Maple Leaf Gardens
HIKE OF THE WEEK
This focus area for this week’s hike was long overdue. As a lifelong passionate hockey fan, I made a visit to hockey’s shrine, Maple Leaf Gardens. Also known as Taj-Ma Hockey or Puckingham Palace.
It is slightly insane that until this hike, I had not been back to the Gardens since it closed in 1999! For such a crazed hockey fan, and as someone who visited this place frequently in my youth, why has it taken me this long? I even live in downtown Toronto!
Today the street looked nothing like it used to look when there was an event being held at the Gardens.
Why is this place so special when the team has not won since 1967? It is a very difficult question to answer. There was always a feeling of magic throughout the building. Maybe it was black magic, but it was magic none the less. This was where the legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt coined the phrase,“He shoots! He scores!” for crying out loud! Those words are the motto for Canada’s game and this place was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs for 68 years.
Gorgeous brick work with the original windows still intact.
Optimistic fans during the dark Harold Ballard ownership years were always hopeful that the new crop of young Leafs could come through and make up for old cheap and evil Harold. On a Saturday night in the building, it felt surreal, and win or lose, I would reenact whatever goals I saw that night while playing road hockey with my friends the next day. Maple Leaf Gardens is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Aerial view of the Gardens. Source: Unknown
The Gardens was built during the heart of the depression in 1931 and the design drew on Art Deco and Art Moderne styles. Breaking ground in April 1931, the arena was completed only eight months later. The Leafs captured the Stanley Cup the following year and they quickly became the league’s foremost team during the pre-expansion period. The Leafs won 6 Stanley Cups between 1941 and 1951 where they dominated the game.
Maple Leaf Gardens was Canada’s largest indoor venue for cultural, political and religious events for many decades. It hosted the famous 1966 boxing match in which Canadian George Chuvalo lost a brutal 15 round decision to Muhammed Ali, but he still went the distance which had not been achieved by any other Ali opponent. Ali said it was the toughest competitor that he ever faced. Sir Winston Churchill’s 1932 speech on the need to strengthen the British Empire took place at the Gardens.
Maple Leaf Gardens in the earlier years with a black roof! - Source: BlogTO
Elvis Presley played the Gardens in April of 1957 and that performance was among only five he ever performed outside of the U.S. After his first and second Canadian shows. Col. Tom Parker, Presley’s manager, said the second-show crowd was the largest Presley had ever faced in a personal appearance. “I think Toronto audiences are terrific,’ Col. Parker said.
Elvis live at the Gardens - Source: Toronto Archives
The Beatles performed in Toronto a total of three times before calling it quits, each time they played at the legendary Maple Leaf Gardens. The first was on September 7, 1964 during the height of Beatlemania and then again on August 17 1965 and on August 17 1966 which was one of the Beatles final ever performances.
The Beatles live at the Gardens - Source: Zoomer Radio
Today, Maple Leaf Gardens is a multipurpose facility, with a Loblaws Grocery store occupying the lower floors and an athletic centre for Toronto’s Ryerson University, known as Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens, occupying the upper level.
This is where centre ice was at the Gardens. It is now isle number 26 of a Loblaws.
I love this piece of art. It is a Maple Leaf made out of the original seats from the blue section from the Gardens. The original paint is still present as well with the staircase outline. The blue seats were at the ends of the rink.
There is still a full size rink on the property but now just a lot closer to the old roof. This is where the TMU/Ryerson Rams play.
The original roof with the gondola is still intact. This is where countless games were called.
Interesting Vintage Find This Week
As many of you know, I am an unapologetic vintage hunter. When I am hiking on my own, I also incorporate thrifting as if the two functions were meant to go hand in hand.
This mid-century Americana piece that I picked up is a Seeburg remote selection jukebox system used in diners, soda fountains, drive-ins, and restaurants from the 1940s–1960s. Instead of customers walking to the jukebox, they selected songs directly from their booth or diner table.
Seeburg was one of the “big four” American jukebox companies alongside Wurlitzer, Rock-Ola and AMI. Seeburg became legendary because they pioneered HIGH-Capacity Jukeboxes including 100-selection systems and later 200-selection systems which was revolutionary.
These systems were electromechanical marvels. The wallbox transmitted electrical pulses that matched to corresponding song selections. The central jukebox then decoded the selection, mechanically retrieved the record and played it automatically, all before the use of computers.
These machines became symbols of 1950s Americana, teenage culture, rock and roll diners and drive-ins. They’re deeply associated with Elvis Presley, sock hops, chrome diners and neon culture.
Designers love these units as they are considered masterpieces of Art Deco transition, Googie design and mid-century industrial design with their combination of chrome, glass, colour, lighting and typography.
Happy Hiking!
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This is where centre ice was at the Gardens. It is now isle number 26 of a Loblaws store
