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Whata day to visit. This day just happened to be one of the half dozen “smog alert” days reported in Toronto, and it was stinkin’ hot, but the cool breeze from this height was a relief. The weather beacon is so close, you can hear the clattering of the lights going on and off with the relays. Colin, our tour guide, pointed out that for some odd reason the rows of lights aren’t even. Check it out for yourself.

Click-drag your mouse on the image to look around this Apple QuickTime VR.
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Thestaircase leads to the roof. Beneath the stairs is the brain of the weather beacon. Long before the days of high quality transistors, relays were used to snap the power on and off in a specific order. The box has been replaced with a newer unit because the relays would blow on a somewhat regular basis. You’ll find the current elevator lift and control mechanisms locked behind the blue caged section of this room. Beside it is the original unit that handled a high speed elevator system that was state of the art for it’s time — the 1920′s.

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Themosaic work on the marble floor is amazing. Here you stand in the lobby, with two directions to travel. The elevator will take you up to the top floor, and the corridor will lead you to the office that houses the panel to control the weather beacon’s lights. A model of the building’s unique peak stands in the middle of the room.

In 2001Canada Life celebrated the 50th anniversary of the building’s weather beacon. In 1950, the insurance company’s chief executive officer visited New York City and quickly became enamored with the beacons reporting the status of the weather. He returned to Toronto and had one installed atop his own. For decades, the Globe and Mail used the beacon as an icon for its weather page, and published a guide to what the various lights indicated. If the beacon’s top glows red, snow is imminent. The pattern of falling and rising lights match the barometric pressure.

Thistour begins in the lobby of the building, and will take you up the elevator to the top. Along the way, you can get a closer look at the ancient elevator control system that was in use until recently, and the control panel Canada Life uses to change the light pattern for the beacon. The company calls Environment Canada several times throughout the day to get an update.

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