Bay Street - History

History

The street was originally known as Bear Street because of frequent bear sightings in the early history of Toronto. It was renamed Bay Street in 1797 from the fact that it connected Lot Street (present-day Queen Street West) to a bay at the Toronto Harbour. In the 19th century the intersection of Bay and King Street was home to Toronto's major newspapers: the Mail Building, the old Toronto Star Building, and the old Globe and Mail Building were all located near the intersection.

Until 1922, the section of Bay running north from Queen Street and ending at College Street was known as Terauley Street (named after the Terauley estate of John Simcoe Macaulay near Bay and Queen Streets). Several discontinuous streets existed north of College Street to Davenport Road. By-Law 9316 joined these streets together as far north as Scollard Street in 1922. Finally, By-Law 9884, enacted on January 28, 1924, changed the name of Ketchum Avenue to Bay Street, extending it to Davenport Road.

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