100th Anniversary of the Bloor Viaduct
This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Prince Edward Viaduct — known to most as the Bloor Viaduct. (A viaduct is "a long elevated roadway usually consisting of a series of short spans supported on arches, piers, or columns.") Officially opened on October 18, 1918, the bridge connects Bloor Street with Danforth Avenue over the Don River Valley.
Allan Levine's Toronto: Biography of the City includes a brief history of the ambitious project, which also happens to mention a famous literary work tied to the viaduct:
"In the years before and after the First World War… eastern extension of Bloor Street was made possible by the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct (also called Don or Bloor Viaduct), a massive $2.4-million project finally approved by Toronto ratepayers in 1913. Supervised by thirty-four-year-old Roland C. Harris, the city's newly appointed Commissioner of Public Works, and built by a small army of immigrant workers, the bridge, which wisely included a second level for the future subway, linked Bloor Street with Danforth when it was completed five years later. (Harris and the building of the viaduct figure prominently in Michael Ondaatje's 1987 novel In the Skin of a Lion.)"
An excellent, wonderfully documented history of the viaduct is Bridging the Don: The Prince Edward Viaduct, an online exhibit by City of Toronto Archives. It has three main sections: (1) Introduction, (2) Construction, (3) The Viaduct Opens.
In addition to the collections held by the City of Toronto Archives, our library's Digital Archive contains dozens of historical items related to the viaduct, spanning from its groundbreaking to the 1980s. Below are a few photographs from this collection.
7 thoughts on “100th Anniversary of the Bloor Viaduct”
Wonderful archival photos!!!!!!! Thanks for this.
“The bridge goes up in a dream. It will link the east end with the centre of the city. It will carry traffic, water and electricity across the Don Valley. It will carry trains that have not even been invented yet.”
Amazing to see the history of the landmark.
“Men in a maze of wooden planks climb deep into the shattered light of blond wood. A man is an extension of hammer, drill, flame. Drill smoke in his hair. A cap falls into the valley, gloves are buried in stone dust.”
It’s so easy for history like this to fade without photographs and other documents — thanks KFediw!
Thanks for the very interesting part of our history and accompanying photos. However, seeing the phrase “100 year anniversary” was not a welcome thing to see. Anniversary means: a day that commemorates a past event that occurred on the same date of the year as the initial event.” so the phrase “100 year anniversary” means 100th anniversary anniversary. I think you meant 100th anniversary.
Thank you, Chris. I always appreciate attention to semantics/grammar. I’ve revised the post.