November 12, 2006
Empty Gardens Turns 75 Today
Since 2004, signs have hung on the southeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens promising an historic Loblaws Real Canadian Superstore. "Soon you'll discover a store filled with fresh flavours, shops and services," the billboards cheerily stated, but the Gardens at Church and Carlton has loomed a decrepit shell since it went dark in 2001, despite some minor action hosting the filming of Cinderella Man. The last Leafs game was on February 13, 1999, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks just as they did on opening day.
This week, Loblaws replaced the "coming soon" signs with billboards celebrating the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens on November 12, 1931. After much squabbling over what to do with the Gardens as well as unexpected structural issues that iced (ha!) existing renovation plans, Loblaws now claims that construction will now be commenced with the Superstore to open next September.
Plans now included a large LCBO store along Church Street, but any hope for a small 6000-seat arena put forth by the now-defunct Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens has disappeared. The new retail facility is also slated to have two levels of parking, some of which will sit on what was once the ice surface. The exterior will remain mostly unchanged.
Birthday wishes are bittersweet for the maligned behemoth. One one hand, it's ugly, historically neglected and the site of a string of child molestation allegations, but it also hosted events like the first NBA game and noteworthy concerts by the Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Many feel its low point was under ownership of the intensely loathed Harold Ballard, who jammed seats in any available nook so he could sell more tickets, but most famously cranked-up the heat and turned-off the drinking fountains during a Beatles show whilst charging triple price for drinks at the concession stands. Out of spite, Ballard also sold the Stanley Cup banners that hung from the roof and demolished Foster Hewitt's legendary broadcast booth.
Seventy five years later, Maple Leaf Gardens is but a shadow of the grand arena built at the height of the Great Depression, once the centre of everything entertainment in Toronto. Conscious of some distaste for turning a landmark venue into a massive supermarket, Loblaws has been notoriously secretive about their plans for the site (perhaps to their own detriment).
With construction about to kick into full gear, the time for secrecy is over. Torontoist looks forward to seeing if the Gardens can finally be resuscitated into a site worthy of our respect.
Photo by Marc Lostracco.
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One thing I hope they don't eliminate are the blue Maple Leaf icons on the sloping roof. I can see them from my windows at home, and they're quite visible from other condos, hotels and apartment buildings. They also can be seen quite clearly on Google Maps.
It's certainly dirty and neglected, but not ugly. Considering it's brick, which isn't the most elegant building material, I think it's a pretty dignified example of the Art Deco style. I hope they see fit to treating the Gardens to a good cleaning and maintenance go-over.
I have to admit that I do like it much more than I used to now that I have to look at it every day, but I'm not crazy about it as an architectural piece. The Art Deco elements are historically notable, but it's not particularly unique, especially as seen from the street. It doesn't carry those elements inside its brick skin either like the beautiful (though more formerly so), unfinished College Park.
Structurally, it's a total mess. The upper tier of seats were found to be a reverse flying buttress, which caused much of the new design delay, and the interior has been modified and neglected for so long that there really isn't anything left of value inside. As it stands now with its broken signs and boarded-up street level, the Gardens is a lot fuglier than it could be with a little enlightened restoration. We're talkin' to you, Loblaws.
It's frustrating how tightly mum Loblaws has remained, and the City of Toronto has been relatively vague about it too. I want to see architectural renderings and hear more about how they'll deal with the new traffic issues. Even on a purely curious interest level, I'd like to see photos and hear what issues they've dealth with when launching this renovation.
Loblaws, however, has only until recently been answering some email inquiries about the building, but pretty much only with uninformative standard corporate boilerplate. With the construction coming, I assume this stuff will soon be announced.
Excellent article Marc!
I think it's disgraceful what Loblaws has done (well...not done) to Maple Leaf Gardens. They're probably keeping quiet about their plans, because even the slightest 'wrong' move could cause huge protests from rabid Leafs fans.
I've always felt the best solution for Maple Leaf Gardens would have been to move the Hockey Hall of Fame in. You could house different exhibits in each luxury box, open up the dressing rooms, and mark historical areas on the ground ("this is where Bobby Baun shot the game winner..."). Unfortunately, the Hockey Hall of Fame (& the NHL) seems too small-time for such plans.
All Torontonians should be ashamed that we're allowing a grocery store to determine the fate of a historical site. SHAME!
Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment refused to sell it to anyone who wanted to keep it as an arena so they wouldn't have competition for their new Air Canada Centre. Biovail head Eugene Melnyk wanted it, but since he's the owner of the Ottawa Senators, Mississauga IceDogs and Toronto St. Michael's Majors, he was denied.
I liked the idea of a small rink and museum sharing space with commercial interests, but there really isn't much that can be done when property is privately-owned. I'm very hesitantly optimistic that Loblaws will preserve the sexy since they seem to be playing-up the venue's historical significance these days -- but again, we haven't seen what the plans look like and Loblaws is keeping silent.
Torontoist will be contacting Loblaws to see when we can get look at the renderings, and hopefully a peek inside the Gardens as they start construction. Don't get your hopes up though...the Gardens is locked-down like a fortress 24-7 and the company is afraid of the bad PR.
Stop your whining...even the Forum in Montreal (which is a true shrine in the hockey world..with many more cups than the leafs) tuned into a movie theatre. These old arenas, as great and nostalgic as they are, serve no purpose anymore. Maybe Loblaws could keep the center ice circle like they did at the Forum.
I guess if they're going to make a mockery of a Toronto landmark, a grocery store is a good way to go. At least I won't have as far to go to do my grocery shopping. If anyone can explain the traffic lights on Carlton St. with MLG on one side and the building across from it on the other side, I'd love to hear about it. Sure, I guess the doors will become the entrance to the indoor parking, but until they open those, having the lights working seems pointless and looks silly.
I'd say that some years, the Leafs made a pretty good mockery of it all by themselves.
If Loblaws respected the historical significance of Maple Leaf Gardens, the company would maintain some semblance of a hockey past within the building. I don't know if that will happen.
If the sale of MLG to Loblaws was made only to ensure there would no longer be hockey in Maple Leaf Gardens, then it is apparently obvious that at least one of the parties could care less about the hockey past of MLG.
But, since it is privately owned now, MLSE could not have a say if Loblaws ever did decide to keep some semblance of Leaf's hockey past within the building...
It is so sad that all these decisions always comes down to money, greed and personal gain.