Ontario, Canada – June 2000

I dig cemeteries. They are a fascinating look at a culture’s history, values and artistry. Whenever I travel, I never pass up the opportunity to visit a cool graveyard.

So when I moved next door to Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery I was eager to explore it. As I got to know my neighbours I was enthralled. The cemetery is located in midtown, off of Yonge Street, north of St. Clair.

Built in 1866 (which is really old for Ontario) to handle Toronto’s over-population of dead people, Mount Pleasant was one of the first non-denominational cemeteries in the city. Still active (over 168,00 served), it will, however, be full in a few years. This sense of time running out caused my twentysomething friend to put her lifesavings into her plot so she wouldn’t miss this last chance of a lifetime.

I can’t blame her, as this place is truly extraordinary. Today the cemetery is the most vibrant, social cemeteries I’ve ever encountered. Even in the dead of winter one can see families going for a stroll, joggers, even people having a picnic.

It’s not that Toronto lacks for parks, quite the contrary. Toronto has been called one of the "greenest" cities in the world due to our unsurpassed ratio of parks to cement. It’s just that this place is cool!

One of the North America’s best landscape architects, Henry Engelhardt, designed the grounds. Gentle hills, valleys, wooded enclosures and fountains are surrounded by beautiful gardens. There are a wide variety of trees and bushes making the cemetery one of the largest arboretums in Canada. The natural surroundings enliven the environment. So it really is possible to forget you’re in a "creepy" place.

Exploring the cemetery also tells the story of the history of the city, the province and the country. Starting at the front Gothic arch gate at 1643 Yonge Street, you begin at the oldest part of the cemetery. Here’s where you’ll see some beautiful, intricately carved stonework in the Celtic crosses and ladies of sorrow, reflecting Toronto’s Anglo cultural heritage of that time. As you travel north into the new part, you’ll encounter red granite Asian mini-temples with pagoda roofs and Fu Chu guard dogs, that reflects Toronto’s new Asian influence.

The markers also tell some of the sad stories in Canadian history. There’s a memorial for soldiers killed at the Northwest (Riel) Rebellion in Saskatchewan of 1885. The Empress of Ireland monument memorializes the sinking of the Canadian Pacific passenger liner in 1914 in the St. Lawrence River (1027 people died in total, 33 more passengers than on the Titanic).

Canada’s history is also comes alive in the interments of our famous burials residents. Canada’s 10th Prime Minister, Mackenzie King is buried here. He’s the one who had seances and consulted his dead mother on policy. Another eccentric, pianist Glenn Gould’s grave is the most visited in the cemetery. Acclaimed for his rendition of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, he had it inscribed on his gravestone. The family of Mary Pickford, "America’s Sweetheart", is buried here. Banting and Best, the discoverers of insulin, are also buried here.

There’s also some less known characters that are equally interesting. There’s a guy, Chalmers, whose headstone is shaped like a tire because of his love of automobiles. There’s also "Captain Fluke", who to me sounds like an inept but well meaning superhero.

My favourite "markers" (if you will) belong to the most prominent families in Canadian history. The Massey and Eaton mausoleums are more like temples – they are huge and I mean HUGE! The Massey’s (of farm implement fortune) is a Romanesque Revival mini-castle, while the Eaton’s (of department store fortune) is a classical Greek temple. It sure goes to show one how the well the upper crust live and die.

I love this place so much that I’ve been through it countless times, snapped dozens of rolls of film there (among them the ones here), and even started to develop a website about it. But as much as I dig graveyards I think I’ll pass on the picnics – now that’s creepy!

Further Reading: Toronto historian, Mike Filey, has the definitive (and perhaps only) guide on Mount Pleasant. Find out more about the book here.

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