Toronto, Ontario //
The Canada Malting plant is dead
Toronto's abandoned sugar plant goes for the chop
Date October 2009
Posted February 2011
Posted February 2011
Standing forlorn on the Toronto Harbourfront, the old Canada Malting plant was no strangers to intruders. For the several decades after it fell into disuse countless people breached the somewhat-fortified exterior. One in particular was a hobo obsessed with hoarding, who's vast collection of swag was packed beneath the rafters in one of the attics - for this man, the plant was home. But now, largely, it's gone (the actual silos are to be retained, apparently).
On a bright day in October 2009 a small band of us risked our necks to clamber up and into the remains of its workings, which was in fact no mean feat. After scaling a ropey bit of rebar and fixing a sling I watched in horror as siologen's weight caused the overhanging fence to bend back almost to the point of shearing away from the balcony and sending him 10ft back down to where he'd started. It held fast, and we were in. The plan was to peruse the interior before enjoying a beer on the roof, while Shane shot a nude model somewhere down below.
I'm not going to pretend that my main motivation for visiting run-down industrial ruins like this isdrinking beer and watching model shoots 'documenting' them, but the destruction of any photo's subject matter is always going to lend it a little more value. After all, when these places are gone there won't be any more like them. So if you're familiar with the plant and always wondered what was inside, spent some time exploring it yourself once, or walked past the site today with a tear in your eye lamenting its demise, then these photos are for you.
(There's more from Canada Malting, albeit from 12 years earlier, over at infiltration.org.)
On a bright day in October 2009 a small band of us risked our necks to clamber up and into the remains of its workings, which was in fact no mean feat. After scaling a ropey bit of rebar and fixing a sling I watched in horror as siologen's weight caused the overhanging fence to bend back almost to the point of shearing away from the balcony and sending him 10ft back down to where he'd started. It held fast, and we were in. The plan was to peruse the interior before enjoying a beer on the roof, while Shane shot a nude model somewhere down below.
I'm not going to pretend that my main motivation for visiting run-down industrial ruins like this is
(There's more from Canada Malting, albeit from 12 years earlier, over at infiltration.org.)
