Friday, August 20, 2010

Gargoyles: Toronto's Old City Hall


Regretably, I haven't had much success finding the gargoyles mentioned in the article below, (from the archives of Toronto's City Hall) so I captured a picture of the gargoyles from the old city hall clock tower. If any reader can locate pictures of the two gargoyles from the column below, I would be more then pleased to present them to our readers.



The Return of the Gargoyles

When Old City Hall opened in 1899, it contained two large (5 feet high) grotesques, located at the foot of the main staircase. These elaborate pieces of wrought iron, each in the form of a griffin or other mythical beast, were produced by the Toronto Fence and Ornamental Iron Works.

The grotesques remained at Old City Hall until 1947. In that year, they were removed during renovations for the installation of the war memorial. The grotesques remained unclaimed and unwanted, until Henry Dobson Antiques Ltd., purchased them.

In an effort to return the works to the Toronto public domain, the Metropolitan Corporation bought the grotesques in the late 1980s. In commemoration of Old City Hall's 100th anniversary, the grotesques have been restored.

1 comment:

  1. I suspect these wrought iron grotesques, originally "located at the foot of the main staircase," were *indoors* and may be back indoors. My knowledge of Old City Hall is limited to the exterior - I think you're confusing the new(ish) clock tower gargoyles with these wrought iron creatures that are probably inside.

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