Toronto Through My Lens

Category: Memorials (Page 1 of 2)

The Toronto Peace Garden & The Toronto Spirit Garden

Nestled in the west section of Nathan Phillips Square near City Hall are two significant Toronto memorials: The Toronto Peace Garden and The Toronto Spirit Garden.

The Toronto Peace Garden

At the height of the Cold War, when fears of nuclear war were breaking out between the former Soviet Union and the west, the City of Toronto declared itself a nuclear weapon-free zone. To that end, the City created a Peace Garden which was dedicated by Pope John Paul II in Nathan Phillips Square in 1984. The Peace Garden measured 1800 square-feet, costing $540,000 to build in 1984.

The original Peace Garden location (under fountain arches), 1984
Photo: City of Toronto Archives

From 2010 to 2016, the Peace Garden was closed during renovations of Nathan Phillips Square. On August 7th, 2010 the Peace Garden was decommissioned and moved from its previous location near the doors of Toronto City Hall to its current location, the west side of Nathan Phillips Square.

The current 6,500 square-foot garden consists of a pavilion, a fountain, and surrounding plantings. The site’s gazebo is a stone-clad cube with arched openings on all sides, capped with a pitched roof. One corner of the structure’s corner is deconstructed to signify conflict and the fragility of civilization.

The fountain’s pool encroaches into the gazebo’s removed corner, with an eternal flame placed in the water so that it appears to support the pavilion structure, symbolizing hope and regeneration.

The Toronto Spirit Garden

As you walk along the Peace Garden, it seamlessly morphs into the Toronto Spirit Garden. The Spirit Garden is a 20,650 square-foot Indigenous cultural space that provides teaching, learning, sharing and healing experiences for the
Indigenous community of Toronto, the City’s diverse citizens, newcomers and visitors.

The design of the Spirit Garden revolves around Turtle Island, and offers dedicated places for contemplation, celebration, and ceremonies – open, inclusive and welcoming to all.

The project responds in part to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Call to Action 82, for government to commission and install a Residential Schools Monument in each capital city to honour residential school survivors, and all the children lost to their families and communities. 

Teaching Lodge

This unusual-looking building is the Teaching Lodge. The Teaching Lodge is a pre-formed laminated Ash wood structural frame enclosed with a white cedar tongue and groove exterior enclosure and sheathing. Operable skylights provide ventilation, and the space is secured with doors located at the east and west entrances to the lodge. The interior features built-in seating for approximately 60 people.

The Lodge reinforces the importance of family, represents life’s journey and serves as a spiritual home for all First Nations peoples.

Three Sisters

Artwork is etched onto Muntz metal panels depicting the symbiotic relationship that exists between corn, beans and squash, and the shared values associated with stewardship of the land and planning for the seventh generation. The story is a model for “how to be a woman in the world”. Women are teachers, life givers and support each other, they work with the ground (Earth).

Spirit Canoe

The Spirit Canoe is a 36-foot-long stainless-steel sculpture with laser-cut artwork and painted infill panels. The canoe is a tribute to the Métis Voyageur tradition, representing resilience, collaboration and the connection of the Métis people to land and waterways.

Turtle Sculpture

At the heart of the Spirit Garden stands a six-foot-tall limestone turtle sculpture, composed of 10 individual pieces and weighing approximately 10 tonnes. Positioned within a reflecting pool and aligned with Magnetic North, the turtle represents Turtle Island – Mother Earth – embodying First Nations creation stories.

The names of 18 residential schools that once operated in Ontario are displayed in stainless steel lettering on the pool’s north wall:

Inuksuk

The Inuksuk is a traditional stone landmark, standing five-feet-tall and stacked in the Spirit Garden on a raised plinth. It serves as a cultural marker and symbol of guidance for Inuit peoples, representing safety and reassurance on the land.

Text References
City of Toronto
Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre

Conrad The Raccoon

At 819 Yonge Street, just south of the Church and Yonge Street intersection, you will find a Heritage Toronto plaque for Conrad The Raccoon.

Who is Conrad The Raccoon you may ask? Well, ten years ago, this dead raccoon on a downtown Toronto street sparked an impromptu sidewalk shrine. Passersby laid flowers, candles and cigarettes around the critter.

Conrad went viral in 2015 after his remains laid on the sidewalk at the corner of Yonge and Church streets for nearly 14 hours following a social media post reporting the dead animal to the city:

Now, 10 years later, Heritage Toronto has erected a memorial plaque at the site in honour of Conrad. Apparently a little statue with life-size raccoon prints will be added to the plaque site at a later date:

Condolences For Conrad

Heritage Toronto actually has a Condolences for Conrad page! Check it out here or scan the QR code below:

The CityPulse Newsclip

I mean, really, Toronto and raccoons just somehow go together…

The Garden of Lost Boys

For a couple of years now I’ve passed by this beautiful site but never stopped to look closer – my loss, until now. I first discovered The Garden of Lost Boys last winter but wanted to wait until it was in summer’s full bloom.

Set in a once-ragged, unappealing little chunk of land at the intersection of Church Street and Alexander Street, the patch of land has become beautifully transformed by local artist and resident Luke Plourde.

After doing a bit of research I found the following article in The Bridge Community News, written by Ayah Victoria McKhail, September 6, 2024. I’m posting it here in its entirety as it’s a beautifully written article that expresses the spirit of the Garden. Luke conveys many of the same sentiments as me regarding how it felt in our community during the harrowing early years of AIDS.

The Garden of Lost Boys

Nestled in the heart of the vil­lage at Church and Alexander Streets, a blooming garden beckons passersby. It’s a poign­ant memorial commemorating those who lost their lives during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s.

Luke Plourde, an artist who lives nearby, started it. “This garden brings an awareness and a reminder of what happened here, especially in our neigh­bourhood; the epicentre of the epidemic in the city, and lifts it into beauty. Each plant repre­sents a life taken: friends, part­ners, and brothers. It’s a place of reflection and remembrance.”

Plourde was inspired to create the memorial in the spring of 2020. “The Covid-19 pandemic was just under way, and I want­ed to do something positive in a very negative time.”

He set his sights on a barren weed lot at 445 Church St, ad­jacent to the Maple Leaf Con­venience Mart, where Salon One is atop. Plourde approached the property owner about transforming the space and he agreed, if Plourde would cover the costs. (The land is on the lease of Salon One).

“I worked for three weeks in a heat wave just to pull out all the weeds and old grass to make a new canvas upon which to paint the garden.”

This spring, the Church-Welles­ley Village Business Improve­ment Area began financially supporting the garden. Adam Wynne, then the interim direc­tor (soon to be named events di­rector or coordinator), played a pivotal role.

BIA funding is facilitating re­pairs and expansion of the gar­den-related infrastructure (night lighting, etc.), and some garden maintenance (mostly corralling trumpet vines). Wynne also ar­ranged for the property owner to formally support the garden.

The garden awakens in ear­ly spring with bulbs and early blooming plants, and lasts into November. Plourde continues to cover the cost of the plants and add statuary such as a large angel statue that’s now a focal point. He tends to the garden nearly every day: weeding, wa­tering, planting and pruning. A living organism, it’s constantly evolving.

“To me, a garden is a work of art that’s always in progress. Each year, I add things, such as perennials and statuary. It’s a typical English cottage garden in that different perennials are blooming all the time. Like peo­ple’s lives; the young taking the place of the old.”

Plourde named the garden af­ter J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play, Pe­ter Pan, in which lost boys are characters. “It was always said that gay men had a Peter Pan syndrome and refused to grow up. So many of these boys never got the chance; they were taken so young.

“The plague came just as our community was full of joy and hope, as we were gaining in human rights. The epidemic washed all of that away.”

In the 1980s, one of Plourde’s friends was the first victim of AIDS in Toronto, followed by many more until practically everyone he knew had passed away or was dying. “It was such a horrendous time with young men dying daily. Those of us who lived through those terrify­ing times were scarred by them forever. We lived in fear that we would be next.”

A survivor, Plourde has been dedicating his life to sharing the story. “There are generations now who have no connection to that time, suffered no loss and were mere children at the time. Many have no emotional con­nection to it.”

The garden is changing that. “At Pride, I allowed young people to wander inside; some openly wept … One day, I’ll be gone and I hope someone will take my place.”

Sydney MacLellan, a CWV­BIA board member, and the president and co-owner of the Whiskful Thinking bakery, seeks to raise awareness about the garden, particularly among newcomers to the neighbour­hood. The BIA is acquiring a plaque for the garden, he says.

“The garden represents Luke’s sincere advocacy for the remembrance of those who lost their lives to AIDS. The garden can be seen as the community coming together to find sincere solace and celebration of life.”

Julissa Penate, a community worker at the 519 Community Centre who lives in the neigh­bourhood, thinks a plaque is a good idea. “The garden is meaningful and inspiring. It’s so colourful and pretty.”

Last September, Plourde re­ceived a Community Builder Award from Ward 13 (Toronto Centre) City Councillor Chris Moise. The following month, the Toronto Garden Society awarded him first prize from 400 entries, for his transfor­mation of a derelict space into something beautiful. Plourde was given a certificate and tro­phy.

Remembrance Day, 2024

Although an event like Remembrance Day is not really a cityscape per se, I feel it is extremely important to acknowledge the day.

Earlier today I attended the Remembrance Day ceremonies at Old City Hall. The sombre event was exceedingly well attended and the rain actually held off until later in the afternoon.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They were young, as we are young,
They served, giving freely of themselves.
To them, we pledge, amid the winds of time,
To carry their torch and never forget.
We will remember them.

7th Regimental Band, Royal Canadian Artillery Band, under the direction of Lieutenant Carina Lam
Aretha Phillip, Chief of Protocol, City of Toronto
A flypast by The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The flypasts were conducted during several Remembrance Day commemorations across Canada.
Remarks from the City of Toronto, presented by Mayor Olivia Chow
Mayor Olivia Chow places a wreath
Benediction, given by Rev. John Joseph Mastandrea, Chaplain, Toronto Police Services
Aretha Phillip, Chief of Protocol, City of Toronto
Marching off at the end of the service

Laying poppies on the Cenotaph, end of services

Flowers and poppies on the Cenotaph, end of service

“Hours of the Day”

In 2018, Paul Raff Studios installed a sculpture entitled Hours of the Day. The piece honours Ontario’s correctional workers who have fallen in the line of duty.

The “sheets” are actual sculptural representations of the angles of the sun as it moves over the hours of the day, month, season and year, forming a kind of a three-dimensional sundial.

The sculptor of the piece – Paul Raff – remarks that:

…one doesn’t need to read the time with it, but what it does do is speak to the theme of time, which to me was the most important and essential theme in recognizing the vital role that correctional workers play in the health of our society. It is this contribution, of the hours of service, that we felt needed to be articulated in the sculptural form.

The geometry of the sculpture is derived from a very specific and elaborate computer program which tracks the angles of the sun throughout the day.

What I love about [the sculpture is that with its very accurate, high tech, three-dimensional mapping, it actually strikes a remarkably unique figure that offers a lot of visual richness. It looks different from every angle, unfolding for pedestrians as they commute past it, looking different on their way to work than on their way home. It looks different at different times of the day, and in different light.
Paul Raff

The sculpture is situated by Queen’s Park Crescent East, near the Legislative Assembly:

Beaty Boulevard Parkette

Beaty Boulevard Parkette is a long, finger-like patch of grassy, manicured land situated near the intersection of Queen Street West, King Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue:

There’s plenty to see and do in this historic neighbourhood; if one crosses the Pedestrian Bridge over busy Lakeshore Boulevard West, you will find the Palais Royale, the Boulevard Club, Budapest Park, Marilyn Bell Park and Sunnyside Beach.

A Bit Of History

Beaty Boulevard Parkette is the former location of the Sunnyside Railway Station, located at this King/Queen/Roncesvalles intersection. The Sunnyside Railway Station operated passenger service from 1910 until 1971.

The Sunnyside Station in 1915 (City of Toronto Archives)

The station was built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1910 and was well-placed, with access to nearby streetcars and the Sunnyside Amusement Park.

GO Transit began service in May 1967 and took over CN’s Toronto to Hamilton route. While CN’s Hamilton train had stopped at Sunnyside, GO’s Lakeshore West line bypassed the station resulting in a significant drop in its use. CN closed the station in 1971 and its buildings were demolished in 1973.

The Katyń Monument

Beaty Boulevard Parkette is home to the Katyń Monument, which commemorates the 1940 Katyń massacre in Poland:

“In remembrance of fifteen thousand Polish prisoners of war who vanished in 1940 from the camps in USSR at Kozelsk, Ostashkov, Starobelsk. Of these over four thousand were later discovered in mass graves at Katyn, near Smolensk, murdered by the Soviet state security police.”

Made of bronze and erected in 1980, the monument was created by artist Tadeusz Janowski. The monument’s location here is quite appropriate in this, a largely Eastern European, neighbourhood.

“In remembrance of fifteen thousand Polish prisoners of war who vanished in 1940 from the camps in USSR at Kozelsk, Ostashkov, Starobelsk. Of these over four thousand were later discovered in mass graves at Katyn, near Smolensk, murdered by the Soviet state security police.”

But what was the Katyn massacre you may ask? The Katyn Massacre was a series of mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by the Soviet Union, specifically the NKVD (“People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs”, the Soviet secret police) in April and May 1940. Though the killings also occurred in the Kalinin and Kharkiv prisons and elsewhere, the massacre is named after the Katyn forest, where some of the mass graves were first discovered by German Nazi forces (Source: Wikipedia).

The Smolensk Tragedy

Also in Beaty Boulevard Parkette is a secondary monument related to the Katyn Massacre. The inscription on the plaque for this memorial reads:

In memory of the 96 person Polish delegation headed by the President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczynski, who all died tragically in a plane crash at Smolensk, on April 10, 2010, en route to the official commemoration ceremony of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre. Without the Katyn Massacre there would have been no Smolensk tragedy.

Canadian Polish Congress, April 10, 2011

Memorial For Perished Polish Soldiers & Civilians

A few feet away from the last two monuments there is a third: this is the Memorial For Perished Polish Soldiers & Civilians:

The plaque on the memorial reads:

1940-2000

In Memoriam… Lest We Forget

May the tragic death of tens of thousands of Polish citizens in Soviet forced labour camps, political prisons and execution sites, always remind the world that freedom is bought with great sacrifice.

Dedicated to the memory of over one million seven hundred thousand Polish soldiers and civilians arrested in eastern Poland by the Soviet Secret Police (NKVD) in 1940-1941, for the only reason that they were Polish citizens and were departed to the far reaches of the Soviet Union (Siberia), where many were executed or died of hunger, cold, disease and exhaustion during World War II.

Alliance of the Polish eastern provinces in Toronto, February 10, 2000

Stay tuned for the second part of this post – a look at Budapest Park, which is on the other side of Lakeshore Boulevard West beside Lake Ontario.

From The Vaults: Farewell, Jack

This post is based on an event from thirteen years ago, so I guess it qualifies for my so-called From The Vaults series.

A Bit Of Background

Everyone who has a pulse is familiar with the name Jack Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011). Jack served as the leader of the NDP from 2003 to 2011 and was leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. Previous to that he sat on Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of Acting Mayor or Deputy Mayor of Toronto during his tenure as City Councillor. Jack was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-Danforth riding from 2004 until his death.

Jack rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics, where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on the City and Metropolitan Toronto Councils, championing many progressive causes. In 1991, he ran for Mayor, losing to June Rowlands. Returning to Council, he rose to become head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2003, he was elected leader of the NDP.

Under Jack Layton’s leadership, support for the NDP increased in each election. The party’s popular vote almost doubled in the 2004 election, which gave the NDP the balance of power in Paul Martin’s minority government.

Jack died on August 22, 2011, after being diagnosed with cancer. He was survived by his wife of 23 years – our current Mayor – Olivia Chow.

Remembering Jack, Nathan Phillips Square

In the week before the funeral, Jack’s body was laid in state at Parliament Hill at the House of Commons foyer in Ottawa, then in repose at Toronto City Hall.

On August 26, 2011 a huge memorial for Jack was held in Nathan Phillips Square, outside Toronto City hall. It is from this memorial that my following pictures originate. It was a low-key but very powerful event; the love and respect for this man was clearly on display everywhere in the Square that evening:

Interment

Jack Layton’s ashes were scattered in three places: Cote St. Charles United Church in Hudson, Quebec where he was raised; on Toronto Island, where he was married; and at the Toronto Necropolis, near where he lived.

Here is Jack’s bronze bust atop a red granite pillar at the Toronto Necropolis:

Leaving A Legacy

For those interested, here is a CBC timeline of Jack Layton’s accomplishments

The Victory Peace Monument

The Victory Peace Monument is located in Coronation Park, 711 Lakeshore Boulevard West, just beside Lake Ontario. Victory Peace was unveiled on November 14, 1995, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, built in honour of those who died.

Designed by John McEwan, a Toronto-born artist, the structure is made up of two bronze arcs that sit on the ground quite close to the lake. When looking at the monument from afar, it appears as though the arcs form the sides of a boat’s bow. You can see the lake peeking through an opening between the two arcs, as if you’re on the boat headed through the water. The other opening faces inland.

The powerful words SACRIFICE and HOPE are part of the monument, within engravings of maple leaves.

The words for “peace” in multiple languages are engraved on the plaques on the ground.
A plaque sits at the monument that says, in both English and French: “A tribute to all Canadians at home and overseas who served their nation with courage, hope and sacrifice during World War II”

Remembrance Day 2023

A sombre Remembrance Day ceremony took place today around the Cenotaph at Old City Hall, 60 Queen Street West.

The City focused this year’s events around the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement that brought about the end of the Korean War. Other milestones honoured today were the 75th anniversary of Canadian participation in peacekeeping missions for the United Nations and the centennials of the Naval Reserve of Canada and HMCS York, a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve Division in Toronto.

The ceremonies began at 10:45 AM, starting with the singing of our national anthem, a reading of In Flanders Fields, a two-minute silence at 11:00, and a trumpeteer playing The Last Post:

A fly-past by the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA)
Mayor Chow delivered her Remembrance Day message
The laying of wreaths on the Cenotaph
The ceremony concluded with people leaving their poppies on the Cenotaph
A special “Toronto Remembers” presentation on Queen Street West, outside Old City Hall

Other locations for today’s Remembrance Day ceremonies were:

  • Scarborough War Memorial: 2190 Kingston Road
  • East York Civic Centre – Memorial Gardens: 850 Coxwell Avenue
  • York Cemetery – Cenotaph: 160 Beecroft Road
  • York Civic Centre Cenotaph: 2700 Eglinton Avenue West
  • Etobicoke Civic Centre – Cenotaph: 399 The West Mall
  • Fort York National Historic Site: 100 Garrison Road

Victoria Memorial Square

At 10 Niagara Street, on the corner of Portland Street and Niagara, sits Victoria Memorial Square:

Victoria Memorial Square is a park and former cemetery. It was established in 1793 as the burial place for those affiliated with the nearby Toronto Garrison (Fort York). It was the first cemetery to be used by European settlers in what would become the city of Toronto. Originally known as St. John’s Square, the park today is part of Fort York National Historic Site.

The Old Soldier
War of 1812 Memorial

This monument in the Square is entitled The Old Soldier, and was erected by the British Army and Navy Veterans’ Association. It was erected to honour the dead of the War of 1812, on this site of an old burial ground used between 1794 and 1863 for soldiers and their families from nearby Fort York. 

The memorial was designed and constructed by Walter Seymour Allward. He designed a bronze half-length figure of an old one-armed soldier in the uniform of 1812 holding his military cap, the George IV medal on his chest and the end of one empty sleeve pinned up.

The memorial’s cornerstone was laid on July 1, 1902. The cornerstone featured a time capsule, including newspapers, coins, and other documents of the day. Veterans of several wars were on hand for the ceremony, including those who had served in the Crimean War, Second Opium War, Indian Rebellion of 1857, Second Anglo-Afghan War, Fenian Raids, North-West Rebellion, and the South African War. The official unveiling was on July 5, 1907, after nearly 20 years of planning and fundraising.

Inscriptions On The Memorial

DEFENCE OF YORK (NOW TORONTO)

IN MEMORY OF OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN WHO WERE KILLED OR DIED OF WOUNDS IN THE FOLLOWING REGIMENTS OR COMPANIES OF REGIMENTS ENGAGED IN THE DEFENCE OF YORK (TORONTO).

APRIL 27TH 1813

ROYAL ARTILLERY
ROYAL NAVAL ARTIFICES
8th REGIMENT (OF FOOT)
ROYAL NEWFOUNDLAND REGIMENT
CLENGARY FENCIBLES MILITIA
INCORPORATED MILITIA
Front Plaque
IN MEMORY OF OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN WHO
WERE KILLED, DIED OF WOUNDS AND DISEASE, IN THE FOLLOWING REGIMENTS OR COMPANIES OF REGIMENTS ENGAGED DURING THE WAR OF 1812-1815 UPON THE WESTERN CANADIAN FRONTIER, WEST OF KINGSTON.

Royal Artillery – Royal Engineers
19th Dracoons 41st Regiment 100th Regiment
1st Regiment 49th Regiment 103rd Regiment
6th Regiment 82nd Regiment 103th Regiment
8th Regiment 89th Regiment
Royal Veteran Rect.
Royal Newfoundland Rect.
Prov. Dracoons Militia
Wattsville Rect. Militia
Canadian Fencibles
Simcoe Militia
Clencary Fencibles Militia
York Rangers Militia
1st Norfolk Militia
Coloured Corps & Indians
Rear Plaque
“Dead in Battle – Dead in the field”
More than his life can a soldier yield?
His blood has burnished his sabre bright
To his memory, honour: To him, good night”

This monument is to perpetuate the memory and deeds of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men who gave their lives in the defence of Canada in the War of 1812-15 and is erected by the British Army and Navy Veterans residing in Toronto. Aided by generous subscriptions from the British Army and Navy, and the citizens of Canada.

July 1st 1902

BATTLE FIELDS

RIVER CANARD
BEAVER DAMS
BLACK ROCK
CHATEAUGUAY
CHRYSLER FARM
DETROIT
FORT NIAGARA
FORT ERIE
YORK
FORT GEORGE
LUNDY’S LANE
THAMES
STONY CREEK
Side Plaque

Surviving Headstones from the Military Burial Ground

The park is Toronto’s oldest cemetery. The downtown site was used as a burial ground for nearly seventy years, from 1794 to 1863. During that time, it saw hundreds of burials, including many soldiers from the War of 1812.

The park was created by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe shortly after the establishment of the Garrison at York and the founding of the town. Simcoe’s infant daughter, Katherine, was one of the first to be buried at the cemetery which was closed in 1863 when it was deemed to be full.

The cemetery was converted to a park in the 1880s. Its grave sites were levelled, paths were established, and the 17 surviving headstones gathered along the park’s western edge:


Historical Photos

1885 – Military burying grounds, today’s Victoria Memorial Square (Toronto Public Library r-2851)
1913 – Looking northwest from Portland Street. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 52, Item 192.
1950 – City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257

References

Government of Canada, Veterans of Canada site

The Daily Hive

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