Clock ticks down to recover century-old piece of the past
Anniversary organizers have less than a week to find time capsule buried under old railway station
Buried deep below the former North Toronto Railway Station lies a century-old treasure — maybe.
The search is on for a time capsule that was supposedly buried beneath the building when it was first built in 1915.
With the 100th anniversary fast approaching, the pressure is on to locate the precious piece of the past, but like any good treasure hunt, the search hasn’t been easy.
“We’ve been planning this for almost five years,” said Reg Garner, manager of the Summerhill LCBO that now occupies the building. “We’ve had a lot of trouble finding it.”
Less than a week remains until an estimated 1,000 guests are scheduled to attend the unveiling of the yet-to-be-found time capsule.
“I’m a little nervous,” said Garner. “This means a lot to me.”
Paul Goldsmith is the president of Historic Restorations, the firm charged with finding the capsule.
This isn’t his first hunt for buried history, but even for an expert the search has proven difficult.
Part of the problem was confusion as to which part of the foundation was the building’s actual cornerstone. Legend holds that the capsule was buried there, but without a clear idea where to start the search couldn’t begin.
Then Goldsmith had an idea. Maybe hitting the books would help the searchers hit paydirt.
“Rather than starting to move stones and make that building look like Swiss cheese, I figured why don’t we pay researchers to look in the archives,” he said.
Late last week his hunch paid off. The company’s researcher discovered a promising clue — a picture of former mayor Tommy Church and some dignitaries laying the cornerstone of the station.
With the cornerstone located, the true excavation could begin in earnest. Historic Restorations has begun working to remove the gigantic foundation stones they hope encase the capsule. It’s no easy task; the smallest weighs more than 450 pounds, the largest multiple tonnes.
“It’s like a treasure hunt,” said Goldsmith. “It’s exciting.”
The capsule is said to contain newspapers, coins and stamps among other items, but Goldsmith said he isn’t ruling anything out, including a secret stashed by the station’s builder.
“There could be anything in there,” he said. “Who knows?”
Horst Taricano is an operational manager with Woodcliffe, the company that owns the property.
He said he’s optimistic that the research is right and they find the capsule, but that he’s prepared in case of disappointment.
“If it’s just rumours we’re going to
“It’s like a treasure hunt. It’s exciting . . . There could be anything in there.” PAUL GOLDSMITH PRESIDENT, HISTORIC RESTORATIONS
expose the cornerstone and put a new (time capsule) in there,” he said.
Goldsmith said he feels the same way.
“I’m optimistic it will be there. I have no choice,” he said. “If it’s not there we wouldn’t know where to look next to be honest.”