Sessions & Events

A Short History of Concrete in Toronto: The City that Works

Sunday, March 30, 2025  3:30 PM - 5:30 PM, Dominion South

In this session presenters will be invited to discuss concrete structures with historical significance in the local (Toronto) and nearby New York areas. The objective of this session is to inform attendees of the historical development and significance of concrete in the Toronto and surrounding areas.

Learning Objectives:
(1) Develop knowledge of the historical development and design of concrete structures in the Toronto and western New York areas;
(2) Describe the challenges our predecessors had to overcome to construct concrete structures in the past without modern technological advances;
(3) Discuss the art and architecture of older concrete structures;
(4) Analyze the proportions and properties of older concrete mixtures, and how they were used in the design and construction of concrete structures.

This session has been approved by AIA and ICC for 2 PDHs (0.2 CEUs). Please note: You must attend the live session for the entire duration to receive credit. On-demand sessions do not qualify for PDH/CEU credit.

Frank Barber’s Historic Concrete Arch Bridges in Ontario

Presented By: F Michael Bartlett
Affiliation: University of Western Ontario
Description: James Franklin Barber (1875-1945), a Toronto-based consulting engineer, served as County Engineer for York and Haldimand Counties and for York, Vaughan, Etobicoke, King and Bruce Townships. His responsibilities as a County Engineer included the design and construction supervision of water distribution and sewer systems, roads, and other civil engineering works. He is primarily remembered, however as a prolific bridge engineer: his obituary notes his connection “with the construction of more than 500 bridges in the Dominion”. Although his advertised services always included steel bridge design, Frank Barber was a very strong proponent of concrete bridge construction, celebrating in particular the robustness of concrete bridges. His many designs include the Middle Road Bridge, the first reinforced concrete arch-truss bridge in North America (1909) that spans Etobicoke Creek in west Toronto, now a Canadian Society for Civil Engineering National Historic Site. He also designed the Ashburnham Bridge in Peterborough, which featured main span of 234 ft. (71.6 m) that at the time of its opening in 1921was the longest concrete arch span in Canada – and unreinforced.

The 1900 Southwestern Ontario Sand Suckers

Presented By: Mary Baxter
Affiliation: Western University
Description: In the early 1900s, Lake Erie teemed with sand suckers, boats that dredged sand and gravel from waterbeds for commercial uses. These boats frequently crossed international boundaries to obtain the aggregate that fast-growing communities such as Sandusky, Detroit, Windsor, and Chatham needed to build their infrastructure. To the residents of towns and cities, sand sucker operations were a "useful enterprise," as Charles Hughes, U.S. Secretary of State, described them in 1921. However, in the Canadian communities near where American boats frequently dredged, sand suckers came to be seen as environmental menaces that triggered systemic shoreline erosion. Residents also feared American sand sucker operations were depleting what was, for many, their only source of aggregate.

Beyond Concrete: Historic Concrete in Canada

Presented By: Michael McClelland
Affiliation: ERA Architects
Description: Beyond Concrete: Historic Concrete in Canada will explore the evolution of concrete as an architectural material, from early industrial and residential applications to Modernism and Brutalism. The presentation will include examples from across Canada, such as the Hydrostone neighbourhood in Halifax; Grain Silo No. 5 and Olympic Stadium in Montréal; Trent University in Peterborough; University of Toronto structures Robarts Library, Scarborough College, and the Medical Sciences Building; New City Hall and the CN Tower in Toronto; and the MacMillan Bloedel Building in Vancouver.