September 18th, 2013
“When I first moved to Toronto in the early sixties, the Sam’s sign was like a beacon for someone coming from a small Ontario town where record stores were non-existent, where I had to go to Detroit to buy my very first single, Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and the only folk music I could listen to was on once a week on CBC radio with Alan Mills.
Sam stocked and kept even the most obscure recordings and his remainder bins were famous not just in Toronto, but with musicians from everywhere who made Sam the Record Man a prime destination whenever they played in town. I still have LPs I bought back then and am gradually transferring them to digital so that I can reacquaint myself with old favorites, scratches and all. Sam himself was a constant presence, getting to know all of us and encouraging us to come back and hang out. He loved music and musicians and even his staff were music aficionados who could quickly locate any record you wanted.
The Sam’s sign is as much a piece of Toronto history as any historical building and has deep significance to musicians and music fans alike. We have lost too many iconic Toronto symbols. The old Pilot Tavern sign comes to mind. Let’s not lose another.”
– Sylvia Tyson
Use our campaign tool to stand up for Toronto’s cultural heritage by emailing your city councillor and urging a solution that will ensure the sign is properly restored, maintained and mounted so that it can be enjoyed by the public.
September 17th, 2013
“The giant neon spinning discs are a reminder of the huge role that Sam Sniderman and his store played in the cultural life of Toronto and I believe they should be preserved and remounted in the interests of our city’s heritage.” – Gordon Lightfoot
Use our campaign tool to stand up for Toronto’s cultural heritage by emailing your city councillor and urging a solution that will ensure the sign is properly restored, maintained and mounted so that it can be enjoyed by the public.
September 16th, 2013
On Wednesday September 9, 2013 Henry Gooderham, the owner of 17 Noble Street and Noble Street Studios received one of the Toronto Urban Design Awards for 2012-2013. Along with the architects, Athos Zaghi and Robert Kastelic (AKB) the building design team won an Award Of Excellence in the Private Buildings In Context – Low Scale category.
All of the project team members are justifiably mentioned in this award:
- Athos Zaghi Architects in association with Atelier Kastelic Buffey -Architects.
- Group One Acoustics – Acoustician
- Gardens In The Sky / Flynn – Landscape
- Weinstein, Taylor and Associates – Electrical Engineer
- L J White & Associates – Mechanical Engineer
- M G Pacoe & Associates Ltd. – Structural Engineer
- Radiant Sound – Project Manager
The jury called it a “positive precedent for an urban area transitioning from its industrial past”. They also appreciated that this is a new and significant green component in “maintaining a landscape courtyard” with it’s living wall “that acts as both gathering space and parking”.
Being that the building was actually built for a recording studio it is unique and very specialized. The jury comments spoke to a lot of the principles and ideas the design team agreed on, such as a unique but friendly presentation and the scale of the building, utilizing “industrial materials (that) speak to the past use of the site; the introduction of landscape and green roof (speaking) to the change in use and changing attitudes”.
“We tried to build a creative and positive environment to inspire the musicians who record here and make it easy for them to enjoy their time in and around the studio,” says Gooderham. “It is an honour to be recognized for something we all worked so hard to achieve. This biennial award is the equivalent of a Juno for Toronto Urban designers.”
September 13th, 2013
Earlier this week, the Toronto and East York Community Council considered proposed amendments to agreements between Ryerson University and the City of Toronto regarding the Sam the Record Man signage. Council voted 7-4 to support an amendment moved by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, which recommends that Toronto City Council allow Ryerson to be released from the 2008 agreement and secure the restoration and installation of the neon sign in an alternative location satisfactory to the Chief Planner. The motion requests the Chief Planner report back to the Toronto and East York Community Council within one year on Ryerson’s attempt to find a new location for the signage.
4479 had launched an email campaign to city councillors urging them to find a solution that would ensure the sign is properly restored, maintained and mounted. We were disappointed that Ryerson was unable to find a feasible way to remount the original iconic signs in their historic context but we are optimistic the signs can be restored and displayed in a way that recognizes their significant historic and cultural value.
Prior to the council vote, Music Canada wrote a letter to Mayor Rob Ford and Councillor Paula Fletcher about the sign, stating that if an alternate location must be found for the restored sign, the Toronto music community would be pleased to help identify an appropriate choice. Similarly, 4479 would welcome the opportunity to collaborate on ways the sign could be used to further our campaign to position Toronto as one of the greatest music cities in the world.
Toronto Council will have final consideration on the item on October 8th, 2013.
We want to know: where do you think the Sam the Record Man sign should end up? Let us know in our new campaign:
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.
