Train station’s time capsule reveals a slice of Toronto in 1915
More than 50 century-old items found embedded in foundation
A hundred years ago this week, Toronto councillors were ensconced in Old City Hall, long before it was considered “old.” The British empire had been at war with Germany for more than 400 days. And the price of wheat had just gone up a cent — the same amount newspapers such as the Toronto Daily Star were selling for on street corners.
Those kinds of historical tidbits come courtesy of a time capsule, buried since Sept. 9, 1915, in the limestone foundation of the former North Toronto Railway Station.
On Wednesday, hundreds gathered for the 100th anniversary of the building — which now houses the Summerhill LCBO — and got a first look at the contents of the capsule.
About 50 items were discovered, said Eve Lewis, president of Woodcliffe Landmark Properties, which owns the property.
They include 10 blueprints, an old map of Toronto, six newspapers from Sept. 9, 1915, century-old coins and a 1915 City of Toronto municipal handbook. With the exception of some yellowing pages and tarnish on the coins, the items are in mint condition.
“It means a lot that this was kept in such beautiful condition, and we found it,” added Lewis, whose late husband, developer and former Woodcliffe CEO Paul Oberman, purchased the decrepit Summerhill property in 2002 and brought it back to life before reopening it the following year.
Reg Garner, who manages the Summerhill LCBO, said the unveiling was five years in the works and rife with unexpected challenges.
Historic Restorations, the firm hired to find the capsule, wasn’t sure where to begin the search.
But a clue in the form of an old photo of Toronto’s then-mayor Tommy Church laying the 1915 cornerstone got the ball rolling.
Garner says the firm recently took X-ray photographs of the stones to try to find the elusive capsule, and crews were on site all day Saturday, until 2 the next morning.
Finally, on Tuesday at about 3:30 p.m., the capsule was unearthed beneath the 1.7-tonne cornerstone, and was opened a few hours later.
In remarks to the crowd gathered outside the Summerhill LCBO, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam praised Woodcliffe’s restoration.
“It’s not every single day in the city of Toronto that we get to unveil — or re-unveil, almost — a building that’s a hundred years old,” Wong-Tam said.
“And especially when we actually haven’t done a great job of restoring heritage buildings or preserving our heritage and cultural landscape, this is a shining example — an awardwinning example — for the rest of the city to follow, in terms of what can happen when you have people with vision who are community-minded.”
It’s not clear what will happen to the historic contents of the capsule. Garner speculated they could find a home within the LCBO, while Lewis said they may end up at a museum.
“I had no clue (the items) would be this quality,” Lewis said. “It’s museum-quality and it should be seen.” With files from Star staff