Tribute to Labour

Location: Heritage Court, Enercare Centre, CNE

Date photo taken: 25 August 2015

Attending the CNE has been a yearly tradition for me for countless years now and warm days turning to coolish nights makes me nostalgic for the fair. As COVID has cancelled the fun this year I've gone back through my files and dredged up this image from the flower show at the Ex 5 years ago. This figure positioned among the prize winning greenery in the Heritage Court was designed by Charles McKechnie in 1928 to adorn the new Electrical and Engineering Building. Eight statues in total, consisting of four matched pairs, stood dramatically atop the entrance and each was a tribute to labour. They were fabricated from poured concrete and were salvaged when the building was demolished in 1972. The four on display in the Heritage Court have come home in a way, as the Enercare Centre is located where the Electrical and Engineering Building once stood.

If you're feeling nostalgic for the CNE, they have some wonderful archival material up on their website, including photos of the figures sitting atop the entrance to the Electrical and Engineering Building. There are also some fantastic images from the Midway over the years. Browse and you never know what you'll find. For example, I was surprised to see that in 1954 there was a Midway attraction called Striporama!