Toronto Dominion 150th Anniversary Coin Bank

Toronto Dominion marked its 150th anniversary in 2005. To honor the occasion, the bank, founded in 1855 and known today as TD Bank, had coin banks produced and gave them to customers of the Toronto Dominion Bank and Canada Trust (a trust company owned by TD). To learn more about the bank replica, I contacted the TD Bank Group Archivist, Anne, who told me This coin bank does not represent the first Dominion Bank building. “I believe it was just chosen because the architectural style worked well for a coin bank. Unfortunately that building no longer exists (replaced with a new bank branch in the 1960s), Anne said. “This coin bank was distributed as in 2005 as part of TD’s 150^th Anniversary celebrations. It was modeled after one of the Bank’s branches in Brandon, Manitoba.” As souvenir building collectors, we like to own miniatures that are replicas of actual buildings. Even though the building may be gone, I hoped to find a historical image of it to compare to the miniature. I searched high and low for a photo of the branch building that is depicted in this coin bank, but can’t find a match. First, I found this building in Brandon Manitoba, but it does not look exactly the same. This bank, at 678 Main St. in Winnipeg, is similar, but still not the one. The, I found this one, formerly at 420 Bloor Street East in Toronto. Closer, but still not quite a match for the coin bank. Just as curious is a Canadian post stamp, also issued in 2005, shows a bank building that looks just like the coin bank replica. According to the Canada Post website, “The stamp is a collage of layered images from the past and present. Architectural details from a turn-of-the-previous-century TD building blend into the facade of the iconic TD Tower in downtown Toronto.” Still, no clues to the location. Anyone know where this building might have been?

SBCS 2012 Convention in Toronto

This year’s Souvenir Building Collector’s Society’s convention in Toronto, Canada I’m told was a success. Host Mark F. organized a full weekend of activities. During the business portion of the meeting, Joe K. was elected the new president of the society.  The 3-day event included architectural tours of the city, the very-popular sale & swap of building replicas and a show & tell time in which attendees were asked to bring an interesting or rare replica and talk about the real building, the miniature or a story about how they acquired it. The Saturday dinner, raffle and live auction were also a big hit as was the visit to Mark’s home and collection. Next year, the annual convention will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Below are some photos sent to me by Joe K. Club member Tarun also uploaded photos to Flickr and Lara G. shared some on her Facebook page for everyone to see.

Shrine Peace Memorial Toronto Canada

This vintage 1930s represents the Shrine Peace Memorial in Toronto, Canada. I recently acquired this rare monument replica, which is not listed in the book Monumental Miniatures. She stands 8.5 inches tall and the base is 6.5 inches wide. Due to its weight, its seems to be made of a pot metal with high lead count as do many of the older souvenir replica. On 12 June 1930, the real statue was presented to the people of Canada by Imperial Potentate, Noble Leo V. Youngworth on behalf of the 600,000 members of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine to commemorate the peaceful relationships existing for over a century between Canada and the United States. The gift was received by the Honorable George S. Henry, Potentate of Rameses Shrine Temple in Toronto. In 1958 the surrounding garden and fountain, created by the Toronto Parks Department, officially opened.Located in Exhibitions Place, on Toronto’s lakeshore, the Shrine Peace Memorial faces south, toward the Niagara River and the United States. The statue was designed by noted sculptor, Noble Charles Keck of Kismet Shriners in Brooklyn, New York, and depicts a winged angel holding aloft a laurel crown and standing upon a globe held supported by female sphinxes. The inscription around the base reads “Peace be on you,” and its response, “On you be the peace,” the English translation of the Islamic greeting used by Shriners.

Original Eaton's Store Souvenir Building

Events and anniversaries are one reason souvenir buildings are created and meant to be commemoratives of the occasion. I recently found a miniature metal replica of the first Easton Store. It was clearly made for the 125th anniversary of the department store (1869-1994). The small brass depiction of the original Eaton's store is encased in lucite and has the words, T. Eaton Co. above the entrance. Established by Timothy Eaton in 1869 on the corner of Yonge and Queen Streets in Toronto, Canada, the small shop became the T. Eaton Co. Limited. It grew to become a retail and social institution with stores across the country, offices around the world and a catalogue in most Canadian homes. Eaton's first advertisement read "We propose to sell our goods for CASH ONLY – In selling goods, to have only one price." In an era where haggling for goods was commonplace, this was a revolutionary business practice. Eaton's was well known for its customer service, as expressed in its long-standing slogan "Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded." A rapidly changing economic and retail environment in the late 20th century proved difficult for Eaton’s as the chain went bankrupt in 1999. In case you missed it, I've written before about buildings in lucite.

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Plans change. Even a well thought out idea may change before or during its implementation. The design for the Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Canada changed between 1922 and when it was completed in 1967. Of interest to souvenir building collectors are the many replica versions created over the years for what was envisioned to what was ultimately constructed. A seven-inch-tall version from 1926 reveals the changes. The top center dome is drum-shaped and the four surrounding towers are thinner than what was built. The stairs are the same, but platform at the bottom of the stairs was also redesigned. Around the base is written: “La Future Basilique. Oratoire St. Joseph Du Mont Royal Montreal Canada. Fabrication Francaise Copyright by 1926 – Depose- M.P.” I wrote to Jean-Francois, the archivist for Saint Joseph's Oratory, who said, “The original design for the dome was more narrow. In fact, the 1922 plans by architects Viau & Venne depicted a more luxious and classical dome, with colonnade and statues. The year 1926 corresponds to the beginning of construction for the future basilica. So, the miniature scale basilica dated 1926 may be linked to that construction. We don’t know for sure if they were given as souvenir to dignitaries or put in sale in our gift shop. We know that several of these were made (but they are quite rare today).In 1934, one of the two architects died (Venne). It was a time of economical difficulties and the original design for a somptuous dome was not welcomed anymore. In 1936, the Shrine’s authorities then asked Dom Paul Bellot, a reputed architect monk, to redesign the dome’s shape to have it lower, less expensive to build and more in the spirit of the time." Construction of the real Roman Catholic Italian Renaissance style Basilica began in 1924 based on plans by Montreal architects Dalbé Viau and Alphonse Venne. The dome was poured and covered with copper. With a diameter of 39 meters (125 feet), The basilica dome rises 236 meters (856 feet) above sea level making it the highest point in the city of Montreal. Aviation authorities require that the cross on top be illuminated. The interior was completed in 1966, based on on designs by the Canadian architect Gérard Notebaert. With a seating capacity of 2200 people, the Basilica gets two million visitors and pilgrims every year. Other building replicas came in various sizes and materials, but all resemble the church as it appears today with a more football-shaped dome which recalls the Duomo in Florence. Versions include those made in occupied japan, pot metal and pewter, encased in Lucite and even some painted. Do you know of additional versions of this church? Do you know of other souvenir replicas which have versions of ‘as planned’ and ‘as built’?

Toronto 3-D Map

Inside the lobby of the Toronto City Hall, visitors can find this large 3-D map of city. It looks like it was made some time ago using plastic or acrylic. Located on the west side of rotunda near the front door, the scale model encompasses the area bordered by Dufferin Street to the west, Bloor to the north, the Don River valley and west edge of Riverdale to the east and Lake Ontario to the south. Do you know of other 3-D maps? Let me know in the ‘comments’ link below.