Toronto Between The Wars Life In The City 1919-1939

Writing this book was a labour of love for me. I've always been drawn to the older buildings and neighbourhoods in Toronto, where I can catch a glimpse of the city of the past. The 1920s and 1930s in Toronto were particularly interesting, sandwiched between the two World Wars. Massive changes took place at this time, leaving their mark on the city and the people who lived here. A new and improved city-wide transportation system came into being; elegant Art Deco skyscrapers sprang up downtown; Prohibition, jazz and shifting social mores flavoured the twenties and the Depression and social unrest dominated the thirties. Hemlines went up, movies were more popular than ever, radio arrived and cars and trucks replaced horses. The people who lived in Toronto in the 1920s and 1930s come alive in the evocative pictures in this book. The rich appear on horseback at a fox hunt and at the races at Woodbine Stadium in their furs and top hats. The poor sleep in a bandshell at Queen's Park and line up for food at a soup kitchen. Workers march in the May Day parade and two little girls take their dolls for a walk along Sunnyside boardwalk. I discovered fascinating details about Toronto at this time, including what made a baby a winner at the annual CNE baby contest (health and cleanliness), what swimsuits were made of (wool) and what a jitney was (a truck used as a taxi during a transit strike). I hope that readers will be as captivated as I was with this period in Toronto's history.Cotter, Charis is the author of 'Toronto Between The Wars Life In The City 1919-1939', published 2004 under ISBN 9781552978993 and ISBN 1552978990.