The map shown below is one of my favourite maps of Toronto. It shows the approximate dates when all the existing building in the City of Toronto were constructed. The map was created in 2003 by Patricia Morphet of the Survey and Mapping Services of the City of Toronto, and it won an award for Excellence in Cartography at the International Cartographic Conference in 2005.

Some of the most fascinating things I’ve noticed in the map include:

The former municipalities of North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough were largely built out in the years following World War Two (1946-1960)

Not surprisingly, very little development activity took place in the period after the Great Depression (1931-1945). However, some of Toronto’s wealthier neighbourhoods like Leaside, the Kingsway, parts of Forest Hill and Cedarvale, and Old East York were practically created then

Weston and Agincourt are two outlier neighbourhoods in the inner suburbs with clusters of historically significant buildings. The Weston neighbourhood comprises many beautiful homes along King Street, Queens Drive and John Street that are over a century old. Some of the historically significant homes in Agincourt can be seen along Agincourt Drive and Midland Avenue.

Below is the same map with the locations of the neighbourhoods I noted above.

What interesting things do you notice in the map?

Sources:

http://oldtorontomaps.blogspot.ca/2014/06/contemporary-maps-with-historical.html

http://ccablog.blogspot.ca/2005/07/city-of-toronto-map-wins-2-awards.html