CHESTNUTS, rubber bands, poppies, walnut shells, silver paper from cigarette
packages - we made playthings and games from anything we could get our
hands on in those pre-abundance childhood days.
An airplane crafted arduously of balsa wood, or a doll ingeniously created
from a clothespin, somehow seemed more perfect and soul-satisfying at
that moment of invention than anything else imaginable. Loet Vos remembers
those hours of childhood intensity with passionate clarity. As an only
child growing up in Holland during World War 11, she played with such
seriousness and imaginative involvement that she can still remember all
the names of her best friend's dolls, let alone her own.
For 14 years, Vos has kept alive the idea of a Toronto Museum of Childhood
- not an adventure centre for kids' at1ivities, but a serious museum devoted
to the artefacts, themes and animating ideas of childhood as it has evolved
in recent centuries and in many of the countries from which Canadians
have come.
Now her dream has neatly and luckily intersected with 1990s business imperatives.
And thanks to municipal watchfulness - which demanded a degree of public
benefit before a developer got permission to build - we may see that vision
realised in an exciting historic setting within the next couple of years.
In the oldest part of Toronto lies the Gooderham
and Worts distillery site, a few steps east of the St. Lawrence community
and a stone's throw north of Lake Ontario. It's a quiet neighbourhood
now, where red brick Victorian factories lie dreaming and silent in the
sunlight, with Queen Anne's lace pushing up between weathered brick paving
stones. The Gooderham and Worts buildings, with quaint cupolas, handsome
limestone plinths, patterned brick work and pretty windows, have been
a Toronto landmark since the first wind. Mill was built there in 1832.
The distillery closed five years ago, and Davies Associates, managing
a proposed condo and office development for British owners, finally won
approval to turn the handsome old buildings into crafts' and farmers'
markets, cafes, bars and shops.The historic exterior will be untouched
and the interiors restored. Part of the civic price Davis must pay: a
percentage of the budget devoted to the arts, and at least one space given
to culture. Rackhouse D, a splendid 1880 brick building with a checkerboard
of arched windows shuttered in green, used to store 10,000 barrels of
ageing whiskey
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on a forest of timber racks reaching six storeys high to the roof.
It turned out that Rackhouse D wouldn't suit most of the dance and theatre
groups in town. Walter Davies needed a cultural group that would fit the
unusual and demanding site at least some of the timber racks must remain
to support the roof, limiting the: available open space.
Enter Loet Vos, blithe spirit, blowing bubbles on behalf of the purely
notional Museum of Childhood at a booth at the Annex Fall Fair.
Enter Ed Levy , Gooderham and Worts transportation engineer and model
railroad buff, passing by. Click. "We've been offered lots of buildings
over the years," said Loet (pronounced Loot) we toured the Gooderham
together.
"But this one feels right, the building hums. And It's around the
corner from historic Enoch Turner schoolhouse. The Victorian aura is perfect
because that's really when childhood was invented. "
The museum's volunteer board and membership must now concoct a fundraising
campaign to rustle up several million dollars.
"Oh, I have lots of ideas for fundraising," exclaimed the irrepressible
Vos. I don't doubt it. Vos has the right qualifications. She has a house
crammed with donations of historic toys, a master's degree in musicology
from the University of Toronto and years of work at the Roya1 Ontario
Museum. She also has those vital qualities of spontaneity optimism and
pure faith that can keep an idea percolating for decades.
She hopes to mount exhibitions in historical context: a "bed time
theme" theme show, with lullabies, nightlamps, stories and loved
objects from cultures around the world. Videos of old timers showing how
to make willow whistles or sock monkeys, to inspire today's children with
creative impulses.
A street of dollhouses. An exhibit about the feelings, memories and
belongings of the Chinese children who were finally reunited with their
fathers in Vancouver when Canada rescinded its racist "men only"
Chinese immigration policy. The songs and stories of African children
arriving in Canada. The spaces of childhood tree forts, forest huts, the
cave beneath the dining room table. Enthusiasts who would like to join
or support this effort may write to the
Toronto Museum of Childhood at
Box 32
260 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1N1
CANADA
Contact
us
Telephone (416) 368-2866
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