9 Comments May 9, 2013 at 9:30 am

cityscape

A History of Island Airport Expansion Schemes

With Porter Airlines trying to expand Billy Bishop Airport, here's a look back at a century of controversy over the site.

By Jamie Bradburn

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253058 The diving horse, Hanlan’s Point, circa 1907-1908. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 191. As the 20th century dawned, the north end of Hanlan’s Point was a getaway for city dwellers seeking amusement in any form. <a href="http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/05/nostalgia_tripping_hanlans_point_amusement_park/">There were even high-diving horses</a>. 20130508_divinghorse https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_divinghorse-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_divinghorse.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_divinghorse.jpg 1000 723 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_divinghorse/ 20130508_divinghorse 0 0

253059 Old Mill amusement ride and portion of Hanlan’s Point Stadium, August 27, 1919. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 1, Item 323. The first hint that planes would figure in the Toronto Islands’ future came in May 1915, when the northern tip of the Western Sandbar became an air training school. Many of its students flew into battle during World War I. Postwar, the future airport site remained home to an amusement park and baseball stadium. 20130508_stadium https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_stadium-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_stadium.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_stadium.jpg 1000 664 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_stadium/ 20130508_stadium 0 0

253060 Map of airport proposal, Toronto Star, June 8, 1929. In June 1929, the Toronto Harbour Commission submitted a four-stage Island airport proposal to city council. In its proposal, the THC observed that, “Toronto should grasp the full significance that air service is a fast-coming industry and provide facilities now that will assure it becoming an integral part of the airways of the future on this continent.” City council only approved the first stage, allowing a small base for seaplanes. Councillors suggested this approval should not be taken as a sign that they would eventually green light a full airport. 20130508_plan1929 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_plan1929-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_plan1929.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_plan1929.jpg 640 901 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_plan1929/ 20130508_plan1929 0 0

253061 Aerial view of Hanlan’s Point, October 21, 1937. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 124, Item 1706. On April 16, 1935, the federal government announced that it would provide $1 million toward a tunnel under the Western Gap—one large enough to carry cars and streetcars to the Toronto Islands. The funding was part of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett’s “Canadian New Deal” list of work-stimulation projects. An airport was part of the project. Supporters saw the scheme as a great opportunity to improve access to recreational facilities (vehicles would not go beyond Hanlan’s Point) and a boon to downtown, because it would provide air service to the core. Opponents like controller <a href="http://torontoist.com/2010/03/historicist_rough-and-tumble_politics_of_sam_mcbride/">Sam McBride</a> and federal opposition leader William Lyon Mackenzie King felt the money would be better spent on other projects and relief programs within the city. 20130508_clearedland https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_clearedland-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_clearedland.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_clearedland.jpg 1000 724 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_clearedland/ 20130508_clearedland 0 0

253062 Billy Bishop (standing, wearing polka-dot tie) at opening ceremonies for Barker Field, 1931. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 4642. By a 15-7 vote, City Council approved both the airport and tunnel on August 8, 1935. Construction work began on the tunnel, but was halted soon after Mackenzie King won the federal election in October. As 1935 ended, Sam McBride used his opposition to the tunnel as a point of pride during his successful mayoral campaign. Like the Eglinton subway project decades later, the tunnel was filled in. The airport project remained in limbo while politicians debated whether to continue plans to build at Hanlan’s Point, or back a proposal for an airfield in Malton. The city formed an official advisory committee--- headed by World War I flying ace <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bishop">Billy Bishop</a>---to look into its airport dilemma. 20130508_bishop https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_bishop-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_bishop.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_bishop.jpg 1000 772 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_bishop/ 20130508_bishop 0 0

253063 Editorial cartoon by Les Callan, Toronto Star, June 2, 1937. Among the issues plaguing the Island proposal was one relevant to today's airport debate: runway length. While 5,000 feet was the preferred length, planners called for 3,000-foot runways, which would cut construction costs by $1.2 million. Local media tired of the political bickering. As the Globe and Mail observed in a July 6, 1937 editorial, Toronto should have prepared for an airport years earlier. “Yet backward as she is, her officials continue to waste time.” 20130508_cartoon1937 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cartoon1937-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cartoon1937.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cartoon1937.jpg 535 688 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_cartoon1937/ 20130508_cartoon1937 0 0

253064 Airport site, showing cottages along West Island Drive, October 1, 1937. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 52, Item 1969. After 12 hours of heated debate spread over two days, City Council approved plans for airports at Hanlan’s Point and Malton by a 14-7 vote on July 9, 1937. Among those opposed to the bitter end was alderman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Smith_(politician)">Stewart Smith</a>, who declared: “Are we going to sacrifice the interests of generations to come, in the interests of a relatively small commercial project?” By the end of the month, site clearing was underway—most of the amusement park was demolished, while a nearby lagoon was filled in. Residents whose cottages were in the path of the airport formed a committee to encourage the city to find a new site for their homes and provide financial assistance to move them. On October 4, 1937, City Council approved a plan to move the cottages over to Sunfish Island, later known as Algonquin Island. 20130508_cottages https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cottages-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cottages.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_cottages.jpg 1000 782 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_cottages/ 20130508_cottages 0 0

253065 Sketch showing where the Island airport would be located, Toronto Star, October 2, 1937. As construction proceeded through 1938, City officials developed grandiose dreams for the Island airport. Controller <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Conboy">Frederick Conboy</a> envisioned commercial transatlantic service from downtown to London via giant flying boats. Likely inspired by the growing spectre of war in Europe, Conboy believed both the Island and Malton required military planes in case of enemy bombing runs. “We must not forget,” he told the Globe and Mail, “that the bombing of a Canadian city, by a country far removed from Canada, is no longer just a possibility. It’s now a reality which must be faced and guarded against.” Conboy was likely relieved when the city didn’t experience any bombing during his tenure as Toronto’s mayor from 1941 to 1944. 20130508_shapetocome1937 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_shapetocome1937-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_shapetocome1937.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_shapetocome1937.jpg 1000 419 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_shapetocome1937/ 20130508_shapetocome1937 0 0

253066 Source: Globe and Mail, November 5, 1938. The hangar depicted here was finished in February 1939. Small planes began using the airport before installation of the terminal and night lighting was finished in May 1939. 20130508_workprogress https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_workprogress-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_workprogress.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_workprogress.jpg 600 501 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_workprogress/ 20130508_workprogress 0 0

253067 Toronto Island Airport from roof at grain elevators, June 14, 1939. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1231, Item 117a. To coincide with a visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother), the airport officially opened on May 22, 1939. The facility’s proper name was the Port George VI Toronto Island Airport, though few ever honoured its regal airs. With the outbreak of World War II, the airport was pressed into military use. The Royal Norwegian Air Force trained there after its home country was occupied by the Nazis. The Norwegians' families settled across the gap, giving birth to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Norway">Little Norway</a>. 20130508_overhead1939 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_overhead1939-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_overhead1939.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_overhead1939.jpg 1000 671 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_overhead1939/ 20130508_overhead1939 0 0

253068 Toronto Island Airport ferry, 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 330, Item 9. With the tunnel project dead, the airport relied on a 121-metre-long ferry service to bring passengers over. Cables attached on each side were used to pull the vessel back and forth. Though the passenger limit was 48, up to 300 Norwegians at a time were transported during World War II. The cable ferry was replaced by the tugboat Thomas Langton on New Year’s Day 1964, which was replaced the following year by the ferry Maple City, which is pictured here. The Maple City currently serves as the backup ferry. 20130508_ferry https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_ferry-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_ferry.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_ferry.jpg 1000 674 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_ferry/ 20130508_ferry 0 0

253072 Group of unidentified men standing by a Globe and Mail plane, undated. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 2052. The Globe and Mail was among the downtown businesses that used the airport. Though the men in this photo aren’t identified, the one in the middle bears a strong resemblance to Maple Leafs boss <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conn_Smythe">Conn Smythe</a>. 20130508_smythe https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_smythe-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_smythe.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_smythe.jpg 1000 763 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_smythe/ 20130508_smythe 0 0

253073 Toronto Island Airport tower, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 331, Item 6. The first commercial passenger flight from the United States to the airport landed on September 8, 1939. It carried big-band leader <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdXRfSqm9kw">Tommy Dorsey</a> and his orchestra, who were in Toronto to play a headlining gig at the Canadian National Exhibition. Regular scheduled passenger service began in 1975, courtesy of Otonabee Airways, later known as City Express. Other airlines that used the facilities before Porter’s launch in 2006 were Air Ontario and Air Canada Jazz. 20130508_tower https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_tower-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_tower.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_tower.jpg 1000 678 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_tower/ 20130508_tower 0 0

253074 Central Airways hangars, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 314, Item 24. Launched after World War II by brothers <a href="http://www.ccmms.ca/veteran-stories/air-force/tommy-wong/">Robert and Tommy Wong</a>, Central Airways taught many pilots the fine art of flying. 20130508_centralairways https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_centralairways-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_centralairways.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_centralairways.jpg 1000 678 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_centralairways/ 20130508_centralairways 0 0

253075 Toronto Island Airport, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 331, Item 12. After a $4 flight special, why not soak in the sunshine? 20130508_sunbathing https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_sunbathing-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_sunbathing.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_sunbathing.jpg 1000 677 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_sunbathing/ 20130508_sunbathing 0 0

253076 Proposed Harbour City plans, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 291, Item 6. During the late 1960s, the Toronto Harbour Commission decided the airport was outdated. Since expansion space was limited, the THC looked east toward the Leslie Street Spit. If the airport was moved to new infill in the east, the thinking went, plenty of land would be opened up for development. The provincial government picked up on some of the THC’s ideas when it unveiled its <a href="http://www.blogto.com/city/2010/09/remembering_harbour_city_torontos_unbuilt_town_on_the_lake/">Harbour City</a> neighbourhood proposal in May 1970. Harbour City would have housed 60,000 people on existing land and newly created islands. 20130508_harbourcity https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_harbourcity-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_harbourcity.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_harbourcity.jpg 982 470 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_harbourcity/ 20130508_harbourcity 0 0

253077 Proposed airport site along Leslie Street Spit, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 291, Item 9. There were several concerns about the Harbour City proposal. Some people were worried that its existence would necessitate the completion of the Spadina Expressway. Others were adamant that the waterfront should belong to the public, rather than private owners. The plan was eventually scrapped. As for the proposed airport site, east-end residents complained about potential problems resulting from air traffic. A government report leaked in 1974 revealed plans to operate two airports on the waterfront, to allow short takeoff and landing (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOL">STOL</a>) aircraft. Disgruntled Toronto alderman Dorothy Thomas, who sat on a committee looking at the future of local airports, felt the idea was “simply insane.” It was quickly shelved, though the battle to allow STOL flights continued into the early 1980s, when a limited number were permitted. 20130508_leslieplan https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_leslieplan-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_leslieplan.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_leslieplan.jpg 1000 655 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_leslieplan/ 20130508_leslieplan 0 0

253078 Toronto Island Airport terminal, circa 1970. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 331, Item 2. The other battles fought over the airport site are too long to list, from financial woes that threatened to close it, to David Miller’s anti-expansion campaign. The original 1939 terminal has witnessed them all. In 1989, it became <a href="http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7530">a national historic site</a>. Later, in 2012, it was moved from its original location to allow construction of the pedestrian tunnel. It sits in limbo on the south side of the airport, awaiting some future use. 20130508_terminal https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_terminal-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_terminal.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130508_terminal.jpg 1000 673 [] https://torontoist.com/2013/05/a-history-of-expansion-schemes-for-the-island-airport/slide/20130508_terminal/ 20130508_terminal 0 0

Leafing through the history of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is like listening to a broken record. Every few years the groove locks on yet another proposal to expand the Island airport’s facilities. Until the arrival of Robert Deluce and Porter Airlines, most of these visions failed to take flight. Even ideas that became reality endured lengthy delays. In fact, the pedestrian tunnel between the mainland and the airport that’s currently under construction is a revival of a project briefly worked on during the mid-1930s.

While we wait to see if the staff study authorized by city council Monday night leads to the changes Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce desires (he’d like to introduce jet service, currently banned on the Island), here’s a look back at how the airport was born, and at previous proposals to alter the status quo.

Click through the image gallery, above, to learn more.

Additional material from More Than an Island by Sally Gibson (Toronto: Irwin, 1984), Unbuilt Toronto by Mark Osbaldeston (Toronto: Dundurn, 2008), the July 6, 1937; August 19, 1938; September 9, 1939; December 31, 1963; and May 29, 1974 editions of the Globe and Mail, and the July 10, 1937 edition of the Toronto Star.

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