| Monument Name: | Toronto Cenotaph |
| Native Name: | (Old City Hall Cenotaph) |
| Location: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Designer: | W.M. Ferguson and T.C. Pomphrey[1] |
| Type: | War memorial |
| Material: | Granite |
| Begin: | 1924 |
| Complete: | 1925 |
| Open: | November 11, 1925 |
| Dedicated To: | Those who served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War |
The Old City Hall Cenotaph is a cenotaph located at the front steps of Old City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2]
Originally built after World War I to commemorate Torontonians who lost their lives in services for Canada, the memorial also commemorates those who died in World War II and the Korean War.[3] It was modelled on The Cenotaph at Whitehall in London, England, constructed using granite cut from the Canadian Shield, and unveiled on November 11, 1925.[4] The City of Toronto lists the artists as "Ferguson/Pomphrey",[5] which were an architectural firm located at 282 St. Clements Ave. in north Toronto. Their design was selected from among 50 designed submitted after City Council's request to replace a temporary wooden structure that had been used each Remembrance Day since 1919. The two Toronto architects received a fee of $2500 for the work; this was 10% of the cost of the $25 000 project. The work was completed in budget and on time. There was some controversy before the monument was unveiled; "the only wording on the Cenotaph would be a simple four word statement “TO ALL WHO SERVED.” Then someone realized that this monument was in fact a cenotaph, a structure that by the very definition of that word (from the Greek kenotaphion – kenos, empty + taphos, tomb) signified an “empty tomb.” " As a memorial to those who had died and are buried elsewhere, it was felt that TO ALL WHO SERVED was inappropriate in such a case. After much discussion, the original inscription was removed and replaced with the current TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD.[6]
The memorial features a stone laid by Field Marshall Haig on July 24, 1925.[7]
The site is one of several locations used for Remembrance Day commemorations in Toronto.[2]
