Ryerson Alumni - Winter 2013 - (Page 44)

remember when? Photo CouRtesy of RyeRson univeRsity ARChives Ryerson community members enjoy Lake Devo, circa 1980. A campus revival RyeRson Community PARk And gloRious lAke devo CelebRAte 35th AnniveRsARy this yeAR by shiRley mooRe s the campus celebrates the opening of the Ryerson Image Centre and the pedestrian-friendly Gould Street, the area around Lake Devo becomes renewed once again. The well-known reflecting pool and skating rink, created as part of a wave of campus improvements in the late 1970s, celebrates its 35th birthday this year. At the time of Lake Devo’s creation, Ryerson wanted to create more of a “campus” feel. The plan was to create a park in the city that could be used by students and citizens alike. “I’m optimistic that this parkland development would be a major step in the creation of a more relaxed and inviting environment for the city centre and everyone involved with Ryerson,” said Walter Pitman, the president at the time. The official opening of Devonian Square (the area around Lake Devo) and 44 Ryerson University magazine • A Ryerson Community Park took place on Oct. 13, 1978 in front of the reflecting pool with about 200 people in attendance including Pitman and supporting donors. The entire project boasted several highlights including the landscaping of the campus Quad, a jogging track, hundreds of new trees around the campus, two tennis courts and the conversion of a parking lot into an outdoor “activity” area made up of the summer pool and artificial skating rink. The alumni magazine at the time, the Rambler, called Lake Devo the “most impressive feature of the plan.” Underneath the rink, workers placed eight miles of coolant pipe to carry ammonia to freeze the water. The impressive boulders, made up of 1,600 tons of granite rock, were brought in from the Canadian Shield near Bracebridge, Ont. There was to be a fountain in the Quad by the flagpole, but it proved to be too expensive. The park was created at a cost of $3 million and with support from the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations of Calgary, Wintario (through the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation), Simpsons-Sears and the City of Toronto. The Devonian Group, which had also given money for parks in Calgary and Edmonton, donated $1.36 million, Wintario gave $985,000, and the City and SimpsonsSears each gave $278,000. Hydro also donated $10,000 in labour and materials. Lake Devo has not only been the site of many pick-up hockey games, but has also starred in television. CBC’s well-loved Street Legal series filmed there in January 1990, the Canadian series My Secret Identity shot there in 1988, and an energy conservation commercial used the area as a backdrop in 1980. n WinteR 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ryerson Alumni - Winter 2013

Ryerson Alumni - Winter 2013
Table of Contents
President's Message
Showcase
Gould Street
Picture Perfect
Photo Essay
Feels Like Home
From the boardroom to the delivery room – midwife Jasmin Tecson follows her passion
Flying with the Snowbirds – Capt. Iain Cummings realizes lifelong dream
Alumni Diary/VP Viewpoint
Class Notes
Remember When?

Ryerson Alumni - Winter 2013