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Dynamism, Conservation and Many Voices in an Historic Urban Landscape
Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation Annual Meeting
Toronto, Ontario
May 22-25, 2024
Located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto has long been the home of diverse communities. Indigenous peoples have occupied this space since time immemorial, settling and migrating along its three river valleys, the Don, the Humber and the Rouge, sharing resources and mediating conflicts. In May 2024, the Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation (AHLP) held its annual conference here on the theme of Dynamism, Conservation and Many Voices in an Historic Urban Landscape.
Sub-themes included the need for (affordable/attainable) housing, responding to climate-change, and meaningfully reconciling with Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis). And, in addition to presentations and poster pin-ups, Toronto served as a laboratory, with stimulating tours and site visits. The conference team included: Emma Abramowicz, Samantha Irvine, Brendan Stewart, Pauline Walters, and Hasan Hirji, with special assistance from Diana Roldan and Sean Blank, not to mention the Friends of Allan Gardens.
As is its tradition, the Alliance’s Board met on the first day, welcomed as it was in the office of ERA Architects, a sponsor (in so many ways) of this conference. Later that afternoon, old acquaintances would be renewed – and new ones begun – with the start of the formal conference at a welcome reception at the Allan Gardens Children’s Conservatory and Edible Garden.
The presidential welcome
This session was introduced by Matt Canaran (project coordinator) and thanks given on behalf of the local Indigenous community by Donna Powless. Martin Holland, spoke on behalf of the AHLP. Michael McClelland (ERA Principal) then provided the background on “Growing with the City” an initiative of the FOAG “to cultivate continued engagement, fundraising, and stewardship in the development of cultural and capital projects in Allan Gardens.”
A wide range of topics about the park followed, including the importance of beauty, abundance, and community, as well as a place to connect with plants (Indigenous language carriers). This ‘fortress of togetherness’ was to be both a place to strike down social barriers and a place to re-connect.
Steven Shuttle (ERA/FOAG) introduced the invited panel of three speakers, Lorraine Johnson, Michelle Reid, and Laura Dean. Questions were entertained by the panelists, including how they felt ‘connected’ to the park, and what a 21stc park/horticultural garden could/should look like. The keynote session concluded with thoughts on the hopes and dreams for the future of Allan Gardens – don’t screw it up! – and a plea for more outreach.
Emma and Sam
On the first full day of the conference, Martin Holland, our esteemed President, welcomed the assembled within the intimate confines of the library at Massey College, a gem of Canadian architecture. On behalf of the Alliance he expressed its collective appreciation for the efforts of the organizing committee in getting us to this place/point. The presentations and discussions that filled the morning featured professional and academic student projects. The latter were scholarship papers supported by the Alliance.
Once sated, we were destined for our afternoon venue, the Evergreen Brickworks via public transit. On arrival at the ‘tony’ neighbourhood of Rosedale, we strolled then stopped for a brief chat at Craigleigh Gardens with Sam and Seana Irvine after which we rambled down into the Don River Valley where the Evergreen Brickworks is nestled. We enjoyed bag lunches in the spacious ‘covered’ outdoor space.
Following this inspiring afternoon, we ‘returned’ to the city, enjoyed dinner, and prepared for the second full day.
On Friday, we returned to the comfortable confines of the Massey College library where the paper sessions continued.
But, by late morning, we were back on the bus, wending our way south through the downtown, and then eastwards along Front Street. On arrival at the renowned Distillery District, we were met by Andrew Pruss (ERA Principal) who provided the big picture. The District is fully pedestrianized, a marriage of culture and history.
Andrew Pruss
David and Emma
After lunch we were met by David Stonehouse (City of Toronto’s Waterfront Secretariat) and Emma Doedens (Heritage Planning, City of Toronto) to learn about the waterfront revitalization within three precincts / former industrial sites. Three levels of government funding and a quasi-Battery Park City administration structure portends what promises to be a 75-year adventure. At the Corktown neighbourhood, Emma spoke of the great influx of residents into the area.
Soon after, we wandered over to a relatively new park, Corktown Common, the work of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates as a community and destination park.
The Port Lands aims to create a naturalized river valley while adding new public spaces, roads and bridges and utilities, as well as structures to control water flow and to manage sediment and debris. The challenge is its880 acres marshland setting, one of the largest wetlands in Ontario – at the mouth of Lake Ontario. The Task Force to Bring Back the Don (River) has been instrumental in this burgeoning success story.
As Mr. Stonehouse explained, and among other points of interest, a massive excavation exercise at the mouth of the Don River resulted in the retrieval of historic seed stock from the native soils prior to the wetland being filled in. Lessons had also been gained from earlier work at both the Leslie Street Spit and Tommy Thompson Park.
While at this point it seemed that we had put in a more-than-full day, a surprise visit to the Hearn Generating Station would cap it off. The group was split into three and toured about by Philip Evans (ERA Principal) and Elsa Fancello and her colleague Jim (Cortel Development Group). Although the function of heating the city – via coal converted to steam and turbines producing electricity – had long been abandoned, this cavernous facility (on 30-acres) has more recently found its vocation as a film production hub, evoking a futuristic sci-fi movie c/w boilers, turbines and assorted industrial paraphernalia. Given the strong Torontonian attachment to the building, the Cortel Group envisions a true neighbourhood/destination – a ‘complete community’ – with multiple uses. Stay tuned!
In spite of Alliance ‘closing dinners’ typically happening on Saturday evenings, the 2024 edition took place a day earlier than normal so to accommodate the Toronto the Good event. Taking advantage of the TTC, we arrived at Mezes Restaurant on the Danforth (Greek quarter) with its wonderful atmosphere and scrumptious fare (that kept coming and coming).
Kind words were justifiably spoken about the organizing team and ‘hurrahs’ echoed through the resto! Martin Holland then gave us a preview about next year’s conference in Indianapolis where we will gather in May 2025. (Thank you Dorna!) The evening finished with the distribution of Mary Tivy’s home-made Puslinch maple syrup, the most generous gifts to attendees.
To start our final full day, we returned to Allan Gardens Saturday morning, to participate in an important dialogue about Allan Gardens with the Friends of Allan Gardens (FOAG). The organizing team had arranged/partnered with the Friends to explore and to workshop some of its most pressing challenges and priorities. The AHLP was pleased to respond to a series of questions which would benefit from the experience and perspectives of its members gained through work across North America.
Allan Gardens, a park established as a horticultural garden in the 1860s in downtown Toronto, is today a significant, complex, and dynamic cultural landscape. As such, it reflects tensions of all kinds, from its Indigenous and colonial roots to local versus regional target programming, dramatic socioeconomic diversity, and development pressures on all four sides. It is also an important centre for its surrounding neighbourhoods; offering urban green space, public initiatives, and opportunities for education and expression to its many communities.
Nearly 50 conference participants were split into five (5) groups with various stations/themes to explore. We toured through Allan Gardens with presentations by Michael McClelland on the history and heritage of Allan Gardens, Amanda Plantasia on greenhouse plant collections (Joe Nasr and June Komisar spoke about the Edible Garden), Charles Leonard on current initiatives around the park, Anastasia Frank Cheng on food garden programming and development, and a welcoming into the Indigenous Sacred Fires by Morning Star (perhaps the most compelling stop on the tour).
Back at the greenhouse, participants in turn were able to respond to the following questions:
- What stands out to you most about Allan Gardens?
- What are possible opportunities or challenges you see for Allan Gardens?
- What is a precedent or resource that might be helpful for FOAG to consider in the upcoming and future planning, design and stewardship of Allan Gardens?
AHLP x FOAG Workshop Results.pdf
The Bus Tour: Housing Landscapes Over 100 Years
We first stopped in Cabbagetown, originally the home of 19th century Irish famine refugees. Following a walkabout through what is today a highly desirable place to live, led by Scott Weir (ERA Principal), we continued to/through Rosedale.
In spite of the rains, Andrew Pruss regaled us with stories about Mount Pleasant and Moore Park (through which we wandered) and the ‘picturesque’ Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Back on the bus – with delicious but precariously balanced box lunches – we passed through the winding streets of Leaside, then towards the West Don Valley River and, ultimately, the post WWII development of Don Mills.
We were fortunate to merit a stop at the Toronto Botanical Garden, opened in 1956. This stop provided a leisurely stroll in a beautiful environment while the rain held off before we visited Don Mills.
The wealthy industrialist E.P. Taylor hired Landscape Architect Macklin Hancock to imagine and execute the master plan for Don Mills c/w ring road (‘The Donway’) and contiguous ‘nodes’. The visit highlighted the different styles of post-war ‘mid-century modern’ housing and mix of mature specimen trees. Not surprisingly, as with many other places, ongoing questions abound about stewardship in regards to the original idea/concept, its execution, and how its character has evolved.
Shortly thereafter we stopped in at Donway Covenant United Church. Emma led the discussion there about built and intangible heritage per the church’s mission, i.e. a place of worship and housing. This church/school site is recognized as one of the original planned institutional sites within Don Mills. We were also joined by Diana Roldan, our Toronto food coordinator for the week, who delivered Jamaican patties from local provider Phamily Eats. Diana kindly gave us a quick background on the history of ‘Toronto’s patty wars’ in the 1980s.
The mid-afternoon program included a visit to Thorncliffe Park where we were met by Graeme Stewart (ERA Principal). This self-contained “apartment-only city” atop a steep ravine edge, has existed since 1954 (and the arrival of a subway stop there). It quickly became a landing pad for new Canadians as there was no public housing then.Today, with significant changing demographics – c/w the largest kindergarden in Canada boasting 720 students – Thorncliffe is a predominantly South Asian community where ‘everyone knows everyone’. But, as with other communities, it struggles with affordable housing (though more towers to come). Graeme then introduced us to the inimitable Sabina Ali.
Arriving in Canada 16 years ago, Sabina was immediatelystruck by the fact that there was no place for kids (hers, others) to gather/play. So, she pushed for an ‘arts in the park’ program and word spread. Since that time, her indefatigable spirit has seen the arrival of a newly-formed park for a multiplicity of cultures/approaches boasting, among other amenities, the Park Café, a tandoori oven, and community gardens. And, seemingly too soon, we were back on the bus and then on the DVP heading south to Regent Park.
Regent Park began as Victoria townhouses and then evolved to public housing within Modern towers. Its 3rdgeneration, over the past two decades is evident in a revitalization c/w public-private partnerships, effectively an ‘essay’ on condominium development in Toronto. A new central district energy plant and aquatic centre now complete the scene.
And later on, following a quick turnaround, the evening program consisted of the ‘Toronto the Good’ party, an annual industry party thrown by ERA Architects, which was resurrected after several dormant years to align with the AHLP conference! A good number of AHLP people made the journey to Bentway Park (under the Gardiner Expressway) at the waterfront to mix and mingle with Toronto’s city builders, artists and creatives.
For a lucky few, the Toronto conference continued into Sunday morning with the generous invitation of the indomitable Michael McClelland to provide insight into yet another few pieces of the Toronto cityscape. We began at the north end of Philosopher’s Walk (at Bloor Street) through the UofT campus to hear about Indigenous land, ravines, Tattle Creek, disparate parcels, and early ‘naturalization’ efforts there.
At the home of Ontario’s provincial parliament (legislature), Queen’s Park, Jane O’Brien Davis, a representative of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts spoke to us about her recent masters’ thesis work on monuments and restorative justice. Topics included defining colonial monuments, the use of public space, and founding stories in the face of the ongoing ‘colonial settler project’. Today an opportunity exists to provide a ‘canvas’ for elevated commentary and counter-narratives.
The group wandered west to King’s College Circle and saw firsthand the recent (but timely) ‘disappearance’ of a parking lot underground and the resultant pedestrian-focused environment. King’s College Circle now provides an inspirational model for other places.
Continuing away from the campus and down towards Spadina Street, originally the center of the garment industry, brought us closer to the everyday workings of the big city. And, nearby Kensington Market offers a lesson as to where gentrification continues. The question for planners: what can they control, if at all? This remains a question particularly topical given the influx each year of some 100K people to the city each and every year!
All in all, another wonderful gathering of the AHLP family under the steady guidance of the organizing committee. Thank you ERA Architects and Quinn Evans for your generous support. Many, many thanks!!!
Looking forward to meeting again next year in Indianapolis!
