 HOUSE IS NOT A HOME: Shadow Collective member Olena Sullivan photographed the entrance to the William Goodwin House to show how it has fallen from its former glory.
Heritage Toronto and the Shadow Collective have collaborated on their first photo exhibit of 14 properties they say are worthy of saving from decay, demolition and disregard.
Building Storeys: A Photo Exhibit of Toronto’s Aging Spaces includes shots of the William Goodwin House. This home has seen better days, according to photographers who captured images of the 1845 building.
“When we were inside there was a leak in the roof, said Shadow Collective photographer Olena Sullivan. “There’s a lot of mould in the building. The damage is already pretty bad.
“Just to get the leak patched up would take two years and this building doesn’t have that time,” she added.
The structure, located at 355 Lesmill Rd. near the Moatfield Farm Park, has been moved from its original location at 4162 Yonge St. The current site is owned and managed by the city’s parks department.
Photographer Toni Wallachy took a picture of the outside of the building, which was home to a York Mills wagon maker.
“My first impression is it looks like a shack,” Wallachy said. “It’s unfortunate. The William Goodwin House is out of sight, out of mind.”
The whole objective of the exhibit is to encourage people to visit these buildings and take an interest in their preservation, said the Beach resident.
The Milne House at 1185 Lawrence Ave. East and the Don River is not easy to find but the 1860s Gothic Revival farmhouse has a story to tell.
“It used to part of a whole community called Milneford that was a cluster of 16 buildings and two mills,” said Sullivan.
According to Heritage Toronto information, a flood destroyed some of the surrounding neighbourhood back in 1878. Then when Don Mills was developed in the1950s, much of the remaining homes were torn down.
When Hurricane Hazel tore through the area in 1954, the building stood strong. It remained occupied until 1992 when it was purchased as part of the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area. It is currently vacant and has suffered fire, water and vandalism damage.
“It’s in really rough shape. All four sides are covered in graffiti. The windows are all busted out,” Sullivan said. “We want to show the honesty of the building but also show the beauty of the building underneath and the potential.”
While the focus of the exhibit was artistic, seven photographers also documented each site so the city will have archival photos in case any of the heritage buildings are torn down.
The other sites photographed include: The New Fort/Stanley Barracks, Union Station, The Royal Canadian Military Institute Building, Maple Leaf Gardens and The Guild Inn.
“People think these buildings will always be there and they won’t,” Wallachy said.
The exhibit is a “representative list of buildings across the city that should be cherished and should have a future,” said Peggy Mooney, executive director of the city agency Heritage Toronto.
The city and heritage organizations can’t save these buildings alone, she added.
“It can’t just be government and tax incentives all the time,” Mooney said.
“It has to be business seeing how they can give a building new life.”
She uses the Gladstone Hotel as an example of an old building that’s been restored and given a new lease on life.
The gallery run ended Feb. 22, but the entire exhibit can be viewed online at <a href="http://www.shadowcollective.com" target="_blank">www.shadowcollective.com</a>.
The group is looking for other galleries in Toronto to host the exhibit. Toronto has about 9,000 heritage properties.
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