An Illustrated Guide to the Presence of the Leafs at Loblaws at the Gardens

by jmsmorris on Nov 30, 2011 3:25 PM EST

Regardless of what anyone wanted to have happen or not happen to the grand old lady of hockey, she officially reopened her doors today as a massive Loblaws at the corner of Carlton and Church. Even though the once venerated arena is now a grocery store, that does not mean that the presence of the Maple Leafs is gone from the building. As a University of Toronto student with way too much time between classes, I ventured down to the arena to take a look at how the team is represented in the newly reopened building. Pics are after the jump.

Upon entering the store from the Carlton and Church entrance, on the wall to the right is a maple leaf constructed from seats from the blue section of the gardens.

via i1129.photobucket.com

viewed from the second level.

via i1129.photobucket.com

The ice level part of the store is split into two distinct sections, an artisan bakery/gourmet section, where the logo made from seats is the only nod to the former use of the building and, on the other side of the 18 foot wall of cheese, the grocery store where the history is better acknowledged. The support beams of the grocery store side are decorated with prints commemorating momentousness occasions that took place at the gardens, such as the grand opening, the first NHL All-Star Game, Western Conference Finals 1993 Game 7 and this.

via i1129.photobucket.com

In the middle of aisle 25, as pointed out by thenumber14 in the FTB, is the centre of the hockey universe, the original location of centre ice.

via i1129.photobucket.com

The mural commemorating the history of Maple Leaf Gardens, which was present in the concourse from 1994-1999 did not survive the renovations to the building. Instead it was photographed before its destruction and recreated at the same location it once graced.

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It’s better a movie theater, and way better than a parking lot.

August 18th is National Chaim Weisswasser day. Celebrate it by buying a new phone.

by elseldo on Dec 2, 2011 7:34 AM EST reply actions

I was lucky enough to see a few games at Maple Leaf Gardens, including one from box seats, then situated right near the press gondola, which literally made the game look like NHL 94 with its overhead view of the ice.

I know there are a some younger (even though I’m not that old) fans on this site who never saw a game at the Gardens, not even on TV. It was a magical building and actually made you feel like you were in a hockey rink, unlike the comfortable but way too bland ACC.

I remember walking from the College subway to Church St. following the crowd before the game and returning to it after after the game. It seemed like a long walk at the time until the Gardens came into view. I remember sitting in the reds and having the big guy beside me being half into my seat, having my feet stick to the floor with the dropped beer, hearing the organ, hearing the voice of Paul Morris, who barely changed his emotion regardless of whether it was a Leafs goal or an away goal, looking at the LED scoreboard with its clapping hands encouraging the crowd to cheer, not having a big TV with corny videos, and (maybe this is just a function of my youth rather than a real memory) being surrounded by fans in the reds and golds, not suits. All the games I saw were in the 90s, a win, a loss and a tie vs the Canucks, the Sharks, and the Ducks. I can’t even imagine how it was for a previous generation who saw it in its heyday.

Glad a part of it is still there to remember.

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Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing - Vince Lombardi

by furcifer on Dec 2, 2011 2:19 PM EST reply actions

attended one game

at maple leaf gardens…. in the box seats…. my dad got the tickets through work… leafs lost to the whalers…. very memorable night. :-D

by magecanuck on Dec 4, 2011 8:32 AM EST reply actions

My father....

Didn’t have a lot of money when I was a kid, so all my memories from inside the Gardens were from way up in the nosebleeds sitting right behind the guy who’d have his tinfoil Stanley Cup.

“This year’s our year boys!” is what he’d say. LOL.. it was in the middle of the 80’s.

Anyways…. Good times none-the-less. I’m glad I got to experience a bit of the Gardens.

by c_gee on Dec 8, 2011 5:09 AM EST reply actions