: Heritage Toronto's Blog
Heritage in the News
For the week of January 30
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Time to get to know Uno's Annex (Globe & Mail)
Lieut. David Hornell epitomized bravery (Toronto Sun)
Kingswood Road South receives special heritage designation (Inside Toronto)
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FacebookBuilding Storeys 2010 - Opens Today
Our industrial photo exhibit is on now until Feb 27 at the Gladstone Hotel
Opening today - February 4th - is our second annual photo exhibition!
After the success of our 2009 exhibit, Building Storeys 2010 returns in February 2010 for a longer stay at the Gladstone Hotel.
A collaborative effort by Heritage Toronto and members of the photography groups the Shadow Collective and the DK Photo Group , Building Storeys is a visual documentation and anecdotal exhibit of city's heritage building and sites. By showcasing some of Toronto's industrial past we hope to change the perception of heritage in our city, by revealing some of the hidden beauty of these sites.
Thursday, February 4 - Saturday, February 27th, 2010
The Gladstone Hotel
3rd & 4th Floors
1214 Queen Street West
Toronto
Design Competition for St. Lawrence Market North Building
Field is narrowed down to five finalists and seven judges
Today the five short-listed competitors who will vie for the title of ‘winning design' in the St. Lawrence Market North Building Design Competition were revealed.
The announcement comes after architectural teams across the country and abroad responded to Stage 1 of the competition by submitting expressions of interest, and the City and a professional advisor to the competition narrowed the field to a final list of competitors. Stage 2 of the competition begins today, in which the finalists develop full building designs. These will be exhibited to the public in May.
The list of jury members for Stage 2 was also unveiled today. The jury members, who come from across North America, will deliberate, debate and adjudicate over which design should be chosen for the North Market redevelopment. The redevelopment of the St. Lawrence Market North property is to replace the existing one-storey North Market building with a new four-storey, multi-purpose facility that is more environmentally sustainable, energy efficient and mindful of the character and heritage of the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood.
Heritage in the News
For the week of January 23
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Building Storeys - the Canadian Northern Railway Eastern Lines Locomotive Shop (Spacing)
New life for Shaw St. school as studios for artists (Toronto Star)
Toronto Preservation Board Update - January 2010
Update on 7 Austin Terrace (Maclean House)
Last Thursday, the Toronto Preservation Board voted unanimously to recommend that 7 Austin Terrace (the Maclean House) be included on the City's Inventory of Heritage Properties, and also that the City designate the property under the Ontario Heritage Act.
After a number of speakers, including local MPP Dr. Eric Hoskins and Councillor Joe Mihevc, had spoken strongly in favour of the motion, the lawyer for the owner of 7 Austin Terrace asked for an adjournment. He argued that the process had been "flawed, unfair and prejudicial" to his client. He said that the owner had not had the opportunity to speak at the Toronto and East York Community Council, nor had he received adequate notice of the intent to designate.
TPB members asked whether, if an adjournment were granted, the owner would agree not to recommence demolition until City Council had considered the issue properly. When it became clear that it was not possible to get such a commitment, the TPB voted unanimously to recommend that the property be designated.
Heritage in the News
For the week of January 16
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Queen's Own Rifles mark 150th anniversary (Inside Toronto)
Group opposes 'wanton destruction' of venerable building (Inside Toronto)
Historicist: Radio Drama's Irascible and Troubled Prince (Torontoist)
Photo of Maclean House (7 Austin Terrace)
HT Volunteer Positions Available
Volunteer Writers and a Volunteer Editor are needed
Volunteer Writer - Communications Program
(6-month commitment term: February - July 2010; minimum of 4 writing assignments ranging from 500 - 1,500 words)
Heritage Toronto is seeking a group of committed volunteer writers to join our Communications Program for a 6-month term. As a volunteer writer, you will have the opportunity to develop your own writing assignments, conduct historical research to support story details, research accompanying photos and produce articles by the agreed deadline. Your stories will be featured on the Heritage Toronto's website and issued in our e-newsletter, Heritage Columns (3,000 subscribers). Stories produced must be accurate and adhere to the values maintained by Heritage Toronto.
Heritage in the News
For the week of January 9
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Downsview dilemma (Toronto Star)
Protect Ontario's political heritage (Toronto Star)
Two of downtown Toronto's last single-family homes for sale (Globe & Mail)
1958 Postcard
The view along York Street, before the Gardiner Expressway
This 1958 view is looking north along York Street; the roadway in the foreground is Fleet Street, later renamed Lakeshore Boulevard. The grimy looking Royal York Hotel dominates the scene. To the right of it is the relatively pristine 400-room eastern extension of the hotel, which opened in February 1959 at a cost of $14 million. The tall building on the right is the 34-story Bank of Commerce building, from 1931 until 1967 the tallest skyscraper in the city. On the far right can be seen the cluster of skyscrapers at King and Yonge streets that were themselves Toronto's loftiest structures in the first decades of the 20th century.
The modern building on the far left horizon is the 20-storey Lord Simcoe Hotel, opened in 1957 and named after John Graves Simcoe, considered the founder of Toronto. Local historians objected to the name since Simcoe had never been elevated to the peerage but the owners possessed other hotels named after lords and they wanted their Toronto hotel to be consistent with that brand. The hotel was closed in 1979 and demolished in 1980.
Its Not the Trail: It’s the Land it Crosses
The origin of the name "Toronto"
I was recently asked to participate in a conference in which I explored the concept of place as that might relate to the origin of the word Toronto and the carrying place trails. While acknowledging that there continues to be discussion about the origin and meaning of our city's name, it is essential to recognize that a sense of place is about "memory" and that memory tends to narrow through time, especially across centuries and cultures. If the original term used to describe a trail was actually exceedingly expansive in its original intent, what does that mean for how we think about and interpret the trail today?
Heritage Toronto Website Survey
Help us by providing your feedback and win HT award-winning book - by Jan 31st
Please help us improve our website by providing your feedback.
Fill out a short survey and you could win a copy of the 2009 Heritage Toronto Book Award of Excellence - Derek Hayes' Historical Atlas of Toronto.
To be eligible to win the prize, all survey results must be received by January 31st, 2010, with the winner announced shortly afterwards.
HT Membership Drive
Thank you to those who joined our family
Thank you to everyone who responded to our call for membership. We appreciate your support and belief in our work!
Congratulations to the all the winners of the fabulous prizes.
And a special thank you to our community partners who donated the wonderful gifts:
Heritage Toronto will be announcing additional membership incentives in the near future. Stay tuned for more exciting member announcements in 2010!
Update: Downsview Hangars facing demolition
Temporary stay on demolition of historic structures
Courtesy of the Heritage Canada Foundation:
Demolition has been temporarily haulted on the historic Downsview Hangars (Buildings 55 and 58) at former CFB Downsview air base in Toronto, due to public pressure. Discussions continue on the future of the Hangars.
Constructed in 1943, these structures were designated as heritage buildings by the federal government in 1992 for the role they played in Canadian aircraft production during the Second World War. The hangars are owned by the Department of National Defence (DND).
There is strong private sector interest in developing these buildings. Mr. Paul Oberman, President and CEO of Woodcliffe Corporation has been working tirelessly to find a solution that could both meet the needs of DND and save the historic Downsview hangars, including a land exchange under negotitation with Mr. Tony Genco, CEO of Parc Downsview Park. On December 24th, DND offered a short stay of demolition. Now, DND has taken the position that they are not interested in considering any proposals and are not responding to inquiries.
100 years of Grey Cups
This year marks anniversary of the inaugural Grey Cup
By David Wencer
This December marks the one hundredth anniversary of the inaugural Grey Cup game, when the University of Toronto beat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club at Rosedale by a score of 26 to 6. There was little to suggest at the time, however, that this game marked the beginning of one of Canada's proudest and most popular sports traditions.
In 1909, there was no Canadian Football League. The terms "rugby" and "football" were often used interchangeably (or together) and the newspaper accounts of 1909 reveal an interesting hybrid of today's CFL terminology and traditional rugby parlance. Although Canadian football had been played across the country for several decades, it was only in the first decade of the 20th Century that a serious effort began to standardize the rules across Canada. By 1909 there were still many competing leagues, and no adequate means of determining Canada's top football team.
7 Austin Terrace
Update: Province issues stop order to stop destruction
What has happened at 7 Austin Terrace is more proof, if any were needed, of a major weakness in the City's current approach to heritage preservation.
Heritage Toronto is shocked by the needless destruction of some of the defining heritage elements of this elegant residence, designed by renowned Toronto architect John Lyle.
Much to everyone's frustration, the current building owners have done nothing illegal in partially destroying key architectural features of the home. While local residents and heritage advocates are naturally angry and suspicious about the owners' motivation for this action being taken now, they have no legal recourse.
Time after time, the city pursues designation of a heritage building only after a developer has purchased the property and announced plans for its redevelopment. The result is a confrontational process through the relevant City committees, and sometimes on to the OMB.
Recommended Design Chosen for the New Visitor Centre at Fort York
Patkau Architects Inc, with Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., will design new Centre
A jury has unanimously recommended the conceptual design submitted by Patkau Architects Inc., Vancouver, with Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., Toronto, for the new Visitor Centre at Fort York National Historic Site.
Fort York National Historic Site is the birthplace of urban Toronto and the site of Canada's largest collection of 1812-era military structures. The Visitor Centre is key to the planned revitalization of the entire 43-acre (17-hectare) site, and is scheduled for completion in 2012, for the Bicentennial Commemoration of the War of 1812.
In the recommended design, the Visitor Centre forms a new escarpment of weathering-steel, re-establishing the original sense of a defensive site. The jury noted that the success of the Patkau/Kearns Mancini collaborative design lies in the use of the steel-escarpment and a simple foreshore of grasses, which when combined with the recently launched multi-media art installation Watertable, interpret the historic site condition of the original Lake Ontario shoreline bluff, and provide a strong visual presence for the Fort.
Heritage in the News
For the week of December 12
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Anger as historic home's features hacked away (Toronto Star)
Hume: Toothless laws led to shameful destruction (Toronto Star)
Heritage in the News
For the week of December 5
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Grim history lurks beneath the new Exhibition Place hotel (Globe & Mail)
Shedding light on Queen's Wharf Lighthouse (Toronto Sun)
Historicist: "Fighting with a feather pillow" (Torontoist)
Photo of the Stanley Barracks courtesy of the Exhibition Archives
Garrison Garnishings – reclaiming unloved history at Fort York
What lies beneath tells the hidden history of the Fort
The place near the foot of Bathurst Street that we call Fort York was known for most of its history simply as the Toronto garrison or the Old Fort (as distinct from the New Fort, which was built in 1841 -- the only structure of which survives being Stanley Barracks). The walled fort we see today within Fort York National Historic Site contains one of the largest collections of War of 1812 buildings in North America. It is this brief period of investment in military infrastructure that Fort York's seven original buildings, dating to 1813-16, recalls today (other buildings from this time of war and its aftermath, built to house hundreds of soldiers, are gone). Many other buildings, built inside and outside today's walls throughout the nineteenth century, also did not survive.
HT Membership - a great gift this holiday season
Join by December 13 for your chance to win fantastic prizes
Looking for a special gift for someone who cares about history? Consider giving a Heritage Toronto Membership as a meaningful gift this holiday season.
Join by December 13 for your chance to win fantastic prizes, which include award-winning historic books, a stay at the Gladstone Hotel or a framed Building Storeys print. As a member you will also support the important work of Heritage Toronto, in the preservation and
promotion of Toronto's history.
The deadline to join and be eligible for the draw is December 13th, with the draw taking place the week of December 14.
For full details, click here, and for membership costs and benefits, click here.
Response to Marcus Gee Article, Globe and Mail
Heritage preservation includes cultural relevance
In reference to Marcus Gee's article published in the Globe & Mail on Thursday, December 3rd.
Heritage in the News
For the week of November 28
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Maple Leaf Gardens ushers in the future (Toronto Star)
Some reminders of the past just don't deserve to be rescued (Globe & Mail)
Hangman's Graveyard
Documentary tells story of buried Don Jail criminals
This Sunday, December 6th on History Television will be the premiere of Hangman's Graveyard at 8:00pm.
Hangman’s Graveyard is a dark and haunting tale of rogues, rakes and villains and a modern day investigation to uncover and identify the remains of inmates executed at Toronto’s notorious Don Jail. Inmates who were unceremoniously buried in the Murderer’s Graveyard directly behind the jail, in some cases buried mere feet from where they met their maker at the end of the hangman’s noose.
In 2007, as part of Bridgepoint Health's new redevelopment plan, Archaeological Services Inc. began an investigation to uncover the Murderer's Graveyard. The team of archaeologists uncovered 15 burials and began a process of identifying each of the individuals and re-interring their remains in a more suitable cemetery.
For more information, please visit:
http://hangmansgraveyard.com/
Fort York Visitor Centre Design Competition
Have your say at open house December 4-6
Mayor David Miller and Members of Toronto City Council invite you to view and comment on designs from the finalists of the Fort York Visitor Centre Design Competition at an open house on Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 6 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day.
The Fort York Visitor Centre, key to the revitalization of Fort York National Historic Site, is scheduled for completion for the Bicentennial Commemoration of the War of 1812 in June 2012. Five design teams were selected to participate in the competition from a field of 31 who submitted their proposals following a Call
for Expressions of Interest. The five firms are: Baird Sampson Neuert Architects; Diamond and Schmitt Architects; du Toit Allsopp Hillier/du Toit Architects Limited; Patkau Architects Inc with Kearns Mancini Architects Inc; and rawdesign with Gareth Hoskins Architects.
The Open House will be held at:
Members' Lounge
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West
12:00 p.m. remarks on Friday, December 4.
For further information, please contact Sandra Shaul at 416-392-8231.
Heritage in the News
For the week of November 21
Heritage Toronto will be providing a weekly recap of heritage news in our city.
Feel free to add your comments at the end of this posting, including any stories we may have missed.
Standing guard over a historic landmark (Globe & Mail)
Historicist: "The city that nobody loves" (Torontoist)