Yesterday evening was the opening reception for our second installation of Building Storeys at the Gladstone Hotel. The air was abuzz with anticipation even before the doors were open to the public as the the staff of Heritage Toronto readied the 2nd floor for the evening's festivities, while the photographers looked to the finishing touches on the 3rd and 4th floor galleries. Photos were straightened, labels were checked, artist bios were put out - all in time for guests to arrive.

By 7pm, the main reception hall was filling up with familiar faces from the City - those we had worked with to photograph the sites - heritage and arts supporters, special guests from our sponsorship, the media, and our always supportive friends and family. With wine in hand, we were ready for the speeches to begin.

Mayor David Miller - who's office was responsible for getting us access to 90% of the buildings in the exhibit this year - spoke about the city's industrial foundations and how these facilities and works buildings were built not just for function but with great craft and design. It was great to see him at our exhibit, publicly supporting heritage preservation at a time when so many historic architectural gems in Toronto and nearby cities are being erased from our landscape.
Carlos Pimentel and Aldo Bucitti from the

Carpenters Union spoke about their close connection to this year's show - almost all the buildings in the exhibit were built by the Carpenters Union as well as Maple Leaf Gardens, which was featured in last year's exhibit. It was a unique opportunity for them to see their buildings showcased from a fine art perspective instead of through an engineer's eye.

To encourage a dialogue between the guests and the photographers, we scheduled a series of artist's talks throughout the evening on both floors of the exhibit, allowing the guests to learn more about the buildings, the photographer's process, give time for some Q&A. Robert Dyke started the talks off on the 3rd floor with a session on the

Wellington Destructor while Toni Wallachy spoke with guests about the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant on the 4th floor. Part way through the evening, Timothy Neesam regaled a captive audience with stories of the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant on the 3rd floor, while Rick Harris spoke about the Toronto Island Water Treatment Plant on the 4th floor. At the end of the evening, Mathew Merrett and I intrigued listeners with tales of R.L. Hearn Generating Station and Commissioners Street Waste Transfer.

Before anyone knew it, the doors were closing on the exhibit, the bar was packing up, the hors d'oeuvres were gone, shoes were coming off sore and tired feet, and the evening was coming to a close.