I mentioned in this post that I would post more photos from the Cloud Gardens tucked away among the skyscrapers and behind the Bay (Hudson's Bay Company).
The Monument to Construction Workers by artist Margaret Priest holds a commanding presence.
Completed in 1994, contributions were made by 25 different trades throughout Toronto in 1m x 1m squares. Contributions include work with concrete, rubble, brickwork, stainless steel, glass and zinc.
It is like a concrete quilt of memories.
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“I wanted the monument to take the mystery out of the construction industry because a lot of it’s hidden,” says Priest in an interview that can be heard at the City of Toronto’s website.
The electricals, the pipes, the foundation. So much of what a construction worker does is hidden. I wanted to pull that into a public site and make a museum of it, and the museum is this wall. The unfilled squares in this grid have a very particular place to play. The absence talks of ruin and loss, and it also speaks of the future – of what might be there.”
There is a reason it is called the Cloud Gardens. There is a tropical oasis hidden up this staircase and behind the memorial.
Quelle surprise!! Situated over a parking garage entrance is this mecca of quiet and serenity. I could imagine spending winter lunch hours in here with a book if I worked in the area.
