{"id":70383,"date":"2025-05-23T08:15:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T12:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=70383"},"modified":"2025-05-22T11:41:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:41:29","slug":"sunlight-disappears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2025\/05\/23\/sunlight-disappears\/","title":{"rendered":"Disappearing Sunlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

What has recently been dubbed the \u201cSunlight\u201d mural hung on the facade of the spray-drying tower at the historic Lever Brothers* Don Valley plant for total of 36 years, including the 14 years between its final shutdown and its demolition in 2023.<\/p>\n

The mural was commissioned by the company in 1987 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the introduction of Sunlight Soap in Canada, which led to\u00a0the opening in 1901 of the original Canadian Sunlight Soap Works<\/a> at this location. Although it borrows industrial iconography, the mural\u2019s soft colour palette evokes the artisanal origins of soap making rather than its modern identity as heavy industry.<\/p>\n

\"Spray<\/a>
Spray tower mural painted by Phillip Woolf, Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2015. Click on images to see them full-size.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1987, when he was chosen to create the mural, artist Phillip Woolf was an assembly line worker at the plant. He had refined his painting skills while participating in an educational leave program offered by the company. After his stint at Lever Brothers, he became a well-known art teacher at Seneca College and completed other mural commissions in Welland and Toronto.<\/p>\n

In dry detergent manufacturing, the spray-drying tower is a tall, cylindrical stove used to convert a liquid spray into detergent powder. A colossal new spray tower had been added to the Don Valley plant in 1983, adding a bold vertical element to its main facade.<\/p>\n

\"Abandoned<\/a>
Abandoned Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, looking southeast from Corktown Common, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For his mural, Woolf chose to offer the public a view into the interior of an imaginary mechanical room at the very top of the tower.\u00a0To reinforce the impression of a cutaway view, Woolf used several ingenious framing devices. At first glance, the composition presents itself as an irregular cartouche attached directly to the vertical metal cladding of the spray tower. Closer inspection reveals that the areas of wall at the four corners are actually painted in trompe-l\u2019oeil on the flat panel.<\/p>\n

Inside the cartouche, the wall structure of the room has been surgically cut away to give us a wide-angle view of the interior. The steel-framed side walls lead the eye to a central picture window. A worker with his back to the viewer is taking a coffee break as he looks out at the Toronto skyline. But our own view is interrupted by a trio of kinked exhaust pipes, one of which seems to pass through the frame and connects visually with the real exhaust stack behind it.<\/p>\n

\"Upper<\/a>
Upper access floor in the spray tower, (known as Nozzle Land), Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2003<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hopper<\/a>
Hopper and conveyor at base of the spray tower, Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2003<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Abandoned<\/a>
Abandoned hopper and conveyor at base of the spray tower, Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Valuable information about the project can be gleaned from a CFTO Night Beat News item from 1988<\/a>. It includes an interview with the artist and footage showing the panels of the mural being installed \u201clike pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle.\u201d We are informed that Woolf painted the original on canvas, and that it was then \u201cblown up and painted onto a weather resistant material.\u201d However, the fate of the original canvas and actual process used to enlarge it remain unknown.<\/p>\n

Some specifics can be gleaned from a recent CBC News report<\/a> by Michael Smee, dealing with the uncertain future of this public artwork. We learn that it is composed of 24 panels of uniform dimensions. My 2015 photograph (above) shows that they are arranged in two horizontal rows. The assembled mural would appear to have an overall size of about 32 by 48 feet. It\u2019s not possible to learn anything more because the developer of the former Lever Brothers site, Cadillac Fairview, won\u2019t reveal the artwork\u2019s location or its condition.<\/p>\n

Phillip Woolf wasn\u2019t the only artist-employee whose work was featured at the Don Valley plant while it was still active. In 2003, I photographed a giant,\u00a0stylized portrait painted by Bill Salinas on the wall outside the employee training room. I recall that there were also hand-painted images of Lever Brothers products displayed in the main stairwell. All were erased after the plant closed and the developer First Gulf purchased the site.<\/p>\n

\"Mural<\/a>
Mural portrait of Lever Brothers plant manager Kevin Beck by resident artist Bill Salinas, Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2003<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Product<\/a>
Product display in the lobby of the abandoned Lever Brothers Don Valley plant, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that Cadillac Fairview has demolished every structure of the Lever Brothers factory complex, the Sunlight Mural is the only resource left with which to recognize this site as part of Toronto\u2019s social and industrial history. However, in Michael Smee CBC report, several concerned persons are suggesting that other sites might be suitable for displaying it.<\/p>\n

\"Demolition<\/a>
Demolition view of the Lever Brothers Don Valley plant looking north, 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although well-intentioned, such suggestions tend to deflect attention away from Cadillac Fairview\u2019s responsibility to restore this major work of public art to its original location. It was created as a site-specific work, and should remain so.<\/p>\n

Local city councillor Paula Fletcher and the Toronto and East York Community Preservation Panel should have paid attention to this matter much earlier, but it\u2019s not too late to get it right.<\/p>\n

* The Lever Brothers brand name survived in Canada after the formation of the Unilever multinational corporation in 1929.<\/em><\/p>\n

All photos \u00a9 P. MacCallum (petermaccallum.com<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What has recently been dubbed the \u201cSunlight\u201d mural hung on the facade of the spray-drying tower at the historic Lever Brothers* Don Valley plant for total of 36 years, including the 14 years between its final shutdown and its demolition in 2023. The mural was commissioned by the company in 1987 to mark the hundredthContinue reading “Disappearing Sunlight”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8367,"featured_media":70387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDisappearing Sunlight - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2025\/05\/23\/sunlight-disappears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disappearing Sunlight - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What has recently been dubbed the \u201cSunlight\u201d mural hung on the facade of the spray-drying tower at the historic Lever Brothers* Don Valley plant for total of 36 years, including the 14 years between its final shutdown and its demolition in 2023. 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