1884 Toronto: Historic Downtown View from Mail Building Roof

A photograph, recently surfaced and dated to approximately 1884, offers a rare glimpse of downtown Toronto as seen from the roof of the Mail building, located on the northwest corner of King Street West and Bay Street. The image provides a visual record of a city undergoing significant transformation, predating the modern skyline familiar to contemporary residents.

The Mail building itself was a key structure in the city’s burgeoning media landscape. Its position afforded a panoramic view, capturing the architectural character of the era. In the background of the 1884 photograph, the landscape was dominated by structures such as the Royal York Hotel and Union Station, which were still relatively new additions to the city at the time. The absence of the Gardiner Expressway, a major artery of modern Toronto, is also notable, highlighting the dramatic changes in infrastructure over the decades.

Further illustrating the city’s growth, a photograph taken in 1944, from a similar vantage point, reveals the presence of the 34-storey Bank of Commerce Building (now CIBC) on King Street West. At the time of its construction, this building was the tallest in the British Empire, signifying Toronto’s increasing economic and imperial importance. The 1944 image also showcases the Postal Delivery Building, now the site of the Air Canada Centre (ACC), and the surrounding area, which was still largely undeveloped south of the postal building.

The Postal Delivery Building, completed in 1939, was designed by Charles B. Dolphin, an architect with a notable portfolio including work on Union Station, the Royal York Hotel, and Maple Leaf Gardens. Dolphin employed a combination of Art Deco and Art Moderne styles, characterized by smooth horizontal lines, rounded corners, and large windows, with Queenston limestone cladding and pink granite pilasters. The building was specifically designed to connect with Union Station via a tunnel, facilitating the efficient transfer of mail arriving by train.

The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper founded in 1844, has its headquarters at Globe and Mail Centre, 351 King Street East, Toronto. As of 2022, the newspaper reported a daily circulation of 65,749 and 117,955 on Saturdays, with a weekly readership exceeding 6 million in 2024. The newspaper is owned by The Woodbridge Company, having been reacquired by the Thomson family in 2010 after a period of joint ownership with BCE Inc.