New lights, new life, and doors open at Exhibition Place

Open this photo in gallery:

For many years, says Exhibition Place CEO Don Boyle, someone had forgotten to flip on the lights at many of the buildings and structures on the 78-hectare site; in fact, some of the bulbs had burnt out and no one even noticed.

Which is fitting, since to many generations of Torontonians, a dim reminder of the Canadian National Exhibition – and the expansive grounds upon which it is held – burns slowly to life in late July, perhaps, glows brightly in August, and then goes dark again in our sleepy September brains. It’s as if that swath of land behind the Princes’ Gates (Chapman & Oxley, 1927), is erased from our collective map of the city for 10 months of the year.

But then a few funny things happened in the 21st century: condominium towers began to creep closer and closer, which meant a whole new generation of Hogtowners viewed Exhibition Place as a giant park perfect for strolling, jogging, dog-walking and coffee dates. In 2018, Hotel X opened (coffee dates usually happen here), which allowed convention- or wedding-goers attending events at the Beanfield Centre or Enercare Centre to actually stay on site.

And, in 2019, Mr. Boyle (and his fresh pair of eyes) was appointed the new CEO. So, on went the phalanx of hourglass-shaped fixtures on the Food Building walls, the thick and meaty light towers of the Enercare Centre were re-energized with smart LEDs and the graceful arch of the Dufferin Gate sparked to life, no doubt to the shock of motorists on the Gardiner Expressway below. The Horse Palace, says Mr. Boyle, will soon follow with its own custom lighting package.

“We’re not just here, and we’re not just preserving it, we’re actually breathing life into it,” he says. “I’ve seen newer industrial parks that look better than this … and a big part of that is to bring it back through the heritage architecture that we have.”

There is a great deal of significant heritage here. From George Gouinlock’s 1907 Railway/Music Building to Peter Dickinson’s “Festival of Britain” style Queen Elizabeth Building (1956) and the Jetsons-esque Better Living Centre (Marani Morris & Allan, 1962), to the art deco splendour of the aforementioned Horse Palace (J.J. Woolnough, 1931) and the former Automotive Building (Douglas Kertland, 1929), it’s a place I often tell tourists to explore before the usual suspects of CN Tower, Casa Loma or Distillery District.

Speaking of which, tourists and Torontonians of all generations will want to visit the Exhibition Grounds during the annual Doors Open festival on Saturday and Sunday, when the Beanfield Centre (Automotive Building) and the nearby Stanley Barracks (British Army, 1841) will be open for tours.

“It was 1967,” says Exhibition Place records and archives supervisor Fiona Crawford when I ask about the last time an ‘official’ auto show took place in the building. “And then, after, there were some one-offs – there was something called Speedorama … the automotive industry changed the way they released their models, so it didn’t align with the CNE any more.”

We’re standing in the two-storey lobby admiring the checkerboard floor underfoot and the artichoke-shaped light fixtures and carved winged wheels overhead (which predate the Detroit Red Wings logo by a few years) while lauding the multimillion-dollar restoration work done in the early mid-2000s (NORR) to convert the building into an ultra-modern, LEED-Silver conference centre (then called Allstream Centre) while still respecting its art deco bones.

We walk next into the insanely large grand ballroom. While the shape and configuration have changed since the automotive days, Doors Open attendees will still get a sense of the old exhibition hall in here: “So this would have been where the bulk of the National Motor Show took place,” says Ms. Crawford. “It was originally 940,000 square feet; at the time it was built it was the largest purpose-built space for auto displays.”

From there, volunteers will take attendees over to the strikingly beautiful ornamental canopy (Studio Kimiis/Spring Valley Corp. 2021) over the unearthed foundations of the East Enlisted Mens’ Barracks, which were unearthed during construction of Hotel X. Composed of semi-perforated concrete panels displaying five badges of the regiments that were housed here (ranging from 1840 to 1893), it’s one of the most interesting art pieces built in the city in the past decade. It also gives the hotel, a building I don’t find architecturally very interesting, a focal point and an Exhibition-worthy front door.

A rare chance to walk through the only remaining building of “New Fort York,” Stanley Barracks, is on offer as well. Since the building is currently without a tenant – interior rooms are protected so it’s difficult to do something as obvious as a restaurant or gallery – visitors will be able to transport themselves back 180 years via the wide-plank floors, multiple fireplaces, and built-in, interior shutters.

“It’s reputedly haunted, but that’s also true of 10 buildings on site,” Ms. Crawford says matter-of-factly.

Thirty or so years ago, Exhibition Place’s ghosts were pretty much on their own for most of the year. But no longer. And not just because of the hotel or condo dwellers, or during events such as Doors Open. When the new Ontario Line opens, even more living souls will come here to play and admire the architecture.

And, in the meantime, says marketing and communications manager Alexandra Serrano-Selbie, there will be “free music throughout July in Centennial Park … we have yoga as well, provided by instructors from the hotel … and the beekeeping workshop.

“We’re just trying to find different opportunities for people to come in and check out the spaces and reconsider what this place is.”