It was a sunny Sunday (finally!) this past weekend, so I opted for a little wander through Queen’s Park to shoot a few of the statues, monuments and memorials there.
Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues
Not in Queen’s Park but this utility box on my way there caught my eye. In front of 2 Grosvenor Street, west of Yonge Street is “Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues” by Adrian Hayles, mounted in 2021. If the style looks familiar, this DJ/artist/muralist has done numerous murals in the city. In 2016, Adrian took 8 weeks to paint a 22 storey Downtown Yonge BIA music mural on the north wall of 423 Yonge Street, just south of College Street. The next year, he painted the south wall of the same building, continuing the musical theme. Adrian also painted a substantial mural on Reggae Lane in the Oakwood Avenue/Eglinton Avenue West area.
Hours of the Day Monument Whitney Plaza, 23 Queens Park Crescent East
In 2018, Paul Raff Studios designed a sculpture flanked by granite benches as a way to honour the passage of time, reflecting the hours of service by correctional workers in the justice system, as well as in their communities. Each year, a Ceremony of Remembrance acknowledges correctional workers who have paid the ultimate price in their service.
Ontario Police Memorial Whitney Plaza, 23 Queen’s Park Crescent East
In 2000, two bronze statues featuring a 1950’s male officer and modern era female office were unveiled atop a 30,000 pound granite pedestal base. There are 8 cascading granite walls known as the “Wall of Honour” that recognize the names of Ontario Police Officers who died in the line of duty.
Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe Monument
Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806, First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 1791-1796. Founder of the City of Toronto July 30th 1793.
Northwest Rebellion Monument
By Walter S. Allward. The monument commemorates the Northwest Rebellion of 1894-1896.
Ontario Veteran’s Memorial Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West
In 2006, a black granite wall was designed by the landscape architect Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg to recognize the service of Canada’s military. It measures 8′ 6″ high and 100′ long. The wall features Canada’s military actions since 1867 and words from poet Jane Urquhart and military historian Professor Jack Granatstein.
Afghanistan Memorial Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West
Adjacent to the Ontario Veteran’s Memorial, a companion memorial was installed in 2020 to recognize the 40,000+ Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. One part is a bronze ribbon inspired by the Afghanistan mountains. Another part is a piece of granite from an Inukshuk built by Canadian soldiers at Kandahar Airfield.
Danger
Someone at Queen’s Park has a sense of humour
Robert Raikes
This bronze statue of Robert Raikes was executed by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1930. Raikes was often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools. This statue was first erected in Great Britain in July 1880 and replicas where installed in Gloucester (1929) and then in Toronto.
Dr. Norman Bethune 1890-1939
Dr. Bethune was a Canadian surgeon who graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School. He first gained fame as a doctor for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and then for providing medical services to the communist-led Eighth Army during the second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s.
The statue shows Dr. Bethune seated, dressed in a doctor’s apron, taking field notes. The following quote is inscribed on his apron: “I am content. I am doing what I want to do. Why shouldn’t I be happy – see what my riches consist of. First I have important work that fully occupies every minute of my time… I am needed.” At the bottom of the statue is inscribed, in English and Cantonese: “The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto proudly celebrates its shared history with Dr. Norman Bethune and China, and its ongoing research and education collaborations with China.”
Cannons at the Legislative Assembly
At the entrance to the Legislature there are two Russian cannons that were captured by the British during the Crimean war and sent to Toronto as a gift.
Queen Victoria Monument Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West
Installed in 1902, this bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a stone pedestal was designed by Mario Raggi.
Post One Monument Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West
To celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, a bronze map of the country was installed. It features surveyor tools and a time capsule to be opened in 2067.
Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion Monument
This monument to the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, erected on the grounds of the Ontario provincial legislature in Toronto in 1995, was the first to commemorate Canadian involvement in International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Approximately 1500 Canadians volunteered to fight for the Republican cause, many out of ideological motives and class convictions underpinned by the experience of the Great Depression. They were often forced to make the long and arduous journey to Spain independently, since in 1937 the Canadian government had forbidden the involvement of its citizens in the Spanish Civil War through the passing of the Foreign Enlistment Act. Initially a number volunteered with the American Abraham Lincoln Brigade, but the substantial number of Canadian volunteers would ultimately lead to the formation of a separate battalion, named after two leaders of the unsuccessful Canadian rebellions against the British Crown in 1837-38.
Makeshift Memorial
Pairs of shoes have been placed in front of Queen’s Park as part of a makeshift memorial in response to the discovery of 215 children whose remains were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
Plaque: King George V’s Silver Jubilee
Installed in 1935, this plaque commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Time and tide have taken its toll on the inscription and it’s difficult to see, but the text reads: “This tree was planted by James Simpson, Esq., Mayor of Toronto, on the occasion of the celebration of the Twenty-Fifth anniversary of the accession of King George the Fifth to the throne. May 6th 1935”.
Whatever…
Mural outside the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at Queen’s Park Crescent and College Street.
On the waterfront, behind the Canada Malting Co. towers on Eireann Quay, sits Ireland Park. The Park commemorates the Irish Famine migrants who arrived on Toronto’s shores between 1846 and 1849.
An Unfortunate End
During 1847 alone, at the peak of Ireland’s Great Famine, some 38,500 Irish men, women and children landed at Dr. Reese’s Wharf in Toronto, then a city of about 20,000. Weak from hunger and stricken with illness aboard overcrowded sailing ships, approximately 20% of those who embarked upon the long voyage perished at sea or shortly after their arrival at sites along the St. Lawrence River, including the quarantine station at Grosse Île, Québec.
Within months of the migrants reaching Toronto, the city recorded 1,186 fatalities due to contagious disease, including the deaths of compassionate local clergymen, government officials, and medical workers who came to the migrants’ aid. Their names are inscribed upon the park’s sculptural memorial columns, which are composed of limestone from Kilkenny, Ireland:
Memorial ColumnsThe Fatalities
The Park Opens
Ireland Park was opened on June 21, 2007, by Mary McAleese, President of Ireland and Robert G. Kearns, Founder of Canada Ireland Foundation. The park was designed by Jonathan M. Kearns, Kearns Mancini Architects.
Arrival
Situated within the park are five bronze sculptures commemorating the migrants’ arrival in Canada. The sculptures are collectively known as Arrival, created by Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie:
Departure
The Arrival sculptures form a companion group to seven bronze sculptures, entitled Departure (image below), situated on the banks of the River Liffey in Dublin.
Departure Banks of River Liffey, Dublin, Ireland (Image in Public Domain)
The Toronto AIDS Memorial, designed by Patrick Fahn, is located in Barbara Hall Park (formerly Cawthra Square Park), on Church Street above Wellesley, next to The 519 Church Street Community Centre in the heart of Toronto’s gay community.
Michael Lynch (1944-1991) – a poet, journalist, professor of English at the University of Toronto and a man who was active in groups such as Gay Fathers of Toronto and the Toronto Centre for Lesbian and Gay Studies – had the idea to create an AIDS Memorial in Toronto. On Lesbian and Gay Pride Day in 1988 a temporary Memorial in Cawthra Square Park displayed about 200 names. I well remember that temporary Memorial and how moving it was that year.
A committee from the Community Centre, with one member of Toronto City Council added, began deliberations in 1988 and proposed that a permanent AIDS Memorial be created. Patrick Fahn won the competition for the design of the Memorial, and it was completed and dedicated during Pride Week 1993.
Once the permanent Memorial was built, the task of collecting names, arranging for engraving, and upkeep of the Memorial pillars, plaques and lighting, was delegated to The 519 Community Centre by the Committee. Since there are a limited number of panels, the font size was reduced in 1996, and older plaques are re-engraved periodically to create room.
Within a garden, 14 triangular precast concrete pillars, each 2.25 meters high, are placed 1.6 meters apart in a long, very gently rising arc, paralleled by a narrow stone path. A low triangular concrete podium is placed in front of the garden.
As planted trees and shrubs have grown, the Memorial pillars and path have become an increasingly private space. The pillars represent a connection between earth and the spiritual realm. At the foot of each pillar a Precambrian crystalline boulder is placed. Signifying steadfastness in the face of tragedy, the boulders complement the message of hope represented by the pillars.
Engraved on stainless-steel plaques affixed to the pillars are the names of those who have died from AIDS in a given year. There are currently 2700 names in total. Every year during Pride Toronto, names of persons who have died from AIDS that year are read out in a short ceremony, and have their names added to the plaque for that year. If new information comes in, names are also added to the plaques for earlier years. Requests for names to be engraved are accepted from spouses, friends and family members. Each year during June’s Pride Week, a committee representing AIDS Service Organizations presents the AIDS Candlelight Vigil.
AIDS Candlelight Vigil at the AIDS Memorial
The AIDS Memorial has a processional feel. Memorial ceremonies for individuals are held there, and flowers and keepsakes are left to be collected or cleaned up.
In 1995 this poem, by Shoshanna Jey Addley, was appended to the first pillar of the Memorial (photo below). It reads:
Circles of Stone:
To Those Unnamed
We stand at this place; among earth and stone, branch and birch-
In darkness and in light, through sun and storm, rain and trees,
leaves and breezes: Life and Death
Our strength, though withered and sapped, regenerates here.
Each name on each standing stone remarks thousand fold
upon those unremarked from sea to sea; pole to pole.
The earth would quake with the strength of our memories
flood with the loss of our tears, and in tandem; We exist.
How tall these stones have to grow?
How wide? How all-encompassing, how awesome?
To announce this radical interruption of humanity.
These standing stones might sprout like high rises,
watered by lovers left behind.
Further stones planted, the last meets the first; A circle is formed.
Its volume gains inhabitants. Admitting entrance without discrimination.
The world mourns while we embrace the lives and the times,
Whether a name is engraved in steel or sand, in heart or in mind;
In flesh or in form; we will remember.
And mark the day we have no further need for such
Circles of Stone.
The first pillar of the Memorial, containing the poems “Cry” and “Circles of Stone”Fourteen pillars in a gentle arc comprise the MemorialA flower in winter for remembranceMemorial stone of Dr. Edward KamskiLives lost in 1993, one of the worst years of the crisisCurrently the last pillar of the Memorial The deaths in the last few years are very few and far between, and there are no plaques beyond 2021
For me, a visit to the AIDS Memorial is a sombre, sobering experience, and causes me to remember times past. So very many young men lost in their prime; a whole generation wiped out. At least their names and lives will be forever remembered in this dignified Memorial.
Ghost bikes are to be found across Toronto wherever a cyclist has been killed. Members of the cycling community have been installing these tributes for more than 20 years.
On Queen Street West
This ghost bike, outside Old City Hall at 60 Queen Street West, commemorates the spot where bike messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard was killed on August 31, 2009 from a vehicle altercation with former Attorney General Michael Bryant. I remember reading and hearing about this altercation at the time; the incident was more violent than most. The tragedy was compounded by a controversial decision by an Ontario government-appointed independent prosecutor to drop criminal negligence and dangerous driving charges against Bryant.
Throughout the ensuing years, the memorial has been maintained by Sheppard’s family and their supporters. The memorial has served as the meeting place for semi-annual gatherings calling for a more equal justice system for cyclists killed on Toronto’s roads.
On Davenport Road
Another ghost bike resides on the corner of Avenue Road and Davenport Road. Adam Excell was riding his bike on Avenue Road, near Davenport Road on June 13, 2015, when he was struck and killed by a car that did not remain at the scene.
St. James Park is located at 120 King Street East; it more or less forms a square bounded by King Street East on the south end, Adelaide Street East on the north, with Church and Jarvis Streets on the west and east sides respectively.
While passing through St. James Park last summer I came upon a new structure – a bandstand-like affair, which I later discovered serves as a stage for outdoor performances, among other things. The structure is called the Michael Comstock Pavilion. It is named after a very highly noted and respected community leader – à la Jane Jacobs – who accomplished and revolutionized many things in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood.
Michael Comstock died from cancer in September 2012. Shortly after his death his friend, Barbara Bell, started a petition to name a local asset in his honour. This Pavilion is the result – it is meant to evoke his love of music and acknowledge his efforts to bring music onto the streets of the neighbourhood. If you’re interested, you can read up on Michael Comstock’s many contributions and accomplishments over the years here. Looks like he had quite the life.
When I first spotted the Pavilion I was struck and impressed by its graceful and gentle curves. Looking at it, it was not difficult to imagine the the strains of a summer evening’s concert in the Park floating through the air.
Remembrance Day was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth and was originally called Armistice Day to commemorate the armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11:00 AM.
Until 1930, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11th fell. In 1931 a bill was introduced to observe Armistice Day only on November 11, and to change its name to Remembrance Day. The first Remembrance Day was observed on November 11, 1931.
By remembering the service and sacrifice of Canadians who served, we recognize the freedom that they fought to preserve. We must remember.
Here are monuments and people from past Remembrance Days in Toronto.
Old City Hall
Originally built after World War I to commemorate Torontonians who lost their lives in services for Canada, the memorial also commemorates those who died in World War II and the Korean War. It was modelled on The Cenotaph at Whitehall in London, England, constructed using granite cut from the Canadian Shield, and unveiled on November 11, 1925.
East York Civic Centre
The East York Cenotaph reads:
Since the earliest crusade, men and women have suffered in the throes of war, not for personal gain or glory, but for the preservation of an ideal that righteous freedom might be realised as a reward to all mankind.
Thus we the Citizens of East York erect this symbol to commemorate throughout the years those who laid down their lives or were incapacitated serving the cause of such freedom in the victorious wars of 1914-1918, 1939-1945, Korea 1950-1953.
Pray that the Crusade is now ended in eternal peace.
Fort York National Historic Site
Beginning at the Strachan Avenue Military Burial Ground on Garrison Common, a procession led by period-uniformed staff and standard bearers of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire made its way to the old cemetery at the west end of the Common. At the eleventh hour, all soldiers of the Toronto Garrison who fell in the defence of Canada, here and around the world, from 1812 to the present, were remembered and honoured.
College Park
This installation is a tribute to all who have sacrificed their lives for us throughout history. The individuals here remind us that these heroes came from different backgrounds and cultures; and gave up their freedom so that we can have ours.
This is an installation by the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area.
In front of Manulife’s headquarters at 200 Bloor Street East, there is currently a display honouring Canadian Armed Forces members who made the ultimate sacrifice. As a gesture of thanks and remembrance, more than 12,000 flags are planted on the front lawn of Manulife’s headquarters. Each flag represents 10 members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have fallen in service.
This display is up from November 2 to November 11, 2022. The gates to the Manulife courtyard are open from 7:00AM to 6:00PM, so you can wander the lawn and take this in during those times.
More information can be found on Manulife’s website here.
Passing through Union Station last week I noticed a new (to me) installation. Do Something, is a project Gord Downie launched before his death.
A Bit Of The Backstory
Chanie Wenjack
Chanie Wenjack, misnamed Charlie Wenjack by his teachers, was an Anishinaabe boy born in Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve on January 19th, 1954. Chanie’s story, tragically, is like so many stories of Indigenous children in this country; he fell victim to Canada’s colonization of Indigenous Peoples.
In 1963, at the age of nine, Chanie was sent to the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential school in Kenora, Ontario. In 1966, at 12-years old, Chanie ran away from Cecilia Jeffrey, attempting to reunite with his family 600 kilometers away in Ogoki Post. Nine others ran away that same day, all but Chanie were caught within 24 hours.
Chanie’s body was found beside the railway tracks on October 22, 1966, a week after he fled. He succumbed to starvation and exposure. In his pocket was nothing but a little glass jar with seven wooden matches.
Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada’s story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were. History will be re-written.
Gord Downie
Gord Downie
Gord Downie was the lead singer, songwriter and driving creative force behind The Tragically Hip, who brought their energetic, live performances to audiences around the world for over three decades. The group released their first album, The Tragically Hip, in 1987 and have since released thirteen studio albums, including their final album, Man Machine Poem (2016). Gord also enjoyed a career as a solo artist. He released six albums, including Secret Path.
Gord directed music videos, narrated the Waterlife and National Parks Project documentaries, and appeared in a number of films including director Michael McGowan’s One Week and director Mike Clattenburg’s Trailer Park Boys: The Movie. In 2014, Gord and his brothers, Mike and Patrick, along with Patrick Sambrook, started the production company Edgarland Films.
In August of 2016, Gord asked all Canadians to look at the state of Indigenous-settler relations in this country and to “Do Something” to change them for the better. In December of 2016, Gord was given the Lakota Spirit Name, Wicapi Omani, which can be translated as “Man who walks among the stars” for his reconciliACTIONs.
Full info about the The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund can be found here.
Gord’s Legacy
In October of 2017, Gord Downie passed away with his children and family close by. His legacy, messages of hope, and powerful calls to action live on. Gord has dedicated his legacy to creating lasting, positive change in Canada; we are committed to making Gord proud as he begins to walk down this new path in his journey.
The description beside two of Gord’s portraits in the installation reads:
This project is an expansion of Union Station’s long-term partnership with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which focuses on building awareness, education, and connections between all peoples in Canada and our shared path toward reconciliation.
I came upon this by accident with a friend when it was under construction. At the time we said we…