those side walks of yesteryear in front of the monarch sign. were they actual curb pieces and slabs of stone layed down to make the side walk or were they poured cement?
Since Toronto modeled itself on English cities (where they were common) I suspect they were 'paving stones'.
Probably concrete or cement. [...]
Turns out that early Toronto used a lot of different materials for its sidewalks.
I did a very brief search of the City's online by-law registry (since funds for sidewalk construction would have been authorized by Council by way of by-law). I may be the only one who cares about this, but I found the following:
1) According to Torontoist,
Jesse Ketchum is reportedly the first person to install a "sidewalk" in Toronto, when in the early 19th century he threw bark down on muddy Yonge Street to help people get in and out of his store.
2) Not surprisingly, the first municipally maintained sidewalks in Toronto appear to have been wooden plank sidewalks. The 21st by-law passed by Council, which was passed in 1836, was for the "preservation and repairs of the planking of the sidewalks in the City of Toronto and Liberties".
3) By the 1850s, Council appears to have been authorizing stone sidewalks at certain locations in the city, but otherwise wooden planks were the material of choice.
4) By the 1880s, most of the sidewalks authorized by Council were for either wooden planks or "stone flag".
5) In 1888, Council appears to have authorized its first "
granolithic" sidewalk, which appears to consist of cement and aggregate. Granolithic appears to have become quite common after that.
6) In the 1890s, Council appears to have authorizing sidewalks of various materials: wooden planks, stone flag, "Eureka granitic" and "Excelsior Sidewalk". I assume the last two are brand names, for either some form of granolithic and/or paving stones. Notwithstanding the type of sidewalk, stone curbs appear to have been common.
7) In 1890, Council authorized a "Bryce asphalt" sidewalk on the east side of Church Street and the south side of Shuter Street, but I did not see many other such by-laws after that. I guess asphalt was a failed experiment.
8) The first reference to a concrete sidewalk was in an 1892 by-law (as best as I can tell, although I may have missed something) for Gerrard Street East, between Jarvis and Sherbourne.
9) By 1900, most of the sidewalks authorized by Council appear to have been concrete. I did not look past 1900, but I am guessing that references to other types of sidewalk likely quickly disappear in the registry after that.
I did not bother assessing the locations where Toronto used stone flag, versus granolithic, versus concrete, versus wooden plank, to see if the type of material followed any type of pattern (maybe nicer or busier streets tended to have one type of material, versus quieter/less nice/newer streets?). Since landowners on the streets in question appear to have been levied special rates to pay for the new sidewalks, the type of material may have depended on what the landowners on any given street were willing to pay.
