Lately, I have been mentioned in the local Aurora blogosphere a couple of times in August. The topics of Town of Aurora history and politics are where I am being quoted as both a helper and a well reasoned opinionator of local Aurora issues.
First the interesting historical part. Growing up in Aurora I have been around many of the long time Aurora residents who know of days gone by, an avid reader of local newspapers and the book Àurora: A History in Pictures (now out of print but can be found at the Aurora Library). As well, lately I follow several Aurora based blogs including Anna`s Living in Aurora. One entry that caught my eye was Anna`s recounting of her purchasing the aformentioned Aurora: A History in Pictures only to find an old photograph stuck inside the book. She wondered about the photo in the book. Chris Watts' weighed in pointing out that David Heard who regularly attends the Aurora Farmer`s Market may help as he has done quite a bit of historical Aurora research for his gig overseeing A Step in Time which provides walking tours of historical Aurora as well as pointing out that the man in the photo was possibly a relation to the former Knowles Butcher shop that used to be on Wellington Street in Aurora.
I responded two times. At first I was thinking of the name "Knowles Crescent" and thought it could be the person the street was named after. As well, I suggested a few locals who are into history in Aurora who could shed some light on the topic. After clicking the ``submit`` button a thought popped into mind. I leafed through my copy of Aurora: a History in Pictures and stopped on the photo of old Wells Street School. There was the man in the photo, J.H. Knowles the principal. The principal`s face matched the man in the photo perfectly. I suggested to Anna, in another comment on her blog posting that she contact Bob McRoberts as I remember somehow he was a relation to J.H. Knowles (i.e. a man in the photo) and may be able to shed some light on it.
In a follow up posting, Anna, thanked myself, Chris Watts and Bob McRoberts for getting the photo returned to it`s rightful place, J.H. Knowles' descendants, Bob McRoberts himself. I`m glad I could help Anna both experience Aurora history in real life but also help her learn who some of Aurora`s builders were. As an added bonus, and to drive her crazy a little more about the "Knowles" name in Aurorora, I noted this evening that there are 52 mentions of the Knowles family name in the listings of the Aurora Members of Council on the Town of Aurora history.
Meanwhile, over on Chris Watts' blog I happen to be mentioned two times. The first was on my blog`s posting on the ongoing debate about some playground equipment at Confederation Park. Chris uses several excerpts from my posting (Note: I`m honoured Chris quoted my posting) to both question the municipalities` communications department and take my side of the issue that the climber needs to stay and parent`s supervising need to shape up and watch their children better.
Chris Watts` other posting about the arrival of his 2011 edition of the local phone book on his front stoop. Chris linked to my posting when I attempted to auction off the local edition of Goldbook. Chris ruminates about the usefulness of the printed phone book in the age of the internet before coming to the conclusion that "Phonebooks need to be flushed from our wasteful society once and for all."
It has been a very busy couple of weeks in the blogosphere for me lately indeed!
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, June 28, 2008
It twas a great year in 1434
Gavin Menzies' book 1434 takes a look at how advanced Chinese society was in terms of exploration and technological inventions. Menzies explores the various items of how the Chinese devised living including how to navigate a boat by the stars from no matter where the boat was in the world to where and when the Chinese could have been during this time pariod.The best part of the book is that the author tells the story while not drowning the reader in historical or academic jargon. However, if jargon is used, Menzies quickly provides a definition. For example Menzies uses the word "eunichs" and then quickley defines it as "brave sailors who were intensely loyal to the empreror, permantently insecure, and ready to sacrifice all." (Menzies 3). By doing this the author is able to quickly add a word to the reader's vocabulary and be able to use the word simply later in the book without having to redefine the word again. This keeps the story moving while also painting a clear picture of what is going on in this type of time period.
Each chapter of 1434 takes a look at a different aspect of Chinese society during this time period. Some of the more interesting chapters include chapter 4 on how the Chinese calculated longitude and latitude and chapter 10 on how the Chinese influenced Magellan and Columbus' world maps. Each chapter has something new and interesting about Chinese society. Whats even better, if the reader is uninterested in a particular subject, they can simply skip to the next chapter without worrying about missing an item. But this is hardly a concern considering how interesting and well written each chapter is.
Menzies' book is a well written from beginning to end. This is mainly because the author draws upon scholarship from others who have deeply researched some aspects while Menzies maintains the overall narration of the global look of Chinese society in the book. Overall the book is worth a read for anyone interested in Asian history during this time period.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Karlheinz Schreiber is making Canadian history
Karlheinz Schreiber has made a name for himself in Canadian history in several calculated moves. Here is just a snippet of history Schreiber has made:
1. Not since the 1910′s has a Speaker’s Warrant been issued by the House of Commons Speaker. Schreiber was compelled to come to Ottawa in order to appear before the House of Commons’ Ethics Committee.
2. Caused a possible political scandal to erupt over money. The last Conservative government to have problems with money was probably Sir John A. Macdonald and the Pacific Scandal. The Liberals, however, recently had a money scandal with known as the “Sponsorship Scandal” or “Adscam”. But at least in Canada political money scandals involving Prime Ministers are few and far between.
3. A man facing charges of tax evasion, bribery and other charges in a foreign country (Germany) is at the centre of a Canadian public inquiry and scandal. I have no recollection in Canadian, or for that matter world history, of a man so deep in financial law trouble holding hostage a major political institution like Schreiber currently has the Canadian Parliamentary and Judicial system.
Schreiber is quite a manipulative gentleman who has managed to stave off extradition to Germany to face the German judicial system since 1999. He has appealed his way all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada so far in the judicial system. Realizing he is almost out of options, Schreiber has now turned to the political system. Hence, he is now trying to work the Canadian political system by placing allegations on one of Canada’s former Prime Ministers. This has caused the Canadian political system to come to a crawl as all eyes are on shifty felon’s next calculated moves.
Schreiber knows he is in trouble over the charges in Germany and in Canada. Schreiber also figures that since he will someday have to face the music in Germany over the allegations over shady financial dealings, he might as well have some fun in the meantime. What more fun can a guy have than tie up the Canadian judicial system by using one of Canada’s top lawyers, Edward Greenspan (the same lawyer who defended Conrad Black in Chicago) and then compel a public inquiry to be called. Even more fun is saying that you are willing to talk in order to bring forth the complete story then, when warranted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, to appear before the House of Commons Ethics Committee, to clam up and refuse to talk without his papers. How convenient is Schreiber saying that he is more than willing to talk and then, when allowed to do so before a Parliamentary Committee, he refuses to do saying he has to review some of the over thirty thousand documents he has in his possession.
So House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken arranges that Schreiber may retreive the documents from Schreiber’s townhouse in order to be read in custody at the Ottawa detention centre. However, Schreiber’s lawyer Edward Greenspan says this is unacceptable as the documents could be stolen by other inmates while Schreiber is in the detention centre. Greenspan wants Schreiber under house arrest in order to review the documents. Mr. Greenspan should be asked how the documents could be stolen if Mr. Schreiber is escorted to and from the detention centre by now less than two police escorts (not to mention a media entourage that any Hollywood star would be proud of) and has his own private jail cell that normally holds two inmantes.
Karlheinz Schreiber will be called before the House of Commons Ethics Committee again this coming Tuesday. More questions will be asked by MPs from all political parties. Schreiber will take his sweet time in order to manipulate his way through the committee hearings. Schreiber will continue to string along the committee by providing juicy details at times and refusing to elaborate at other times in order to keep the MPs hung on his every word. This will probably frustrate many MPs on the Ethics Committee who wanted Schreiber to talk. Schreiber, however, wants to string this out as long as possible because he wants to remain in Canada in order to avoid the stress of having to face the German court system. Besides, what better way to have fun than to bring a major democratic country’s political institution to a halt as well as appear in major newspapers and on television stations accross the country. Since November 30th to today (December 1st) there have been over two thousand articles and television pieces written on Schreiber according a Google News search. Hows that for media exposure?
A felon has brought the Canadian political system to a halt and has successfully tied up the Canadian judicial system since 1999. Who else in Canadian History has done that? If mobster Al Capone were alive today he surely would be smiling at Karlheinz Schreiber’s judicial and political gamesmanships. Capone would be impressed that Schreiber has avoided being deported for what will soon be almost ten years when it is all over, been as politically wiley as many great politicians like William Lyon Mackenzie King in dealing with the Canadian Parliament, and all the while making a name for oneself in both the media and the history books. Schreiber is making history indeed, now the main question is how long will he be able to make history before being deported to Germany? That is the most interesting question that only time, which will eventually become history, will tell.
1. Not since the 1910′s has a Speaker’s Warrant been issued by the House of Commons Speaker. Schreiber was compelled to come to Ottawa in order to appear before the House of Commons’ Ethics Committee.
2. Caused a possible political scandal to erupt over money. The last Conservative government to have problems with money was probably Sir John A. Macdonald and the Pacific Scandal. The Liberals, however, recently had a money scandal with known as the “Sponsorship Scandal” or “Adscam”. But at least in Canada political money scandals involving Prime Ministers are few and far between.
3. A man facing charges of tax evasion, bribery and other charges in a foreign country (Germany) is at the centre of a Canadian public inquiry and scandal. I have no recollection in Canadian, or for that matter world history, of a man so deep in financial law trouble holding hostage a major political institution like Schreiber currently has the Canadian Parliamentary and Judicial system.
Schreiber is quite a manipulative gentleman who has managed to stave off extradition to Germany to face the German judicial system since 1999. He has appealed his way all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada so far in the judicial system. Realizing he is almost out of options, Schreiber has now turned to the political system. Hence, he is now trying to work the Canadian political system by placing allegations on one of Canada’s former Prime Ministers. This has caused the Canadian political system to come to a crawl as all eyes are on shifty felon’s next calculated moves.
Schreiber knows he is in trouble over the charges in Germany and in Canada. Schreiber also figures that since he will someday have to face the music in Germany over the allegations over shady financial dealings, he might as well have some fun in the meantime. What more fun can a guy have than tie up the Canadian judicial system by using one of Canada’s top lawyers, Edward Greenspan (the same lawyer who defended Conrad Black in Chicago) and then compel a public inquiry to be called. Even more fun is saying that you are willing to talk in order to bring forth the complete story then, when warranted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, to appear before the House of Commons Ethics Committee, to clam up and refuse to talk without his papers. How convenient is Schreiber saying that he is more than willing to talk and then, when allowed to do so before a Parliamentary Committee, he refuses to do saying he has to review some of the over thirty thousand documents he has in his possession.
So House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken arranges that Schreiber may retreive the documents from Schreiber’s townhouse in order to be read in custody at the Ottawa detention centre. However, Schreiber’s lawyer Edward Greenspan says this is unacceptable as the documents could be stolen by other inmates while Schreiber is in the detention centre. Greenspan wants Schreiber under house arrest in order to review the documents. Mr. Greenspan should be asked how the documents could be stolen if Mr. Schreiber is escorted to and from the detention centre by now less than two police escorts (not to mention a media entourage that any Hollywood star would be proud of) and has his own private jail cell that normally holds two inmantes.
Karlheinz Schreiber will be called before the House of Commons Ethics Committee again this coming Tuesday. More questions will be asked by MPs from all political parties. Schreiber will take his sweet time in order to manipulate his way through the committee hearings. Schreiber will continue to string along the committee by providing juicy details at times and refusing to elaborate at other times in order to keep the MPs hung on his every word. This will probably frustrate many MPs on the Ethics Committee who wanted Schreiber to talk. Schreiber, however, wants to string this out as long as possible because he wants to remain in Canada in order to avoid the stress of having to face the German court system. Besides, what better way to have fun than to bring a major democratic country’s political institution to a halt as well as appear in major newspapers and on television stations accross the country. Since November 30th to today (December 1st) there have been over two thousand articles and television pieces written on Schreiber according a Google News search. Hows that for media exposure?
A felon has brought the Canadian political system to a halt and has successfully tied up the Canadian judicial system since 1999. Who else in Canadian History has done that? If mobster Al Capone were alive today he surely would be smiling at Karlheinz Schreiber’s judicial and political gamesmanships. Capone would be impressed that Schreiber has avoided being deported for what will soon be almost ten years when it is all over, been as politically wiley as many great politicians like William Lyon Mackenzie King in dealing with the Canadian Parliament, and all the while making a name for oneself in both the media and the history books. Schreiber is making history indeed, now the main question is how long will he be able to make history before being deported to Germany? That is the most interesting question that only time, which will eventually become history, will tell.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Doors Open Aurora
Yesterday, my roomate and I headed off to "Door Open Aurora" to check out the behind the seens sights, sounds and history of many of Aurora's buildings.
First we headed over to Sheppard's Bush Conservation area where the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority had opened the old Charles Sheppard homestead and Pefferlaw Log Cabin. This was the first time I had been in Sheppard house and had high hopes. I was sadly dissappointed as the house was empty and many of the rooms were overdo for repair.
Next we headed to the Farmer's Market to join the historical walking tour lead by Dr. W. John McIntyre of the downtown Aurora area. The hour and a half walking tour was very informatative. Dr. McIntyre provided great detail along with dates about various businesses, buildings, homes and dates for each all off the top of his head. He even ensured, when stopping to discuss the buildings around the group, that the group stopped in well shaded areas. This walking tour should be repeated again in the near future as it was well attended by over forty people. One of the most remarkable places I saw was the old Methodist Parsonage where the church ministers for my church used to reside. This was former home of Rev. Edwin Pearson and his family including, Lester B. Pearson who recalled this home as being the location where he remembers his first Christmas.
The Old Methodist Parsonage on Catherine Avenue
The tour ended at Hillary House where Dr. Hillary had his medical practice for the longest time. Now it is a totally restored house that shows the history of medicine in Aurora. This is an absolutely beautiful house to visit and take pictures on the grounds especially during weddings.
Following this tour we headed to TC's Fish & Burgers for Lunch. TC's has always had generous portion sizes of hamburgers and fries. This is perhaps one of my favourite burger places because it gives good value for money.
Next we headed over to Caruso & Company to take a look at Aurora's oldest continuing business. This home decor and flower shop used to be a fruit and vegetable store until it was converted to its current operations in the early 2000s. The original wood floors and 1930s tin ceilings have been totally restored in this store. The owners of the businesses are third generation Carusos who have done a maginficent job at not only creating a home decor business but also restoring this historical Aurora landmark to what it is today.
Following Caruso's we headed north on Yonge Street to The Odd Fellows Hall. I had always wondered what the Odd Fellows did. Now I know and they even tried to recruit me as a member. I politely declined as I currently have enough on my plate between my website, working, my involvement with the church and so on. But now I know the Odd Fellows are an organization that helps out local people who are in trouble after a fire (e.g. paying for hotel rooms, raising money to rebuild, etc.), helping those with children through their camp fund, sponsoring local soccer and hockey teams and much more.
After that we headed down to Aurora United Church to view the historical display in the narthex of the church.
Aurora United Church's Narthex
Following the visit to the church, we visted at Bluetiful Living at the Grimshaw House. This is yet another home decor store in Aurora. The entire Grimshaw House, both the main floor and the upstairs bedrooms, have been redesigned with different home decor fashions. A very well redone historical house repainted into today's home decor fashions.
Next we headed up to the Barnes' Garden to see the different agricultural gardens the former teachers have developed. There must have been seven different types of tomatoes growing in the garden. A problem, one of the owners of the garden was telling me, was that the squirrels would dig up the garlic cloves and bury them somewhere else for safe keeping during the summers. But squirrels being squirrels seem to forget quite a few places where the garlic cloves were buried. So the cloves would sprout next summer across the garden from where they were dug up from the next summer. It gets quite frustrating when your picking tomatoes to find a couple of cloves of garlic right next to them and you have no idea what kind they are. But at least the gardeners took this with good humour.
After visiting all the above, we were quite tired. After visiting the church for a couple of glasses of water because we were thirsty from walking around town all day in the hot sun. It was a good day to get out and find out what goes on in town and to also learn about the local history of Aurora.
First we headed over to Sheppard's Bush Conservation area where the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority had opened the old Charles Sheppard homestead and Pefferlaw Log Cabin. This was the first time I had been in Sheppard house and had high hopes. I was sadly dissappointed as the house was empty and many of the rooms were overdo for repair.
Next we headed to the Farmer's Market to join the historical walking tour lead by Dr. W. John McIntyre of the downtown Aurora area. The hour and a half walking tour was very informatative. Dr. McIntyre provided great detail along with dates about various businesses, buildings, homes and dates for each all off the top of his head. He even ensured, when stopping to discuss the buildings around the group, that the group stopped in well shaded areas. This walking tour should be repeated again in the near future as it was well attended by over forty people. One of the most remarkable places I saw was the old Methodist Parsonage where the church ministers for my church used to reside. This was former home of Rev. Edwin Pearson and his family including, Lester B. Pearson who recalled this home as being the location where he remembers his first Christmas.
The tour ended at Hillary House where Dr. Hillary had his medical practice for the longest time. Now it is a totally restored house that shows the history of medicine in Aurora. This is an absolutely beautiful house to visit and take pictures on the grounds especially during weddings.
Following this tour we headed to TC's Fish & Burgers for Lunch. TC's has always had generous portion sizes of hamburgers and fries. This is perhaps one of my favourite burger places because it gives good value for money.
Next we headed over to Caruso & Company to take a look at Aurora's oldest continuing business. This home decor and flower shop used to be a fruit and vegetable store until it was converted to its current operations in the early 2000s. The original wood floors and 1930s tin ceilings have been totally restored in this store. The owners of the businesses are third generation Carusos who have done a maginficent job at not only creating a home decor business but also restoring this historical Aurora landmark to what it is today.
Following Caruso's we headed north on Yonge Street to The Odd Fellows Hall. I had always wondered what the Odd Fellows did. Now I know and they even tried to recruit me as a member. I politely declined as I currently have enough on my plate between my website, working, my involvement with the church and so on. But now I know the Odd Fellows are an organization that helps out local people who are in trouble after a fire (e.g. paying for hotel rooms, raising money to rebuild, etc.), helping those with children through their camp fund, sponsoring local soccer and hockey teams and much more.
After that we headed down to Aurora United Church to view the historical display in the narthex of the church.
Following the visit to the church, we visted at Bluetiful Living at the Grimshaw House. This is yet another home decor store in Aurora. The entire Grimshaw House, both the main floor and the upstairs bedrooms, have been redesigned with different home decor fashions. A very well redone historical house repainted into today's home decor fashions.
Next we headed up to the Barnes' Garden to see the different agricultural gardens the former teachers have developed. There must have been seven different types of tomatoes growing in the garden. A problem, one of the owners of the garden was telling me, was that the squirrels would dig up the garlic cloves and bury them somewhere else for safe keeping during the summers. But squirrels being squirrels seem to forget quite a few places where the garlic cloves were buried. So the cloves would sprout next summer across the garden from where they were dug up from the next summer. It gets quite frustrating when your picking tomatoes to find a couple of cloves of garlic right next to them and you have no idea what kind they are. But at least the gardeners took this with good humour.
After visiting all the above, we were quite tired. After visiting the church for a couple of glasses of water because we were thirsty from walking around town all day in the hot sun. It was a good day to get out and find out what goes on in town and to also learn about the local history of Aurora.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
A day with history and nature
I put on my running shoes, grabbed my camera and braved the heat to go on a hike around Aurora to investigate some local history and nature.
Here, in pictures, is what I found:
Aurora United Church
Aurora United Church's historical plaque.
Church Street School, the former school of former Canadian Prime Minister Lester. B. Pearson.
Church Street School's historical plaque.
Aurora Train Station. The former "head of the rail" of the first train that ever left Toronto.
Trinity Anglican Church
A panorama of the McKenzie Marsh
More Aurora pictures, including ones from this hike that are not posted here, can be found in the Aurora area of the scrapbook section of my website.
Here, in pictures, is what I found:
More Aurora pictures, including ones from this hike that are not posted here, can be found in the Aurora area of the scrapbook section of my website.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Chapter 7: Union Station
In case you are wonderin' what is going on with this post....click here.Chapter 7 of Union Station takes a look at the contributions the Italian community has made to Toronto as both city builders and as current residents. Joe Fiorito contends that Italians built most of Toronto by hand. Everything from the skyscrapers to the Yonge Street Subway Line.
The history of Toronto and its surrounding cities is quite vast. Take for example Aurora, and other cities between Aurora and Toronto. Aurora was founded as "Machell's Corners" and eventually was renamed Aurora when formed as a town. Aurora's growth was spurred by the founding of Yonge Street which stretched north from Lake Ontario from Downtown Toronto northward towards Lake Simcoe. Industrial growth was encouraged by the building of the railway and especially so considering Aurora was the 'end of the line' on Canada's first railway. But the real question is not who the 'movers and shakers' were who lead the creation and building of both Aurora and Toronto, but who were the everyday workers who did the grunt work? These are the people Fiorito tells the story about. The person who owned the local corner store, the person who is the matriarch of the local market and others like these are the true city builders. These are the people who history seems to forget.
Footnote: For a complete history of Aurora click here.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Lost in History?
TheStar.com - Tesla's theories remain current
Sometimes a people get lost over time. Nikola Tesla is one of those people whose name has gotten lost in time over the past one hundred and fifty years. Before you go and click on the link above about who Tesla is and what he invented, consider these hints:
1. J.P. Morgan (yes the same banker who helped to launch the J.P. Morgan bank that eventually merged with Chase financial to form J.P. Morgan Chase bank in the United States) and George Westinghouse (the founder of the Westinghouse appliance company) both thought Tesla's invention would change the future.
2. Niagara Falls would not be the same today without Tesla.
3. Thomas Edison was a competitor to Tesla, but eventually Tesla's invention won out over Tesla.
4. Unless your Amish, you use Tesla's invention everyday one way or another.
Any guesses?
Click here to find out via today's Toronto Star article for a full history on Tesla and his invention that changed the world.
Sometimes a people get lost over time. Nikola Tesla is one of those people whose name has gotten lost in time over the past one hundred and fifty years. Before you go and click on the link above about who Tesla is and what he invented, consider these hints:
1. J.P. Morgan (yes the same banker who helped to launch the J.P. Morgan bank that eventually merged with Chase financial to form J.P. Morgan Chase bank in the United States) and George Westinghouse (the founder of the Westinghouse appliance company) both thought Tesla's invention would change the future.
2. Niagara Falls would not be the same today without Tesla.
3. Thomas Edison was a competitor to Tesla, but eventually Tesla's invention won out over Tesla.
4. Unless your Amish, you use Tesla's invention everyday one way or another.
Any guesses?
Click here to find out via today's Toronto Star article for a full history on Tesla and his invention that changed the world.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Discovery of old wharf a 'wake-up call'
TorontoSun.com - Mike Strobel - Discovery of old wharf a 'wake-up call'
Sometimes history gets in the way of progress. Toronto and other cities just like it have seen historic buildings fallen or included incoporated into new buildings. Usually, when a historical artifact (e.g. building, landmark, etc.) is known about, the item can be included into the plans for a newer piece of construction (i.e. a building). However, sometimes history can be hidden away for over a hundred years and is not known about until stumbled accross.
This happenned in Toronto recently when the old Queen's Wharf was dug up by construction crews who were digging in order to lay a foundation for a parking lot and for a new condiminium project. The old Queen's Wharf used to be where sailing ships hauling cargo would dock in order to unload their contents at the Toronto Harbour back in the late 1800's. However, due to issues of sailing into and out of the Toronto harbour, the wharf was no longer used and industrial progress took place. Soon Toronto's harbour would be pushed southward via quite a few landfill projects. Front Street, named at the time because the street ran along the harbourfront at the time, would become an irony. An irony because it would be pushed further and further back from the lake front (as seen here).
Fast forward until more recent times. Construction crews are trying to dig down in order to lay a good base for a parking lot for a condiminium project. The crews strike large cedar pieces of timber nailed together using wooden connections. The old Queen's wharf is suddenly unburied! Now what to do is the question. I will let Mike Strobel, columnist of the Toronto Sun tell the full story on this one.
Apparently, because this piece of history was hidden from view and forgotten about for about a hundred years, it has to go. There was not even a thought of including this piece of Toronto's history into a windowed portion for tourists to look at. An example of this possibility can be found in southern Manhatten Island (New York City) where the remenants of the Old Dutch City Hall building's foundation can be seen through a glass encased section of an otherwise unassuming New York City sidewalk right next to a large modern financial office building. This can be seen at 85 Broad Street just south of Stone St. and north of Pearl and Bridge Streets in Lower Manhatten (south of the famous Wall Street Area). The remenants were stumbled upon when 85 Broad Street was being constructed and saved. Now tourists and locals alike can look through the glass encased portion of the sidewalk to see what the Dutch had built.
Now to Toronto. In true Toronto form, the old Queen's wharf is no more. A corner of it has been excavated and sent, for posterity purposes only, to Old Fort York. The rest of this historical piece of workmanship has been chainsawed and sent to a Michigan landfill. A shame really that the remenants couldn't have been included within the construction of the parking lot and plaqued. A shame really that the landowner or the city did not see the great possibility of saving the old wharf. Now the true history of why "Front Street" was truly "Front Street" may never be known. Sad really. But I guess this is progress.
Sometimes history gets in the way of progress. Toronto and other cities just like it have seen historic buildings fallen or included incoporated into new buildings. Usually, when a historical artifact (e.g. building, landmark, etc.) is known about, the item can be included into the plans for a newer piece of construction (i.e. a building). However, sometimes history can be hidden away for over a hundred years and is not known about until stumbled accross.
This happenned in Toronto recently when the old Queen's Wharf was dug up by construction crews who were digging in order to lay a foundation for a parking lot and for a new condiminium project. The old Queen's Wharf used to be where sailing ships hauling cargo would dock in order to unload their contents at the Toronto Harbour back in the late 1800's. However, due to issues of sailing into and out of the Toronto harbour, the wharf was no longer used and industrial progress took place. Soon Toronto's harbour would be pushed southward via quite a few landfill projects. Front Street, named at the time because the street ran along the harbourfront at the time, would become an irony. An irony because it would be pushed further and further back from the lake front (as seen here).
Fast forward until more recent times. Construction crews are trying to dig down in order to lay a good base for a parking lot for a condiminium project. The crews strike large cedar pieces of timber nailed together using wooden connections. The old Queen's wharf is suddenly unburied! Now what to do is the question. I will let Mike Strobel, columnist of the Toronto Sun tell the full story on this one.
Apparently, because this piece of history was hidden from view and forgotten about for about a hundred years, it has to go. There was not even a thought of including this piece of Toronto's history into a windowed portion for tourists to look at. An example of this possibility can be found in southern Manhatten Island (New York City) where the remenants of the Old Dutch City Hall building's foundation can be seen through a glass encased section of an otherwise unassuming New York City sidewalk right next to a large modern financial office building. This can be seen at 85 Broad Street just south of Stone St. and north of Pearl and Bridge Streets in Lower Manhatten (south of the famous Wall Street Area). The remenants were stumbled upon when 85 Broad Street was being constructed and saved. Now tourists and locals alike can look through the glass encased portion of the sidewalk to see what the Dutch had built.
Now to Toronto. In true Toronto form, the old Queen's wharf is no more. A corner of it has been excavated and sent, for posterity purposes only, to Old Fort York. The rest of this historical piece of workmanship has been chainsawed and sent to a Michigan landfill. A shame really that the remenants couldn't have been included within the construction of the parking lot and plaqued. A shame really that the landowner or the city did not see the great possibility of saving the old wharf. Now the true history of why "Front Street" was truly "Front Street" may never be known. Sad really. But I guess this is progress.
Sunday, August 01, 2004
24 Hour Museum
A "kick ass site" that lets you see various historic paintings, photos, and sculptures in England while sitting in your own chair half way round the world. Two thumbs up for this website.
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