Rainbow gateway markers arrive on Church Street
NEIGHBOURHOOD / Each 22-foot signpost cost $87,500
Andrea Houston / Toronto / Tuesday, February 05, 2013
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The long-awaited rainbow gateway markers have been installed at either end of the Church Wellesley Village.

One marker is located just north of Wellesley Street, at the entrance to Cawthra Park; the other is in front of the City Park Cooperative apartments on Church Street, between Alexander and Wood streets. 

David Wootton, manager of the Church Wellesley Village BIA, says the official launch for the markers will take place April 14. Wootton says the markers will eventually light up, once they are connected to Toronto Hydro. 
 
The 22-foot signposts, part of a cost-sharing project with the City of Toronto, each cost $87,500, he says. “Essentially, the city is purchasing one and we are purchasing one.”
Two new rainbow gateway markers have arrived in the Church Wellesley Village. The markers cost $87,500 each.
(Andrea Houston)

Read more about the markers here. 


  

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Reader Comments


 
Memorial?
In the years to come it will become a vibrant reminder of the once thriving Gay village that was there.
Bill Talbot, Niagara-On-The-Lake Ontario
02/05/13 3:11 PM EST
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$87,500 ?
Am I just really poor or is that aheck of a lot of money for a decoration?
michael, toronto on
02/05/13 3:15 PM EST
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serious question
do they light up at night? I'm on the fence.
rgh, tdot O
02/05/13 3:25 PM EST
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Ugly and a waste of money
The BIA once more misses the mark . This organization hasn't got a clue . First bouncing castles now the worlds worst decorations . Seriously ugly and a waste of taxpayers money!! Shame on you Ms Wong Tam for being part of it .
Gary Woodrofffe, Toronto Ontario
02/06/13 10:53 AM EST
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I much prefer all those fabulous
posters of sexy half nude Gay Men. But the BIA and Wong-Tam don't like those too much. These things or markers or whatever are typical expressionless HETEROSEXIST safe notions of LGBT/Queer expression. Nothing more. Boring, boring, boring and without a hint of glitter anywhere and if you're gonna have Rainbows make sure there is at least one fucking Unicorn somewhere, preferably pink, metaphorically speaking. Is that asking too much?
Tim, Toronto ON
02/06/13 12:17 PM EST
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Someone saw the BIA coming
Surely they meant $8,750 each, right? I just saw one of them tonight and all I can say is that 88,000 is about 80,000 more than I'd pay for that piece of "art".
Joren Carlson, Toronto Ontario
02/06/13 8:53 PM EST
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87,500 or 8,750
If these two tacky, unflattering, stubby in size, awkwardly placed sign posts cost $175,000 to make and mount into the sidewalk, heads should explode somewhere. That could have bought us another Alexander Wood-esque statue, a landmark people actually like.
Ryan, Toronto ON
02/07/13 10:02 AM EST
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a good start
It's a good start to cleaning up that street. The pole wraps that are coming will make it even better. To all the haters posting here it's not your money being spent so get over it ...just sayin'
jaydub, Hamilton Ontario
02/07/13 11:02 AM EST
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Haters gonna hate
Bill, Michael, Gary, Tim, Joren, Ryan - I'm sure you are all out at the many community and BIA meetings held all year long, voicing your concerns and contributing your time and energy into making the village a better place. If not, shut the fuck up already.
George, Toronto Ontario
02/07/13 12:17 PM EST
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$87,500 EACH!?!?
I wonder if the purchase and installation of these markers has anything to do with The 519's partnership with the Church-Wellesley BIA i.e. where it will start subsidizing the BIA's expenses by sharing staff and resources. That story here: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Church_and_Wellesley_BIA_to_partner_with_the_519-12961.aspx
Martin Otarola, Toronto Ontario
02/07/13 2:00 PM EST
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Look great
These are metal, built to last and appear to be pretty much "tamper-free" (read, graffiti-proof). Quality costs money and I think that they look really good but will look great once they are lit up. For anyone who thinks they cost too much money, how about a little civic pride here - not the Rob Ford school of stripping the city of it's very heart and soul (from the man who skips work regularly to coach football including missing Council meetings but still gets paid).
Greg Hannah, Toronto ON
02/07/13 3:02 PM EST
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Not paying for it?
Unless the BIA and city are getting funds out of thin air, as a taxpayer (home owner) and someone that spends money at businesses that make up the BIA, I am paying for it. And unless we're living in "Georgeistan" which I'm pretty sure we aren't, I'm entitled to my opinion, even if I didn't already attend "community and BIA meetings". So blow it out your cakehole George.
Joren, Toronto Ontario
02/07/13 6:37 PM EST
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The Gay Village is dead, long live the gay village
The thing is George notwithstanding your ignorance of what it means to live in a free and democratic society. The Gay Village is dead, long live the gay village. The point is the city no longer needs a specific gay ghetto as a place to feel accepted in, and safe to shop, meet friends and generally hang out in. We have integrated into society, our business' are located everywhere in the city, just as our homes are. Safe gay positive environments are now available all around the city. This is a result of successfully exerting our rights to live in society, just like almost everyone else. Are things perfect, of course not. Are they better for us, Hell Yes. I for one don't regret the diminished relevance of the Village. I see it as a triumph of rights achieved, that allows us to live openly and safely in all corners of the city and not just a few small streets marked out by a couple of flashy signs. The Gay village was great in its day and now happily. a no longer a necessary thing. That is why I see the new signs more as a memorial to yesterday than an improvement for today.
Bill Talbot, Niagara-on-the-Lake ON
02/07/13 9:41 PM EST
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Markers
Who designed these? Willy Wonka or L. Frank Baum? I thought the spiral Rainbow 'blades' would slowly rotate, but I guess they don't.
Befuddled Pedestrian, Toronto Ontario
02/08/13 8:08 AM EST
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Horrid
Gawd ugly and and tacky. Is the BIA stuck in the 1970s Brady Bunch tacky?
Jon, Toronto ON
02/10/13 11:10 AM EST
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and Permanent!
Wait till you see what they do with the Will Munro MURAL? These things are Grave Markers and the mural is going to be a queer memorial to one of theirs.
Jon, Toronto ON
02/10/13 12:14 PM EST
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Will Munro mural?
I like idea of a Will Munro mural, as a token gesture, since Will had more to do with the queer west end of city, then Church St. The trouble is murals all grow tawry and dated after ten years, and no one notices them. I don't think rainbow flag poles and murals will save The Village from extinction, since queers live, work and play everywhere in the city now.
Michel F. Pare, toronto on
02/11/13 1:08 PM EST
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Follow the money
It is outrageous that taxpayer money from the City of Toronto is being used to partially fund the $175,000 cost of the two markers. Taxpayers are not getting value for money. Unfortunately, this is only the start of the taxpayer money that will be wasted on World Pride 2014 projects being promoted by Kristyn Wong-Tam (e.g., the upcoming murals on Church Street, the money being spent on Cawthra Park, the taxpayer money being given for art projects by Queer leftists and QuAIA supporters). But, a key issue is who got the $175,000 for the markers? Who was the supplier? Was the supplier a friend of a member of a BIA officer or board members? Were competitive bids solicited before the supplier in question was chosen?
Chris, Toronto ON
02/12/13 10:58 PM EST
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Piecemeal efforts by theBIA are amateurish at best
The placement/Location of the markers was clumsy. The southern on is hidden behind some telephone/electricity poles and is unnoticeable from a distance. It should have been placed on a corner for surround viewing. The northern one is placed in oblivion and out of context —it should have been placed at the edge of Cawthra Park, near The 519. “Location is important for impact.” Who decides these things? Why weren’t professionals consulted? We need a Landscape Architect —a professional— with a unified vision of the Gay Village to make something memorable of our Village for International Pride. The piecemeal efforts by the BIA are amateurish at best.
JB, TO ON
02/15/13 11:50 AM EST
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Glaring linespacing error
These poorly-conceived and -designed markers, while shockingly overpriced, also contain a whopping design flaw in that linespacing of text is inconsistent on half the sides of both cubes... which nobody noticed. (Hat tip: Marc Lostracco.) I have pictures up on my Flickr.
Joe Clark, Toronto ON
02/23/13 3:24 PM EST
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The linespacing errors look bad
I checked out Joe Clark's Flickr for the photos of the linespacing errors in the markers on Church Street. The errors do look bad. I guess the faulty, overpriced markers are an omen of the additional waste of taxpayers' money that we will see as more World Pride 2014 projects are unveiled in the months to come.
Brent, Toronto ON
02/23/13 5:26 PM EST
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How did they decide on this ?
I have lived in the 'village' for about 23 years. I have seen it go from a centre of gay life and events to a shadow of its former self. Not only has it been shrinking but businesses that once made it diverse and fun have all gone. I mean let's not fool ourselves, it really is about 3 blocks long even when it was in it's glory days. The sad thing is....these new markers/gates are not the best use of money (in my humble opinion). They are poorly placed (as some on here have already mentioned) and don't really say something about the so called village that remains. I always thought that they would place one marker/gate on the south east corner of Church and Carlton....so that when you walk or drive north you see it as your entry into the village. The one on the north should be on the other side of the street....on the west side....up near Glouchester so as you come south into the village....you see it. But what is done is done....and we will just live with what is there....sadly....it will become a memorial to what was once a great gay village. Once the Barn is torn down for condos and they start building condos just north of Wellesley....it will be a matter of time before all that is left is Woody's and the 519.
HRS, Toronto Ontario
03/23/13 8:45 PM EST
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Markers? I thought they were
Colourful, Gay, Modern versions of Grave Stones in memorium for the Village and the Gay Men that were once there? I did't know they were "markers". Markers to what? Is there a gate or something? I don't get it? I'm confused.
Jim, Toronto ON
03/24/13 12:08 AM EST
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