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Toronto's Campbell House Museum, on an icy February afternoon
Toronto's Campbell House Museum, on an icy February afternoon

Campbell House Museum

In 1972, the Campbell House (Museum), built in 1822, was moved to University & Queen from its original location 1.5 km southeast at Adelaide & Jarvis. Yesterday, during my visit, I happened to meet a woman who said she’d witnessed this extraordinary event. What a sight it must have been!

The Toronto Public Library catalogue’s caption of the remarkable image below (by photographer Doug Griffin, courtesy Toronto Public Library under a Toronto Star License) notes that:

Hundreds of persons marched with the house along its one-mile route. Traffic lights and signs were taken down; manholes had to be shored up.
Moving Campbell House on March 1, 1972, on giant dollies, into its new location on University Avenue
Moving Campbell House on March 1, 1972, on giant dollies, into its new location on University Avenue

To my delight, there’s a 13-minute behind-the-scenes film of the move, called “The Campbell is Coming,” which Toronto historian Richard Fiennes-Clinton has shared on his YouTube channel.

The engineering, the project management … and the streetscapes (with abundant surface parking lots), the cars, the voices, the clothes (the hats!)! What a time capsule. Almost like being there. Marvellous.

Campbell House Museum is museum no. 10 in my #100museums challenge (see 100 Museums Challenge).