Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1989
Artists: Eldon Garnet and Francis LeBouthillier (bronze figures)
Nominated by: Vincent Ke, MPP (Don Valley North)
“Rich the hand which holds the stone of memory”
- Inscription on the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial
Standing solemnly by Toronto’s downtown railway corridor, the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial brings together elements of 19th century railway design with the cultural significance of a traditional Chinese paifang to commemorate the largely uncelebrated contributions of more than 17,000 railroad workers who helped unite the country.
The Forgotten Legacy of the Chinese Railroad Workers
Built over 100 years after the celebrated last spike, the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial was erected to commemorate the all-too-often overlooked contributions of thousands of Chinese workers to one of Canada’s most important nation-building projects: the first transcontinental railway.
Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1884. Image credit: Boorne and May/Library and Archives Canada/Ernest Brown fonds/e011303100-017_s2
When British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871, it resulted in a vast country stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific and with no transportation links between both coasts. Bridging this divide was integral to providing trade opportunities between Eastern and Western Canada, not to mention one of B.C.’s conditions. This connection would eventually take the shape as the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first railway to cross the Rockies and made possible through the work of immigrant groups across Canada. In Eastern and Central Canada, many groups of European descent played a central role in building the railway; in the West, it was Chinese immigrants arriving in Vancouver that made up the majority of the railway workforce.
From 1881 to 1885, 17,000 men, primarily from the province of Guangdong, China, arrived in Canada to hostile reception and even harsher working conditions. They were assigned to some of the most dangerous tasks and built the most treacherous sections, all while being paid only half as much as their co-workers of European descent. Many died from exhaustion, illness, or exposure, while others were killed in explosions or crushed when tunnels collapsed. Between 600-4,000 Chinese men died working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Despite this sacrifice and dedication, when the ceremonial last spike was driven, all the Chinese workers were cleared from the view of the camera that would capture the historic moment.
The Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial, a collaboration between the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada and the City of Toronto, was built to commemorate these silent pioneers who connected Canada.
A Bridge and a Gateway
Selected through an open competition, Eldon Garnet’s design for the memorial brings together elements of 19th-century railroad construction with sensibilities of traditional Chinese paifang (memorial arches or gateways that mark entrances or commend glory) to create a unique monument along the rail lands. Outside of China, such paifang are often used to mark the entrance of a Chinatown serving as cultural markers of the diaspora.
The Chinese Railroad Worker’s Memorial’s wood structure in the fall. Image courtesy of Eldon Garnet.
Built out of wood resting on concrete platforms, the memorial’s structure consists of a large 9-m (30-ft) tall trestle—a rigid frame structure used for many railroad bridges in the 19th century. The memorial captures this trestle mid-construction, with two life-size cast bronze Chinese workers by Francis LeBouthillier precariously lifting a beam into position atop the trestle, reminding the viewer of the dangerous conditions in which these workers were placed.
Construction workers erect the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial. Right: A bronze figure of a Chinese Railroad worker balances precariously on the monument as he works. Images courtesy of Eldon Garnet.
While the trestle structure is a clear reference to the railway industry, its scale and simple composition as two posts and a beam allow the memorial to act as a gateway—a nod to the freestanding memorial archways seen throughout east Asia.
Beyond the structure, the memorial is situated on a linear park that includes three pairings of rocks collected along the route of the transcontinental railway through the Rocky Mountains. Two of the boulders carry inscriptions: “Rich the hand which holds the stone of memory” and “One by one the walking vanish.” This last phrase references the thousands of surviving Chinese workers who were left destitute after the railway was completed, without enough funds to return to China or bring their families to Canada. These workers continued to face discrimination and found it difficult to find new jobs.
From sketch to sculpture to public monument, watch the figures on the monument take form. Images courtesy of Eldon Garnet.
To honour the memory of both those lost and those forgotten, the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada hosts an annual rededication ceremony at the memorial every Canada Day.
This post forms part of our World Architecture Day Queen’s Park Picks 2021 series in which the OAA asked Ontario’s Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to nominate a prominent building, past or present, in their riding for a chance to learn more about it. Check out the rest of the series to learn more about great buildings across the province!
Additional Resources
Interested in learning more about the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial? Check out these additional resources: