Toronto Preservation Board meeting – Oct. 3, 2013 – Intent to designate Wesley Mimico United Church under Ontario Heritage Act

The following message is from Michael Harrison:

Good Morning:

A report declaring the intent of the City of Toronto to designate
Wesley Mimico United Church under the Ontario Heritage Act will be
considered by the Toronto Preservation Board on October 3, 2013.

I will be supporting the intent to designate this important Mimico
landmark and I hope that you will as well.

Submissions can be sent by email addressed to “Robert Saunders, Chair
and Members of Toronto Preservation Board”  They can be emailed to:
Janette Gerrard the committee secretary at jgerrar@toronto.ca

The recommendation for this item can be found here:

http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2013.PB25.2

The staff report can be found here:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/pb/bgrd/backgroundfile-61764.pdf

Michael

[End of message]

Comment:

This is a engaging and significant story, which I’ve been following since February 2012.

My own comment, which I have submitted, consists of the following overview:

The outcome of the Wesley Mimico redevelopment story will depend upon negotiations related to the Ontario Heritage Act

The first photo on page 33 of the Aug. 21, 2013 staff report displays a feature of the building that I’ve found of interest ever since I noticed it while taking photos at the site. I had walked by the building many times before noticing a subtle detail regarding the colour of the exterior walls. The colour of the bricks on the left of the photo, showing the 1953 part of the complex, is different to a slight but noticeable degree from the colour of the bricks on the centre and right of the image, showing the 1923 structure.

Much history is associated with the church as the staff report and the life story of Sgt. Morris Campbell Murray attest.

The 1940s wedding that the article about Sgt. Murray refers to would have taken place in the 1923 section of the building, as the 1953 section was constructed a decade later. The wedding party would likely have entered and departed through the 1923 bell tower, where the main entrance was located prior to the 1953 addition.

The year 1953 has many associations. Among other things, the first edition of a classic text on film editing was published in that year.