Date: 1920

Origin: CNE Archives

THE GRAPHIC ARTS & PHOTOGRAPHY BUILDING

In 1902 the Exhibition constructed its first building devoted solely to the display of fine art. Designed in the classical Greek style by architect Beaumont Jarvis, the Art Gallery was located due south of the present-day Music Building and on the site of the current Queen Elizabeth Building (Executive Offices). Inside, covering the deep crimson walls, were works of art by the world’s most famous artists. Prior to the construction of the Art Gallery (I), works of art had been exhibited in the Crystal Palace along with displays of soap and pyramids of biscuits. By the turn of the century the time was right for an art building and newspapers reported favourably on the new gallery’s construction: “The Art Building…long desired and much-dreamed-of [has] at last taken shape in this thing of beauty. For, compare it with what you may – it will hold its own, in simplicity of design, purity of colour, and charm of proportion.”

(The Star, Sept 2, 1902)

The Art Department proved so popular that a second, larger Art Building was constructed in 1905. The original Art Building became home to Graphic Arts and Photography and, until its demolition in 1955, featured international photographic exhibits.

THE GOODERHAM FOUNTAIN

The Gooderham Fountain, constructed in 1911, was a monument to the wealthy industrialist William Gooderham who, along with his brother-in-law James Worts, established the Gooderham and Worts distillery in 1837. The fountain was constructed on what was called the “Grand Plaza of Exhibition City,” between the Horticulture Building, the Graphic Arts Building and the Administrative Building. Perhaps more than anything, the fountain found fame as a meeting place, inspiring the phrase, “meet me at the fountain.” In 1958 the Gooderham Fountain was torn down to make way for the Princess Margaret Fountain. The new fountain stands approximately 100 feet south of where the Gooderham fountain was situated.