Toronto of the 1890s was a place where the skyline was dominated by churches, and dense construction took up what would now be considered only a small portion of the downtown core.

But, it was also beautiful place. Along with the construction of buildings like the Flatiron (Gooderham Building), the Ontario Legislature (Queen's Park) and the Armouries (sadly gone), the expression "city within a park" resonates with particular force when looking at these images.

What was Toronto of the 1890s like? Well, the tallest building was the Beard Building at seven storeys, the Distillery District was just that, public transit might involve the use of horses and E.J. Lennox was the resident star-chitect.

Here's what it all looked like.

1890

Confederation Life Building

Jarvis Collegiate

Knox College

University College, U of T post fire

Victoria Row

Yonge North of Queen

1891

Horticultural Gardens

Single track, double deck car

Snow sweeper

1892

E. J. Lennox

Gooderham House (now York Club)

Laying tracks for electric cars

1893

Old Union Station

Toronto Railway Company (a predecessor to the TTC)

1894

The Esplanade

Map of the city

1895

Queen's Park

Toronto Bay

Toronto City Hall (early in the decade)

Yonge Street

1896

Gooderham and Worts (Distillery District)

Metropolitan Methodist Church

Queen approaching Dufferin

Single Truck car at Broadview and Danforth

University Avenue

1897

College Street

Looking south from Queen's Park

Yonge Street

1898

North Parkdale CPR Station

Proposal for Victoria Square

1899

Cyclist passing City Hall

Don Jail

Knox College