Published in the Peterborough Examiner 01/16/2016
In his recent autobiography, Buildings, Cities, Life (2012) Eb Zeidler mentioned that some of his European friends who had been reading accounts of the Peterborough Memorial Centre wondered how a small Canadian city of 60,000 could afford an “ice palace.” He responded by asking how similar sized European cities “could afford an opera house.” (83) This was Zeidler’s first big project and he is proud that it is still standing half a century later.
History had left the Peterborough Exhibition tied to the Morrow Trust and to the City of Peterborough. The land given by the Morrows in 1938 turned out to be compromised by the experience of World War II. The Exhibition did not have any clear rights. The Morrow Trust had collected the rent and the army had used the grounds for purposes other than an agricultural or industrial exhibition. City politicians wanted control of the park, which was at a major crossroads of Lansdowne and George.
The million-dollar Memorial Centre, in Morrow Park, designed by the firm of Blackwell, Craig and Zeidler, and built by Eastwood Construction was officially opened by Governor-General Vincent Massey in December 1956. The idea of a combination agricultural exhibit building and sports complex had been raised as early as 1938, and W. R. L. Blackwell was retained as the architect in 1939.
The Brock Street Arena was converted to a dance hall in 1942 and Peterborough was without a covered arena until the Civic Arena was built on Park Street in 1948. Meanwhile the teams played home games in Omemee, Lakefield and Lindsay.
Fundraising occurred during the war, and people such as Frank Buckland, later president of the Ontario Hockey League, pressed the need for a covered arena for a junior hockey team. In 1944 voters approved a $75,000 subscription to the Memorial Centre, to which citizens had already subscribed $310,000.
When Peterborough buzzed with suggestions for a new arena dedicated to the memory of those who died in World War II, Morrow Park proved to be the most popular site. Once again, it was discovered that the trust deed was more flexible than first imagined. The Memorial Centre Committee wanted the new arena on city property so the City asked the Peterborough Industrial Exhibition Board to relinquish any claims that it might have. In 1947, the board agreed to this “unconditional surrender” provided the city guaranteed that the agricultural society could set the standards and operate agricultural fairs and all other shows of an agricultural nature.
In 1951, the issue warmed up again, when the city sought to expropriate a lot 240 feet by 300 feet for the Memorial Centre. The agricultural society board requested representation on the Memorial Centre board.
Architect J. Craig’s plot plan envisaged a lot 460 feet by 210 feet; the board objected to this somewhat larger lot and proposed limiting the lot to the size of the building plus 20 feet on all sides; 40 feet at the front, on Lansdowne. Also, it expected the Memorial Centre Committee to pay the costs of moving the Arts building, the cattle barns and other buildings displaced by the new arena. As the Department of Agriculture was committed to the project, the agricultural uses for the arena were important. Representatives of the trust, the society and the centre agreed to a lot bounded on the south by the natural boundary of park lot 19. The Peterborough Agricultural Society paid $100,000 toward its construction; this money came from federal and provincial grants for which the society had been eligible and applied.
In exchange, the exhibition board was given free space for a secretarial office and a board room, a member on the Memorial Centre management committee, and free use of the Memorial Centre during the exhibition and 15 other days. The exhibition board also received the revenue from the supervised parking lot. The Memorial Centre proved a fine addition to the exhibition grounds.
Eb Zeidler was drawn into the Memorial Centre project while still with Timber Structures. He had designed churches, the Marmora Public School and Adam Scott Collegiate, and was now set to undertake his largest project in Peterborough.
Zeidler’s earliest drawing on the Memorial Centre is in the firm’s archives at the Archives of Ontario, and I was surprised to see a circular building occupying a square lot. Zeidler said he designed “an elegant glulam structure with sweeping arches.” As he says in his autobiography, “The promoters originally wanted to build a first-class hockey rink where the national teams could play.” The city now wanted more than a hockey rink. “Perhaps, it should also be able to sponsor exhibitions and other events as well as theatrical performances, the symphony and even visiting opera companies.” They seemed to want a building that could hold 16,000 spectators; the Memorial Centre currently has seating for 4,000.
The architects undertook research to find out what worked and what did not work in other arenas. At Maple Leaf Gardens, they learned that the concrete slab had heaved because of the permafrost and it was difficult to have a level ice surface. They quickly concluded that glulam arches would not work because of the large distance that had to be covered; steel was needed for the large spans.
The building needed dignity if it were to be used for symphonies and operas, but it also had to be a “pleasure to use for other purposes.” (78) Space for concessions was very important, as their research showed that other arenas received nearly 40% of their revenue from concessions.
Zeidler’s team invented a new ice sub-surface to counter frost causing the movement of the foundations. “we put the concrete slab on short concrete block walls and circulated our interior air under it before exhausting it to the outside.” As well, they invented ways to remove ice in six hours so the space could be converted from hockey rink to exhibition space overnight.
These and many other considerations were tackled, and the plans were approved by the Memorial Centre Committee. There were several public meetings to discuss the details.
Building on the work of many committees, including the building committee chaired by Ross L. Dobbin, the municipal referendum on the concept plan authorizing the construction of the $550,000 Memorial Centre was passed in December 1954. Zeidler said, “We won.”
The city sought provincial legislation to put the Memorial Centre on the north-east corner of Morrow Park with sufficient land for the building, future additions, and parking. The exhibition board debated whether the building should face Lansdowne or the extension of George Street, but left that decision to the city’s site committee. The Ontario legislature passed the Memorial Centre Act in 1955. Among other things, the Act said that the Morrow Trust was able to convey land to the city to be managed by the Memorial Centre Committee.
Zeidler felt that the construction went smoothly and the problems were resolved as they arose. Zeidler returned to make alterations in 1959 and 1960. The Zeidler firm also designed the Peterborough Agricultural Society offices just west of the George Street extension. There have been other changes made over the years, and in 2003 the city committed to a major overhaul that was funded to 2023.
In the opening game, November 8, 1956, the Peterborough Petes defeated St. Catharines in overtime. Cec Perdue reported the moment in the Peterborough Examiner: “Hamilton potting the puck in the hemp with a fine finish, in close, after a neat piece of going in combination with Black and Babcock.”
The building remains a venerable landmark on Lansdowne, one of only two streets that crosses the width of the city. The distinctive projection over the main entrance gives a sense of presence. The Memorial Centre has been used for the annual exhibitions of the last 50 years, but it proved too cavernous. The interior has been softened with the huge Bierk portrait of the Queen, and banners celebrating major successes of the hockey and lacrosse teams. The research done by Zeidler and Craig and their team stood up well.
Visitors, sometimes complaining about inconveniences within the building, always seem impressed by the building which is as old as the Peterborough Petes who have been its main tenants. Some think it is typical of old-time arenas, but this is one of Peterborough’s outstanding 1950s examples of modern architecture.