Foster's Daughter Ruby
Friday, June 4, 2010
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Foster Memorial
Uxbridge's 'Diamond of Durham' in the rough
CAROLA VYHNAK / TORSTAR NEWS SER
Uxbridge's 'Diamond of Durham' in the rough
UXBRIDGE -- Thomas Foster has been dead 65 years but the former Toronto mayor and philanthropist lives on through the almost $1 million he left to an eclectic mix of charities. But the $80,000 he left for upkeep on his memorial temple in Uxbridge vanished long ago, leaving taxpayers to foot the bills. Uxbridge councillor Beverly Northeast doesn't think the man once known as "watchdog of the treasury" would be pleased. January 2010
Map data ©2010 Google -
Foster Memorial builder would be 'very upset' taxpayers footing bill to maintain prized crypt
Jan 30, 2010 - 04:30 AM
UXBRIDGE -- Thomas Foster must be turning over in his crypt.
Taxpayers are footing the bills on his prized memorial temple, the Foster Memorial, on Regional Road 1 in Uxbridge. That wasn't what the former Toronto mayor and philanthropist intended 65 years ago, when he willed $80,000 for maintenance in perpetuity.
But 18 years ago, when the Canada Trust Company transferred the fund to the Township of Uxbridge, there was only $9,500 left.
The Township was told the rest had been eaten up by expenses such as hydro, caretaking, oil, income tax, legal fees and insurance, says Ingrid Svelnis, Uxbridge's chief administrative officer.
They didn't buy that, recalls councillor and Foster aficionado Bev Northeast.
"We felt we were being taken, to be honest with you."
Lawyers "went at each other" but the Township halted further legal action because it would take years and "the lawyers would get rich," says Coun. Northeast, founding member and secretary of the Foster Memorial Committee, which runs the 75-year-old building, used for concerts and weddings.
The bank provided no explanation to Torstar News Services for the money's disappearance, other than to say the terms of the trust allowed for expenses to be paid from the income and capital.
"We are confident in our administration of the trust over the course of 47 years and have every reason to believe the Township of Uxbridge and the court, having signed off on the transfer, were satisfied as well," Barbara Timmins, spokeswoman for TD Wealth Management, said in an e-mail.
"He would be very upset" about the dried-up account, Coun. Northeast says of the man known as Honest Tom, "watchdog of the treasury."
Mr. Foster, who was Toronto's mayor from 1925 to 1927, built the scaled-down version of the Taj Mahal, dubbed the "Diamond of Durham," as a final resting place for himself, his wife and daughter near his childhood home in Leaskdale. He died in 1945 at age 93.
The Township pays an annual $8,000 for upkeep on the Byzantine tomb and applies for government grants for larger expenses.
On a more positive note, Mr. Foster would be pleased to know children are still picnicking in Toronto's parks, his city is turning ever greener and a 14-metre Canadian-grown flagpole stands tall at Central Technical School on Harbord Street, all thanks to his far-sighted generosity.
Close to $1 million, or more than $12 million in today's terms, went to an eclectic mix of charities, ranging from cash gifts to charwomen and newsboys to $600,000 for cancer research.
Thirteen years later, lawyers were still studying his "astounding" will, which made provisions to feed the birds in winter, repair the Salvation Army's musical instruments and reward women who had the most children in 10 years.
But it's the enduring nature of a $100,000 donation to beautify Toronto with trees that thrills chief forester Richard Ubbens.
"He keeps contributing to the urban forestry of Toronto every year, and it's a neat thing," Mr. Ubbens says of the aid to the City's annual $5.5 million tree-planting budget.
In the face of rising costs, Mr. Foster's picnics for schoolchildren have been cut back to every second year. Funded from an original $100,000 donation and organized by the City and TD Waterhouse Private Trust, the free event attracts hundreds of kids to a different park each time.
Mr. Foster's legacy is thriving at the University of Toronto, where income from the $600,000 he left in trust has paid $925,000 to help 500 students, says Paul Cantin, spokesperson for the Faculty of Medicine.
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Saturday, January 2, 2010
July 24, 1852 – December 10, 1945)
was the Mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1925 to 1927.
Thomas Foster is reported to have been born in Vaughan road in the Dufferin Area of Toronto in 1852, the son of John Towst and Frances Foster, and grandson of Robert Foster and Mary Hodgson of Patrington Parish in the
Hull area of Yorkshire England.
His sister, Eliza was born in England. John’s brothers Edward and Robert, and sister, Harriet, and the mother of came to Canada and settled in the Leaskdale area of Scott Township Ontario County. Edward was a shoemaker, John T. and Robert were proprietors of the hotel at Leaskdale, and were farmers at different times. Harriet, a widow and the mother, lived with Robert and wife and family.
At fifteen years of age and in very modest circumstances, Tom went to Toronto to apprentice as a butcher in the Queen Street and Berkeley area. He worked as a drover, errand boy and butcher for three years, emerging as a well qualified butcher. A field near Berkeley Street served as a holding area for the stock which they killed and butchered themselves. He started his own business between Berkeley and Ontario Streets on Queen which became quite successful through hard work and honest dealings.
He bought his own shop and began investing his savings in real estate. After eighteen years in the business, he retired and went into municipal politics. He served first as a member for St. David’s riding in 1891, then as controller, later as a member to the Federal Government in Ottawa, and finally as Mayor of Toronto, 1925, 1926 and 1927. After his defeat in 1928, he quit politics to travel, and it was at this time that the idea of the Memorial was born.
After considerable travel, he returned to his home at 20 Victor Avenue aided by his Chinese servant.
His young daughter, Ruby died in 1904 at the age of 10, and his wife, Elizabeth McCauley, whom he married in 1893, died in 1920.
In the 1930’s Tom approached the Toronto architect firm of Craig and Madill with is plans for the Memorial. The plans were very ambitious for the sum of money proposed, $100,000. The structure ended up costing twice that amount. The fact that it was finished so reasonable and so elegantly was due to the ingenuity of the building contractor, Messrs. Witchall and Son, and the general foreman, Ted Griffith, with Dave Billson. Many of the special jobs were done by craftsmen brought in for the occasion.
Italian workers for the mosaics and terrazzo imported from Italy. Sometimes for a weekend, jobs, such as the gold lettering were done because other jobs were being held down. This was depression time,and jobs and commissions were scarce. It was the originality of the project which attracted contractors. Local people benefited by jobs, billeting workers at $1.00 per day – three meals and lodging as well as supplying services.
The project took three seasons to complete. The corner stone was laid in the fall of 1935 with ceremony, and the dedication took place in October, 1936.
Thomas Foster died a millionaire in 1945 at the age of 93. Many stories are told of his frugality – often repairs to his real estate buildings were done by himSELF.
In his will, as well as bequests to relatives, he provided for a large number of philanthropic gifts, which included:
-$3,500 restoration of the Mohawk Chapel near Brantford, built in the reign of George III;
-$12.000 for reconditioning of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Niagara on the Lake
-$3000 gifts to the charwomen in the buildings in downtown Toronto:
-$1000 in 10 equal amounts to each newsboys in business in Toronto.
-$500 to the LOL True Blue and Orange Home
-$500 to Catholic Children’s Aid Society of St. Vincent De Paul. Teron.
-annual picnics for underprivileged children:
-$3,500.00 a 45 foot flag pole, on a marble base, for Central Technical School.
During his lifetime he donated the flag pole that stands outside City Hall
-$500.00 for the Salvation Army to maintain & repair their instruments;
-$600,000 for Cancer Research at the University of Toronto;
-$100,000 to plant trees to beautify the approaches to the City of Toronto;
-Prize money for students at Leaskdale Sunday School,
-$5000, to feed wild birds around the city during the winter months.
-$15,000 will go toward the conservation of wild animals and game fish.
-$80,000 for the maintenance of the Thomas Foster Memorial
-$25,000 to fund the maintenance of Thomas Foster wards in Toronto Hospital for consumptives.
-$5000, for Northern Ontario mission station of the United Church
-$5000 for an Anglican Mission for Eskimos.
-$1000 to provide the Royal Canadian Humane Assoc with medals for recognition for saving human life.
-$10,000 for a fund to provide motor drives, motion picture machines, radios and other entertainment for patients at the Toronto Hospital for Incurables.
-$5000 to be divided among 10 patients of the Toronto Hospital for Incurables who have no other sources of income, to be spent as they say, in their own absolute discretion.
-$15,000 for a trust to establish Thomas Foster Scholarships for public school children and prizes t be presented by the Mayor and Chief inspector of the Public Schools
-$1000 for a fund to provide prizes for attendance and memorizing of Scriptures in the Bible Classes of Knox Presbyterian Church, Spadina Ave. Toronto
-$2000 to the Jack Miner Migratory Bird fund
-$500 to the Toronto Humane Society
-$5000 to provide the Elizabeth McCauley Foster and Ruby Foster Scholarships, in memory of his wife and daughter in domestic science or household economics in the vocational or technical schools in Toronto.
As I approve of large families as such and desire to extend some benefit to the mothers of such families, I direct my trustees to set aside a fund which, with interest, will provide the sum of $2,500 at the end of each of 4 – 10 year periods, the first commencing at my death, the second three years after my death, the third six years after my death and the fourth nine years after my death, the will reads:
The money is to be distributed among mothers living in Toronto for at least one year prior to the start of each period, who have given birth “in lawful wedlock to the children during the 10-year period in question.” The mother giving birth to the largest number of children is t receive $1,250. Second prize is $800 and third prize is $450 in each of the four periods.
Thomas Foster and His Memorial
by Douglas Blanchard:
The children’s picnic that Thomas Foster left provisions for in his will is called
“Thomas Foster Day in Toronto”
“Five thousand children enjoyed a super picnic in the Exhibition Grounds. But what has spread his fame all around the world it the Thomas Foster Memorial Temple north of Uxbridge.
Believe it or not, there’s nothing like it anywhere, with the exception of the Taj Mahal in India”.
“Last time I paid the Temple a visit was when it was dedicated, about seven years ago. The local bigwigs here hadn’t quite caught on to the significance of the occasion. There were plenty of sly jokes about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on your own tomb and dedicating it before you died”.
“Yesterday I drove up to have another look, and now I know that wise old Tom has the last laugh. He knew what he was doing. The beautiful shrine that dominates the landscape for miles has drawn visitors from every part of the world. The registration book gets filled up so fast it has to be changed several times a year. If this building were on a main highway it would be one of the biggest tourist drawing cards in Canada”.
Thomas Foster
His sister, Eliza was born in England. John’s brothers Edward and Robert, and sister, Harriet, and the mother of came to Canada and settled in the Leaskdale area of Scott Township Ontario County. Edward was a shoemaker, John T. and Robert were proprietors of the hotel at Leaskdale, and were farmers at different times. Harriet, a widow and the mother, lived with Robert and wife and family.
At fifteen years of age and in very modest circumstances, Tom went to Toronto to apprentice as a butcher in the Queen Street and Berkeley area. He worked as a drover, errand boy and butcher for three years, emerging as a well qualified butcher. A field near Berkeley Street served as a holding area for the stock which they killed and butchered themselves. He started his own business between Berkeley and Ontario Streets on Queen which became quite successful through hard work and honest dealings.
He bought his own shop and began investing his savings in real estate. After eighteen years in the business, he retired and went into municipal politics. He served first as a member for St. David’s riding in 1891, then as controller, later as a member to the Federal Government in Ottawa, and finally as Mayor of Toronto, 1925, 1926 and 1927. After his defeat in 1928, he quit politics to travel, and it was at this time that the idea of the Memorial was born.
After considerable travel, he returned to his home at 20 Victor Avenue aided by his Chinese servant.
His young daughter, Ruby died in 1904 at the age of 10, and his wife, Elizabeth McCauley, whom he married in 1893, died in 1920.
In the 1930’s Tom approached the Toronto architect firm of Craig and Madill with is plans for the Memorial. The plans were very ambitious for the sum of money proposed, $100,000. The structure ended up costing twice that amount. The fact that it was finished so reasonable and so elegantly was due to the ingenuity of the building contractor, Messrs. Witchall and Son, and the general foreman, Ted Griffith, with Dave Billson. Many of the special jobs were done by craftsmen brought in for the occasion.
Italian workers for the mosaics and terrazzo imported from Italy. Sometimes for a weekend, jobs, such as the gold lettering were done because other jobs were being held down. This was depression time,and jobs and commissions were scarce. It was the originality of the project which attracted contractors. Local people benefited by jobs, billeting workers at $1.00 per day – three meals and lodging as well as supplying services.
The project took three seasons to complete. The corner stone was laid in the fall of 1935 with ceremony, and the dedication took place in October, 1936.
Thomas Foster died a millionaire in 1945 at the age of 93. Many stories are told of his frugality – often repairs to his real estate buildings were done by himSELF.
In his will, as well as bequests to relatives, he provided for a large number of philanthropic gifts, which included:
-$3,500 restoration of the Mohawk Chapel near Brantford, built in the reign of George III;
-$12.000 for reconditioning of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Niagara on the Lake
-$3000 gifts to the charwomen in the buildings in downtown Toronto:
-$1000 in 10 equal amounts to each newsboys in business in Toronto.
-$500 to the LOL True Blue and Orange Home
-$500 to Catholic Children’s Aid Society of St. Vincent De Paul. Teron.
-annual picnics for underprivileged children:
-$3,500.00 a 45 foot flag pole, on a marble base, for Central Technical School.
During his lifetime he donated the flag pole that stands outside City Hall
-$500.00 for the Salvation Army to maintain & repair their instruments;
-$600,000 for Cancer Research at the University of Toronto;
-$100,000 to plant trees to beautify the approaches to the City of Toronto;
-Prize money for students at Leaskdale Sunday School,
-$5000, to feed wild birds around the city during the winter months.
-$15,000 will go toward the conservation of wild animals and game fish.
-$80,000 for the maintenance of the Thomas Foster Memorial
-$25,000 to fund the maintenance of Thomas Foster wards in Toronto Hospital for consumptives.
-$5000, for Northern Ontario mission station of the United Church
-$5000 for an Anglican Mission for Eskimos.
-$1000 to provide the Royal Canadian Humane Assoc with medals for recognition for saving human life.
-$10,000 for a fund to provide motor drives, motion picture machines, radios and other entertainment for patients at the Toronto Hospital for Incurables.
-$5000 to be divided among 10 patients of the Toronto Hospital for Incurables who have no other sources of income, to be spent as they say, in their own absolute discretion.
-$15,000 for a trust to establish Thomas Foster Scholarships for public school children and prizes t be presented by the Mayor and Chief inspector of the Public Schools
-$1000 for a fund to provide prizes for attendance and memorizing of Scriptures in the Bible Classes of Knox Presbyterian Church, Spadina Ave. Toronto
-$2000 to the Jack Miner Migratory Bird fund
-$500 to the Toronto Humane Society
-$5000 to provide the Elizabeth McCauley Foster and Ruby Foster Scholarships, in memory of his wife and daughter in domestic science or household economics in the vocational or technical schools in Toronto.
As I approve of large families as such and desire to extend some benefit to the mothers of such families, I direct my trustees to set aside a fund which, with interest, will provide the sum of $2,500 at the end of each of 4 – 10 year periods, the first commencing at my death, the second three years after my death, the third six years after my death and the fourth nine years after my death, the will reads:
The money is to be distributed among mothers living in Toronto for at least one year prior to the start of each period, who have given birth “in lawful wedlock to the children during the 10-year period in question.” The mother giving birth to the largest number of children is t receive $1,250. Second prize is $800 and third prize is $450 in each of the four periods.
Thomas Foster and His Memorial
by Douglas Blanchard:
The children’s picnic that Thomas Foster left provisions for in his will is called
“Thomas Foster Day in Toronto”
“Five thousand children enjoyed a super picnic in the Exhibition Grounds. But what has spread his fame all around the world it the Thomas Foster Memorial Temple north of Uxbridge.
Believe it or not, there’s nothing like it anywhere, with the exception of the Taj Mahal in India”.
“Last time I paid the Temple a visit was when it was dedicated, about seven years ago. The local bigwigs here hadn’t quite caught on to the significance of the occasion. There were plenty of sly jokes about spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on your own tomb and dedicating it before you died”.
“Yesterday I drove up to have another look, and now I know that wise old Tom has the last laugh. He knew what he was doing. The beautiful shrine that dominates the landscape for miles has drawn visitors from every part of the world. The registration book gets filled up so fast it has to be changed several times a year. If this building were on a main highway it would be one of the biggest tourist drawing cards in Canada”.
Thomas Foster
The dedication ceremony of the Memorial was held Sunday, October 25, 1936 at 3 p.m.
There were a number of speakers who contributed to the service. Thomas Foster gave the keynote address. He spoke of his daughter Ruby and his wife Elizabeth. He also spoke of his life experience, his transitory journey on this planet and his success.
He told the gathering present that
"success is determined, not by financial worth, but rather if the world became a better place because that person passed through it."
The ceremony closed with all present singing the Hymn "Abide With Me."
The Thomas Foster Memorial Temple
Situated on a hill in rolling countryside, five to six kilometers north of Uxbridge, the Thomas Foster Memorial is easily visible from the west, south and east. Both its position and unique design command one's atten&hy;tion. It's structure was inspired by the Taj Mahal which is just outside of Agra, India. The Emperor Shah Jehen built the latter temple in 1650 as a burial place for his favorite wife. It is the greatest masterpiece of Indian architecture.
Thomas Foster went to the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill with the proposal to build a similar structure for the resting place of his wife, his daughter Ruby, and himself. At the same time, it was to be used by the community for burials. A removable slab in the floor would allow for coffins to be lowered to crypts below for storage. This structure was to cost $100,000, and was to be placed next to the small cemetery where his ancestors were buried. By the time the building was completed, it had cost Foster twice as much as the original estimate of the architects.
The Eastern architecture, -and the worship of pagan gods, did not lend itself to this area, so the early Christian Church of the Byzantine influence was chosen instead. The dome, resting on four pendentives or supports bet&hy;ween arches, and this period displayed more embellishments. Thus, the Foster Memorial is a totally unique and original structure.
The broad, octagonal, terraced base on which the building rests, is 87 feet in width and 92 feet in length. (The structure itself is 55 feet in width and 60 feet in length.) It builds up by stages of vertical wall, semi-dome drum, and a great central dome to the gilded finial. The perfect form of architecture, that of the pyramid, was the fundamental motif for the design. From the ground below the terrace to top of the finial on the cen&hy;tral dome is a height of sixty feet, and the inside diameter of the dome is twenty-three feet.
The masonry of variegated Indiana limestone is enriched with carving at the windows and cornice lines. The design builds up with just enough emphasis from wall to roof to mark the change in materials. The thrust of the four great internal arches below the central dome is carried on piers at the four corners. These piers are weighted by carved stone finials sur&hy;mounted with brass caps. The transepts and apse are three-sided without and semi-circular within.
Facing the west, and providing the entrance motif, the portico, resting upon three arches, supported by monolithic columns, is enriched with in&hy;cised carving.
Weighted buttresses capped with bronze reinforce the flanks of the portico. The roof surfaces are of copper tile, chemically treated to produce a permanent green surface. The entrance doors, window tracery, and all metal parts are of bronze
The windows, the work of Yvonne Williams, are of hand-painted, fired and leaded glass, the colours and designs are harmonious, and are distributed so as to flood the interior with soft, col&hy;ourful light.
The floors are of rich-coloured terrazzo and marble mosaics, wrought in symbolic designs. On entering, one crosses the River of Death, on which floats water lilies and lily pads. The motion that underlies the work of the Creator is suggested in the general design of the floor beneath the great dome. This motion, typifying life, radiates from the Greek letters, "Alpha and Omega", which in turn flank the "Chi Rho" monogram in its early Byzantine form. The laurel wreath of victory over death encircles the central motif.
Under each of the four great arches, a marble screen with balustrades separates the crossing from transepts, apse and nave. Sixteen marble col&hy;umns, four to each screen supporting three arches with pierced marble tympanum above, are features of the interior. The columns are in vari&hy;coloured Italian marbles with carved Devon stone capitals and desserets. Each capital differs from its neighbours and is carved with the heraldic symbol of one of the saints or apostles. The marble altar in the east is ap&hy;proached from the raised apse by three travertine steps. The high marble reredos emblazoned with gold cross and I.H.S. monograms, is a departure from the canopied altar of the early church, but more in keeping with the scale of this structure and the present day form of Christian service. The pulpit is of Rocherons marble with an incised carved frieze and inlay of gold mosaic.
The southern transept contains three family sarcophagi. Above each sarcophagus is a memorial window bearing a modest memorial shield. The crypt contains six compartments for winter burials.
A dado of Bois-Jourdain gray marble shot with red, and inlaid with gold mosaic surrounds the interior. The same marble is used in window reveals and surrounds. The pedantries under the dome, the soffits and returns of the great arches, are in glass mosaics, in conventional floral and geometric designs in harmonious and brilliant colours. The acoustical ceiling is of azure blue.
Above, the drum of the dome is pierced with twelve stained glass, leaded windows, that in the east being in the form of a gold cross on a rich blue ground. Circling the lower part of the dome, above the great ar&hy;ches in gold lettering on a field of graded blue mosaic, is the inscription: "Take this my body for it is done and I have gained a new life, glorious and eternal".
The Foster Memorial Mausoleum is open to the public on the first and third Sunday from June to September, in the afternoon
There were a number of speakers who contributed to the service. Thomas Foster gave the keynote address. He spoke of his daughter Ruby and his wife Elizabeth. He also spoke of his life experience, his transitory journey on this planet and his success.
He told the gathering present that
"success is determined, not by financial worth, but rather if the world became a better place because that person passed through it."
The ceremony closed with all present singing the Hymn "Abide With Me."
The Thomas Foster Memorial Temple
Situated on a hill in rolling countryside, five to six kilometers north of Uxbridge, the Thomas Foster Memorial is easily visible from the west, south and east. Both its position and unique design command one's atten&hy;tion. It's structure was inspired by the Taj Mahal which is just outside of Agra, India. The Emperor Shah Jehen built the latter temple in 1650 as a burial place for his favorite wife. It is the greatest masterpiece of Indian architecture.
Thomas Foster went to the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill with the proposal to build a similar structure for the resting place of his wife, his daughter Ruby, and himself. At the same time, it was to be used by the community for burials. A removable slab in the floor would allow for coffins to be lowered to crypts below for storage. This structure was to cost $100,000, and was to be placed next to the small cemetery where his ancestors were buried. By the time the building was completed, it had cost Foster twice as much as the original estimate of the architects.
The Eastern architecture, -and the worship of pagan gods, did not lend itself to this area, so the early Christian Church of the Byzantine influence was chosen instead. The dome, resting on four pendentives or supports bet&hy;ween arches, and this period displayed more embellishments. Thus, the Foster Memorial is a totally unique and original structure.
The broad, octagonal, terraced base on which the building rests, is 87 feet in width and 92 feet in length. (The structure itself is 55 feet in width and 60 feet in length.) It builds up by stages of vertical wall, semi-dome drum, and a great central dome to the gilded finial. The perfect form of architecture, that of the pyramid, was the fundamental motif for the design. From the ground below the terrace to top of the finial on the cen&hy;tral dome is a height of sixty feet, and the inside diameter of the dome is twenty-three feet.
The masonry of variegated Indiana limestone is enriched with carving at the windows and cornice lines. The design builds up with just enough emphasis from wall to roof to mark the change in materials. The thrust of the four great internal arches below the central dome is carried on piers at the four corners. These piers are weighted by carved stone finials sur&hy;mounted with brass caps. The transepts and apse are three-sided without and semi-circular within.
Facing the west, and providing the entrance motif, the portico, resting upon three arches, supported by monolithic columns, is enriched with in&hy;cised carving.
Weighted buttresses capped with bronze reinforce the flanks of the portico. The roof surfaces are of copper tile, chemically treated to produce a permanent green surface. The entrance doors, window tracery, and all metal parts are of bronze
The windows, the work of Yvonne Williams, are of hand-painted, fired and leaded glass, the colours and designs are harmonious, and are distributed so as to flood the interior with soft, col&hy;ourful light.
The floors are of rich-coloured terrazzo and marble mosaics, wrought in symbolic designs. On entering, one crosses the River of Death, on which floats water lilies and lily pads. The motion that underlies the work of the Creator is suggested in the general design of the floor beneath the great dome. This motion, typifying life, radiates from the Greek letters, "Alpha and Omega", which in turn flank the "Chi Rho" monogram in its early Byzantine form. The laurel wreath of victory over death encircles the central motif.
Under each of the four great arches, a marble screen with balustrades separates the crossing from transepts, apse and nave. Sixteen marble col&hy;umns, four to each screen supporting three arches with pierced marble tympanum above, are features of the interior. The columns are in vari&hy;coloured Italian marbles with carved Devon stone capitals and desserets. Each capital differs from its neighbours and is carved with the heraldic symbol of one of the saints or apostles. The marble altar in the east is ap&hy;proached from the raised apse by three travertine steps. The high marble reredos emblazoned with gold cross and I.H.S. monograms, is a departure from the canopied altar of the early church, but more in keeping with the scale of this structure and the present day form of Christian service. The pulpit is of Rocherons marble with an incised carved frieze and inlay of gold mosaic.
The southern transept contains three family sarcophagi. Above each sarcophagus is a memorial window bearing a modest memorial shield. The crypt contains six compartments for winter burials.
A dado of Bois-Jourdain gray marble shot with red, and inlaid with gold mosaic surrounds the interior. The same marble is used in window reveals and surrounds. The pedantries under the dome, the soffits and returns of the great arches, are in glass mosaics, in conventional floral and geometric designs in harmonious and brilliant colours. The acoustical ceiling is of azure blue.
Above, the drum of the dome is pierced with twelve stained glass, leaded windows, that in the east being in the form of a gold cross on a rich blue ground. Circling the lower part of the dome, above the great ar&hy;ches in gold lettering on a field of graded blue mosaic, is the inscription: "Take this my body for it is done and I have gained a new life, glorious and eternal".
The Foster Memorial Mausoleum is open to the public on the first and third Sunday from June to September, in the afternoon
The Canadian Portrait Academy is pleased to announce that Christian Cardell Corbet’s bronze medallion titled: “Honest Tom – Mayor Thomas Foster” has been acquired by the City of Toronto Historical Collection.
The medallion, as seen here, depicts one of Toronto, Ontario’s most famous Mayors of the last century.
Please help us congratulate Mr. Corbet on this his 58 important collection to be added to his already most impressive CV.
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