Add Your Voice: What should be done with the Sam The Record Man sign?
September 4th, 2013
Photo, “sam the record man” is copyright (c) 2009 Paul Joseph and made available under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Add Your Voice: What should be done with the Sam The Record Man sign?
“End of the line for Sam the Record Man sign?” asked the Globe and Mail last week, following a report from Toronto’s City Planning Division that recommended City Council approve proposed amendments to a 2008 agreement between Ryerson University and the City of Toronto regarding the Yonge St. property that housed Sam the Record Man’s flagship store and it’s iconic signage.
Ryerson bought the property at 347 and 349 Yonge Street in 2008, and while City Council had adopted a motion intending to designate the property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in recognition of its cultural heritage value, Council later withdrew its notice subject to an agreement with Ryerson to “provide for the removal, refurbishment, storage, re-installation/relocation and maintenance of a portion of the Sam the Record Man signage and the provision of interpretive plaquing.”
Due to the variety of structural and safety concerns related to the re-installation of the neon signage, the City Planning report recommends Council now approve a “Commemoration Plan” in lieu of the sign preservation commitment. That plan would include a commemorative insert installed in the Yonge Street sidewalk where the store once stood, accompanied by an interpretive plaque, as well as providing full documentation of the signage and the launch of an online tribute to ‘Music On Yonge’ and Sam’s 70 year history.
In the City Planning report, Heritage Preservation Services’ Acting Manager Mary L. MacDonald said that while heritage staff are “disappointed that Ryerson has been unable to find a feasible way to restore the original iconic signs to their historic context, we are now satisfied that the University has given serious consideration to the matter, obtained expert advice and has developed a Commemorative Strategy that will include a vibrant reinterpretation of the iconic frontage in its original location.”
However, some others are not so quick to let Ryerson off the hook. A column in The Grid questions the strengths of the objections raised by the university, noting that aesthetic concerns raised by the architect could have been addressed if the sign had been incorporated into the design plans. Two City Councillors, Shelley Carroll and Josh Colle, have voiced concerns on Twitter.
The item will be considered by Toronto and East York Community Council on Tuesday, September 10th, and will be considered by City Council on October 8, 2013, subject to the actions of the Toronto and East York Community Council.
4479 wants to know: what do you think should be done to recognize the cultural heritage value of the Sam the Record Man sign? Should Ryerson be released from its commitment to refurbish and reinstall the sign? Does the sign belong in a museum or a public park? Add your voice – use our new Campaign tool and tweet using the hashtag #SaveSamsSign.
