Building Crisis
The College faced a crisis at the end of the 1950s when it was discovered that the 1891 main building was decaying rapidly due to poor construction; cracks were appearing throughout, pipes split, and doors frames warped to the point where doors could no longer be opened or closed. Due to fear that the tower would collapse the building was condemned and evacuated by March 12, 1958; faculty offices were moved to the Prep building, the infirmary, and any other spare spaces, including the principal's residence, Grant House. Classes were conducted in portables.
That same year, a major fundraising campaign was launched as construction of a new building on the exact site of the old was started. Prince Philip visited in 1959 to assist with the fundraising, and money to reconstruct the iconic tower over the main entrance was donated by the media magnate, Ted Rogers. In the summer of 1959, Governor General Massey laid the cornerstone, however, the pleasure with progress was marred when tragedy struck that same year: an Italian construction worker fell from the tower to his death. None-the-less, Field Marshal Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein dedicated the new front doors on April 28, 1960, and the new building was officially opened by Vincent Massey and Edward Peacock on September 28. The $3,200,000 cost of the building was fully subscribed.
Read more about this topic: History Of Upper Canada College
Famous quotes containing the words building and/or crisis:
“The artist must be an egotist because, like the spider, he draws all his building material from his own breast. But just the same the artist alone among men knows what true humility means. His reach forever exceeds his grasp. He can never be satisfied with his work. He knows when he has done well, but he knows he has never attained his dream. He knows he never can.”
—Rheta Childe Dorr (1866–1948)
“The age of puberty is a crisis in the age of man worth studying. It is the passage from the unconscious to the conscious; from the sleep of passions to their rage.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)