St. Lawrence Hall cupola bells may ring again

Dennis Hanagan —

There’s hope the bell in the St. Lawrence Hall cupola on King Street, which hasn’t rung for decades, could ring again, maybe in time to celebrate Canada’s 150^th birthday in 2017.

David Crawford with the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association told the Feb. 29 SEDNA (South East DowntownNeighbourhood Association) meeting at St. James Cathedral Centre that the bell has not rung since long before 1967.

The city wants to fix the cupola, “but until it’s repaired the bell cannot ring,” Crawford told the meeting. “At the minimum I would like the bell to ring for special occasions,” he said.

St. Lawrence Hall and its cupola is a national historic site. It was built by the City of Toronto in 1850 to offer an elegant meeting place for Toronto’s 19^th-century elite.

SEDNA’s business and resident members were urged to contact city hall—and Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell whose ward includes the St. Lawrence neighbourhood—to ask that the bell be made functional again.

The meeting also heard from wheelchair-bound Luke Anderson of the StopGap Foundation who spoke about the need for businesses to use ramps so disabled patrons can enter their shops and restaurants.

“The root of all this is our human rights to equal access,” Anderson told the meeting.

The meeting heard the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood Business Improvement Area (BIA) is holding a community cleanup of St. James Park on April 23.