A hidden gem in downtown T.O.
What: University of Toronto Students Union building, aka Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory.
Where: 12 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto
Claim to fame: Birthplace of Canadian astronomy and the country’s oldest scientific institution took part in an important discovery on the effects of sunspots on the earth’s weather also involved in the development of standard time.
Early history: Constructed in 1855, was one of three observatories established by the British government in the Commonwealth to study magnetic fields served as Canada’s primary meteorological station and official time keeper until 1905. The building was outfitted with a telescope in 1881 as part of an international effort to record the 1882 Transit of Venus, but bad weather got in the way of the observatory’s involvement in that project.
The building: Abandoned by 1907 when surrounding construction of the fast-growing U of T campus clogged meteorological instruments with dust. And electricity from nearby College trams messed with accuracy of the equipment.
The telescope: Donated in 1984 to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The building was renamed the Louis Beaufort Stewart Observatory around the same time after the university lecturer who successfully fought to save the observatory from demolition. It was moved from its original home in front of Convocation Hall to its current location and has been home to the Students Union since 1953.
Distinguishing features: Venetian architecture memorial on the back wall – Broken Bicycle Tiananmen Square by Gu Xiu Hei, to the students who died in the 1989 student uprising in China pumpkin dome.[rssbreak]
