At the Market Gallery in 1998

Playing by the Rules: Organized Children's Leisure in Toronto, 1897--1934
March 7--June 21, 1998

Reformers turned children's leisure into a public issue at the end of the Victorian era. Crowded inner-city neighbourhoods without adequate parental control, domestic play space or community facilities forced children into places removed from adult supervision. The reformers considered these conditions ideal for children to form gangs and participate in delinquent acts, and represented a "lost" opportunity to "Canadianize" immigrant children. Community organizations made sure that child's play was high on the civic agenda by 1914. As reform rhetoric gave way to the principle of serving juvenile needs, municipal agencies became the dominant force in organizing children's leisure in Toronto. Using archival photographs, maps and artifacts, guest curator Wayne Reeves explores this pioneering phase of civic involvement with Toronto's youth at the bathing stations and toboggan slides, at hockey rinks and recreations centres, at supervised playgrounds and school yards, at library story hours and Saturday morning art classes.

Girls' Hockey Team outside Moss Park Recreation Centre, 1922 Photographer: Arthur Goss City of Toronto Archives RG 8-52-998

A Tradition of Service: Celebrating 150 Years of Consumers Gas
June 27--October 25, 1998

Consumers Gas Display at the Canadian National Exhibition, 1928 Photographer: F.W. Micklethwaite Consumers Gass Archives PF/SHO/00008-7

For over 150 years, since its incorporation in 1848, Consumers Gas has been serving and contributing to the growth of the City of Toronto and surrounding communities. During this period, the company has seen its number of customers grow from 250 to approximately 1.4 million. It can attribute much of this growth to past developments which have included implementing new manufactured gas production processes and introducing gas street lighting in the late 19th century. It can also attribute the growth to its selling and developing new gas-burning appliances and labour-saving devices for space heating, cooking and other household chores, innovating new service programs and introducing natural gas in 1954. To commemorate the sesquicentennial of Consumers Gas, the company has worked with of Toronto staff to display the vibrant history and past activities of the company. Visitors to the exhibit will be able to view historical and contemporary photographs, artifacts, paintings and archival records from both the archival collections of Consumers Gas and the City.

Conservation in Context: "...to want a better city passionately"
October 31, 1998--March 7, 1999

1998 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Eric Ross Arthur (1898--1982). Arthur was educated in England, where he specialized in Urban Civic Planning. He emigrated to Canada in 1923 and, subsequently, became one of the country's most passionate advocates for preserving our built heritage. Settling in Toronto, Arthur became known for his innovative teaching at the University of Toronto's School of Architecture. He authored numerous books and served as a professional adviser for the jury on the design of Toronto's New City Hall. In 1967, as a Centennial Project, Arthur supervised the restoration of St. Lawrence Hall, one of Toronto's finest neo-classical buildings. Throughout his lifetime, he was to be the recipient of countless honours and awards for contemporary design architecture. Organized by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (which Arthur founded in 1933), this exhibition will draw on public and private archival collections of photographs, drawings and paintings to celebrate the life and achievements of Eric Ross Arthur and examine his influential career as educator, author, designer and advocate.

Eric Arthur at University College, University of Toronto, April 9, 1970 Photographer: Robert Lansdale Photograph courtesy of the Arthur Family

At the Market Gallery in 1999

Regent Park: The Public Experiment in Housing
50th Anniversary Exhibition
March 13--July 11, 1999

This unique exhibition gives a valuable perspective of the first public housng project in Canada. Since opening in March 1949, Regent Park Housing Development frequently has been in the public eye. It has been written about, photographed, videotaped and evaluated. Original expectations for Regent Park Housing Development were high. The new housing project was promoted as a "win-win" proposition for low income families, city officials, politicians and the average taxpayer. Recent views are more controversial. Fifty years of public housing in Regent Park has created a legacy of opinion.

Prospective residents check out appliances at new Regent Park Housing Development; City of Toronto Archives, 132149-S.

Exhibition promo card, showing Regent Park Centre Parade, no date, City of Toronto Archives, RG28-94

Regent Park: The Public Experiment in Housing portrays life in Regent Park. It focuses on the evolution of the housing development, its success in fulfilling the expectations of its residents, media portrayals and public attitudes toward Regent Park. The exhibit includes historical photographs from the City of Toronto Archives, contemporary photographs by David Zapparoli, along with artifacts, oral histories, news reports and film. Regent Park: The Public Experiment in Housing is made possible by the assistance of the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

The Young Century: Daily Life in Toronto 1901--1914
November 6, 1999 to March 5, 2000
On November 6th, the Market Gallery opened a unique exhibit of historical photographs and memorabilia showing the variety and vitality of Toronto at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Young Century Exhibit postcard showing Scarborough Beach Park, 1907. Photographer: William James. City of Toronto Archives SC244-184A. Click on image to view full-size.

The Young Century provides a glimpse of Toronto at a time of anticipation and change. A new, modern era began in 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria, who had reigned so long most people could remember no other monarch. The optimism for a century of peace and happiness ended with the beginning of a brutal world war in 1914. During the buoyant thirteen years between, Toronto residents looked back to the traditions of the 19th century and forward to the technological promise of the new, young century. Horse-drawn delivery carts shared city streets with sightseers in automobiles. Electric lights illuminated downtown Toronto, while farmers in the rural outskirts did chores by the light of kerosene lanterns. Impoverished families lived in cramped rooms a few streets from opulent mansions on Jarvis Street. Suburban homes and factories sprouted next to eighty-year-old farms. The Young Century shows Torontonians of the day at work and at leisure; in their homes and neighbourhoods; in their streets, parks and shops. Toronto, at the beginning of this century, is seen through a collection of historical photographs, early maps, official reports and ephemera from the City of Toronto Archives and other archival collections.

At the Market Gallery in 2000

STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
A Pictorial History of Canada's Greatest Livestock Market
March 9 -- April 30, 2000



Stock Photography is an exhibition by the West Toronto Junction Historical Society. Co-curators: Diana Fancher and Vincenzo Pietropaolo