ISC / SCI Conference - 2009
Congrès de la SCI / ISC - 2009

• Queen Victoria (Mario Raggi)
• John Graves Simcoe (Walter Seymour Allward)
• Sir John A. Macdonald (Hamilton MacCarthy)
• George Brown (Charles Birch)
• William Lyon Mackenzie (Walter Seymour Allward)
• John Sandfield Macdonald, first premier of Ontario (Walter Seymour Allward)
• Sir Oliver Mowat, third premier of Ontario (Walter Seymour Allward)
• Sir James Whitney, sixth premier of Ontario (Hamilton MacCarthy)
• Rebellion of Upper Canada – memorial (Walter Seymour Allward)

Did you know ...? Walter Allward, who sculpted many of the historic figures on the grounds of the Ontario Legislature, is most famous for creating the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France. The memorial was unveiled by King Edward VIII in 1936, more than 10 years after work on the project commenced. The monument's most striking feature is the figure of Canada Mourning, represented as a hooded, cloaked woman with eyes downcast, but facing the east and the rising sun – the dawn of a new and hopeful day.

The most recent addition to the grounds of the Legislative Building is the Ontario Veterans War Memorial, a 30-metre-long wall with images laser-etched into its granite surface. Designed by Allan Harding MacKay and the landscape architectural firm of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, the wall was officially opened on September 16, 2006, and is the venue for Ontario government Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Statues and memorials located near the Legislature grounds are as follows:

• Ontario Police Memorial: in small park at corner of Queen's Park and Grosvenor Street
• Ontario Fallen Firefighter Memorial: Queen's Park Circle, northeast of College Street
• Robert Raikes (Sir Thomas Brock): located across the street from the Legislature, it commemorates the founder of the Sunday school movement
• Battle of Limeridge memorial (Robert Reed): located across from the Legislature at the southwest corner of Queen's Park and Wellesley Street, behind the Gerstein Science Information Centre; it commemorates fallen volunteer militia who fought against the Fenian invasion force in the Battle of Limeridge in June 1866

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Ontario Government Buildings

• Whitney Block: The oldest of the government buildings surrounding Queen's Park, Whitney Block is a distinguished Modern Gothic edifice located directly across the street from the Legislative Building (at the southeast corner of Queen's Park Crescent and Wellesley). Designed by Francis R. Heakes, it was built in 1926, with a central tower added six years later. The elegant Queenston limestone exterior, which had slowly begun to deteriorate over time, was recently restored by an Ontario firm specializing in heritage work. Whitney Block houses the offices of the Premier and several government ministries. Originally called the East Block, it was renamed to honour former Premier James Whitney, whose statue is located on the grounds of the Legislature (see above).

• Frost Building: Located south of Whitney Block near College, this unusual government building (pictured) eschews straight-line architecture, curving along with Queen's Park Crescent. Built in the 1950s, this first of the postwar government buildings is named after former Premier Leslie Frost, and houses the Ministry of Finance.

• Macdonald Block and other government buildings east of Whitney Block: These buildings form a giant complex of government offices built in the late 1960s between Queen's Park Crescent and Bay Street. All named after former Premiers of Ontario, they are as follows: Macdonald Block, named after John Sandfield Macdonald; Hepburn Block, named after Mitch Hepburn; Mowat Block, named after Oliver Mowat; Hearst Block, named after William Hearst; and Ferguson Block, named after George Howard Ferguson.

  Public Art at Macdonald Block: Macdonald Block is home to a large collection of works by some of Canada's most distinguished artists, including A.J. Casson, Jack Bush, Harold Town, E.B. Cox, York Wilson, and Paulosie Kanayook. An online exhibit of the art at Macdonald Block, as well as a history of the government buildings themselves, can be found on the Archives of Ontario Web site.

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Academic / Cultural Institutions and Libraries (in alphabetical order)

• Lillian H. Smith Library (239 College St. at Huron): Opened in 1995 after 14 years of planning, this striking structure is home to two important resources: the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books and the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy. Phillip H. Carter's award-winning design features an arched entranceway guarded by two mythical creatures, a griffin and a manticore, which have themselves become famous. This library replaced the much-loved Boys and Girls House (40 St. George St.), which had opened in 1922 as the first library in the British Empire devoted exclusively to children.

  Did you know ...? The Merril Collection, recognized as one of the world's finest collections of popular culture material, began life as the Spaced Out Library, established by author Judith Merril when she was a resource person at Toronto's famous (or infamous) "free university," Rochdale College.

• MaRS Centre (101 College St. at University Ave.): Anchored by the old College Wing of Toronto General Hospital, MaRS is a complex devoted to collaboration between the scientific and medical research community and the business and finance sector. Established by a not-for-profit foundation in 2000, it is being built in two phases, Phase I of which opened in 2005. Its location at the corner of College and University, near U of T and the city's major hospitals, is meant to facilitate the work of bringing scientific ideas to market. The name "MaRS" was originally a file name for the work in progress, which was later expanded as "Medical and Related Sciences" – although this has since been dropped, and the name has reverted back to MaRS.

• Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (16 Spadina Rd., north of Bloor): Founded in 1962, the centre provides a wide variety of services to First Nations people in the city, including cultural activities, programs for children, youth, and seniors, the Toronto Native Community History Project, and employment and training support. A red cedar totem pole carved by Cree artist Don McLeay stands guard near the entrance. The centre's building was originally the Ontario Bible College, designed in the "Jacobethan" style by the firm of Mathers and Haldenby and built in 1928.

• Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) (100 McCaul St., east of the Art Gallery of Ontario): Canada's "university of the imagination" originated in 1876 as the Ontario School of Art. It has been at its present location since 1913, when – as the Ontario College of Art – it occupied part of The Grange until a new red brick Georgian Revival structure was built next door in 1926 to designs by the painter George Reid. This building is still in use today, forming part of the addition begun in 1957. The school adopted its current name in 1996. A major expansion program over the next few years included the construction of the head-turning Sharp Centre for Design, officially opened in 2004. Like some of the recent architectural projects in the city, Will Alsop's "table-top" structure invites a lively debate on aesthetics, but it has drawn international attention and acclaim.

  

• Royal Conservatory of Music (273 Bloor St. W., west of the Royal Ontario Museum): The first institution of its kind in Canada, this venerable school was founded in 1886 as the Toronto Conservatory of Music. The conservatory received its Royal Charter from King George VI in 1947, a year after Glenn Gould graduated at the age of 12. In 1991, almost a century after it began its affiliation with U of T, the RCM became an independent institution, embarking upon an expansion program that is in its final stages of completion. With historic McMaster Hall as its anchor, the new TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning is set to welcome a new generation of future performers and composers.

  McMaster Hall (pictured at right), home of the Royal Conservatory of Music since 1963, began its life in 1881 as the Toronto Baptist College – incorporated as McMaster University in 1887. Designed by the firm of Langley, Langley, & Burke, it is described by Patricia McHugh as having "bristly High Victorian verve ..., rich with sky-shooting dormers and chimneys, corbels and panels, stone and brick." The college opted not to federate with the University of Toronto, and McMaster University moved to Hamilton in 1930. Six years later, the Bloor Street property was acquired by U of T. A detailed history of the architecture of McMaster Hall can be found on the RCM Web site. The building – and the university – are named after Sir William McMaster, a founder of the Canadian Bank of Commerce who later served in the Canadian Senate.

• Ryerson University (campus located northeast of the Yonge-Dundas intersection): The third of Toronto's major post-secondary institutions, Ryerson opened in 1948 with an enrollment of 225. It became a degree-granting institution in 1972, was granted full university status in 1993, and awarded its first graduate degrees in 2001. Expansion of the campus since 1981 has seen the construction of several buildings, including the Rogers Communications Centre, the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, and the Ted Rogers School of Management. In 2008, Ryerson acquired Sam the Record Man's flagship store on Yonge Street, which will become a new Student Learning Centre (and will retain the iconic neon records for which Sam's was famous). The university is named after Egerton Ryerson, the founder of public education in Ontario, whose statue is located in front of Kerr Hall South on Gould Street.

  Did you know ...? Two political science teachers at Ryerson went on to even bigger political careers: David Crombie, mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978 and later a federal Cabinet minister, and Jack Layton, a city councillor from 1982 to 1991 and currently the leader of the federal NDP. Crombie became Ryerson's first chancellor in 1984.

• Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge St., north of Bloor): Designed by Raymond Moriyama, this library opened in 1977 at a heady time in the life of Yonge Street; Eaton's had opened its new flagship store in the glitzy Eaton Centre earlier that year. The new library replaced the original reference library located at the corner of College and St. George, which is now the Koffler Student Services Centre.

• Yorkville Library (22 Yorkville Ave.): One of Toronto's Carnegie libraries, this fine neoclassical edifice was designed by Robert McCallum and built in 1906-7. Although a relatively small library, its entrance portico and well-proportioned pediment give it an aura of grandeur.

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Historic Architecture

• Annex houses: Named for the neighbourhood northwest of U of T, the "Annex house" is a unique combination of Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne architecture. The classic example of Annex style is the Lewis Lukes house (37 Madison Ave.), one of the first homes designed specifically for the area; its architect was none other than E.J. Lennox, who designed the Old City Hall and numerous other buildings in a career that spanned some 40 years. Needless to say, many examples of Annex style can be found around the U of T campus (see, for instance, the trio of houses from 174 to 178 St. George St.); one of the finest is the Newman Centre (originally the Wilmot D. Matthews house), located across the street from Robarts Library. And another beautiful example is the hidden gem known as Bancroft Hall (4 Bancroft Ave. at Huron), nestled in the Earth Sciences complex (see the entry on the Earth Sciences Building and its neighbours for more information).

• Fire halls: Two historic fire stations are located near U of T. The Yorkville Fire Hall, originally Toronto Fire Hall No. 10 (34 Yorkville Ave.), was designed by Herbert Hancock and Samuel Townsend and built in 1876. The Town of Yorkville's coat of arms above the entrance to the tower originally appeared on the Yorkville town hall, but was moved to the fire station when the town hall was damaged by fire in 1941 and subsequently demolished. The Bellevue Avenue Fire Hall, originally Toronto Fire Hall No. 8 (132 Bellevue Ave. at College St., west of Spadina), serves the Kensington Market neighbourhood. Built in 1877-78, it was empty and undergoing restoration when it was set ablaze by an arsonist. Rebuilding was completed in 1974. With its neighbour, St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church, it is a reminder of the area's rich history and architectural heritage.

• George Brown House (186 Beverley St., below College): This distinguished red brick Second Empire house – also known as Lambton Lodge – was the residence of George Brown, Father of Confederation and founder of the Globe (later merged into the Globe and Mail). Designed by William Irving and Edward Hutchings and completed in 1876, it has been carefully restored by the Ontario Heritage Trust, and now houses offices and conference/event facilities. The magnificent library contains 2,000 books from George Brown's personal collection.

• The Grange (directly south of the Art Gallery of Ontario): Built c. 1817, this striking red Georgian house – home of the wealthy and influential Boulton family – is one of the four oldest buildings in the city. Originally the residence of D'Arcy Boulton, Jr., it became the home of the historian and journalist Goldwin Smith when he married the widow of D'Arcy's son William. Smith made some alterations to the house, including what McHugh describes as "a sympathetic library wing." Eventually the Smiths bequeathed the house to the Art Museum of Toronto – now the AGO, whose offices are located in the house. As noted above, the second floor of The Grange was home to the Ontario College of Art from 1913 to 1926.

• Heliconian Hall (35 Hazelton Ave., Yorkville): This handsome board-and-batten structure is a rare Toronto example of the Carpenter Gothic style. Built in 1875, it originally served the Olivet Congregational Church. The Heliconian Club, a women's arts and letters organization, purchased the building in 1923.

• Paul Kane House (56 Wellesley St. E., near Church): Canadian painter Paul Kane built this house in the Georgian style in 1854-56, then added Victorian touches such as the centre gable. A church built in front of the house in the 1920s obscured it from view, but when the church was demolished in the 1970s, the house was rediscovered. Saved from demolition, it was incorporated into a residential complex by the Church Isabella Co-operative in 1986, with the front garden preserved as a lovely park.

• York Club (135 St. George St., at the corner of Bloor): Described by Patricia McHugh as "the most distinguished Richardsonian Romanesque house in Toronto," this was originally the home of George Gooderham, a prominent member of the wealthy distillery family. Completed in 1892, the house was designed by David Roberts, who also designed much of the distillery itself (still, of course, preserved as the nucleus of Toronto's Distillery District) as well as the distinctive Gooderham Building (the "flatiron" building near St. Lawrence Market). In 1909, the house was sold to the York Club, which has been "a careful custodian" of this architectural treasure.

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Places of Worship

Several historic places of worship are located in the U of T area. Some are true survivors, whether of changes in neighbourhood demographics (the Kiever Synagogue), a fight to stave off demolition (Church of the Holy Trinity), or the threat of closure (St. Stephen-in-the-Fields). Two were designed by architects who were members of their congregation (St. Thomas's Anglican and Knox Presbyterian); one – St. Stephen-in-the-Fields – was designed by the man who would go on to design the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa. These cultural and architectural treasures are listed below, with their location, architect, and date in parentheses.

• Bloor Street United Church (300 Bloor St. W. at Huron; William R. Gregg, 1890)
• Church of the Holy Trinity (Anglican) (in Trinity Square, next to Eaton Centre; Henry Bowyer Lane, 1847)
• Church of the Redeemer (Anglican) (162 Bloor St. W. at Avenue Rd.; James Smith and John Gemmell, 1879)
• First Church of Christ, Scientist (196 St. George St., north of Bloor; S.S. Beman, 1916)
• Friends House (Toronto Quaker Meeting House) (originally Miller Lash house – 60 Lowther Ave. at Bedford; Samuel G. Curry working with Henry Sproatt and Ernest Rolph, 1907 / meeting room addition, John Leaning, 1969)
• Kiever Synagogue (25 Bellevue Ave., in Kensington Market; Benjamin Swartz, 1927)
• Knox Presbyterian Church (630 Spadina Ave. at Harbord; James Wilson Gray, 1909)
• St. Basil's Roman Catholic Church – see Venue and Accommodations
• St. George's Greek Orthodox Church (originally the second site of Holy Blossom Temple – 115 Bond St. south of Gould, on Ryerson campus; John W. Siddall, 1897)
• St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Anglican Church (103 Bellevue Ave. at College St., west of Spadina; Thomas Fuller, 1858)
• St. Thomas's Anglican Church (383 Huron St., south of Bloor; Eden Smith, 1893)
• St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church (Hoskin Ave. east of St. George, next to Newman Centre on U of T campus, 1926-27)
• Trinity St. Paul's United Church (427 Bloor St. W., west of Spadina; Burke, Horwood and White, 1889)

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