Cullen Gardens

Location: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Address: 4015 Cochrane Street
Date: Nov 2022

   There used to be a wonderful place that could be enjoyed by young and old alike. There was a beautiful garden with extensive flower displays. For the children there was a miniature village where tiny people lived and drove trains, cars and boats around the grounds. This was Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. Sadly, it was closed in 2005. Here are some old photos from our visits and a few ways you can still see a bit of the magic today.

  

   Cullen Gardens was created by Len Cullen who owned Weall & Cullen garden centres. If you visit what is now called Cullen Central Park you will see his statue.

    Beside Len sits a tiny house which represents the 150 miniatures that made up the village that stood here from 1980 to 2005.

    A scale model of Parkwood Estate was one of the many miniature buildings. The real Parkwood Estate is located nearby in the neighbouring town of Oshawa.

 

    This house (above) looks like it could be found just about anywhere.  

  This building was always on fire and the firefighters were battling a tiny blaze on the roof.

  The Miniature Village had a main street display with cars and businesses. The Littlest Hobo even visited this street in the episode Small Pleasures. The German Shepherd star walked right onto the main street just behind the green and grey building with pillars. He then continued down the street towards the left. You knew your tourist attraction was doing well in the 1980s if the Littlest Hobo visited.  During other episodes he also visited places such as the Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland.

  The gardens were a year round attraction. In the winter a miniature Santa Claus parade travelled down the main street with floats full of Christmas cheer.

  The parade always finished off with a special float for Santa Claus himself.

 

  Another special guest arrived at this building by helicopter, while a marching band performed.

 

    The long building, possibly a hotel, sat beside a remote controlled boat pond.  Different watercraft sped around the pond.

  Surrounding the miniature houses were gardens filled with seasonal flowers. A highlight was when the tulips were in bloom.

  A small CN Rail train also did laps through the gardens, going under bridges and behind bushes only to reappear further along the tracks.

 

   The shrubbery was always cut into interesting shapes and figures.

  Flowers were arranged in the shape of giant ducks or peacocks.

 

 

  Real peacocks would do their best to compete with their floral cousins.

  As you travelled deeper into the valley there was a covered bridge that crossed a small creek. The creek was known as Lynde Creek and flowed all the way down to Lake Ontario.

  The creek and the bridge are still there today.

  In the woods you might have encountered a cougar back when Cullen Gardens was open. This cougar was a model placed there on purpose. It seems to be debated if Ontario has any cougars, or how many it once had.

  We didn't see any cougars when we visited Cullen Central Park. That doesn't mean they didn't see us.

  Another relic of the past that you can see in the current park is Patly Mills. This grindstone is from the mill which opened in 1951 and processed oatmeal and flour. Cullen Gardens Miniature Village was built right where Patly Mills used to stand.

 

  Cullen Gardens also had a farming display to show you how life once was. Unlike the miniature village, these were life sized.

  Someone had built a display of someone building a cabin. Again, a life sized model of how things used to be.

  In current day, there was a cabin at Cullen Garden Park. It is possible that the Cullen family used to stay here at some point in the past.

  At Cullen Gardens there used to be Lynde House which was set up as a museum. The Lynde House was built during the War of 1812 and moved from its original location to Cullen Gardens in 1986.  When Cullen Gardens closed, the house was moved again to nearby 900 Brock Street South in Whitby.  It still operates as a museum today.

  The last section of the Miniature Village was a mini fairground that was located away from the rest of the village. It had little moving thrill rides and even a replica of the Flyer roller coaster. The real Flyer used to operate at the Canadian National Exhibition each year.

  Just when you thought the Miniature Village was no more, it rose up again. After Cullen Gardens closed, the miniature homes were sold to the town of Oshawa and sat in storage. Eventually, the homes were purchased by Niagara Parks. Many of them can now be visited at the Floral Showhouse in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

  A robin decided to live in this lovely red building.

  Scattered around the Floral Showhouse grounds are many buildings from the Cullen Gardens. More should be arriving as they complete some restoration. We are glad that the homes are back where they belong, between beautiful floral displays. You can always visit them here for a bit of that old magic.

   Oh wait, we forgot about Cullen Barns! Here is a final look above. Sorry to report to anyone who used to enjoy the displays and flowers in this store. Formerly located at Kennedy Road and Steeles Ave East in Markham, Ontario, the barn buildings are no more.

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Map of Our World
Cullen Gardens And Miniature Village

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Post # 339

Gillie & Marc

 

   Gillie & Marc are a married couple who are known for the sculptures that they create together. Their work can be found on public streets all around the world. They are best known for their sculptures of Rabbitwoman and Dogman. They also have a strong focus on endangered animals. You can find out more about the artists and where their sculptures can be found at gillieandmarc.com. Below are some of the Gillie & Marc sculptures we have encountered in our travels. Many of their sculptures are on temporary exhibition before they move on to a new location.

Paparazzi Dogs

 

  These paparazzi dogmen were the first Gillie & Marc sculpture that we recall seeing. They were located on Powell Street in San Francisco. They were taking photos of people coming out of an H&M store inside the Elevated Shops building. The dogmen are a combination of Marc and his weimaraner dog named Indie.

Coffee Table Of Love

 

 In New York City at Park Ave and East 46th Street you will find Coffee Table Of Love. Dogman is joined by Rabbitwoman for a cup of coffee. There are two more stools at the table for passerbys to join the half animal, half human couple.

 

 

  Rabbitwoman in based on Gillie and an unknown rabbit. Rabbitwoman holds a coffee and looks across at Dogman.

 

   Dogman holds a coffee and looks across at Rabbitwoman.

Love Negotiation

  In Toronto, Canada there is another Rabbitwoman and Dogman sculpture on Scollard Street. This time they are sitting at a smaller coffee table with no room for anyone else to join them. 

 

 When we took these pictures there had been a recent snowfall so the sculptures had a layer of snow on them. These versions of Dogman and Rabbitwoman had some colour in them. Dogman was sporting a blue suit and Rabbitwoman wore a red dress. Neither of them was dressed for the weather.

 

He Was On A Wild Ride To A Safer Place With Rabbitwoman & Dogman

  At the time of posting this blog there was another Gillie & Marc sculpture in Toronto at David Pecaut Square. Dogman and Rabbitwoman are sharing a tandem bicylce with a rhinoceros. You can join them in the last seat. This sculpture is temporary and will leave Toronto in 2025. Who knows where it might end up. 

 

 

  The rhino is there to represent the campaign called Love The Last. This is meant to raise awareness of endangered animal species. We tried to see their sculpture called The Last Three in New York City, but it was gone when we got there. The sculpture represented the last three northern white rhinos on earth. Only two remain alive today.

 
The Travellers Have Arrived

  While other sculptures show Dogman and Rabbitwoman enjoying coffee or riding a bike, this sculpture in Las Vegas is quite different. The two half human, half animals are riding a donkey naked through the Cosmopolitan hotel. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

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Map of Our World

Love Negotiation , He Was On A Wild Ride To A Safer Place With Rabbitwoman & Dogman , Paparazzi Dogs , Coffee Table Of Love , The Travellers Have Arrived

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Post # 336

Arthur Conan Doyle Room

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  789 Yonge Street
Date:  March 2024
Website:  www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

  A little laneway behind the Toronto Reference Library has been named Sherlock Homes Walk.  This is because the Reference Library is home to one of the largest Arthur Conan Doyle collections in the world. The library has collected over 25,000 items since 1969 that are mostly works of author Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous character, Sherlock Holmes.

    After taking a brief visit to the laneway we headed inside to check out the collection.

 

  The Arthur Conan Doyle Room is located at the top of the library on the fifth floor.  It is part of the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre.

     The Arthur Conan Doyle Room is designed to resemble the study from Sherlock Holmes' London address of 221B Baker Street. There is a real 221B Baker Street in London, but obviously the fictional Sherlock never lived there. The location has been turned into a museum for fans of the stories to visit.

     The shelves in the room were filled with various books. Most of them were crime fiction like the Sherlock Holmes stories.

 

  

  The majority were written by or contain stories from Arthur Conan Doyle. Other books are exploration into Arthur Conan Doyle's career and characters. All of the books on display are available to read in the library.

 

  The room also contained non-literary works of art such as a figurine of Dr. Watson. Watson is Sherlock Holmes' friend and companion on most of his adventures. The stories of Sherlock are usually told from the point of view of Watson as the narrator.

       Professor James Moriarty also has a figurine. Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes' nemesis. In fact, it was in a battle with Moriarty that Sherlock Holmes died.

    Sherlock and Moriarty fought and both fell into the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.  There is a piece of rock retrieved from the bottom of those falls in the Arthur Conan Doyle Room.

      Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in 1887. Another famous fictional detective, Hercule Poirot would not appear until 1920.

     Sherlock Holmes is considered the world's greatest detective. Sherlock would also agree that he is the greatest.  

    To enter into the Arthur Conan Doyle room you must leave your coats and bags outside. You are able to spend as much time as you like and take photos. You can sit and read about Sherlock solving mysteries until the library closes for the day.

    On a coat rack was a Sherlock Holmes hat known as a deerstalker. This hat is never properly described in the books but was a best guess at what Sherlock would wear. It became a popular symbol of Sherlock, along with a curved pipe, as the character started to appear in drawings, movies and television shows based on Arthur Conan Doyle's novels.

     Outside of the glass enclosed study were even more books and a chess set on a round table. 

     Even the chess set was Sherlock Holmes themed. Sherlock Holmes solved crimes much like a chess player. Chess is the ultimate battle of wits and trying to figure out what the next move of your opponent will be. We recommend your next move is to the Toronto Reference Library to check out a wonderful collection presented in the most interesting way.

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Map of Our World
Toronto Reference Library

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Post # 333