Results tagged “mapleleafgardens”

The success of Battle of the Blades has brought Maple Leaf Gardens back into the national spotlight. The show’s mix of glamour and excitement fits some of the visions Conn Smythe had for the building when it opened its doors to the public seventy-eight years ago this week. Built in an almost unimaginable span of five months, the building that became a temple for generations of hockey fans is a testament to the executives who used their persuasive skills to raise the necessary funds during the Great Depression.

It's hard to deny that Robin Williams can be a funny fellow, and he even earned an Oscar for Good Will Hunting, which, of course, was shot here.

Ten years ago today, Maple Leaf Gardens hosted its final National Hockey League game. And ten years further on, we still haven’t learned the building's ultimate fate—still haven’t learned what'll happen to "the Grand Old Lady of Carlton Street," the last of the famed Original Six arenas.

While hockey has usually been portrayed as the main attraction for spectators at Maple Leaf Gardens, the building had an equally rich professional wrestling heritage. Starting with a Jim Londos-Gino Garibaldi card in November 1931, a parade of dignified heroes and costumed heels entertained packed houses at Church and Carlton. For half-a-century most of the matches were promoted by Frank Tunney, who, when asked if the sport was on the level, responded "The ring is level, isn't it?"

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today.

If Baikal was "the Bobby Orr of the bruin hockey world," we hope that the bear's knees were sturdier than the hall-of-famer's. The results of two years of hockey drills for Baikal and nearly a dozen other bears were on display for Canadian audiences in the fall of 1970, when a Moscow Circus tour provided a slight thaw in Cold War relations.

BENEFIT: In support of international children's aid organization ONEXONE, Maple Leaf Gardens will be opening its doors to the public for the first time in eight years. The 2008 ONEXONE Benefit Concert will feature performances by Grammy Award–winner John Legend; the African Children's Choir; The Canadian Tenors; and the ultimate ambassador for children and strippers alike, Wyclef Jean. Maple Leaf Gardens (60 Carlton Street), 8:30 p.m., $150.

Toronto's extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn't always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city.

Last week, Maple Leaf Gardens quietly turned 76. When the Gardens was sold to Loblaw in 2004, it appeared that the grocery store chain would fast-track the historic building into a supermarket. Now the projected summer 2007 construction date has come and gone, and nothing has changed since Torontoist covered the Gardens' 75th anniversary. We worried that the Gardens would be neglected while Loblaw dealt with its financial woes and ailing restructuring of existing...

In the 1978 book, Lost Toronto, William Dendy wrote that in the 20th century, many Georgian and Victorian buildings were fated to a date with the wrecking ball because of neglect and "changing tastes." Now, the architecture that took their place has fallen out of favour and structures such as the Massey Ferguson plant and Riverdale Hospital (pictured above), have been torn down or are slated for demolition.

Development of Maple Leaf Gardens has been in limbo for several years, but it finally looks like things are about to get moving. The 75-year old building, having been vacated by the friendly neighbourhood hockey club in 1999, was purchased by Loblaws in 2004.

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.

On this, the eve of the 2006-07 NHL season, take a moment and consider how unhealthy our relationship with hockey in this town is.