Looking back at U of T

Hi all! My name is Amie and I’m going to be the photoblogger for the next year! I’m a third year student studying History and Material Culture. I love history a lot and since U of T was founded in 1827 it has a lot of history in its halls. Looking through the university archives (http://www.heritage.utoronto.ca/UTA/Imagebank) is an amazing way to get an idea of what U of T was like in the past, what students used to do, and how buildings have changed over the years (one of my favourite pictures shows a bunch of awesome VW Bugs in front of Innis. Sadly I couldn’t make it work for this post so I’ll leave you to hunt for that one on your own). Below are some images from the archives imposed on current photos of campus - a little time machine of sorts.
This "Feather Fair" took place on Front Campus in 1949. What is a Feather Fair you might ask? I have absolutely no idea but hey it only cost 15 cents to enter. Rad  Source
This "Feather Fair" took place on Front Campus in 1949. What is a Feather Fair you might ask? I have absolutely no idea, but hey it only cost 15 cents to enter. Rad
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"Chancellor and officials, exit University College during convocation, 1920." I took this picture directly after a long procession of graduating UTM students walked out those very doors. Two processions nearly 100 years apart that looked very much the same.  Source
"Chancellor and officials, exit University College during convocation, 1920."                                                                                                                                                                   I took this picture directly after a long procession of graduating UTM students walked out those very doors. Seeing two processions nearly 100 years apart that looked very much the same was kind of awesome.

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Students in Military Uniform in the Hart House Library c.1943. Source
"Students in Military Uniform in the Hart House Library c.1943." This is probably my favourite picture of the Hart House Library. 

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1951 Royal Visit of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. How many times have you walked those steps? You've walked the same steps as the Queen. You're basically royalty now.  Source
"1951 Royal Visit of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh."      How many times have you walked those steps? You've walked the same steps as the Queen. You're basically royalty now.
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"Robert Falconer followed by Wilfrid Laurier walk across the front campus at the Special Convocation for the Installation of President Robert Falconer. 1907."   Source
"Robert Falconer followed by Wilfrid Laurier walk across the front campus at the Special Convocation for the Installation of President Robert Falconer. 1907."
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6 comments on “Looking back at U of T

  1. My son is attending U of T starting in the fall, thank you for writing about the pictures of the school and buildings. The rich history and tradition were why we picked U of T for him in the first place.

    1. Congratulations to your son! The history of the campus was one of the big things that drew me to UofT as well!

  2. This is really awesome!
    I love this so much.
    Reminds me of how awesome U of T and the people that go there are 😀

  3. Incredible! I’m trying to do the same kind of thing for my university on the east coast, I would love to hear how you made these 🙂

    1. HI Sarah! I’m glad you like them! All I did was walk around with some old pictures and take new shots at the same angles then overlay the old pictures on the new with photoshop! Hope that helps and good luck on your project!

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