[1]Built in the 1830s, Montgomery’s Inn was surrounded by a large profitable farm, which provided food for the Montgomery family and visitors to their hotel. The Inn was closed in 1856 but the family and their tenants continued to farm the land until the 1940s.
[2-Fuel for the winter]
The architectural style is “late Georgia” or “Loyalist”. The Inn is built of rubble stone and was originally covered with pebble-dashed stucco, “coined” on the corners to give the appearance of cut stone.
[3-Historic Inn sign was rescued from the trash]
[4-Tom Montgomery's desk]
The Inn has been restored to the 1847 period, a remnant of colonial times and operates as a museum. Most of the period furnishings have been donated, though a few of the items once belonged to the Montgomery family. The furnishings reflect those of a conservative country innkeeper.
Inn staff offer guided tours of the Inn with highlights of the Montgomery family’s private sitting room
[5-Montgomery private sitting room]
[5B-Montgomery's Inn Bar]
[6-Dining room]
[7-Pantry served family and guests]
[8-Victorian meeting room on second floor]
[9- Beds at the Inn]
[10- Drying apples, dipped in lemon first, in the kitchen]
An open-hearth kitchen serves treats to visitors, the old-fashioned way. For a few hours each afternoon in the Tea Room pots of tea and light snacks are served for a modest price. A bookshop sells souvenirs and items related to the Inn, its period and neighbourhood.
[11-Garden behind Montgomery Inn]
A city resident who grew up near Montgomery’s Inn visited regularly and had an unusual experience when in the 7th grade. For a class assignment the students were asked to write a short story and the resident chose to write a story of a maid who worked at the inn, received a good grade and the teacher sent a copy to the Inn. The next time the resident visited the Inn, the tour guide to whom they were well acquainted was very excited and was shown into an archive room where some of Thomas Montgomery’s records were kept. These records had never been on display. The student’s essay had mirrored the life of a maid who had been employed there, even her name: May Evans.
Montgomery's Inn is located on 4709 Dundas Street West just east of Islington Avenue in Toronto.
Telephone: (416) 394-8113
Note: Prices do not include GST (5%).
Adults: $5.71
Seniors (65 +): $2.86
Youth (13-18 yrs.): $2.86
Children (12 and under): $1.90
Open Tuesday to Sunday 1pm to 5pm
All Mondays and Statutory Holidays (excluding: Valentines Day, Victoria Day and Canada Day when the museum is open for special menus in the tea room.)
Sources:
City of Toronto Museums http://www.toronto.ca/culture/museums/montgomery.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery's_Inn
http://www.pararesearchers.org/index.php?/20090205649/Psychic-Phenomenon/Montgomerys-Inn-Etobicoke.html
Photo Credits:
[6]-cameraphone, [10]-suzannelong CC=sa-flickr, [11] - PinkMoose CC=flickr.
Other photos by wikipedia
Travis Erwin from Amarillo, Texas is the founder of My Town Monday. For other locations to visit please go to Travis' site here.
22 comments:
Cool place. I love old buildings. I wish I could see what it looked like with the stucco.
I'm glad they made it into a museum... now, if I could just make my way there. =)
Love the look of those old kitchens and dining areas. I guess sometimes I do feel a bit of nostalgia, but for a time before my own.
Lovely old building, I love that it has been preserved and turned into a museum.
Another great tourist trip - especially with the black flies out and tourists crowding the highways around here!
Clair, you can always take the train from Windsor to see the scenery enroute.
Charles, times were simpler then despite having harder work to do. Not so much stress.
Reb, by preserving the past children have a better understanding of life in early Canada.
Jenn, too bad about the black flies. Any midges yet?
Love the story about the maid. I was just thinking what a great haunt it would be. It's a beautiful inn. Maybe someone will reopen it one day.
L.A., once a place becomes a museum it rarely goes back to being what it once was. Nice idea though.
Those apples look interesting - I didn't know they were dried like that!
I really enjoyed your story about the Inn, the building looks in good shape. Thanks for sharing such a nice story, I love history anyway.
Looks like another wonderful place, Barbara. I love how MTM encourages us to explore our own towns.
OMG, the bit about the student's story mirroring the actual life of the maid sent a chill down my spine. Awesome. It sounds like a really fun place to visit. I adore old buildings.
You make me want to re-visit Toronto! Aloha, Barbara
I'm intrigued by those lemon apples. never heard of such.
The lemon keeps the apples from discolouring and becoming mushy/rot when the slices are hung up to dry.
I bet those drying apples dipped in lemon make the whole room smell spectacular. I knew someone that did a similar thing with orange peels. It really freshens the room nicely.
I wonder if that would work with my apples here, I'm intruiged.A very interesting post Barbara, with great photos. Fascinating about the maid!
Many thanks for the tour. Was that a Union Jack in that corner? Wow, you still have them! Fantastic inn.
Greetings from London.
Cuban, the Union Jack is the old flag before it was changed to the red maple leaf in 1965.
Did you know that Toronto was the unofficial real city on which Superman's Metropolis was based? True story.
Steve, that certainly is news to me and a nice thing to know for general conversation with people.
I've driven by Montgomery's Inn many times without ever stopping in. Obviously I've missed a lot.
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