Gardiner East Dismantling | Columns Part 2

As you approach some of the columns you will notice stainless steel photo-etched images on a number of them. And the content of these images are of the dismantling process itself by a contemporary photographer, Peter McCallum. Other images were found in the Toronto Historical Archives and others were provided by community peoples, which was part of the project that we wanted documentary imagery.

This area is changing drastically right now and it was very much an industrial area. And there used to be boat-building places right up to the Lakeshore is now. The water did at one time come up to where the columns are. This is documented in one of the images and factories that used to be right up against the edge here, that is also documented. The fact that the oil storage drums were also in this area, that’s also acknowledged. But the whole concept of the artist contribution to this is to sort of acknowledge what went before and the fact that we’re moving on.

And as the city changes in the east end with the port lands and all, the new developments that are on the go right now, the actual kick-start to all of this was the Gardiner Dismantling. It’s not always acknowledged, but that was the kick-start to all of this with the fact that that whole top end of the port lands was changed into a park that was used every single day now by walkers and dogs and bikes, just people out for the day, has made all the difference. And really it is the changing face now of the eastern port lands.

Want to learn about the Text Stones Here!

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