It’s that time of year again. The malls are packed with eager people looking to engage in gratuitous gift-buying and stare at a giant reindeer. However, this is also a time where people look towards the new year. This year in particular we will see a new decade, the roaring 20’s. If I’m honest, the upcoming decade will probably contain further grim news reports and general signs of future dystopia, but let’s try to ignore that for the time being. Planning for the new year and refreshing oneself is a part of the holidays I actually look forward to. Out with the old and in with the new.
City of Toronto Archives, Series 71, Item 6086.
This is also the mentality of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as this year we said goodbye to most of our old streetcars. With more and more streetcars leaving us each year, according to the TTC’s decommission schedule, 2019 has seen a total of 113 Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and 15 Articulated Light Rail
Vehicle (ALRV) streetcars disappear. This will essentially leave Toronto with only the newer Flexity Outlook streetcar models. The crusty, change-resistant, old man in me shakes his cane at all this new stuff because the classic cherry red streetcar has become a symbol of Toronto over the years. But, since we have no choice in the matter, we might as well take a look on the history of the streetcar in Toronto.
City of Toronto Archives, Series 71, Item 11134
The history of Toronto’s streetcar actually begins with a horse. In order to combat the overcrowded Williams Omnibus Buses, in 1861 Toronto Civic Railways (TCR) issued a horse-drawn street railway that originally traveled from Yorkville Town Hall to St. Lawrence Market. In 1982, the streetcar began to modernize as the first electric streetcar was used to transport around 167,000 Torontonians. The following years contained a growing Toronto population that was accommodated with a larger and larger streetcar network.
City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 43.
It wasn’t until 1921 that the TTC was born. Originally the commission combined the cars from the TCR along with two models of Peter Witt streetcars. Following the Second World War, the TTC debut the PCC red rocket cars in 1938. These cars were different from the Witt versions as they paid attention to passenger experience and comfort. They came equipped with heightened cushions, spacious seats and rubber springs to minimize noises and vibrations.
City of Toronto Archives, Series 1465, File 598, Item 24
The old cherry red Toronto streetcars that we know today weren’t introduced until the 70’s. The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle with a round front arrived from Switzerland on December 29, 1977. However, we were nearly denied the pleasure of riding the CLRV streetcar. By the mid 60’s, the TTC planned to eliminate streetcars by 1980 (turns out the TTC has a long history of failed planning). To their credit, the city did get rid of many streetcars following the opening of the subway in 1954, but Toronto transit advocates recognized the benefits of the streetcar and urged the city to reconsider. Spoiler alter, they did reconsider and the city still relies on streetcars today.
City of Toronto Archives, Series 1465, File 597, Item 49
Since 2013, the TTC has introduced 204 Bombardier Transportation Flexibility Outlook model streetcars that include several new features such as bicycle storage areas and curb level access. As we say goodbye to 2019, we also apparently say goodbye to more than one transit tradition. Starting in November 2019 we also said goodbye to the sale of TTC tickets, tokens and passes in favour of PRESTO cards. But, chin up soldier, it’s not all bad. While the old streetcars are red bundles of nostalgia, they are also inaccessible, non- air conditioned and rather unreliable. Nothing lasts forever, and not all change is bad.
Ghosts of Toronto's Past | Rebecca Barrett
The Eaton Centre is a pivotal landmark in Toronto. Right next to City Hall, connected directly to the TTC, and touching four major intersections, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid. I’ve known for a while that for this article, my last one before the holidays, I wanted to look at some of Toronto’s classic Christmas traditions. What I didn’t expect was that my research would repeatedly lead me back to the Eaton Centre.
Some of the Eaton Centre's holiday light displays. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Barrett.
Nowadays, the Eaton Centre’s most well-known Christmas tradition is probably their huge light displays in the shape of reindeers and Christmas trees that stand almost two stories high within the mall. But what I didn’t know, is that the Eaton Centre is responsible for so much more holiday cheer than just that – in fact, it started some of Toronto’s most renowned and long-lasting Christmas traditions!
Setting the scene: a postcard of Eaton's Old Storefront circa 1923. Source.
The Santa Claus Parade, in its current format, starts at Christie Pitts Park and ends at the St. Lawrence Market. But, when it initially began in 1905, the parade simply consisted of Santa Claus arriving at Union Station by train and walking up Bay Street with the Eaton family to the Eaton Centre, where he would hold court and meet all the kids. There were no floats, no band, and no crowds – the parade was essentially just a security escort to the Eaton Centre for Santa.
After a few years, this annual walk began drawing crowds of young children, who came out to cheer for Santa and (according to reports) throw snowballs at him. In 1913, the route changed to accommodate the growing crowds and the Eaton family introduced a sleigh and 8 live reindeer, specially brought in from Labrador, to pull Santa. This time, Santa paraded 30 miles down Yonge Street, ending at Massey Hall for a concert and a party (and who wouldn’t want to party with Santa?).
Santa Claus partying on his float in the middle of a huge crowd circa 1918. Source.
Around the time of the First World War, the parade began to develop its modern and familiar format. By 1917 there were 7 parade floats – most of which were storybook and nursery rhyme characters – and every year it would grow. By 1930, Eaton's Santa Claus Parade was aired on national radio, and by 1952, it was broadcast on CBC as the largest Santa Claus parade in North America. And to think: all of this fame and prominence because the Eatons had to pick up their department store Santa at the train station, 50 years earlier.
The famous Mother Goose parade float circa 1930, which was the longest continual float in service (featured in the parade annually from 1930-1960, each time painted a different colour). Source.
But the Santa Clause Parade isn’t the only Christmas tradition that the Eaton Centre introduced to Toronto. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there was an intense rivalry between Eaton’s and another Canadian department store, Simpsons. This rivalry resulted in a kind of “Christmas arms race” between the two stores. Each tried to design more and more elaborate and enticing holiday display windows as a way to outcompete one another and draw children (and, by extension, their families) into their stores. These displays would feature music, automatons, and mechanics all staged in a whimsical children's-themed diorama.
Children running over to look at Eaton's window display. No date. Crown Copyright. Source.
Children peering in at Eaton's window display circa 1953. Crown Copyright. Source.
Eaton's window display of Santa's workshop circa 1958. Crown Copyright. Source.
These display windows became an iconic symbol for the city that the holidays were coming – and even today, Hudson’s Bay (which bought out Simpsons) continues to celebrate the unveiling of its own holiday windows in the Eaton Centre. By now, the Bay’s window unveilings have become a huge production with free concerts at Queen and Yonge and celebrity appearances. Of course, over a hundred years later, the display windows look a little different:
In hindsight, I probably should have suspected that many of Toronto’s Christmas traditions began with department stores (like the Eaton Centre) and the rabid commercialism and consumerism therein. It might seem like an unromantic common origin for these traditions, but I think there’s still some magic floating around the city at this time of year. These traditions are still important because they are ingrained into the city’s fabric and they get us excited for the holiday season.
