Illustrated Guide to Hockey Sites and History: Toronto.

Ian A. Andrews is a high-school social sciences teacher and editor of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association’s Focus.

Early in this decade Heritage Canada, through Parks Canada, established the Historic Places Initiative designed to make sure all appropriate sites were included in the Canadian Register of Historic Places. The proclamation stated: “Historic places connect us to our past, to our future, and to each other.” The document entitled Towards a New Act Protecting Canada’s Historic Places emphasized that “what Canada’s historic places require…is commitment by Canadians to protect and value them.” Although Steven Sandor was not in a position to protect all hockey sites in Toronto, his guide certainly values their contributions to the hockey heritage of Canada’s largest city.

Sandor deplores a lack of public will to protect buildings significant to Canada’s national sport: “When it comes to our great sporting arenas, we are not very kind. We slap historical-site designations upon churches, famous houses, architecturally significant buildings. But, considering how large a role hockey has played in defining what it truly means to be Canadian, it’s galling to think that so many of our great rinks have gone.” This small guide pays homage to the Granite Club and Ravina Gardens, as well as Maple Leaf Gardens, and the relatively new Air Canada Centre. It features Varsity Arena—the home of the U of T Blues—and St. Michael’s College Arena, as well as the Lakeshore Lions Arena in Etobicoke and the Ricoh Coliseum at the Exhibition Place. Some remain standing; many have been torn down or reconfigured.

Anecdotes about construction and renovation, stories about the tenants who used the structures, and a history of each neighbourhood’s distinctive ethnic and class background provide both ambiance and context. Simplified maps with detailed instructions on how to reach each location are included. Sandor’s guide could serve as a template that could be used by all major hockey centres in Canada, and in international locales as well.