First World War uniform

 

Location: 426 University Avenue

Date photo taken: 8 November 2018

Did you know that Toronto has literally dozens of museums? As today is International Museum Day, I thought I'd feature an exhibit from one that is perhaps lesser known. This is an Artillery Dress Uniform on display at the Royal Canadian Military Institute Museum (RCMI) on University Avenue. RCMI is an independent member-supported organization but their museum is open to the public, by donation, and tours can be arranged on request. Their collection has over 12,000 artifacts and archival materials, including the seat from World War I flying ace Baron von Richthofen's plane, making it one of the largest museums of military history in Canada. 

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. 

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.

Black Creek Pioneer Village

Location: Black Creek Pioneer Village, near Steeles and Jane

Date photo taken: 22 September 2018

School may be out for summer but there's still lots to see and do at Black Creek Pioneer Village. This site, run by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is a careful recreation of an Ontario town from the 1860s complete with all the buildings you'd expect, costumed interpreters and heritage breed animals. If that's not enough to tempt you, how about a haunted walk? Or some axe throwing? Or maybe some goat yoga with the cutest kids around? These are some of the special programming available through their Nightlife program.

If you just can't make it out to the Village but want to travel in back in time, all of the buildings and animals are profiled on the Black Creek website. 

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.

Montgomery's Inn

Location: Dundas St. W. between Islington and Montgomery Rd.

Date photo taken: 30 April 2015

This elegant stone building in Etobicoke was built around 1830 for Thomas Montgomery and his family who operated it as an inn until the mid-1850s. It was situated on their 400 acre farm which extended from Bloor to Dundas, and from Kipling to Royal York Road. The farm produced food for the family, for the patrons of the inn and for sale. The building is now an historic site run by the City of Toronto and its varied programming is very much in keeping with the original uses of the site. Some of their regular events include a year-round farmer's market every Wednesday from 2 to 6 pm, Teatime at the Inn every Sunday from 1 to 4 pm, and my personal favourite, Thirsty Thursdays, a traditional evening of food, drinks and live entertainment in the 1847 barroom on the last Thursday of the month. 

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.