Site 9: The George Ignatieff Theatre

1. After visiting the Gardiner Museum, I walked over to another familiar site in the area, the George Ignatieff Theatre. Although there is a pillar engraved with the year "1961" on the outside of the larger building to which it is attached (Larkin), I did a quick search and discovered the theatre was actually built in 1979 and opened in November of that same year. Part of Trinity College, it would be hard to tell that this was a theatre and not just another section of the Larkin building if it weren't for the printed sign in the window at the top of the stairs and the larger (and much more professional) sign just outside of the entrance. The entire building is elevated from the street and sidewalk, and entry to the property is cut off from almost all sides by a tall black metal fence, leaving only one small area to access the theatre from this side of the property. Walking south down Devonshire Place, there is an area that appears as though it is an opening, but when one gets closer you see that it is only a recess in the fence to allow for two fire hose access pipes. Stone retaining walls line either side of the stairs that leads up to the building from the sidewalk, and three cement benches sit on the edge of the small cement courtyard outside of the theatre. Just past the courtyard is a green grassy area with bushy trees that line the black metal fence and hide utility boxes from sight. There is a lone tree that sits behind a plaque mounted on a stone. I have to get close up to read it, and when I do I see that it notes the tree's dedication to George Ignatieff in 1992.

I got to the site at approximately 1:00 p.m., and while the day started off dark and unpromising in terms of weather, the sun surprised me by peeking out from behind the clouds and adding a bit of sun warmth to the chilly late-November temperatures. There is not a great deal of artificial lighting in the area. Besides the always ubiquitous city streetlamps, there is a small light above the walkway which appears to be in questionable working condition, and a decorative lamppost near the entrance to the theatre. I thought this was a light, but when I got closer I realized it was a purely decorative piece of abstract art hanging on the wall. I hear the typical sounds of traffic in the background, this time alongside the occasional whistle and cheer from the people practicing (and the people watching them) at next door Varsity Stadium, and nearby people talking to their friends or classmates.

2. Most of the activity in the area involves students, who pass through the area on their way to and from classes or take a break between classes or as they wait for them to begin. I spot a young man sitting on one of the cement benches outside of the theatre, reading something as he smokes a cigarette. Two other young men and one young woman join him later and they have a conversation for approximately ten minutes. During that time, another young woman came out and sat on the bench to have a cigarette herself, but did not join the group's conversation. There is not a great deal of moving car traffic while I am there, but quite a few people walk or bike down the street and sidewalk. The occasional guy or girl stops at the top or bottom of the stairs to talk briefly with someone and then leave the area.

3. This is another area I have been to many times but have never really noticed. In addition to eating and studying in The Buttery on countless occasions, I had a class in the actual theatre during my second year, and a class in the Larkin building this past summer,and yet I realize now that I still managed to miss so many things on and around the building during those many visits. I had never noticed the lone tree with the plaque dedication on the large rock before, and I actually thought it might be a new addition to the area since I had my class in that building during the 2007/2008 school year - imagine my surprise to see that it was dated April 1992! It must have passed by it one countless occasions, yet it wasn't until I made a conscious effort to actually look around the area that I actually noticed it.

Another interesting thing I realized upon reflection is that, other than the day I observed the St. George Golf and Country Club property, this is the place I felt most uncomfortable taking pictures. At the rest of the sites I have visited so far, I didn't feel strange taking pictures. Often - like at the Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat - there were many other people taking pictures. And during those times I was the only one with a camera, it was at sites one would expect to find tourists so I felt I didn't stand out. At this site, however, there was a steady stream of students coming in and out of both the theatre and the Larkin building itself, and I started to feel very awkward taking pictures of the area, especially taking pictures with actual students in them. In some way the other sites I observed felt much more public, making the people in the area almost feel like part of the scene. Due to the "exclusive" nature of the University, this site felt much more private, which made taking pictures of the students feel much more obtrusive.

4. I have never thought of the George Ignatieff Theatre or Larkin as particularly "exclusive" before, yet when I was observing this area I thought back to our class discussion on the Munk Center for International Studies - which is the property just south of Larkin - and couldn't help notice the similarities among the many obvious differences. At first glance Larkin and the Munk Center look nothing alike; the former is boxy and grey while the latter is much more decorative. The Munk Centre building is a mix of both traditional and modern architectural styles and was obviously planned to not only be a useful space, but also a physically appealing space for those people lucky enough to have full access to the grounds. In comparison, Larkin is far more utilitarian - although not ugly - with minimal decoration and landscaping. However, both are surrounded by tall metal fences with hard-to-find gates or entrances that "protect" them from the pedestrian and automobile traffic that passes by each day on the abutting sidewalk and street.

Finding an article in the SUDR that seemed relevant was not easy for this site because there were very few things that seemed particularly significant to any of the readings. But then I thought back to the section on "Green Architecture" and I decided to look at the building from that perspective. There is nothing particularly "ungreen" about the theatre, at least not in comparison to other structures built around the same time. However, the lack of any "green" foresight into this building is what I found interesting. While the Larkin and George Ignatieff Theatres were both constructed well before the three pieces we read in the SUDR about green architecture were written, I think this site is a good example of the general lack of environmental concern or thought that went into most construction at the time. Sadly, while we have come a long way in terms of sustainability and design ethics, I still hear little about ecological design in modern Toronto construction.

5. This site was one of the more unusual ones for me to observe, even though it may technically be the site I see most often in my day-to-day activities. I meet friends and study in The Buttery, and have attended classes in both the Larkin building and in the theatre itself, yet I have never thought of it as little more than another stone building on campus and have honestly paid little attention to it during my nearly four years at the University. However, when I finally did pay attention I started to notice many interesting things that I never would have considered previously.

While the theatre may not be as architecturally attractive as many of the fabulous buildings on campus and the landscaping may not be as grand, when I actually stopped to think about it, the building was far more conducive to a human-nature relationship than I would had originally realized. For example, there is an abundance of windows on the main level of the building, allowing people inside to have natural light and stay on top of the quickly changing autumn weather. I sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic in the older buildings on campus, due to the lack of windows in general that always makes me feel so shut off from the rest of the world. I never feel cut off when I am in this building.

There always seems to be people hanging around outside the theatre or Larkin building, either talking to their friends or having a cigarette, and on nicer days I even see people eating their lunch on the stairs or surrounding patio. Being a part of Trinity College, there is no lack of more architecturally beautiful buildings in the area with grounds and courtyards that are probably more attractive; however, people do not seem to be drawn to those buildings – or, at least, they are not drawn away from the theatre/Larkin building. I thought back to our discussion of the Munk Centre in class and I started to think that maybe those places are a bit too nice? Comparatively, the theatre property is still nice, but not so nice that it has become intimidating to students.

On the other hand, the “greenest” parts of the property – the parts that you would expect to be the nicest – do not seem to attract any students at all, and I found this quite odd. The theatre entrance is right next to a nice green area, but the students all seem to stay on the concrete patio and sit on the concrete benches. I’m sure it doesn’t help that those benches are all turned away from the green space and towards the concrete building either. I think part of the problem is that we are all so programmed to keep to the path when we see one that sometimes it never even occurs to us that we could take a step off of it if we wanted. I assume the people that created the green space expected students to get out and use it, simply because to read the dedication plaque one would need to walk over the grass to see it. Unfortunately, no one seems to notice.