One of the characteristic places in Toronto is certainly Pecaut Square, the large concrete-lined square located in front of Toronto’s Metro Hall. Let us learn something more about the space that supports the PATH network connection between Metro Hall and nearby buildings such as Metro Center.
The square is home to The Poet, The Fever Hospital
Built as part of the Toronto Metro Hall postmodern project, it initially was called Metro Square. The project was completed in 1992 but it was in April 2011 that the square was renamed Pecaut Square, by a unanimous vote of the Toronto City Council, in honor of the late civic leader David Pecaut. This public space houses a work of art that can be admired with wonder from all angles. The Poet, The Fever Hospital, by the Canadian sculptor Bernie Miller. The piece is over 9 meters high and is made of bronze, granite, steel and marble. It incorporates a fountain and a reflecting pool thus forming a double monument. What does the name of the sculpture refer to? The poet in question is Isabella Valancy Crawford, who lived near here briefly.
The fever hospital refers to one of the first hospitals in Toronto (York Hospital, 1829-1856), also located nearby. Sheltered by a large granite wall, four bronze boxes, that evoke television monitors stacked almost 5 meters high, form a fountain. Water flows into a marble tub and into the reflecting pool. The boxes are framed by a semicircular steel beam, containing small holes and mounted with a slight inclination. The reflective pool houses the Eternal Flame of Hope, a flame powered by natural gas. Lit on May 27, 1996, on the occasion of the WhyNot Marathon for people with physical disabilities, it burns all day and all night and serves as a reminder that society must be all-inclusive.
The Surface Design for Tampered Windscreens in Pecaut Square
On the south-western part of the square there’s a sculpture composed of tempered glass screens that acts as a windbreak. The Surface Design for Tampered Windscreens by Jaan Poldaas. These screens are engraved with vertical and horizontal lines to create different relations and are arranged in such a way that people can walk between them. Adjacent to the square, then, there is a large lawn that houses small and very nice sculptures. Cynthia Short’s Remembered Sustenance. A group of 19 specific bronze animals that seem to migrate in procession across the lawn. The public space of Pecaut Square is often used for free concerts, film projections and other events. It also offers a unique view of Metro Hall, Roy Thomson Hall and Royal Alexandra Theater. All we can do now is visit it!
Featured image. Ph: PvOberstein – License: CC0 1.0
