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Through collections preserved in the Toronto Metropolitan University Archives, we are able to see the history of student organizations and life on campus. These histories allow us to visualize how the University has grown and changed over time, and the major student contributions to campus development. This blog post will highlight some of these major accomplishments present in the exhibit. This blog post accompanies the Student Life and Action in the Archives Exhibit and Research Guide. The exhibit will be up from February 12th until March 31st.
Vacation Anyone?
RG 457.03.02 Ryerson Rural CentreRG 457.03.02 Ryerson Centre Blue Mountain Lodge
Ryerson Centre was a charitable organization that was originally founded as part of the Ryerson Institute of Technology Students’ Union in 1948, and branched off from the Union in 1966 when the Union underwent a restructuring, leading to the founding of the Ryerson Students’ Administrative Council (RyeSAC) and Ryerson Centre. Ryerson Centre’s mission was to provide amenities not covered by other educational sources, including Student Services and providing non-academic campus spaces, health services, residences, athletics, and supporting student societies, groups, and committees.
As part of their mission, Ryerson Centre began purchasing property across Ontario to create student and community spaces, including peaceful vacation rentals for students who needed a break from the city. The first property was purchased in 1972, and was entitled the Ryerson Rural Centre. Located in Millbrook, Ontario, the 200 acre property was available for rent for students and the wider campus community for $2 per person per night. Student groups and classes would rent out the farm, with Film and Interior Design courses attending the farm, and student clubs like the Karate Club staying there as a retreat. The second property was the Ryerson Blue Mountain Lodge in Collingwood, Ontario, purchased in 1975. The ski lodge consisted of the main lodge, four chalets, and a heated pool, and was available to rent year round. Despite purchasing other properties, the Rural Centre and Lodge were the only two to be opened as vacation rentals, and both later closed after just under ten years of operations, with the Rural Centre selling in 1980 and the Lodge in 1983.
RG 457.03.03 Screenshot from Ryerson Rural Centre film
Student Action
C 001.429 Eyeopener, October 3rd, 2001
Much like the University, student government at TMU has gone through different cycles and multiple names. TMU student government emerged in 1948 through the Ryerson Institute of Technology Students’ Union, landing on the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union in 2022. Over the years the TMSU had been directly involved in student organizing taking place on campus through the founding of subsidiary groups like RyeACTION (no longer in existence), RyePRIDE (now the Queer Space), the Good Food Centre, the Student Access, BIPOC Students, Trans Collective, and the Centre for Women & Trans People. These equity service centres provide drop-in space and community-building events across campus.
RG 79.59 RyeSAC SoapBox Newspaper
C 001.429 Eyeopener, October 3rd, 2001
C 001.429 Eyeopener, October 10th, 2001
One anti-tuition hikes action in the 1990s included the then President of the Students’ Union delivering 30 bags of ice to the University President Claude Lajeunesse’s office to call for a tuition freeze. Another action includes Booxodus which was organized in 1967 where the Students’ Union asked students to borrow six books from the Library to demonstrate the need to grow the Library’s collection. Protesters borrowed 3,000 books from the library and marched on Victoria and Gerrard Streets.
Alongside the creation of these centres, Students’ Unions, groups, and the larger student population have used their voices to continuously advocate for campus life through demonstrations and lobbying, working to mobilize student participation in the National Student Day of Action and other city, province, or nationwide actions, including Idle No More, Occupy, the G20 actions.
Opening a bankers box to re-house Canadian photographer Grant Collingwood’s collection of film negatives is met with an exciting luck of the draw, as each box contains hundreds of closed envelopes with subject matter that varies from one envelope to the next.
Collingwood’s career spanned about five decades (1940s–1990s), during which, to his credit, he titled the housings in which his negatives were kept by name of the person or the content, and always by the year that it was taken. Even so, Collingwood was a busy man, and as such, his photographic content varied considerably. In 1952 alone, he was commissioned to capture a variety of subjects, including graduations, wedding anniversaries, personal portraits, and commercial booths at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), among others. However, in pockets between work, he found time for leisure, and on an overcast day in November of 1952 off he went with friends to photograph the monumental magic that is Niagara Falls.
The Falls themselves have roots in Indigenous culture and story telling, and hold their own various documentation; spanning from tourist photographs, daredevil attempts, and attractions such as the Maid of the Mist and Journey Behind The Falls.
From the early Onguiaahra Indigenous tribes in the region, their word “Ongiara” evolved into “Niagara” by way of mispronunciation done by French colonists. It translates to “Thunder of Waters,” and according to the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, it is estimated that every second, 3,160 tons of water flow over the Falls, totalling 75,750 gallons over the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 681,750 gallons over the Horseshoe Falls. So, as I pulled out a perfectly square 6 x 6 negative from one of Collingwood’s envelopes titled “At Niagara Falls” I gawped at the photograph of Collingwood and others at the bottom of the vast waterfall, with seemingly just a small rubble hill and some rocky earth between them and the roaring water.
From Below the Falls, Grant Collingwood Collection.
Joan and Mrs. Curtis, Grant Collingwood Collection.
Joan and Mrs. Curtis, Grant Collingwood Collection.
Posed Beside the Falls, Grant Collingwood Collection.
Posed Beside the Falls, Grant Collingwood Collection.
As I sifted through the additional photographs, I admired the posed portraits of wind swept hair, posh shoulder padded jackets, trench coats with voluminous buttons, suit jackets and ties, and vintage square totes in tow with people all along a fenced pathway so close to the waters edge they could reach out and touch it.
Seven years later, in June 1959, the New York Times reported on tourist renovations on Niagara Falls and its surrounding areas. Today, a tourist can book a paid ticket for Journey Behind The Falls and view the Horseshoe Falls from behind a tunnel cozied in a rain coat. But, in 1952, it seems one would have to look no further than to wander onto the sandy earth, and true to 1950s fashion and technology, a closer look at the photograph below the Falls reveals a woman walking the terrain in heels and a man with what appears to be a Rolleiflex at his chest, also wishing to capture the event. Nothing like taking a trip for a simple jaunt out on the day to observe a nearby Natural Wonder of the World.
Marisa Kelly is a second-year Master’s student in the Film + Photography Preservation and Collections Management program. She is completing her six-month residency at Special Collections, where she has worked closely with the Grant Collingwood photographic fonds and the Canadian Architect magazine fonds. She holds her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Visual and Critical studies from OCAD University.
The colour blue connotes many things: emotion, temperature, depth, space. When a picture is washed in blue, it might feel melancholic and sad, or vast and optimistic like an open sky. In art, blue can be associated with Picasso’s blue period, or the Virgin Mary who is often garbed in blue cloth. When one thinks of blue in photography, they might think of colour as a whole, the alternative to black and white photography. Instead, let’s think of cyanotype.
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel. It is characterised by its striking blue monochrome. It is a relatively simple developing process, but never gained large momentum in the photographic world due to its distinctive colour. It instead became popular with architects and draughtspeople since it is considered the first photocopying process and is also known as blueprints. This is where we get the term ‘Blueprint’ from, the cyanotype copy of the original architectural drawing.
Sir John Herschel was a pioneer of photography. He was one of the many inventors racing to come up with a means to permanently capture an image. Though he helped others who have been credited with the invention of photography, he is solely credited with cyanotype. The process was not popular when it was introduced. Many were not a fan of the deep blue colour, preferring the more neutral black and browns seen in contemporary photography of the time. Instead, it was picked up by botanists to document and share the natural world.
Anna Children Atkins was a British botanist. She used cyanotype to copy images of plants, allowing her to better study their physical characteristics. Atkins studied botany during the 19th century, a time when women were pushed away from many scientific fields. She published “British Algae” in 1843, which was composed of many cyanotypes and captured the forms of algae and other plants in Britain.
The distinctive blue colour is not all that characterises cyanotypes. Like many prints and photographs, cyanotypes fade when exposed to light. Their blue becomes dull and grey, reduced to a faded white. This can all be easily reversed – which is unique to these blue toned images. The blue will reappear after the image has been placed in darkness. Though light is often a danger to fine art and photography, it is only a temporary nuisance for cyanotypes.
From their invention in the mid 19th century, cyanotypes have been a niche photographic process. Their striking blue tones are beautiful, and faded colour can be brought back by some time away from light. Come see a sample of the cyanotypes in TMU’s Special Collections this January. Take inspiration from its scientific history, its use in artist photographs, its popularity in architecture, or simply enjoy its blue hues.
T’was a dark and stormy night… After a lovely roast dinner with your extended family, you all settle around a cozy fire in the parlor, sipping digestifs and listening intently as the older members of your family reminisce about times long gone by. Happy stories, sad stories, tales of love and loss… You are snapped out of your dreamy daze when your grandmother places her slender fingers on your shoulder.
“Do you mind grabbing some boxes from the cellar, dear? I’d love to show everyone your grandfather’s old motorcycle. Oh! And that house we had on the cul-de-sac.” Ear-splitting thunder startles you further, but you softly nod and get up from the couch.
You push the basement door open and it whines loudly, as if in protest of your actions. You are unsure of the last time anyone has stepped foot in the unfinished basement, and the cobwebs and smell of mildew are not encouraging. You pad down the stairs and approach a box labelled “photos and film.” The pen strokes are fuzzy from years of humidity and water stains are visible almost half way up the box. You open it up to ensure its contents, but something hits you, the sour and offensive stench of vinegar. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you reach to pick up a stack of film negatives. Frightening shades of bright blue meet your eyes, deep ridges in the delicate negatives threaten to split from your touch, emulsion adheres to emulsion, and the figures captured in each photo have faded beyond recognition. You gasp loudly and drop the stack of negatives back into the box. How could this happen? Decades of images, beautiful moments frozen in time, quietly lost to the standard environment of a damp basement. How could this happen?
What is vinegar syndrome?
Cellulose acetate film began to be widely used by 1952 after Kodak completed a four year long conversion program to replace nitrocellulose (nitrate) film which is known for its extreme flammability. Acetate film can be identified by the words “safety” printed along the edge of the film, dating information that matches with its advent, or destructive tests such as the float or burn test. Unlike nitrate film, the chemical composition of acetate film allows it to melt instead of burn, however, it is this composition that ultimately leads to its often unexpected demise. The chemical reaction that leads to the deterioration of acetate film begins when the acetate ions are exposed to moisture and heat which produces acetic acid, also know as vinegar. This reaction is “autocatalytic,” meaning it feeds on itself, cannot be stopped once it has started, and will speed up over time. Library and Archives Canada represents the deterioration of acetate film from vinegar syndrome in six distinct stages:
Stage one, where vinegar syndrome can not be detected without acid detecting strips. The negative below is indistinguishable from a negative without vinegar syndrome.
Stage one vinegar syndrome
Stage two, where the film curls slightly and may have a slight smell of vinegar. The negative below was protected from curling due to being compressed in its original housing, however the raking light reveals some warping on the film base.
Stage two vinegar syndrome
Stage three, where the smell of vinegar is present and the film begins to shrink, turn blue or pink, and becomes brittle. The negative below smells strongly of vinegar, has turned a deep shade of blue, which scans positively as orange, and has some ridges in the film base.
Stage three vinegar syndrome
Stage four, where the film begins to warp and the smell of vinegar is strong. This negative has a slight blue tinge, raised ridges in the film base, and is much more brittle than the previous three, making it difficult to handle.
Stage four vinegar syndrome
Stage five, where bubbles and crystalline deposits begin to form. This negative is dotted with hundreds of crystal deposits which compromise the image quality.
Stage five vinegar syndrome
And finally, stage six, where the image may not be visible and channels form on the emulsion and film base sides. The image on this negative is still legible, but its quality has been drastically affected by the web-like channels, and crystal deposits.
Stage six vinegar syndrome
Upon first glance, one may find a strip of curling, discoloured film to look quite insignificant, but each negative is a fragment of a larger story. Many of these images capture moments that shaped individuals, communities, and entire eras. Without timely preservation, these images, prone to silent deterioration, can vanish, erasing moments that once meant the world to someone. Caring for a personal collection of negatives does not have to be complicated or expensive, and a little effort can go a long way when it comes to saving photographs for decades to come.
An at home guide to preserving cellulose acetate film
To begin with, the easiest step to taking care of your negatives is handling them as little as possible. Our touch leaves oils from our skin on materials which can exacerbate their deterioration. Utilizing nylon, nitrile, or cotton gloves are best practice for handling photographic negatives, however freshly washed hands are also appropriate in a pinch. Boxes, mat board, and polyester or polyethylene sleeves can also be used to buffer negatives from heat and moisture as well as to prevent mechanical damage such as scratches and tears. Chemically stable materials (for example: cotton rag or chemically purified wood pulp) such as mat board, boxes, and file folders are also helpful for buffering from moisture. All photographic materials, especially negatives, should be mounted using non-invasive techniques. Instead of adhering an image to paper, consider using photo corners.
All photographic materials are also susceptible to deterioration from exposure to heat and humidity, but acetate film is especially prone due to its tendency to develop vinegar syndrome. Storing negatives in a basement or attic may seem like a good way to keep boxes out of the way, but these humid places with little temperature control can be a disaster for your negatives. Storing your negatives in a dry, cool place can prevent or slow down the onset of vinegar syndrome. Acetate negatives should also be stored away from incandescent lights, windows, doors, radiators, heating ducts, skylights, and exterior walls. If a humid area is the only place available for storage, consider purchasing a dehumidifier to keep your negatives dry, and if you wished to go even further, lining a cabinet with silica gel or desiccated mat board can also help moderate humidity fluctuations.
While all of these methods can drastically extend the lifespan of your negatives, reformatting them is the only way to ensure the image outlasts the negative. Photographing or scanning your negatives and uploading them to a hard drive not only preserves what is depicted in the negative, it also offers the opportunity to dispose of any negatives that you may not be able to take care of, thus creating physical space for photographs in better condition.
How we take care of negatives with vinegar syndrome at A&SC
The first preservation step that is taken is isolating any film that may or may not have vinegar syndrome. This is due to vinegar syndrome’s tendency to spread to materials it is in close proximity with. Using the Collingwood collection as an example, any negatives with noticeable signs of deterioration were placed into separate boxes labelled “Vinegar Syndrome” until they are ready to be catalogued and housed.
Two boxes containing negatives with vinegar syndrome in the A&SC vault from the Collingwood collection
Each file is given a brief condition report specifying what stage of vinegar syndrome it is at before each negative is digitized. Due to their fragile nature, film holders can not be used to hold the negatives in place on the scanner and the negatives are instead carefully placed on the flatbed with some space between each other.
Four negatives with vinegar syndrome placed on a flatbed scanner.
We scan images as TIFF files, which are the archival standard due to their lossless compression preserving more image data. Digitization is beneficial for a number of reasons including keeping track of object condition, lowering the amount of times the negative needs to be handled, and keeping the images accessible to staff and researchers even once they are in cold storage.
File folder for digitized images of 2021.003.14.04.047
Once digitized, the negatives are slipped into archival quality plastic negative preservers where they are then placed into a file folder indicating its reference number, title, and year of creation. A stack of around sixty files, approximately 240 negatives, can fit into one legal-sized document box. Once a box has been filled, it is ready to be packaged for cold storage.
Negatives packaged in plastic sleeves
Finished legal sized document box
Cold storage slows vinegar syndrome by reducing the mobility of acetate ions and moisture in the film base, effectively putting the degradation process on pause. “It is important to note that cold storage cannot reverse the effects of vinegar syndrome, it only arrests further deterioration. Packaging the boxes correctly is incredibly important because their packaging needs to be semi-permeable to prevent moisture buildup. Any moisture that collects within the box and plastic will ultimately worsen the degradation of the negatives, and freezers, especially ones with high traffic, tend to be moist. The packaging method we use is the Mark McCormick-Goodhart Critical Moisture Barrier method, which utilizes two layers of low-density polyethylene, as well as a layer of four-ply desiccated mat board and a cobalt salt card placed between the polyethylene.
Critical moisture barrier package diagram
The polyethylene provides a semi-breathable wrapping, while the mat board acts as a moisture trap between the two layers of plastic. The cobalt salt card indicates the humidity percentage within the individual package by turning blue when exposed to moisture. We have one standing freezer and one chest freezer that are both kept around -12° Celsius, which is well within an acceptable range, however it should be noted that standards outlined by the Image Permanence Institute suggest that -18° Celsius and a relative humidity between 20 and 30 percent are ideal for negatives in cold storage. In an archive, achieving perfect conditions is often a balance of institutional resources and preservation priorities.
Standing freezer and chest freezer in A&SC vault
It is important to remember that cold storage is not the end of the preservation process, it is a long-term strategy to stabilize fragile materials. Once negatives are sealed in cold storage, we limit access to the physical object, offering the digitized copies instead, which minimizes the need for future handling. This ensures that even if a researcher is working with the material years from now, the original has not degraded further due to mechanical stress or temperature fluctuation.
Though vinegar syndrome may not stalk its victims like a monster from the shadows, its silent spread is just as chilling. The damage may seem invisible at first, but its impact is irreversible. Whether in a shoebox under the stairs or a meticulous archive, photographic negatives hold irreplaceable glimpses into the past. With just a few thoughtful steps, anyone can help stave off this creeping decay. So the next time you find yourself in a basement holding a box filled with old film, take a moment to ask yourself: “Is that just the damp smell of a basement, or is that the scent of vinegar in the air?”
If you are curious to see what vinegar syndrome looks like up close, come and visit the fourth floor of the library where our display windows outside the reading room feature real acetate negatives from the Collingwood collection in various stages of deterioration.
This Remembrance Day we honour the World War II air force trainees who passed through the site of TMU, the area traditionally called St. James Square.
The site of TMU’s Kerr Hall and the Quad was the location of a World War II air force training school, the No. 6 Initial Training School (No. 6 ITS),opening its doors in June 1941.
The photograph below shows the grounds of St. James Square in the centre – the future home of TMU. There are three new RCAF outbuildings. Note Maple Leaf Gardens to the north.
1941 St. James Square with only a few BCATP outbuildings (Image TMU Archives, RG 95.08.08)
The recruits were primarily between the ages of 18 and 24 and went on to battle fascism. For those who survived, returning veterans received further training in the same place for re-employment.
In December 1939, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand signed the BCATP or British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, in which Canada was the central figure in training air force personnel to be pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners, and flight engineers. In total, BCATP trained over 130,000 personnel from the Commonwealth, U.S., and some European countries between 1940 and 1945.
Training centres were established across the country with recruits transitioning from one training centre to another. The first was the Manning Depot for basic training followed by the Initial Training School, ending in specialized training.
Manning Depot – Basic, 3-4 weeks – Manning Depot No. 1 was at Toronto’s CNE
Initial Training School – 4 weeks Toronto had two out of a total of 7 ITS – No. 1 and No. 6 – No. 1 at the Eglinton Hunt Club, Avenue and Eglinton roads – opened April 1940 – No. 6 at St. James Square – opened June 1941 – From there, recruits moved on across the country for their specialized training.
No. 6 Initial Training School
The RCAF took over the Toronto Normal School buildings in 1940 and built numerous outbuildings for barracks and training. Recruits experienced psychological testing, drills, and academic courses, such as flight theory, trigonometry, algebra, and navigation.
This 1952 image of Ryerson Institute of Technology (TMU) show the buildings of the No. 6 Initial Training School in what is now the Quad. (TMU Archives, RG 95.08.08)
Largest outbuilding of No. 6 ITS, possibly used for drills and classes. Later, during early years of TMU, it was the gymnasium and students’ union office – Students’ Administrative Council or SAC (TMU Archives, RG 95.1.10.10.02)
Link Trainer – a flight simulator that familiarized recruits with airplane control and determined who was suitable for pilot training. An attending instructor gave navigational directions and those recruits who were able to control or survive the dizzying 360 degree spin from the sensitive joystick passed for actual pilot training. The following three photographs are courtesy of Harold Skaarup,Canadian Warplanes 9-1: Link Trainer – The Link Trainer in Canadian Service.
“Cloud Room” Ryerson Institute of Technology prior to demolition, ca. 1960 (TMU Archives)
Between 1948 through the 1950s, students of Ryerson Institute of Technology referred to the Link room as the “cloud room”. It was primarily used as a sewing room for RIT Fashion students.
Specialized Training – included pilot training, navigation, gunnery, bomb sighting, wireless operators, and flight engineers. TMU Archives has a WWII bomb sighting tool, the Course Setting Bomb Sight, Mark IX C, used by recruits and on actual bombing runs. Of interest is Vernon White’s description of practice bombing exercises at No. 9 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mont Joli, Quebec, in his autobiography, Four Years and a Bit, https://www.427squadron.com/book_file/white/four_years_bg.html, (4th paragraph).
WWII Course Setting Bomb Sight, Mark IX C and original carry case. (TMU Archives, RG 221.23)
Post War 1945-1948
No. 6 ITS was converted to the Training and Re-establishment Institute (T.R.I.T.) for civilian employment training.
Toronto Training & Re-Establishment Institute, 1945-1948, prior to becoming Ryerson Institute of Technology (TMU Archives, RG 58.18)
T.R.I.T. opened in February 1945 offering courses in fields of Building Trades, Mechanical Trades, Hotel and Restaurant, Bakery, Jewellery and Horology, Electronics, Radio Broadcasting, Dressmaking and Tailoring, Homemaking, Photographic Arts, Graphic Arts, and more.
A living allowance was paid to full-time re-trainees: $60 for single men, $80 for married men and an additional allowance for children. Pay was given out directly at the school.
The man in charge was Howard H. Kerr (think of Kerr Hall that forms the Quad) and future principal of Ryerson Institute of Technology (1948-1966), now Toronto Metropolitan University.
This Remembrance Day, think of the WWII air force recruits, many the same age as university students, who lived and had classes in the area of the Quad and Kerr Hall 80 years ago, and think of the 856 aircrew trainees who died or were seriously injured in Canada before graduating.
Since 1984, The Alcuin Society has recognized excellence in book design with a national awards program. The TMU Libraries are happy to showcase these award winners from the 2024 publishing period.
The books are judged in nine different categories – Children’s books; Comics; Limited Editions; Pictorial; Poetry; Prose: Fiction; Prose: Illustrated; Prose: Non-Fiction; and Reference. The following are the first place winners from each category.
Limited Editions: Treasure Island. Author by Robert Louis Stevenson and Illustrated by Marc Castelli.
Tie – Pictorial: Gathered Leaves: Discoveries from the Drawings Vault. Authored by Sonia Del Re, Kirsten Appleyard and Enka Dolphin.
Tie – Pictorial: AP205 Amancio Williams: Readings of the Archives. Authored by by Studio Muoto, Claudia Shmidt, and Pezo von Ellrichshausen.
Poetry: The Undesirables: a bestiary. Authored by Lisa Robertson and illustrated by Myfanwy MacLeod.
Prose: Fiction: Dayspring. Authored by Anthony Oliveira.
Prose: Illustrated: Taizo Yamamoto: Carts, Hedges, Lions. Authored by Taizo Yamamoto, Kevin Chong, Aaron Peck, and Jackie Wong. Illustrated by Taizo Yamamoto.
Tie – Prose: Non-fiction: Les forces du sommeil-cohabitations des vivrants: Manif d’art II: la biennale de Quebec. Authored by Alice le Roy, Marie Muracciole, Benedicte Ramade, Maude Veilleux, and Julia Caron Guillemette.
Tie- Prose: Non-fiction: A Nation’s Paper: The Globe and Mail in the Life of Canada. Authored by John Ibbitson.
Reference: Hemingway s’est paquete la fraise et autres cocktails originaux. Authored and illustrated by Christian Salette.
Alumni Connection – 2 of this years books were authored/co-authored by Alumni
3rd place Prose: Illustrated: He Hijacked my Brain – Gary Topp’s Toronto. Authored by Derek Emerson (Graphic Communications Management ’93); Stephen Perry; Fran Grasso (Fashion ’95): Shawn Chirrey, Simon Harvey, Paul Morris, Tim Freeborn, Marika Csotar and Nancy Park.
Honourable Mention Comics: The Forgotten Frontier. Authored by Tristan Jones (English). Illustrated by Alexander Bumbulut.
The books will be on display on the 4th floor of the main library in the Archives and Special Collections display cases until early November. To see the full list of this year’s winners and winners from previous years you can consult the online catalogues https://www.alcuinsociety.com/awards/catalogues
On the edge of campus sits Allan Gardens, a lush and well shaded park with a conservatory housing a variety of plants. The building, consisting of five green houses, is free and open to the public. Being in the heart of the city, the site has been a popular leisure spot for much of Toronto’s history.
Allan Gardens c. 1900, looking from Carlton Street South-Westward. The old three storied wooden Pavilion is visible through the trees, as is the spire of Jarvis Street Baptist Church. (F 121.02 – Tom Kilner fonds)
The current park sits between Jarvis Street and Sherbourne Street, and Carlton Street, and Gerrard Street East. The park was officially opened in 1860 by the Prince of Wales (who would become Edward VII) during a rainy day. It shares its inaugural day with Queen’s Park making it one of Toronto’s oldest parks. The area has a much longer history though. The land was given to the Horticultural Society by the garden’s namesake, George William Allan (1822-1901), the 11th Mayor of Toronto. The city later bought the park from the Horticultural Society in 1888 for $40,000. The park did not receive its current name until 1901, and was known at that time as the Horticultural Gardens. Torontonians wanted to ensure that the park commemorated the man who initially set the park in motion, G. W. Allan. Unlike High Park which continued to maintain its original name after the donor John George Howard’s death, people wanted the Horticultural Gardens to reflect the man who originally gave it to the Horticultural Society. It was then decided to rename the park Allan Gardens.
Jarvis Street Baptist Church has been a constant neighbor to the park as seen in this photograph taken today and from the photograph in the book “Souvenir Views of Toronto, Canada” published 1922. (FC3097.37 .S688 1922 pam)
W. Allan had built his home, Homewood Estate just north of the land. The building went through many owners and eventually became the Wellesley Hospital in 1911, where in 1912 the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing opened. Though Homewood was demolished in 1962, it would have stood near the corner of Sherbourne Street and Wellesley Street.
Homewood Estate, home of the garden’s namesake William Allan (RG 946.01.03.03.02 – The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association fonds)
The size of the park has expanded throughout its years. It began as an oval five acre of land. The City and the Horticultural Society slowly expanded its perimeters to the size that it is today. The conservatory has also changed since its inception. It began as an open-air pavilion for concerts and other similar events, centered in the middle of the gardens. A three-storied wooden and glass structure, known as the Pavilion and designed by Toronto architects Langley & Langley soon replaced it in 1878. During its time it hosted many events, and was the only large concert hall in the city. The Pavilion burned down on June 6th, 1902 leaving the city void of any space suitable for large public gatherings.
Homewood passed through a few owners until it became the Wellesley Hospital in 1911. (RG 946.01.03.03.06 – The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association fonds)
With the loss of such an important space, some Toronto aldermen saw the need to build a replacement conservatory for the many plants it once held. By 1908 some aldermen were already pleading with city council to build a Palm house using some of the funds from the insurance money received after the fire. After much debate, the city eventually turned to City Architect Robert McCallum to replace the conservatory. He designed at least two structures, one similar to the lost wooden structure, offering a three storied assembly hall with 2000 seats. The chosen design is the current structure that we see today, a more modest-sized Palm house built in 1910.
Allan Gardens is home to a variety of plants and even a small bale of turtles. The five rooms of the conservatory provide five different environments for different plants to flourish and include arid and tropical climates. The orchid collection has always been especially revered, once having rare blue orchids on display. The Palm House, which is the main showpiece of the conservatory, has been recently renovated and is now open again to the public.
In the east end of the park stands a monument for Scottish poet Robert Burns. The statue is the work of David Watson Stevenson, and was unveiled in the park after a parade and much celebration July 21, 1902. The monument has stood for over 100 years, and still stands in the park today.
Statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns, as it stands today near Sherbourne Street.
Today Allan Gardens continues to be a place of gathering, and site seeing. The newly renovated conservatory houses many plants and hosts many events including a weekly farmer’s market throughout the summer. Musical entertainment and various learning events are also hosted at the Gardens throughout the year.
Visit the Archives & Special Collections to view the many items we have on display this month that provide more information about Allan Gardens.
From dingy dive bars to iconic high-end clubs, Toronto’s streets buzzed with the sounds of thumping double basses, crooning vocals, and blaring saxophones throughout the 1980s. Jazz, blues, soul, and ska became the soundtrack for many Torontonians looking for an atmospheric night out, gradually shaping the cultural identity of a city finding its rhythm. While this musical landscape is a bygone era, glimpses of those memorable nights live on through photographs such as those found in the Collingwood Collection, currently being processed at the Toronto Metropolitan University Archives and Special Collections.
Spanning the 1940s to the 1990s, the Collingwood Collection consists of thousands of photographic negatives, prints, and textual records, many documenting Toronto’s evolving cultural landscape. Among them are images from local jazz venues such as The Brunswick House and Bourbon St., as well as captivating portraits of performers like The Mighty Pope, Sarah Vaughan, and Jay McShann. These images not only preserve moments in time, but they also offer insight into the broader cultural currents that shaped the city.
At the heart of Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood stood The Brunswick House. Founded in 1876, it was originally established as a hotel before becoming a tavern known as “Ye Olde Brunswick House” in 1920. By 1961, the building was purchased by Morris and Albert Nightingale who turned it into an English-style pub known affectionately as “The Brunny.” While presently remembered for the 1974 Brunswick Four incident—in which four lesbian women were arrested during an amateur performance night—the venue also stood as a hub for college-aged patrons, known for its loud music, cheap beer, and chaotic energy. Despite this, Albert Hall, nestled quietly on the second floor of The Brunny, fostered a more intimate experience, attracting local and international performers such as Gordon Lightfoot, Etta James, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, and Jeff Buckley. From the Collingwood Collection comes this striking picture of American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer Jay McShann, standing mid-performance while playing the saxophone, thus solidifying Albert Hall as an important stop along the North American jazz circuit during its heyday.
2021.003.35.01.012, Jay McShann last jazz concert at Albert Hall, 1982
Offering a much different atmosphere than The Brunswick House, a club known as Bourbon Street, run by George’s Spaghetti House owner, Doug Cole, stood on Queen Street West in the early 1970s. Providing an upscale ambiance and refined experience, 180 Queen St. W, sharing a location with Basin Street and George’s Italian Café, was best known for hosting a variety of American mainstream and modern jazz talents including Jim Hall and Paul Desmond, who both recorded live albums in the venue. Collingwood captured two captivating Bourbon Street performances in the 1980s, the early 1980s; Swing duo Warren Vaché and Scott Hamilton are photographed in 1982 playing mere inches from diners, while bebop trumpeter Clark Terry is captured in 1984 in front of a valentine’s day “Love Nite” event poster.
2021.003.35.01.024, Scott Hamilton and Warren Vache at Bourbon St., 1982
2021.003.37.01.018, – Clark Terry at Bourbon St., 1984
Of all the artists photographed in the Collingwood Collection, one figure stands out for his electrifying stage presence: The Mighty Pope. Born Earle Heedram in Lucea, Jamaica in 1948, he immigrated to Canada in 1965 and quickly became a “mighty” voice in Canadian soul and R&B. Photographed in an unknown venue in July 1982, fist clenched, expression intense, and dressed in a satin shirt, The Mighty Pope embodied charisma and vulnerability on stage, qualities that made him a late-twentieth century heartthrob and magnetic live performer. Over his career, he played at iconic venues like Le Coq d’Or and the Hawk’s Nest, offering a soulful touch to Toronto’s nightlife.
2021.003.35.01.008, Mighty Pope,1982
Decades may have passed since these clubs echoed with music and applause, but the Collingwood Collection preserves the spirit of Toronto’s live music scene through its impactful, kinetic images. These photographs remind us that fleeting performances leave behind lasting traces, allowing future generations to glimpse the faces, venues, and sounds that helped shape Toronto’s identity.
“George’s Jazz Room.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 7, 2006. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/georges-jazz-room-emc.
Greenberg, Courtney. “From 1874 until Today, the Brunswick House Has Seen Many Faces.” Toronto Guardian, July 12, 2017. https://torontoguardian.com/2017/06/brunswick-house-rexall.
Marie, Denise. “George’s Spaghetti House – Canada’s Premier Live Jazz Club.” TorontoJourney416, September 2, 2024. https://www.torontojourney416.com/georges-spaghetti-house/.
“The Mighty Pope.” Canada Black Music Archives, October 7, 2024. https://thecbma.com/artists/the-mighty-pope/.
Archives and Special Collections have so many weird and wonderful items in our collections. For the summer we decided to feature some of them in an exhibition in the display windows in front of our reading room.
These two wood pieces were found during the excavation of the site for the pool located in Kerr Hall. This piece, along with another section of wood donated at the same time to the Archives, were purportedly carbon dated at 12,000 years old. It is unclear who displayed them in this glass bowl or created this display piece.
Doozers, small industrious workers found living in harmony with the Fraggles on Jim Henson’s “Fraggle Rock”. These small plastic wind up figurines are an examples of some of the promotional materials created to advertise the show that originally aired 1983-1988. These figures are part of the larger Robert Hackborn fonds in Special Collections. Robert Hackborn worked for the CBC for nearly 4 decades on set design and creation, and visual effects. He worked on Fraggle Rock with the late Jim Henson. You can learn more about Robert Hackborn and this amazing collection by reading our blog on the topic: “The Man Behind the Glass: Robert Hackborn“
Legend has it that the lamp was purchased by a faculty member in a small shop in Rome, Italy in the 1950’s. It was brought back to the school and graced the top of the Chariot Race trophy. Chariot races were held at TMU in the 1950s and 1960s – usually in conjunction with football games.
Howard H. Kerr, TMU’s first principal, and D. G. W. McRae, head of the Architecture program, with the Chariot Race trophy (RG 95.1.28.03.01)
In the late 1950’s the lamp was removed from the trophy, fastened to the wood cylinder it currently resides on and used to lead the stage party into Convocation. The Lamp of Learning was used at convocation until the 1980s.
Lamp being carried after Convocation 1961 held at Deer Park Baptist. Lamp carrier was Professor J. Handley. Immediately behind him is Ontario Premier John Robarts, walking with School Principal Howard H. Kerr
An artists’ book about reading library books. Created by Melhorn-Boe, this limited edition hardcover pop-up book features a story authored by Wendy Cain, a renowned Canadian paper and printmaker, about how she came to read all of Andrew Lang’s colour fairy books. It features copies of H. J. Ford’s illustrations from Lang’s books.
Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Grey, and Pink Fairy books by Andrew Lang are part of the book collection in Archives and Special Collections
There are 12 Fairy books in total – Some of which can be viewed in the Archives and Special Collections reading room. Find them and other artist’s books by searching the library’s catalogue https://library.torontomu.ca/
Wellesley Hospital floor plan wood block printing plates (RG 946.02.12.04)
Three wood block printing plates, created by Architect Frederick C. Lee, featuring the original 1912 floor plans for the Wellesley Hospital. The blocks are part of the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association collection that came to Archives and Special Collections in 2011. If you want to learn more about the collection, The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing, and how it came to be associated with TMU please consider reading the following blogs:
Magic Lantern Slides were initially rectangular strips of glass with hand painted imagery and a mahogany wood border. Illustrations on the glass portion went from being hand-painted to mechanically produced, and by the mid 1800s photographic slides came into production as well. This slide is part of a larger donation of magic lantern and stereograph technology from the late Dr. Martin J. Bass and Gail Silverman Bass in 2018.
The slides were projected by Magic Lanterns. The first time a magic lantern was constructed is considered to be in 1659 and were used for entertainment. The lanterns were first illuminated using candles or oil lamps, but this did not produce enough light to project a clear image from afar. Limestone began being used in the early 1800s, allowing for projection of the slides in large settings. By the mid 1800s, a huge variety of magic lanterns became available to the professional and home market. During this time they were also used more widely in educational settings. For more information on Magic Lanterns and Lantern slides please take a look at our earlier blog in the topic https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/2017/10/new-exhibition-projecting-magic/
This 2 page memo was sent by then school President Donald Mordell in November of 1970 encouraging all Deans, Chairmen and Department heads to stop discarding university records as “It is natural and laudable to throw out the ‘garbage’ from time to time but sometimes what is thought of as garbage may contain very useful information for the historian”. This memo was sent out before there was even an established archives or an archivist hired. The Archives was established in 1971 as a result of a recommendation in the the Smyth Commission Report (RG 220.54). The first Archivist Jim Peters was a member of the English Faculty. If you want to learn more about the foundation of the Archives you can view the following blogs:
The Yashica-44 series camera was first produced in 1958 by the Yashica Company (founded in 1949 in Nagano, Japan). The 44 model is a crank wind twin reflex camera with a waist level viewfinder and was advertised to be 25% smaller than their full reflex camera and weighed only 26oz. Three variations were created (44, 44A and 44LM) and production of the cameras continued until 1965. The camera used 127mm film and created black and white or colour 4 cm x 4 cm images – usually slides.
The Yashica-44 was based on the Baby Rollei Camera produced by Franke & Heidecke, a German Company founded by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in 1920. Both of these cameras are part of the Heritage Camera Collection and were donated to Special Collections by Wilhelm E. Nassau in 2011. You can learn more about twin lens reflex cameras by following this link https://archives.library.torontomu.ca/index.php/twin-lens-reflex-cameras
To see more of what Archives and Special Collections has to offer or to do research please contact us at asc@torontomu.ca.
In 1974, the Library building opened at the corner of Gould and Victoria, becoming a new landmark for the university. In honour of this landmark Archives and Special Collections mounted an exhibit – looking back the the library building and its history. Archives
Early History
The main library has moved many times since the school’s founding in 1948. The first library operated out of 2 rooms in the original Ryerson Hall (Toronto Normal School) building. The rooms were designed by D. McRae, director of the school of Architecture, and shelving and furniture was built by Ryerson students in the Architecture and Interior Design programs. In 1963, with the completion of construction of Howard Kerr Hall, the library moved into the Administration section (centre block on Gould Street). It consisted of 2 rooms – the reading room which housed some circulating materials and the reference collection and the stack room which held the remainder of the circulating collection. In 1966 it moved to the MGM building which was located on the site where this building now stands. The reading room and circulation desk were located in the basement with a periodical reading room on the first floor. In 1967 it moved onto 2 floors in the O’Keefe building at 285 Victoria Street. The 5th floor contained the majority of the circulating collection. The sixth floor housed the circulation desk, a portion of the circulating collection, and non-circulating reference collections.
Stories and images of earlier Library locations and an aerial view of the demolition of the space on Victoria Street that would eventually contain the Jorgenson, Podium, Library complex.
Building Beginnings
The Library building project was approved in 1968 and designed by architectural firm Webb Zerafa Menkes in 1971. Construction began in January 1972 and was completed in 1974 at a cost of $12 million. Webb Zerafa Menkes also designed the Podium building and the Jorgensen Hall building as part of a mid-1960s expansion plan.
Photographs from various sources of the construction of the library building.
Official Opening
First named in honour of the third President, the Donald Mordell Learning Resources Centre, the new home of the Library, was officially opened by Lieutenant Governor Pauline McGibbon. Ceremonies took place in the new auditorium in the building (LIB 72). Ryerson’s Theatre Department designed costume displays for the reception area on the lower ground floor
Photographs and ephemera from the official opening of the Donald Mordell Learning Resources Centre.
Brutalist Architecture
Brutalism is an architectural style that emerged in the mid-20th century, characterized by minimalistic structural elements and exposed exterior materials. The brutalist architecture of the Library building embraces ideals of simplicity and functionalism, and complements the egalitarian function of the library as a place to access information, while also highlighting modern ideas and new ways of thinking. The original design was not only forward thinking, it also embodied the creative, scholarly, and practical work happening at the institution and within the Library.
Photographs displaying various angles and sides of the Library building.
Spaces from the past – Library interiors from the 1970s and 1980s
The main library’s interior is continually evolving. A selection of images showing spaces around the building in the 1970s and 1980s shows how much it has changed.
Photographs include old 2nd floor card catalogue space, the microcomputer facility, and circulation desk.
Special Events
A look at some events held in and for the library – they include Booxodus (1967); Ballet for Books (1991; and the opening of the Ron D. Besse Learning Commons on the 2nd floor.
Photographs and ephemera from “Ballet for Books”, “Booexodus”, and the “Ronald D. Besse Learning Commons opening”.
Unique Spaces
Special Collections – 2005 – with Kodak Canada Collection and the library’s Rare Book collection. Originally housed on the Library’s 1st floor, a larger dedicated space was opened on the library’s 4th floor in 2008. In 2016 the floor was renovated again to house Special Collections and the Archives in one space.
The Geospatial Map and Data Centre opened 2004 with the completion of the Besse Learning Commons renovation. Previously to this the library had a map room that was located on the 6th floor in 1975, moving to the 8th floor around 1983.
In the fall of 1992 it was located on the 5th floor. Audiovisual Library – Opened in 1975 on the 3rd floor of the library. It operated in that location until 1996 when the University Archives moved into the space. Audiovisual materials were relocated to the 5th floor.
The Energy Centre and Third World Committee were given storage space on the 6th and 9th floors of the Library in 1977. The Energy Information service would eventually be open on the Library’s 9th floor and the Third World Resource Centre, renamed the Resource Centre for Development Studies, operated on the library’s 7th floor.
Photographs, objects, and ephemera from the library’s media library, Special Collections, Geospatial Map and Data Centre, Third World Resource Centre, and Energy Information Service.
Library Ephemera
A selection of items created by the library. They include early photocopy cards, card catalogue index cards, microfiche catalogue records, guide books, signs and staff buttons.
