May 3, 2012 at 1:45 pm

cityscape

Building Storeys: The Trillium

For over a century, the Trillium has provided Torontonians with a steam-driven perspective of Toronto Harbour and Toronto Island.

By Jamie Bradburn

Every year, Heritage Toronto works with local photographers to create Building Storeys, a visual documentation and anecdotal exhibit of our city’s heritage sites. This year’s exhibit—which is on view at the Steam Whistle Roundhouse throughout the month of May—is dedicated to rail and marine transportation. Over the course of the month, Torontoist and Heritage Toronto are exploring the context for Building Storeys; today we look at The Trillium, a steam-powered island ferry that launched more than 100 years ago and runs to this day.

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158666 Trillium, circa 1913. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 261A. Built by the Polson Iron Works at the foot of Sherbourne Street, the Trillium was officially launched on June 18, 1910. Reputedly named by eight-year-old Phyllis Osler, the granddaughter of Toronto Ferry Company president Edmund Osler, the new ferry provided service to the amusement park and baseball stadium at Hanlan’s Point. According to the Star, the Trillium was “fitted with a turbine electric generating plant and steam steering engines, so that she can be guided by the little finger.” The ferry began full service two weeks later and proved popular among children eager to escape to the Island for the July 1 holiday, even if their mothers tried to rush them onto whatever ferry was boarding. During its first month of service, the Trillium was pressed into emergency firefighting duty when a blaze broke out at a wharf at the foot of Scott Street on July 23, 1910. The ferry was heading toward its dock when the fire was spotted. Toronto Ferry Company manager <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/today-toronto-history-lol-solman-gave-us-baseball-and-amusement-parks">Lol Solman</a> happened to be on the Trillium and reportedly manned the ferry’s fire hose to help put out the fire. Additional material from the June 18, 1910 edition of the Toronto Star. 20120503trillium1913 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1913-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1913.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1913.jpg 640 416 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503trillium1913/ 20120503trillium1913 0 0

158667 Trillium, 1935. Photo by Alfred Pearson. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 10962. Purchased by the city in 1926, the Trillium was operated by the TTC until it was retired in 1956. The following year the Metro Toronto Works Department purchased the boat with the intention of stripping it down for use as a garbage scow. That plan was put on hold, which led to the Trillium being towed to a lagoon near the Island lighthouse, where it remained for the next 16 years. 20120503trillium1935 https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1935-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1935.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trillium1935.jpg 640 382 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503trillium1935/ 20120503trillium1935 0 0

158668 Trillium before rehabilitation, 1974. City of Toronto Archives, Series 799, File 4, Item 1. While reports commissioned during the early 1960s recommended that the Trillium return to service, the ferry slowly rotted during its exile from the harbour. The boat periodically sank, sometimes enough for rowers to sail through it, but Metro Works always raised it, likely in case it was ever used again. 20120503rotting https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503rotting-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503rotting.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503rotting.jpg 640 507 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503rotting/ 20120503rotting 0 0

158669 Left: Trillium, main deck, before rehabilitation, 1974. City of Toronto Archives, Series 799, File 1, Item 25. Right: Trillium, promenade deck, before rehabilitation, 1974. City of Toronto Archives, Series 799, File 1, Item 59. Among those who deplored its deterioration was local historian and writer <a href="http://www.torontosun.com/author/mike-filey">Mike Filey</a>. After noticing the Trillium’s state during an early-1970s visit to the Island, he discussed rehabilitating the ferry with Toronto Alderman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Eggleton">Art Eggleton</a>, who then spoke to Metro Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson, who had advocated its restoration a decade earlier. Filey and Thompson were among the participants in meetings with municipal officials, historians, and heritage advocates to investigate restoring the ferry. When a feasibility study came back with positive conclusions, Metro Toronto Council approved $950,000 in funding to restore the Trillium in November 1973. 20120503decay https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503decay-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503decay.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503decay.jpg 640 327 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503decay/ 20120503decay 0 0

158670 Trillium after rehabilitation, circa 1975. City of Toronto Archives, Series 799, File 10, Item 143. Over the next two years, under the supervision of <a href="http://trillium.polsonironworks.ca/gchampionarticle.shtml">Gordon Champion</a>, the Trillium was overhauled to resemble its original appearance. The ferry was taken to Port Colborne, where the rotting wood was replaced, and vital components were replaced with parts of similar vintage to the originals—pumps and valves were taken from recently scrapped lake tankers, while some brass railing was brought in from the High Level Pumping Station on Poplar Plains Road. The steel frame had held up well, and there was some amazement that the ferry had avoided being damaged by fire during its years of abandonment. The Trillium was brought back to Toronto in November 1975 and awaited its return to glory. 20120503restored https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503restored-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503restored.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503restored.jpg 640 425 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503restored/ 20120503restored 0 0

158687 Front page, the Globe and Mail, November 8, 1975. Except that, the ferry suffered a few early hiccups. Initial plans were to operate the Trillium for private charters and public weekend service to relieve the other Island ferries. The problem was that the Trillium was too large to dock at the existing Island docks, though with some trickery it could have landed at Hanlan’s Point. Plans were made to expand the docks, but they weren’t going to be ready for at least two to three years. During its first test run in the harbour on May 13, 1976, engine trouble produced a sound resembling an explosion that provoked three emergency vessels to rush out to it—the Trillium was fine and sailed back into port under its own power. 20120503trilliumreturns https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trilliumreturns-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trilliumreturns.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503trilliumreturns.jpg 640 458 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503trilliumreturns/ 20120503trilliumreturns 0 0

158671 Photo by Mathew Merrett. On its first official trip a week later, a harbour fireboat attempted to salute the Trillium by turning on its water jets. Thanks to strong winds, the water sprayed onto the Trillium, soaking women adorned in evening gowns and causing the <a href="http://www.yorklionssteelband.com/">York Lions Steel Band</a> to empty out their drums. "I have never seen a fireboat in operation before," noted passenger Linda Walden as she dried her hair, “and I never want to see one from that distance again.” Despite the mishap, the band played for two hours afterwards on the first of nearly 70 charters that season. Additional material from the May 13, 1976 edition of the Globe and Mail, and the May 20, 1976 edition of the Toronto Star. 20120503lifesavers https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503lifesavers-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503lifesavers.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503lifesavers.jpg 640 427 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503lifesavers/ 20120503lifesavers 0 0

158672 Photo by Sean Galbraith. Under circumstances which remain unclear, the ferry rammed into the original vessel housing <a href="http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/i-spent-new-year%E2%80%99s-eve-alone-at-captain-john%E2%80%99s/">Captain John’s restaurant</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Normac">Normac</a>, in June 1981. Two weeks after the incident, the patches on the Normac gave way and Captain John’s sank. The result was a legal spat that lasted the rest of decade, including a threat from Captain John Letnik to seize the Trillium. The courts ultimately found the Trillium responsible for the initial damage but not the sinking. 20120503galbraith https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503galbraith-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503galbraith.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503galbraith.jpg 640 868 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503galbraith/ 20120503galbraith 0 0

158673 Photo by Olena Sullivan. But these incidents have only been minor distractions for the thousands of people who have enjoyed a trip on the Trillium since its restoration. Whether enjoying a private party or taking a weekend escape, the ferry provides continuity between the generations who have enjoyed the pleasures of Toronto Harbour and Toronto Island. 20120503olena https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503olena-100x100.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503olena.jpg https://torontoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120503olena.jpg 640 858 [] https://torontoist.com/2012/05/building-storeys-the-trillium/slide/20120503olena/ 20120503olena 0 0

When the Trillium celebrated its centennial in 2010, Mayor David Miller recognized the steam-driven side paddle-wheeled boat as the heart of the city’s ferry service, “truly a piece of history that is unique to Toronto.” The last of its kind to remain in service in North America, the amazing thing about the Trillium is that it returned to duty after nearly two decades of neglect. Click on the photo above to start our slideshow history of the ferry.

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Building Storeys: The Trillium

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