worth of photos to Toronto Public Library
SLIDESHOW: The Toronto Star gives a century’s worth of photos to Toronto Public Library
During a press event this morning, Toronto Public Library announced that the Toronto Star has donated its entire archive of one-million-plus print photographs for permanent storage and display at the Toronto Reference Library’s Marilyn and Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre. The massive collection spans the entire century before the paper’s adoption of digital images in 1999.
The Star photos will be available for browsing starting July 7, and are expected to begin appearing online at some point in the near future. Users will be able to hunt for pictures of celebrities and local landmarks, or even long-lost relatives, tiddlywinks competitions or sideshow freaks.
While we wait for the archives to open to the public, here’s a small sample of what they contain. Click through to learn a little more about what was in the papers when these shots were taken.
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- <strong>Soldier riding bicycle through traffic during World War II</strong><br /><br /> Taken 1942<br /><br /> Uncredited photographer<br /> <br /><br /><br /> Proof that Toronto has eternally endured traffic jams, like this one along what appears to be Avenue Road (Highway 11A).
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wwii-cyclist-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/wwii-cyclist/
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- <strong>“No Place for Nervous Nellies”</strong><br /><br /> Published July 4, 1968<br /><br /> Photo by Boris Spremo<br /> <br /><br /><br /> “Perched perilously 46 storeys above King St. W.,” read the caption, “John Quellet helps position a girder in place on the top floor of the second tower of the Toronto-Dominion Centre yesterday. This photograph was taken from the 48th storey of the first tower, looking north.” This shot, which earned Boris Spremo a National Newspaper Award in 1969, required a 20-foot walk along a beam to get the proper angle.
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/td-centre-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/td-centre/
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- 280231
- <strong>“Toronto Shaking Off Blizzard’s Paralysis”</strong><br /><br /> Published December 13, 1944<br /><br /> Photo by Alexandra Studio<br /> <br /><br /><br /> One of the worst snowstorms in Toronto history struck on December 11–12, 1944. The city was paralyzed by 57 centimeters (22.5 inches) of snowfall. 21 people died, including one in the accident depicted here, caused by an open switch at Queen and Mutual streets. This accident also injured 43 and trapped 170 people inside the vehicle.
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/snowstorm-96x96.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/snowstorm.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/snowstorm.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/snowstorm/
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- <strong>Construction of the SkyDome</strong><br /><br /> Taken 1988<br /><br /> Photo by Mike Slaughter<br /> <br /><br /><br /> A construction worker bolts structural members for the dome’s retractable roof. Begun in October 1986, the stadium now known as Rogers Centre opened on June 3, 1989.
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/skydome-96x96.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/skydome.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/skydome.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/skydome/
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- <strong>Recruits posing in front of (Old) City Hall</strong><br /><br /> Taken 1915<br /><br /> Photo by James and Sons<br /> <br /><br /><br /> City Hall was used as a recruiting office for the 74th and 75th Battalions during the First World War. The <em>Star</em> provided frequent updates on how many men signed up for service. As of July 23, 1915, it was reported the 75th Battalion gained recruits at a rate of 100 per day. “It is surprising the number of married men found in this list and the scarcity of single men,” the paper noted.<br />
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/recruitment-96x96.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/recruitment.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/recruitment.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/recruitment/
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- 280228
- <strong>“’65 to be most violent predicts Malcolm X”</strong><br /><br /> Taken January 5, 1965, published January 6, 1965<br /><br /> Photo by Gerry Barker<br /> <br /><br /><br /> The American civil-rights activist was in Toronto for an appearance as a mystery guest on CBC-TV’s Front Page Challenge, a month before he was assassinated in New York City. He predicted that the new year would see the worst racial violence in U.S. history—“this year Negro patience has worn a little thinner.” His prediction came true when the Watts Riots broke out in Los Angeles that August. Malcolm also observed that the treatment of blacks “is really the crime of the American system, which is criminal in its attitude toward Negroes and yet has the hypocrisy to project itself as a sort of ultimate in ways of life.”
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/malcolm-x-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/malcolm-x.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/malcolm-x/
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- <strong>June Callwood</strong><br /><br /> Taken January 14, 1966<br /><br /> Photo by Norman James<br /> <br /><br /><br /> This photo appears to be an outtake from a portrait session the <em>Star</em> held with the veteran journalist and activist for a “Morals on the Campus” series exploring social changes at universities. Published in mid-January 1966, topics included pre-marital sex and academic cheating.
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/june-callwood-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/june-callwood/
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- <strong>Joe Carter leads the celebration of the Blue Jays’ 1992 World Series victory</strong><br /><br /> Taken October 24, 1992<br /><br /> Photo by Mike Slaughter<br /> <br /><br /><br /> “CHAMPIONS” screamed the Star’s front page after the Blue Jays won their first World Series title. Over 500,000 people poured into downtown to celebrate. “It’s 2 a.m. and people are walking up and down Yonge Street and nobody is overturning any cars and nobody is getting violent—everybody is genuinely happy; it’s wonderful to see,” observed fan Dave Sieger. Joe Carter cemented his local-hero status the following year with his World Series-winning homer.
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/joe-carter-96x96.jpg
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/joe-carter.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/joe-carter/
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- <strong>“Expert on cities ‘loves’ it in Toronto”</strong><br /><br /> Taken December 21, 1968, published December 23, 1968<br /><br /> Photo by Frank Lennon<br /> <br /><br /><br /> This iconic photo of Jane Jacobs was taken in front of her Spadina Road home. When asked why her family had moved to Toronto from New York City six months earlier, Jacobs replied, “because my husband Bob had been here and liked it. My husband said there were possibilities here and room and hope. He was right—this is a city of hope, and I love it.”
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/jane-jacobs-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/jane-jacobs/
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- <strong> “’Retired’ pianist Glenn Gould is busier than ever”</strong><br /><br /> Taken November 26, 1973, published December 8, 1973<br /><br /> Photo by Ron Bull<br /><br /><br /> <br /> “10 years after he walked off a public stage for the last time,” read this photo’s caption, “Glenn Gould remains very much a private man. He is devoted to the recording studio as a hermit to a cave—and usually without shoes. Gould’s genius is to bring his own creative interpretation to keyboard rather than recreating the composer’s music on concert stage.”
- The <em>Toronto Star</em>'s Photo Archive
- https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/glenn-gould-96x96.jpg
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- https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-public-library-gets-toronto-star-photo-archives/slide/glenn-gould/
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