St. Lawrence Hall Ceiling Detail

Location: inside St. Lawrence Hall, 157 King St. E.
Date photo taken: 11 February 2017

St. Lawrence Hall, the impressive cupola-topped building on the south west corner of King and Jarvis, was built in 1850 to provide a space for Torontonians to gather for talks, concerts and other entertainments. It was the heart of the city. The importance of the building as a cultural venue began to wane even before the turn of the century however and despite hosting a range of diverse tenants, from the Irish Catholic Benevolent Union, who installed one of the first basketball courts in Canada, to the National Ballet, the state of the building gradually declined. By the time the City of Toronto undertook an extensive restoration of the building in 1967, as a Centennial project, the structure was in such bad shape that the entire east wing collapsed. Despite this major set-back, work continued and the Hall was officially reopened on December 28, 1967. The total cost of the project was $1,775,000. This ornate bit of ceiling is a recreation from that restoration and can be found in the beautiful Grand Meeting Hall on the third floor.

Republic of Rathnelly

Location: Rathnelly Avenue and Poplar Plains Crescent

Date photo taken: 25 September 2013

Back in 1967 Canada celebrated its centennial. The various levels of government, private corporations and organizations of all descriptions marked the occasion with special projects. Citizens too were encouraged to celebrate this milestone and projects big and small were publicized in the newspaper. One neighbourhood in Toronto decided to celebrate by seceding from Canada. On June 10, 1967 residents of Rathnelly took to the streets, erected barricades, declared themselves an independent republic within the borders of Canada and had themselves a grand party. While it was all in fun, resident Alan Thomas explained at the time that they had "planned it as a reminder that there was a slender thread of rebellion in Canada's history". The shenanigans went beyond a single day in 1967 however. In 1969, looking for funding for the erection of a playground, representatives of the Republic wrote to Prime Minister Trudeau asking for a foreign aid grant. More recently, in 2012, street signs like the one above were distributed throughout the neighbourhood. The coat of arms features neighbourhood markers including train tracks and a rough sketch showing the five blocks that make up the area, as well as the Expo symbol and six martini glasses, presumably a nod to the year and spirit of its founding.