1. Why I Love Toronto Reason #57

    The Haunting of U of T Soldier’s Tower

    Now I’m not a U of T student so some people may not agree with the statement I make next.  However, you know when people tell you about a focal point of a particular building or area? Some may say that the Geese at the Eaton Centre is the focal point of the mall and some will say the CN tower is the focal point of Toronto. For me the focal point for U of T is the Soldier’s Tower. Whenever I see that tower I always know that I am in the heart of U of T.

    The soldier’s tower is a bell and clock tower that was dedicated to members of the university who served in both World Wars. It was designed by Henry Sproatt (who did other U of T buildings such as Victoria College, Hart House, Burwash as well as reason #55 with Ross and Macdonald) he also had the help of Ernest Ross Rolph to design the building. The building represents Gothic-revival, is 143 feet tall and a Carillion (a musical instrument) of 51 bells. It also has stained glass windows which are an interpretation of John McCrae’s in Flanders field.

    The building was opened on remembrance day in 1924 for fallen U of T’s soldiers. The names of those who died in WWI were put on a sheltered stone screen adjacent to the towers base while those who died in WWII are located inside the tower.  

    However, the building is said to be haunted like most of U of T’s buildings. This story is about a caretaker from the 1930’s. As the caretaker was cleaning the bells at the top of the tower one day he lost his balance and fell out the window to his death. Many students on campus say that when they pass the tower they sometimes see a man falling. However, when the students rush over to where the man was falling no one is there. Another story says that once in a while when you walk by the tower at night you can see lights shining from one of the windows and the figure of the caretaker.

    Gotta Love haunted U of T! Throughout the year I’ll have more haunted locations to tell you about from the university, but for this week I decided to share with you what I thought the focal point of U of T was and its haunted stories.

    That is why I love Toronto

    http://www.toronto.com/article/529748–haunted-toronto 

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Why I Love Toronto