Named, quite obviously, after the preponderance of cathedrals at its southern end, Church Street is one of Toronto's older thoroughfares. It's also a street rich with history, from the presence of our own Flatiron Building at Wellington to Ryerson's campus around Gerrard St. to the Village at Wellesley.

When the Market District was the centre of commerce in Toronto, Church was one of the city's most important north/south streets, providing access to places like City Hall (before it was located on Queen Street), the St. Lawrence Market and, of course, St. James and Michael's cathedrals. We might not be as church-focused in Toronto nowadays, but make no mistake, these were crucial destinations at the turn of the century.

Although not as majestic as Jarvis or as diverse as Sherbourne, Chruch was nevertheless a lovely tree-lined avenue until about the 1940s. In the years that followed, many older heritage properties were lost to redevelopment, which has robbed the street of historic character in stretches, but this was a familiar story across the city at the time.

We've already traced the history of the Village in the past, but I'll note here that its formation in the late 1970s and 1980s (prior to that Toronto's gay scene was located to the west on Yonge St.) revitalized what was a mostly sleepy area around Wellesley Street. As condo pressure increases on both ends of Church Street, a whole new set of changes are surely in store over the next decade. So let's take a moment to pause and consider what it looked like way back when.

PHOTOS

Coffin Block (Church & Wellington), 1888

Gooderham Building, 1890s

Church south of Bloor, 1902

Queen & Church, 1907

King & Church, 1909

Church north of Dundas, 1911

Church & Adelaide, 1911

Foot of Church, 1912

Church south of Front, 1913

Looking north on Church from the harbour, 1927

Carlton & Church, 1931

390-396 Church, 1937

461 Church, 1939

Church & Collier, 1959

Fire at Church & Shuter, 1961

King & Church, 1971

Church south Carlton, 1971

Church north of Isabella, 1971

Church & Maitland, 1971

Church south of Bloor, 1975

Church south of Carlton, 1975

Front from Church, 1975

Church & Wellington, 1975

Church south of Dundas, 1975

Church south of the Esplanade, 1975

Church & Dundas, 1975

Church & Richmond, 1976

Church south of Dundas, 1979

Church & Wellington, 1980

Near Church & Colborne, 1981

Church & Front, 1981

Church south of Dundas, 1982

Photos from the Toronto Archives