Before the 1950s, malls generally did not exist. The photos from this time depict downtown department stores that, while big, are well integrated with their immediate surroundings in some capacity.

The shift from what one might call the proto-malls of the 1940s and 1950s to those of the 1960s and beyond is the degree to which things move indoors. Rather than big plazas, shopping centres tend to become enclosed spaces where customers can presumably find everything under one roof.

Here are some of the best vintage photos of Toronto malls.

1920s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s