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Allan Gardens: Exploring Local History

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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 orchard 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.

 

Bibliography

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. “McCallum, Robert.” Accessed August 20, 2025. http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1474 

“Chance for Philanthropy Suggested to Ald. Foster.” The Toronto Daily Star, March 19, 1908. http://ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/page-1/docview/1435626990/se-2

Friends of Allan Gardens. “Allan Garden’s History.” Accessed August 20, 2025. https://www.friendsofallangardens.ca/allan-gardens-history

“Howard Park and Allan Park.” The Toronto Daily Star, July 30, 1901. http://ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/page-4/docview/1427865761/se-2

Middleton, Jesse Edgar. The Municipality of Toronto: A History. The Dominion Publishing Company, 1923.

 “Scottish Men Honor Burns: Monument of the National Poet Unveiled To-day in Allan Gardens.” The Toronto Daily Star, July 21, 1902. http://ezproxy.lib.torontomu.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/page-3/docview/1429249031/se-2.

A Few of our Favourite Things

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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.

Wood in Glass (RG 0.04.21)

Clear glass sphere with large piece of wood with smaller piece of wood glued to it inside

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 (2012.005.05.07)

Three small green plastic figures with hard hats on.

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“

Lamp of Learning (RG 0.04.23)

metal oil lamp on a cylindrical wood base. It is sitting on a red velvet pillow

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.

Two men in suits holding a trophy in between them
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.

Line of men in black robes and mortarboards leaving building along tree lined path. Man in front is carrying an oil lamp on a pillow
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

“Library Book” by Lise Melhorn-Boe (N7433.4 M445 L52 2005)

Pop up book open showing various small books

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.

Stack of 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 blocks with metal floor plan designs attached to them

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 Slide “Frogs” (2017.010.06.034)

Rectangular glass slide with 4 images of frogs in swimsuits jumping and playing in the water

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.

2017.017.01.004

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/

Foundation of the University Archives (RG 12.192.004.009)

2 page memo regarding collecting materials for an archives

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:

Yashica-44 camera (2005.006.12.08)

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.

Baby Rollei Camera, c1957 (2005.006.12.06)

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.

2024 First Edition Photobook Award

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Group of four individuals holding books
Award recipients and their books at the opening reception and awards celebration. Image courtesy of Artspace TMU gallery.

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 winners for the First Edition Photobook Award!

The TMU Libraries First Edition Photobook Award was instituted in 2015 by Special Collections Librarian Alison Skyrme and Image Arts Instructor Christopher Manson. As part of MPS507 – The Photographic Book, 3rd year Image Arts students conceive of, and produce photobooks during the course, based on their photography. The course concludes with a group show of the books at TMU Artspace gallery.

Each year, TMU Libraries purchases the First Edition Award winning books from the students, catalogues them, and houses them in Special Collections. The winning books are selected by a jury panel using design, sequencing, and integration of images and text as the main evaluation criteria.

The First Edition Photobook Award is generously sponsored by the Photographic Historical Society of Canada.

First Edition Photobook Award Recipients

Pink book cover with the title FRISSON!

Sai Bagni, Frisson! A universe built from my observations of my online youth. It is a coming-of-age that exists in pixels and code. Frisson: a word of French origin that describes a feeling of fear or excitement that precedes the anticipation of something that’s about to happen. It denotes the act of waiting and anticipating for something that stands out amongst the banality of everyday life.

Madison Chow, Works of the Flesh. A collection of Polaroids and long exposure imagery that explores the body, created with the intention to speak to experiences of sexualization in the church. Paired with handwritten text, the images create a biblical narrative, using its symbolism to confront and heal from religious trauma.

Dark red book cover with the title Works of the Flesh
Newsprint with an image of a metal paper airplane and the text HAUTE COUTURE

Max Grueninger, HAUTE COUTURE. By reimagining the purpose of each image and subtly weaving fashion elements into the narrative, the visuals aim to inspire a new generation to see the term haute couture as not merely clothing but as a dynamic, evolving concept that can transform and elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Alejandra Harrison, Murder at Monochrome Manor. Inspired by the classic board game Clue and visual styling of film noir Murder at Monochrome Manor explores the limitations of photography in data collection and the power of individual understanding. Offering minimal context to enhance the interactive element, this work invites viewers to take on the role of investigator by examining the images for clues and piece the mystery together to find a solution they interpret.

Black book cover with the outline of a file folder
Grey marble book cover with stains from cups

Sophia Markelj, Generational Flavours. Explores the intimate connection between food, family traditions, and cultural heritage. Using passed-down dishware, tablecloths and cutlery, I explore a gift my grandmother gave me before she passed. Motivated by the notes she left me, these images become not merely representations of dishes, but visual tributes to the love and stories passed down through generations.

Joon-Young Lee, Nicotine, Glass & Fabrics. A photographic love letter to 3 friends who have been apart of my entire career as a photographer. The book recontextualizes each image to reflect on the memories and relationship built from them, paried with transcripts from my conversations with each friend.

Book cover with hands making the shape of a heart over cigarettes
Book cover with an image taken inside the front of an airplane

Christie Xu, A Place On Earth. In the summer of 2023 my partner and I plotted out our longest cross-country flight after a failed attempt last winter break. “A Place On Earth“ documented our trip from Albany, New York to visit Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana where he started his flight training, just in time for our friend’s graduation. After that, we head South to Huston, Texas before turning back to New York via Louisiana, Tennessee and Ohio. This book includes polaroids and 35mm film during flying.

2024 Jury Panel

This year we were fortunate to have a judges panel that included Kristen Adlhoch, Holly Forsythe Paul, Jennifer Park and Rahim Perez-Anderson.

Kristen Adlhoch holds a BFA in Photography from Toronto Metropolitan University, and an MLit and PhD in the History of Photography from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. She is currently a Part-Time Lecturer and the Student and Partner Outreach Coordinator for the Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management MA program at TMU.

Holly Forsythe Paul is a rare book librarian who received her M.I. from the University of Toronto in 2021. Prior to her studies in librarianship, Holly taught English literature and writing at University of Toronto for over a decade. She is currently the Special Collections Librarian at TMU Libraries and teaches Conservation & Preservation of Recorded Information at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.

Jennifer Park is the Art Preparator at The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also a Co-Coordinator of the IMC’s Art Handing Apprenticeship Program which offers training to BIPOC who are in the early stages of their career in museum work.

Rahim Perez-Anderson is a Black visual storyteller, working out of Tkaronto/Toronto. Intrigued by human experience and the observation of life, Rahim specializes in self-portraiture and documentary photography, exploring his lived experiences within and around topics of identity, race, and selfhood.

Related articles

First Edition Photobook Show (TMU Artspace Gallery)

First Edition Photobook Show highlights TMU image arts students (The Eyeopener)

LGBT History Month

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Explore the vibrant 2SLGBTQ+  history at TMU! For LGBT History Month we are highlighting key moments and achievements of the 2SLGBTQ+ communities at TMU and more broadly in Toronto.

The Wilde ’82 History Conference was one of the first North American gatherings dedicated to the recovery of LGBT histories. It was held on TMU campus on June 30-July 3 1982. The name of the conference was in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Oscar Wilde’s famous North American Tour.

RG 114.26 – Conference program
RG 114.26 – Conference program (part 2)
RG 114.26 – Conference poster

In 1986, TMU started offering the first LGBT course called “New Perspectives on Gay and Lesbian Realities.” The course was aimed at members of the LGBT community, allies and families.

Colourful cover of a 1986-87 Continuing Education course calendar
New Perspectives on Gay and Lesbian Realities course description

 During the 1980s and 1990s, the TMU theatre hosted the Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal’s annual fundraiser called Fruit Cocktail. The show included vaudeville-style acts with cast members dressed in fruit costumes!

light green program for the 1989 Fruit Cocktail
Black and white images of the Fruit Cocktail performances
Pink and turquoise program for the 1991 Fruit Cocktail

In 1992, TMU’s campus community radio station CLKN recorded a program at the Pride parade. Listen CKLN’s Queer Radio pride report.

Did you know the TMU Libraries has copies of the Body Politic, a Canadian monthly queer magazine published from 1971 to 1987? It was one of Canada’s first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada. In 1973, the newspaper also spurred the creation of the ArQuives in Toronto in 1973, one of the largest independent 2SLGBTQ+ archives in the world and the only archive in Canada with a mandate to collect at a national level.

cover of Body Politic: A magazine for gay liberation

The Body Politic – issues available online and in Special Collections

Throughout the month of October, visit our LGBT History Month display on the 4th floor of the Library building to view more material from Archives & Special Collections related to TMU queer history, or join us for the Pink Libraries Tour on October 24th and 26th.

Grant Collingwood Fonds

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If you’re looking for photographs from the 1940s to 1990s taken in Ontario, there is a wonderful collection at the Archives and Special Collections waiting for you!

  • 2021_003_50_039_ Family Photographs
  • 2021_003_50_039_ Family Photographs

The Collingwood collection was donated to the Archives & Special Collections in 2021 by a relative of the photographer. The collection consists of 35 mm and  2 ¼ negatives, prints, and textual records. The volume of the collection is high and it is being processed and it will be added to our database. A part of the collection consists of  acetate based negatives suffering from vinegar syndrome. Vinegar syndrome is a term that refers to the odor of vinegar that is emitted due to hydrolysis of the acetate base of the negatives. The deteriorated negatives require special care and handling practices and due to their condition are not accessible for viewing in the reading room. The Archives and Special Collections is in the process of digitizing the deteriorated negatives before moving them to cold storage to increase accessibility to the collection. 

  • 2021.003.50.039 _Family Photographs
  • 2021.003.50.041_Maclean Hunter
  • 2021.003.50.041_Maclean Hunter
  • 2021.003.50.041_Maclean Hunter
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio
  • 2021.003.51.002_Collingwood’s Portfolio

Harold Grant Collingwood was born on August 4, 1909, in Exeter, South Huron, Huron, Ontario and died at the age of 87 in May 1996. As an avid photographer, he photographed well-known jazz musicians, street views, buildings, events and venues. He was a commissioned photographer who took photographs for numerous companies namely the Mclean Hunter newsletter and Chatelaine magazine. In his portfolio, there are photographs depicting the office culture of the 40s to 90s in Canada. You will be able to find photographs of important events like the Eaton’s main store demolition and buildings like the old City Hall and the new City Hall. As a result of the variety of subjects that Collingwood photographed, this collection can be used for researchers who are interested in Toronto street views, events and even fashion between the years 1940 and 1990. Additionally, since Collingwood was commissioned to photograph events for companies and businesses, it can also be an excellent resource for researching the existing industries and businesses in Canada during that time period. 

Drop by the Archives and Special Collections Department on the 4th floor of the library to see the current exhibition of the Collingwood collection. If you are interested in learning more about this collection you can check our database.

The Jack Layton Book Club

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JLBC-FINAL-Web

The Jack Layton Chair, in partnership with the Ryerson Library and Achives, are pleased to invite you to the inaugural series of presentations of the Jack Layton Book Club. They promise to be interesting, inter-active discussions of books that mattered to Jack, and the ideas Jack championed through his remarkable career.

Jack Layton’s personal book collection has been donated to Ryerson, where he was a Professor of Politics during the 1970s and 80s. At each meeting of the Jack Layton Book Club, an expert speaker introduces us to a book Jack read, treasured and was inspired by. All are welcome to attend.

Three sessions of the Jack Layton Book Club are scheduled in the weeks ahead.  All begin at 5:30 PM in the Archives, 3rd Floor, Ryerson Library, 350 Victoria Street. The Archives currently hosts a Jack Layton exhibit, which you are welcome to visit from 5 PM before each Book Club meeting.

Session 1

Tuesday 12 March 2013
Terry Grier, Ryerson President Emeritus

“Jack Layton’s Political Journey: From the Classroom to National Icon”.

Session 2

Thursday 28 March 2013
Dr. Alex Wellington, Philosophy Department, Toronto Metropolitan University

“Jack Layton’s Environmental Vision: Green Economy and Climate Justice”

Session 3

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Dr. Jason Boyd, English Department, Toronto Metropolitan University

“Pride, Prejudice and Politics: Jack Layton and the Lessons of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II”

Layton bookplate image

The Jack Layton Book Club is an initiative of the Jack Layton Chair, co-sponsored by the Toronto Metropolitan University Library and Archives.

The Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University

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The Heritage Camera Collection more than doubled in size this past January thanks to the generous donation of approximately 500 cameras and pieces of camera equipment from Wilfrid Laurier University. The collection improves the holdings in European and Japanese manufacturers, and provides a greater selection for research in early camera designs.

1920s studio camera from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection
“Mouse trap” camera developed by William Henry Fox Talbot, ca. 1834 (replica made 2006) from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.006.01.01)
Watch Camera from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.006.06.02)
Polaroid Land camera, Automatic 110A from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.003.2.17.03)
Crystar camera (2005.006.08.64) next to Pony 135 for size comparison. The Crystar measures only 3.5 x 5.5 x 3 cm. From the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection.

A Model Practice : Photographs from the Canadian Architect magazine archive

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Architectural models breath life into otherwise straightforward ideas on paper; they easily and quickly communicate complex design schemes, embellishments, finishes and details, and they facilitate an easier dialogue between architect and client. Well-crafted architectural models even win competitions. While these models are very rarely preserved once building is begun, the realized design in miniature form represents the very essence of the architectural practice.

From January 4th- February 13th, 2012, photographs of models taken for Canadian Architect magazine will be on display in Special Collections on the Library’s 4th floor. These images were originally captured for project announcements, and today they give us as much to discuss as the finished buildings themselves. See the process that the architect goes through when bringing his or her idea to the public, and consider some of the challenges the architect faces in communicating with that audience. Is it useful to see the detailed model superimposed onto a photograph of the existing landscape, as with the Toronto Eaton Centre image? Why do some architects choose to put contextual detail in the model itself, making tiny trees and cars on the adjacent streets? Every model has a purpose and an audience, which is perhaps even more apparent in the scenic model taken from the set design for a CBC television special [borrowed from the Robert Hackborn collection for comparison’s sake]. With this model, the purpose is to show the interior to the cameras – not the exterior to a client.

Whatever the goal with these miniature worlds, either to emulate a real three-dimensional building as closely as possible or three walls that merely suggest one, the model serves as a stepping stone to the final idea. Here the idea of architecture is on display – judge for yourselves whether the real lives up to the imagined.

Feature from the Collections: Who is this man in the Archives?

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Peter. It’s his name. An interesting fellow, don’t you think?

“The Dream That Fagged Out” is Peter’s official title. The word fagged in its historical usage means completely exhausted, and there certainly seems to be a weight on Peter’s shoulders. “The work is so successful in its depiction of human despair and misery that no one at Ryerson has been able to keep it for long.” [The Lectern, October 1975, Works of Art docfl.]

He was created by artist Julius Damasdy, (1937/38 –  ) in the mid 1960s and was donated to Ryerson in 1967 by a founding member of the Board of Governors, Franc Joubin, who acquired him at an art show of the Ontario Society of Artists at the Toronto Art Gallery (now AGO).  Mr. Joubin stated he would purchase whatever statue won in its class at the art show.  As it turned out it was Peter who won and who became part of the university’s art collection.

He resided in the reception area of President Fred Jorgenson’s office (in Kerr Hall South).  After two years of dismally greeting staff and visitors alike, Peter was moved to where he could cheer up the students. What better place than the Library (located, then, in the former Business Building, now the Victoria Building).

General feelings were:

  • “[I] couldn’t stand the sight of Peter staring at [me] every day.” – 1969, executive staff
  • “I can’t stand him staring at my face whenever I come out of the elevator.” – 1969 library staff

When the Library moved to its current location in the Library Building in 1974, Peter insisted he come along. His new home was in a semi-dark area (they tried to hide him) near the 2nd floor elevators.  He later moved to the 6th floor stacks.

Peter got a medical diagnosis in the mid 1970s by a few Ryerson nursing students.  They posted their diagnosis from his neck, stating, for example, he suffered from: Malnutrition, Scoliosis, Stove Pipe Legs, Middle Age Spread, Facial Paralysis, and other interesting ailments.

Finally, in an attempt at banishment, Peter was offered to the Archives in the mid 1970s. He was cheerfully accepted and has been in safekeeping  there since, still creeping-out researchers and Archives staff.

Canadian Fashion from the 60s, 70s and 80s on display

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Style changed forever in the 1960s (and we’re not just referring to the hemlines). Space-age design met space-age fabrics, many of which are still in use today: polyamide, polyester, acrylic, polyvinyl, and spandex to name a few. These are laboratory-brewed fibres, extruded through spinnerettes in liquid or molten petro-chemical streams. These were cheaper and more versatile than many of the natural fibres used in clothing up to this point.

The dresses currently on display in Special Collections each use an unexpected fabric to achieve their look, whether it is the plasticized cloth of this shiny-copper mini-dress, the silver lurex suit with multicolored threads from the disco-influenced 70s, or the 100% silk power suit from the 80s. Visit Special Collections today to see these fashionable fabrics produced by Canadian designers.

  • Olena Vivcharyuk, photographer
  • Renée Munn, photographer
  • Renée Munn, photographer

The dresses in this exhibit were taken from the Fashion Research Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University, a collection of costume items, accessories, flat textiles and paper patterns donated to the School of Fashion for use in teaching and research. The collection consists of about 4,500 items of mid-twentieth century men’s, women’s and children’s clothes and accessories and illustrates many of the social, cultural, technological and economic influcences on style made or worn in Canada. It contains designs by leading Canadian figures such as Beate Ziegert, Ira Berg and Pat McDonagh, as well as internationally famous names such as Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Diane von Furstenberg, Perry Ellis, Laura Ashley, Thierry Mugler and Valentino.  There are also pattern and reference books, magazines and articles which are not duplicated in the Ryerson Library catalogue, making this a rich and valuable resource for fashion education.