By Alex Wright, National Post
Built during the Roaring Twenties in fabulous beaux-arts style to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Confederation, the Princes’ Gates entranceway to Exhibition Place was opened by its namesake princes — Edward, Prince of Wales, and Prince George — in 1927 and christened by a parade of our First World War veterans.
The landmark archway has been compared to the Eiffel Tower, since both were built for an exhibition during a prosperous period of growth for their cities.
“They were widening all the streets in the 1920s, the TTC was formed in the 1920s, Toronto’s population finally hit the million mark,” said Toronto historian Bruce Bell. “So that’s why they had at the very centre of this great metropolis … this great victory gate, and it just fit in perfectly.”
But the Princes’ Gates gradually began to crack and crumble under the weight of time, the stress of harsh winter weather, and failed attempts to fix the damage.
Next month marks a milestone in the restoration effort: the unveiling of the last reconstructed columns in the historic archway.
The nine south columns and the beam across them are being replaced with the help of just more than $2-million in federal stimulus money. The nine north columns were replaced in 2004. Restoration work will continue over the next year on the centre archway and the stone pylons at the north and south extremities.
The sets of columns themselves were meant to symbolize the nine provinces in Confederation at the time of construction.
“There’s so little left of that period of architecture to begin with, that beaux-arts, over-the-top architecture which Toronto had in abundance,” said Mr. Bell. “We tore so much down and built a whole new city. To lose something like that, it would be a travesty. I’m so glad that they’re getting it done.”
Rick Coombs, the architect in charge of the restoration of the south columns, said that because the Princes’ Gates are a monument and not an inhabited building, they are a “weathering lightning rod.”
“It gets hit by all the worst components of the weather, and it doesn’t have any of the mitigating influence of somebody … keeping the heat on, watching for things that are going wrong in the building until there is quite severe damage,” he said.
The damage was caused by water seeping into the concrete and freezing in the winter, causing cracks. This happened in part because the original metal waterproofing that topped the columns had corroded. Mr. Coombs also said the original concrete was much less dense, more porous, and had none of the metal reinforcing used today.
“There were many contributing factors to the failure of Princes’ Gates, not the least of which is that there have been a variety of attempts to patch the damage,” he said, referring to a restoration program in the Eighties. “Like many patch-type approaches to repair, the patch itself began to fall apart.”
Since the gates are protected by the Ontario Heritage Act, Mr. Coombs said special measures were being taken. “They are being taken down and replaced with replicated columns constructed by the same technique that was used in 1927,” he said.
The new columns will also be brought up to 2006 building code standards, with internal metal reinforcement to help guard against earthquakes and cracking. In addition, a thorough study and documentation of the former columns was conducted with Toronto Heritage Protection Services.
“When you look at it today,” said Mr. Bell, ‘‘it’s still very overpowering."
[Photo by J.P. Moczulski for National Post: Workers repair the nine south columns and the beam across them at the Prince's Gates, right, at the CNE in Toronto, April 7, 2010.]