2019 - Montgomery Gates

Montgomery Gates, Toronto

Montgomery Gates 2019, Granite and stainless steel — *Montgomery Gates*
2019, Granite and stainless steel

Montgomery Gates, 2019 (details)

Size: Approximately 60m x 7m x 4m. Gates are 4m high.

Location: Montgomery Square, Toronto

Client: Rockport Group

Material: Stainless steel and granite

Montgomery Gates celebrates this site for its dual histories - as Montgomery’s Tavern in the 19th century and as a postal station from 1936 to 2014.

In 1837, Montgomery’s Tavern was the meeting point for William Lyon Mackenzie’s rebels as they prepared for battle with British loyalists.

On December 7, 1837, a bloody skirmish took place here between William Lyon Mackenzie’s rebels and Lieutenant-Colonel James Fitzgibbon’s militia. This was a turning point in the ongoing push for independence, eventually helping to realize Mackenzie’s vision of a unified Canada with responsible government.

The much-loved Canada Post building, known as Postal Station K, was erected in 1936 and remains today as the centrepiece of Montgomery Square.

Two large stainless-steel gates evoke Montgomery’s Tavern, which was burnt to the ground by the British loyalists. Surrounding the gates are granite blocks inspired by a simplified Canada Post mailbox form. These blocks represent both William Lyon Mackenzie’s rebels and Lieutenant-Colonel James Fitzgibbon’s militia-some standing, some injured, some fallen.

The quote on the gates is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence of Upper Canada:

Do you love freedom?

I know you do.

Do you hate oppression?

Who dare deny it?

William Lyon Mackenzie, 1837

Produced by Adad Hannah with the assistance of Teigan Jorgensen

Commissioned by The Rockport Group, in conjunction with the City of Toronto’s Percent for Public Art Program