June 24, 1985. Ribbon cutting ceremony at Taylor Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
On June 24, 1985, 31 years ago today, the official opening ceremony was held for Taylor Memorial Library – an institution that has embodied the spirit of our community for more than 50 years.
The library has a fascinating history and it all started with a $1,500 house built in 1921 on a former gravel pit at the northwest corner of Kingston Rd. and Warden Ave.
The house was built by Florence McMillan with the help of her father. Florence later married Fred Taylor, a prominent local businessman who owned Taylor’s Drug Store on the southeast corner of Kingston Rd. and Birchcliff Ave. as well as a store on Main St.
Original Florence McMillan/Fred Taylor home, 1921. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Florence Taylor, whose photo hangs in the library today, died of a heart attack at a Ladies Auxilliary meeting in 1954.
Florence McMillan Taylor. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Fred went on to remarry and in 1962 he and his second wife, Kate Taylor, decided to move and began collaborating with Birch Cliff residents who wanted a permanent library in the neighbourhood.
The Taylors transferred their property to the Scarborough Library Board for “for the purpose of a branch library and no other purpose” and that’s how Taylor Memorial Library was born.
For more than 20 years Birch Cliff residents borrowed their library books from the former Taylor home with its welcoming front porch and a moose head next to the front door.
Taylor Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
By the 1980s the building was getting run down and the library needed more space for books.
The Scarborough Library Board decided to tear down the former Taylor home and build a new modern library designed by the archictectural firm A. M. Ingleson Associates.
There was extensive consultation with the residents of Birch Cliff who asked for an intimate library that respected its origins as a private home.
Birch Cliff residents check model of new Taylor Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
It was decided that a farewell garden party was in order to say goodbye to the place where so many learned to read and borrowed their books.
The last annual garden tea party at Taylor Memorial, June 12, 1984. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Kate Taylor (left) attended the party to say goodbye to the library and her former home. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Courtesy Bluffs Monitor.
Then came the bulldozers.
1984 demolition of Taylor Memorial Library. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
The new library began taking shape, incorporating many of the design features requested by the residents of Birch Cliff who wanted to maintain the homey character of the original building.
Taylor Memorial Library under construction. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
The decor of the new library was more domestic than institutional with a fireplace, wingback chairs and a patio.
A beautiful stained glass window from the original Taylor home was preserved and hung in a place of pride facing the street. It had been acquired from the prominent Massey family who had an estate on Dawe’s Road.
“Blue Bird of Happiness” stained glass window at Taylor Memorial Library. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library.
The new library officially opened 31 years ago today and Birch Cliff residents gathered again to celebrate this vital community resource that has been part of the neighbourhood for so long.
Courtesy Bluffs Monitor.
There was a sizable crowd to celebrate the arrival of the new library and how nice that Kate Taylor could be among them, witnessing the important legacy her family made possible for Birch Cliff
Kate Taylor at the new library, next to the painting that hangs as a reminder of her family’s gift to the neighbourhood. Photo courtesy of Toronto Public Library.
Great article, I remember Mrs. Taylor, She had strawbery festivals on her lovely grounds every June. However, Her husband was not the pharmacist in Taylors drug store. That was Reg Taylor and he was very portly. I also remember him well.