Buildings in Mourning: Toronto Commemorates the Death of Edward VII in 1910

[Earlscourt_Lad]

It's not just mourning drapery that I regret losing. It's the use of drapery and bunting for celebrations. Apart from holiday decorations, no one decorates public buildings much any more, and certainly never with bunting. Imagine what would have been done for a Queen's Diamond Jubilee a century ago (actually, we don't have to imagine--there are plenty of photos of this kind of thing).

I agree, and I would've loved to have seen something for the Jubilee, or Canada Day.

 

[thecharioteer]

Perhaps part of the pleasure of these decorations is their ephemerality in contrast to the solidity of the structures to which they're attached. Voltaire once said something to the effect that "Permanent pleasure is not pleasure". in the same way, the elaborateness of something temporary becomes quite poignant:

 

[k10ery]

That last image made me think of the ceremonial arches we used to build for visiting royalty. Here is the Orange Arch on King St. for the 1860 visit of the Prince of Wales - the one that excited so much controversy, be cause it included a likeness of William III.

Thank goodness that today we don't get sidetracked in to petty debates over religious symbols in public places!

 

[thecharioteer]

Great example, k10ery, again of the pleasure of the ephemeral. The temporary ceremonial arch trend reached its pinnacle in 1901 with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, and the erection of arches at Richmond & Bay and College and University Avenue:

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

Perhaps part of the pleasure of these decorations is their ephemerality in contrast to the solidity of the structures to which they're attached. Voltaire once said something to the effect that "Permanent pleasure is not pleasure". in the same way, the elaborateness of something temporary becomes quite poignant

An excellent point. It certainly makes the normal streetscape seem more festive, perhaps more so because it was a rare-ish event.

 

[k10ery]

Great example, k10ery, again of the pleasure of the ephemeral. The temporary ceremonial arch trend reached its pinnacle in 1901 with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, and the erection of arches at Richmond & Bay and College and University Avenue:

Wonderfully apt to post a picture of the I.O.F. arch in front of the Temple Building for the 1901 royal visit. It was built by Oronhyatekha, whose meeting with the Price of Wales on the 1860 royal tour led to his admission to Oxford University. If that hadn't happened, the Temple Building would probably not have been built, so no arch for the 1901 visit!

The Foresters' Arch was a bit less ephemeral. Here it is at the CNE in 1906:

Does anyone know what happened to it? Could this later picture be of a modified version?

 

[thecharioteer]

Great story about the Prince, k10ery, and I love the pic of the lit-up crown at the CNE.

I think that the role of lighting on buildings played a similar role as decorations in terms of celebrating significant events (I suppose lighting would be the antithesis of black bunting on a building in mourning, as in a sense the bunting commemorates that the "lights have gone out" so to speak.) Lighting was used as the night-time version of transforming the ordinary into the unique:

Return of the veterans of the South African war, 1899:

1901, Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York:

1911, Hydro-electricity arrives from Niagara:

1927, Visit of the Prince of Wales, CBC building:

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

"the role of lighting on buildings played a similar role as decorations in terms of celebrating significant events "
QUOTE.

As a matter of interest, the centre dormer window of the three which are between the towers has a red light that burns

while the House is sitting. (Queen's Park.)


Regards,
J T

 

[k10ery]

Would it be safe to assume the six-pointed stars on the Legislative Bldg are not Jewish symbols, but Masonic? I think the stone frieze above the door has Masonic symbols too.

 

[thecharioteer]

Would it be safe to assume the six-pointed stars on the Legislative Bldg are not Jewish symbols, but Masonic? I think the stone frieze above the door has Masonic symbols too.

I think that's quite a reasonable assumption given the fact that it wasn't until 1955 that Toronto elected its first non-Protestant, non-Orange Order, Jewish mayor, Nathan Phillips:

"Phillips was first elected to Toronto City Council in 1926 and was the first Toronto mayor of the Jewish faith. He served as mayor from 1955 until he lost to Donald Summerville in 1962, after thirty-six years in municipal politics. Phillips was dubbed "mayor of all the people". Until his election all mayors had been Protestant and every mayor in the twentieth century had been members of the Orange Order which dominated the city's political and business establishment. Phillips became mayor by defeating Mayor Leslie Howard Saunders, an Orangeman, who had stoked controversy with his sectarian comments about the importance of the Battle of the Boyne. Phillips' victory marked a turning point in Toronto history and its transformation from a Protestant, staunchly British and conservative city to a modern multicultural metropolis."

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Phillips_(politician)