Councillor pitches Bomb Girls museum for Golden Mile area. Parthi Kandavel wants to see WWII history showcased in the neighbourhood.
With more development on the horizon for the Golden Mile, Scarborough City Councillor Parthi Kandavel sees a golden opportunity to build a museum dedicated to Scarborough’s “Bomb Girls.”
MPulse recently spoke to the local councillor about the “intensive development”planned for the neighbourhood around Eglinton Ave East between Pharmacy Avenue and Birchmount Avenue and his wish to see the history of the area preserved through a dedicated museum.
In the 1940s the government of Canada built a munitions factory at the southwest corner of Warden and Eglinton to support the country’s World War II efforts. Women of all ages came from across Canada to work at the factory, which operated 6 days a week, 24 hours a day and ultimately produced more than 256 million munitions.
“In the 1940s the government built a
munitions factory
at the corner of
Warden and Eglinton
to support World
War II efforts.”
“These women worked with heavy machinery, gunpowder and explosives and in roles previously only open to men. They did so without incurring any fatal accidents,” Councillor Kandavel told MPulse.
The councillor would like to see a 10,000- 20,000 square foot museum built to “tell the story of women in Scarborough” during this time, a story that is not often told and which local children are currently not learning about in school, he said. This story was made into a television series by Global News in 2012.
Councillor Kandavel also spoke about the area’s redevelopment into the “Golden Mile” after the war. Queen Elizabeth II was there in 1952 to open the new industrial site, home to companies such as General Motors, Honeywell, and Thermos. The area provided good paying jobs to people in Scarborough who were able to buy bungalows in the surrounding neighbourhoods and grow the city into the prosperous place it is today.
The councillor believes that as the neighbourhood changes and grows, its history should be preserved as should its ability to be an economic engine for Scarborough. The councillor is pushing for all new development in the area to include a good mix of employment, commercial and community space, in addition to housing.
