Heritage supporters rally to save Montgomery's Inn from city chopping block

Heritage supporters rally to save Montgomery's Inn from city chopping block. Over 250 people showed up at a press conference held in support of Montgomery's Inn on Sunday. Councillor Joe Mihevc led the speakers against the rumoured cuts to city museums. After the meeting the supporters formed a human chain around the inn led by Mihevc (fifth from right). Staff photo/IAN KELSO

Members of the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS) and Montgomery's INNovators stood alongside St. Paul's West Councillor Joe Mihevc to call on Mayor Rob Ford to rethink closing Montgomery's Inn, Gibson House and Zion School house in North York, and the Market Gallery in downtown Toronto.

"I strongly believe in heritage. I don't think you can be a vibrant city if you don't know your story," Mihevc told The Guardian in an interview Monday morning. "It's soul destroying to destroy heritage, and to close heritage property."

According to Mihevc, the current city budget for museums is $6.5 million - $5.3 million of which comes from city hall, with the remaining $1.2 million covered by revenue brought in from the museums.

By proposing to shutter the four museums, Mihevc said the city is trying to trim its share of the museum funding by $1 million, down to $4.3 million.

Calling the proposed closures an "ill-judged moved", Mihevc instead called on the city to grant a year-long reprieve to the four sites, during which time an assessment and sustainability review of the museums could be undertaken.

"And in the meantime, we're asking that they don't close anything. Maybe there's some additional money that can be brought in through gift shops and permit revenue and so on," he said. "We need to see if there are ways to help them operate in a more cost-effective manner."

Janice Etter, chair of the INNovators, agreed, calling the potential closure of Montgomery's Inn "a huge loss to Etobicoke."

"Museums are community hubs. They create a sense of belonging and community," she said in a statement.

According to its website, Montgomery's Inn was built around 1830 for Irish immigrants Thomas and Margaret Montgomery. As their business prospered, a new bar room, ballroom, and a second kitchen were added in 1838. The Inn served as a meeting place for the local community and also provided food and shelter to travellers.

The inn itself operated until the mid 1850s, closing shortly after Margaret died. Today, the Inn remains "a tangible link with the early days of Etobicoke" and "a significant heritage resource for visitors from near and far."

It was for those reasons that EHS stepped in to buy Montgomery's Inn in 1962, saving it from a developer's wrecking ball or relocation. Unable to afford the $40,000 mortgage, however, the society convinced the former City of Etobicoke to buy and retain the Inn in 1964.

In the years since, EHS has maintained its "strong connection" to Montgomery's Inn - notably donating many of the Inn's artifacts, said EHS president, Denise Harris.

For example, when the Inn was refurnished to open as a museum in 1972, it was EHS that contributed many of the valuable articles now in use in the Inn; it was EHS that donated more than $6,000 to pay for the present furnishings of the Inn's dining room; and included in the Inn's collection of Etobicoke photographs are hundreds of pictures donated by EHS, Harris said.

EHS has also served on the Etobicoke Historical Board, which managed the Inn until city amalgamation in 1999, served on the Inn's Community Advisory Board after amalgamation, and now serve on Montgomery's INNovators.

Given their strong involvement with Montgomery's Inn over the years, Harris said she and other members of EHS were "very discouraged" at news the Inn might be on the chopping block.

"With all the work that's been done over the years to save the Inn, we were so instrumental in that. So now it's, like, 'okay, how many times do we have to save it and persuade the city that it's a museum?'" she said. "It's very discouraging, but at the same time, we're prepared to do it, because there's no doubt that it shouldn't be closed."

The city will unveil its proposed budget - including recommended cuts - on Nov. 28.

Mihevc said he is hoping that, with enough push back from the community, the museums will go back in the budget. Towards those ends, an online petition is currently circulating, aimed preserving Toronto's museums. To sign it, go to http://togethertoronto.ca/campaigns/museums/