Q4. What is the connection between Niagara Falls and Toronto? (P22)
Q6. What was Sir Adam Beck referring to when he said, “the gifts of nature are for the public? (P28)
Lighting up Toronto 100 Years of Toronto Hydro
By Beth Parker
Today, we switch on the lights in our
homes without thinking. We expect that
the streets stay bright well after dark, our
subways and streetcars keep running and
our smart phones, gaming devices and
electric bikes have full power. Could you
survive without electricity?
For about 75 years, our streets and homes
glowed with the soft warmth of gas
lamps, powered by coal fired factories,
not the rushing water of Niagara Falls.
Our streetcars were pulled by horses and
outdoor events were held during the day
when there was daylight. Most people went
to bed early because it was too difficult to
read in the evening.
Toronto “experiments”
with electricity
In the heart of old Toronto on King Street
West just before the turn of the 20th
century, the city was about to make the
switch to electricity. It was at McConkey’s
restaurant, and the year was 1879. The
owner had installed two carbon arc lights
(early light bulbs used before Edison’s
incandescent ones). Soon his restaurant
was crowded with people anxious not just
to enjoy his famous ice cream, but also to
check out this new invention. Although
it was just powered by a single generator,
McConkey’s was the first restaurant in
Toronto to have electric lighting.
Many Torontonians had seen electric
lighting demonstrated a few years earlier
at Toronto’s Industrial Exhibition (the
forerunner to today’s “Ex”). The Exhibition
was originally a “dawn to dusk” event,
closing down after sunset because of the
darkness. But in 1882, one of the many
new electrical companies (the Fuller
Electric Company from New York) set up
three miles of wire and 60 arc lamps to
demonstrate electricity. The power source
were dynamos, installed in the Machinery
Hall and each dynamo was belt driven by a
large steam engine. Before the fair opened
on Sept. 3, 1882, the lights were tested and
worked. A week later there was an evening
banquet by light to celebrate!
Niagara Falls floods Toronto
Before long Toronto set out to replace
its gas lighting—in homes and on the
street—with electric lighting. In 1891,
arc lighting lit up the corner where the
Timothy Eaton’s store was located, as well
as the downtown core of Yonge, Queen and
King Streets. In 1910, a sub-department
under Toronto's City Engineer adopted the
name "Toronto Hydro-Electric System.”
The systems were now in place to draw
electricity from the most obvious source,
the falls at Niagara. A year later, a crowd
of 30,000 Torontonians watched the first
hydro power from Niagara Falls light our
streets. At the same time, the last gas street
lamp disappeared from our streets.
Bringing Power to the People
Sir Adam Beck may be the least famous
and most influential Ontarian. Born in
Baden, Ontario, he became the Mayor of
London and the first Chairman of The
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of
Ontario. Beck believed passionately that
electricity should be made available and
affordable to everyone, not
just the wealthy and powerful.
“The gifts of nature are for the
public,” he said, and he was
most determined to harness
the hydroelectric potential
of the Niagara River. He
envisioned, and presided over,
the building of the Sir Adam
Beck 1 Generating Station
and the 20 kilometer canal
that diverts water to it from
the Welland River.
Led by Adam Beck, the
province of Ontario moved
to public power so the price could be regulated. The Ontario Public
Commission (later the Ontario Hydro
Commission) was founded in 1906.
Switching to electricity
in Toronto’s homes
Toronto homes used gas lighting, fed by
pipes into the house and through the walls
directly into wall and ceiling mounted
fixtures. In outlying areas where gas wasn’t
available, individual glass oil lamps were
lit every evening. Even in homes with gas
lighting, it was often supplemented by
lamps. (One of these tall glass lamps from
my grandmother’s Toronto home in 1900
still has a place of honour in our home!)
At first, only a few wealthy citizens could
afford to have electricity in their homes.
The private power companies of the time
charged a high price for each bulb and
during the day they even shut off the power
so that no one would waste it.
With the advent of publicly owned
power, however, electricity became more
affordable in homes.
In Toronto’s older Victorian houses you
often can still find evidence of a time before
electricity. When converting to electricity,
these homes had to remove the old gas
pipes and install wiring. The original gas
lamps or gasoliers in these homes were so
beautiful that they were often converted
instead of replaced. A beautiful example
of one of these original gasoliers, now
powered by electricity, can be found today
in Toronto’s historic McKenzie House.
There are many such lights in homes
around our city.
Some homes built in the 1890’s actually
did include wiring for electricity as well
as the original pipes for gas lamps. This
was because the early light bulbs were
not considered bright enough to be the
primary source of light!
Certainly the “new” art deco homes of the
early 20th century were considered very
modern—they were built with electricity
and even running water already installed!
Electricity now also began to run the street
cars and telephones, which were also becoming
popular. It must have been a huge
change for people. Some, in fact, were quite
nervous about the idea of electricity, and
didn’t trust bringing it into their home. For
others, electricity was seen as an end to a
simpler way of life, while poets were said to
lament the loss of the romanticism of gas
lights!
Toronto Hydro’s
Historic Art Deco Site
When Toronto Hydro moved into its
new headquarters at 14 Carlton Street,
the newspapers in 1933 describe it as
the very "model of modernity", sitting
between Maple Leaf Gardens and Eaton’s
College Park. Still in use today, the head
office features an Art Deco style. Typical
of the style, the composition is linear,
with gargoyles that watch the pedestrians
below! The structure is steel and concrete,
trimmed with marble copper. The facade
of the building is built from limestone
quarried from Queenston, where much
of the electricity sold by Toronto Hydro
is generated. In 1991, the building was
designated as a historic site. It is one of
only a few Art Deco buildings in the city.
|
|
|
Architectural details from the Toronto Hydro Building, 14 Carlton Street.
100 Years of Turning on the Light
Toronto Hydro has a rich and interesting
history that mirrors the growth of the city
and the story of its people, at home, work
and play.
During World War II, along with
Ontario's other utilities, Toronto Hydro
did its part for the war effort. As "Keepers
of the Light", everyone was urged to "Save
Hydro in Your Home: Help Win the War!"
During the 1950’s, rapid growth in the
city brought about its biggest challenge,
the conversion from 25-cycles to the
60-cycle standard. In the 1980’s, with the
never-ending demand for more and more
electricity, Toronto Hydro began a 25
year energy-saving upgrading program.
The entire commission was reorganized
with city amalgamation in 1998. In
2004, Toronto Hydro installed its first
solar panel, and recent years have seen
even more programs for conservation and
environmental responsibility.
Sir Henry Pellatt's Dream
When the Toronto Electric System began in
1921, its average revenue per kilowatt-hour
was just under five cents and assets of the
corporate totaled a little over $4 million.
Today, Toronto Hydro is the second
largest municipal electricity distribution
utility system in North America. It has a
combined customer base of over 655,000
customers and its annual revenues are
approximately $2 billion.
This fall in recognition of 100 years of
history, Toronto Hydro presents:
Turning on Toronto:
A History of Toronto Hydro.
The collection of photographs and
documents are on view at the City of
Toronto Archives.
One of the worlds earliest efficient
incandescent light bulbs was
invented and patented in Toronto in
1874.
Rudimentary forerunners of light
bulbs had been created as early
as 1800 and a few patents for very
crude, short-lasting electric lights
had been issued prior to the Toronto
breakthrough by medical student
Henry Woodward and hotel keeper
Matthew Evans.
After months of experimenting
in a workshop on Adelaide St.
W., Woodward and Evans filed a
Canadian patent on July 24, 1874,
for their lamp with a carbon rod
held between electrodes in a glass
cylinder filled with nitrogen.
Please send your comments about our featured articles
to info@beachesliving.ca. Also let
us know what subject would you like to see in our future issues.