Flyer

Location: Princes' Blvd, Canadian National Exhibition

Date photo taken: 24 August 2024

For those with an interest in heritage, there is always something to appreciate at the Ex. Most of the time it's in the background, like the Charles McKechnie figures in the Heritage Court or the outline of Fort Rouillé in the southern garden, but this year history is deliberately more in focus. An exhibit in the Withrow Common Gallery looks back at the relationship between the CNE and the AGO, and in the Enercare Centre, the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions is celebrated with an exhibit dedicated to carnivals. On display are photos, ephemera and artifacts from past midways, including cars from the Flyer, a roller coaster built on the CNE grounds in 1953. The cars, like the illuminated letters pictured here, were salvaged when the Flyer was dismantled in 1992. The CNE Association refurbished the sign and restored the cars and both are now ready for your selfie moment. 

Pucks

 

Location: Tim Horton's in Brookfield Place, Front & Yonge

Date photo taken: 3 December 2019

Despite the ongoing closure of the Hockey Hall of Fame, hockey fans can still browse some pretty interesting exhibits of hockey memorabilia, thanks to Tim Horton's. Opened in 2017, the franchise in Brookfield Place, which shares the atrium with the Hall of Fame entrance, was designed to function as a mini-museum. There are displays of pucks, sticks and helmets on the walls and near the entrance, and standing in what is normally the seating area in the atrium are large custom cases displaying jerseys and artifacts, one for each of the Canadian teams. They have even served a special Hall of Fame donut for Family Day. 

Bank of Nova Scotia Mosaic

Location: formerly in the ABM vestibule of the bank at Queen Street East at Church

Date photo taken: 27 March 2018

I wonder how many people entering the former Scotiabank branch at the corner of Queen and Church stopped to admire this mosaic? Dating to approximately 1929, it's a beautifully detailed rendition of the bank's seal, which is made up of elements which reflect the bank's Maritime roots and the industries on which the early wealth of the region was based. These include a merchant sailing vessel, a codfish, and a plow with a sheaf of grain. The shield is surrounded here by thistles representing Nova Scotia's Scottish heritage. When the bank vacated the building in 2018, this seal was removed to ensure its long term preservation.

CNR Caboose

Location: Roundhouse Park

Date photo taken: 11 November 2020

This is Canadian National Caboose #79144 and it is one of many outdoor exhibits accessible to the public at the Toronto Railway Museum despite COVID closures. While the museum itself is closed, the adjoining Roundhouse Park is dotted with outdoor exhibits which include structures, such as the 1896 Don Station, as well as train cars like this one. 

This caboose actually started out life as a boxcar. Built in 1920, it hauled goods for years until wooden boxcars became obsolete. CN, rather than off -loading them, converted many, including this one, into cabooses. In the early days, the caboose provided a home away from home for those who worked on the train, but over time, the need for such accommodation lessened. Eventually it became more of an office on wheels. The cute little raised portion was where the conductor or brakeman could sit to keep an eye on the train.

If you want to support the Toronto Railway Museum, or just love trains, you might want to get yourself a ticket for "Royal Train Tours of Canada", the first in the museum's 2021 series of virtual lectures.

Display of early ceramics

Location: 351 King St. E.

Date photo taken: 13 February 2019

This collection of early ceramics represents some of the finds uncovered during the extensive archaeological excavations carried out a few blocks away, in the lot at the corner of Front and Jarvis. Four other recessed display cases feature other finds, such as coloured bottles and an early light bulb. Easy to overlook, the displays can be found in the pedestrian pass-through on the ground floor of the Globe and Mail Centre on King, just west of Berkeley. Reassuring signage near the door proclaims "Open to the Public - Archaeological Display in lobby." 

Space Age Television

Location: MZTV Museum of Television, 64 Jefferson Ave.
Date photo taken: 13 October 2018

This is a deluxe spherical colour tv manufactured in 1969 by Keracolor. It is one of my favourite pieces on display at Toronto’s MZTV Museum of Television. The combined museum and archive contains more than 10,000 objects related to the early years of television, with a specific focus on the technology behind the medium, including television receivers. It includes some extremely rare pieces, as well as a few with celebrity connections. The displays are limited to one large room but there’s plenty to see. The sections of floor to ceiling racking filled with vintage tv cabinets, all carefully labelled, are visually impressive, and the exhibits are well thought out and nicely presented. The museum is located in the Zoomer Complex in Liberty Village and is open Tuesday to Friday from 2 to 5 pm, with guided tours at 4 pm. Admission is $10, or $5 for students, seniors and those booking group tours. If you can’t visit the museum in person, you can tour it virtually by downloading the free app, MZTV Museum of Television from Google Play, the Apple App Store, or the MZTV website.

Simpson's Roll of Honour

Location: Main floor elevator lobby, Hudson's Bay Store, Queen and Bay

Date photo taken: 17 January 2017

The building that currently houses Hudson's Bay Company and Saks Fifth Avenue on Queen Street was built by the Robert Simpson Company. By 1890 the store employed 200 people and that number continued to grow along with the success of the business. When the Second World War began, a significant number of store employees joined the war effort. This roll of honour, located by the elevators on the main floor, pays tribute to the men who did not make it home. 

Text of the plaque:

Roll of honour

Members of the Toronto Simpson Staff who made the Supreme Sacrifice

World War 1939 - 1945

P/O D.R. Beardall, RCAF

F/O Peter E. Brinkworth, RCAF

LAC Gabriel Schoeler, RCAF

F/O Gilbert C. Hooey, D.F.C., RCAF

W/O Thos. W. Hare, RCAF

F/Sgt. Robert Doherty, RCAF

L.A.C. J.J. Lammerse, RCAF

S/Ldr. Ed. G. Gilmore, D.F.C., RCAF

F/Sgt. Roy D. Adgey, RCAF

P/O J. Elliott, RCAF

F/O K.B. Thomas, RCAF

P/O E.C. Ecclestone, RCAF

A.B. Ronald E. Grant, RCNVR

Pte. Roy Andrews, 48th Highlanders

P/O A.T. Hook, RCAF

F/O Aubrey F. Bond, RCAF

L/Cpl. C.L. Shappard, Can. Armoured Corps

Sgt. George Andrews, RCAF

S/Ldr. Wm. D. Suggitt, D.F.C., RCAF

Pte. R.G. Burke, Can. Recce. Regt.

L/Sgt. Gordon Glover, RCAF

P/O Mel L. Fullerton, RCAF

W/O W.K. Johnson, RCAF

F/Sgt. Graham F. Butson, RCAF

F/Sgt. Douglas Hann, RCAF

F/L W.E. Thomas, RCAF

F/O Wm. R. Merrall, RCAF

Sgt. Frank S. Squires, Cent. Ont. Regt.

F/O Gordon W. Besley, RCAF

Sgt. James R. Truscott, RCAF

Pte. Warren E. Eades, Royal Regt.

Pte. David J. Woods, Royal Regt.

F/O Francis O. Gilmore, RCAF

Lieut. Edward D. Glass, 48th Highlanders

Pte. R.W. Benson, Royal Regt.

P/O Wm. J. Doughty, RCAF

Gnr. Wm. Middleton, Can. Armored Corps

Pte. Charles R. Gray, Irish Regt.

F/O J.N. Kerry, RCAF

Cpl. Albert Holland, RCAMC

Pte. John Tataren, Black Watch

F/O John W. Wood, RCAF

Sglmn. Murray Smith, Chaudiere Regt.

F/Sgt. John A. Thomson, RCAF

F/L Robt. F. Galbraith, RCAF

F/L W.M. Jackson, RCAF

L/C Douglas J. Volkes, Irish Regt.

Fire Pump

Location: Distillery District
Date photo taken: 1 November 2015

If you plan to visit the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District this year, do yourself a favour and download the self-guided walking tour of the site's Victorian Industrial Heritage before you go. Hunting out the artifacts and plaques noted in the guide will take you inside many of the buildings you might not otherwise visit, giving you lots of opportunities to escape the crowds and warm up a little. This fire pump is part of a larger display relating to firefighting on the site.

Gibraltar Point Light House

Location: Toronto Island
Date photo taken: 22 May 2014

The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, located where the Toronto Islands jut out into Lake Ontario, stands as the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Great Lakes. Completed in 1808, it remained an operating lighthouse until 1958 when it, like many others in recent decades, was decommissioned. At that time, responsibility for the lighthouse was passed to the city's parks department.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which maintains lighthouses across Canada as part of water safety, declared over 450 of these buildings as surplus to needs in recent years. Realizing the special significance that these structures hold for Canadians, the National Trust passed the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act in 2010 to help ensure that these icons remain a part of our cultural landscape.

Livestock Medallion - Pig

Location: Direct Energy Centre, Canadian National Exhibition grounds
Date photo taken: 24 August 2013
Image 4 in the Remnants Series

This cast stone medallion is one of many roundels that once decorated the Livestock Pavilion at the CNE. Built in 1926 as an addition to the Coliseum (now known as Ricoh Coliseum, home of the Toronto Marlies) the Livestock Pavilion consisted of the Cattle Palace, the North Extension or Swine Pavilion, and the Fraser Pavilion. The building, also known as the Industry Building, was demolished to make way for the new Direct Energy Centre. I'm happy that the faces of the pigs, cattle and sheep that adorned that original building remain to remind us of the pride of place that livestock displays and competitions once held at this national exhibition.

Deeds Speak

Location: Inside front lobby, 60 Richmond St. E.
Date photo taken: 2 October 2013
Image 3 in the Remnant Series

While walking by the condo building at 60 Richmond St. E. I noticed a familiar figure hanging on the wall in the lobby and I just had to pop in to say hello. For years I had passed by this figure, affixed to the outside of a rather drab brick building in the same location, the corner of Berti and Richmond. Dubbed 'Our Lady of York' by Terry Murray, a wonderful Toronto chronicler of architectural sculpture, this was one of two pieces by Jacobine Jones commissioned for the York County Registry Office in 1941. After the office closed in the mid-1960s, the two pieces remained in place. In 2008 however the old registry building was torn down to allow for a new condo building and I was curious about the fate of these sculptures. It turns out, both pieces have remained on-site. One piece, a coat of arms, can still be seen outside, affixed to a parking garage fence. Next to it is a historical plaque which provides context and points you to the building lobby to see this second piece..
For more detail on these sculptures and their relocation, check out Terry Murray's blog.

Kimono

Location: Textile Museum of Canada, 55 Centre Ave.
Date photo taken: 2 April 2014

The Textile Museum of Canada is currently showcasing a number of beautiful kimono as part of the exhibit 'From Geisha to Diva: The Kimonos of Ichimaru'. A number of special events have been organized in conjunction with this exhibit including a tea and chocolate tasting tomorrow night and an evening with a fashion historian. The exhibit was organized by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and can be seen here in Toronto until May 25.

Entry to this special exhibit is included with regular admission, which is $15. Wednesday nights are Pay-what-you-can from 5 - 8 pm.

Electro-Voice V-15 Microphone

Location: CBC Museum, Canadian Broadcasting Centre, 250 Front St. W.
Date photo taken: 15 Jan 2013

This microphone is one of many on display in the CBC Museum, located on the main floor of the CBC building at Front and John Streets. In this space, and another one on the lower floor, the CBC displays equipment, props, merchandise and more from its long history of radio and television broadcasting. The museum is free and open from 9 to 5, Monday thru Friday.

For more information on what you can see in the CBC building, read the post on Hogspot.