Torontoist » Monuments

A Fountain Of Disrepair

Fountain at University Avenue and Queen Street. For a water feature situated on a prestigious thoroughfare at the base of a prominent war memorial, the fountain on the north side of Queen Street at University Avenue doesn’t get much respect. Along the medium north and south of the fountain, University Avenue is a manicured display [...]

Monumental Type

In 1980, Toronto’s Polish community—and the general public—got more than it bargained for. Six years previous, the Canadian Polish Congress held a meeting where, among other things, a decision was made to erect a monument in Beaty Boulevard Park (1575 King Street West) to the thousands who died at Katyń forest as part of the [...]

A Visit to the Vimy Memorial

This past weekend was the 91st anniversary of the end of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a four-day offensive in World War I in which the Canadian Corps, with help from the British army, seized a German stronghold on the Western Front. Marking the first time that such large numbers of Canadians fought together as [...]

Remembrance and Public Commemoration

It is a peculiarity of our city that its grandest monument was erected to honour a largely forgotten and misunderstood war. Yet, the life of the South African War Memorial—the tall granite column overlooking the intersection at Queen and University—reveals a great deal about how the city’s priorities and values have evolved over time. Although University Avenue terminated at Queen Street at that time, it acted as a stately boulevard connecting the new government buildings...