Читать книгу Haunted Ontario 4 - Terry Boyle - Страница 10

~ Toronto ~

They were trustworthy individuals, handling other people’s money every day, but they gambled dangerously with their own lives. They worked together at a beautiful old bank at Yonge and Front Streets in Toronto.

First constructed in 1885 during a period of prosperity and optimism about Canada’s future, the Bank of Montreal marked the rise of commerce and an age of decadence. In its day it was the largest bank branch in Canada. The building is a florid example of rococo architecture and was designed by the Toronto firm Darling and Curry. It served as the head office of the Bank of Montreal until 1949 and then as a branch office until 1982, when it was closed permanently.

The central hall measures twenty-one metres by twenty-one metres and rises thirteen metres to a stained-glass dome. The dome is the largest of its kind in Toronto. It was constructed by Joseph McCausland and Sons and features twenty-four fanned panels that depict allegorical dragons guarding gold from eagles. Around the outside are cornucopia filled with fruit and flowers. In the centre circles are emblems representing the provinces of Canada.

The detail in the hall is exquisite. The framing of the mezzanine on the west side that once served as the boardroom is incredible. The bank manager’s private apartment was located just behind the mezzanine. Outside an octagon reflects the interior, diagonal corner arches. To the left of the south portico a huge stone figure of Hermes stands. He has supported the weight of the building’s chimney on his shoulders for all these years. Massive, arched plate-glass windows indicate the size of the interior.

It was the perfect setting for romance to blossom, and blossom it did.

Her name was Dorothy. An attractive woman who worked as a teller in the bank, she was the most popular girl on staff. Her handsome lover was also employed as a teller. They had to keep their liaison a secret. Not only were they co-workers, but he was already married. If anyone suspected their love they could both lose their jobs.

Their fellow workers were starting to smile at them differently. Some of the women quit speaking, as if interrupted, when Dorothy entered the room. And then something snapped. Her lover broke it off — a change of heart — and Dorothy was cast aside. Devastated by his betrayal, she slipped into a state of deep depression. Hurt, humiliated, fearful that her former friends at the bank knew her shame, Dorothy still had to go to work every day.

One morning in March of 1953, she entered the bank at 7 a.m., went up to the women’s washroom on the third floor, and remained there for some time.

When he was interviewed by Toronto Star journalist Stefan Scaini, Len Redwood, chief messenger for the bank, recalled seeing Dorothy that morning. “It was much earlier than she was expected to be in. She looked pretty rough, probably had had a night out.” A night out or a sleepless night?

She returned downstairs for a brief time, and then went upstairs again. Redwood described what happened, “The next thing I heard was a shot.”

Dorothy had taken the bank’s own revolver and shot herself in the head.

In those days each bank had a least one gun. Employees were expected to shoot it out with robbers.

Dorothy’s death sent shockwaves through the employees and, no doubt, her former lover.

Unexplained things began to happen immediately. The lights in the bank would go on and off by themselves. Locked doors were discovered to be wide open.

Redwood admitted, “We all felt something. There was someone watching us but you couldn’t see anyone. The cleaning staff became nervous about working in the bank after dark, claiming they heard funny noises. The women refused to use the upstairs washroom, so the bank was forced to build another one in the basement.”

Over forty years later, on June 18, 1993, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened the doors of its current home in this magnificently restored Bank of Montreal. The main mission of the organization is to collect and preserve objects and images connected with the game of hockey.

A second objective is public education about the history and rules of play of this great Canadian game. Schools, tourists, and hockey fans alike tour the facilities on a daily basis. Visitors enjoy the many exhibits on display, including the hall of hockey’s finest players. In the first year of operation, more that 500,000 people visited the building.

In 1993 William Houston of the Globe and Mail wrote, “The new Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto has just about everything, including a ghost. The ghost is Dorothy and she resides in the restored Bank of Montreal building that is part of the new Hall of BCE Place.

“Over the years, custodians of the bank have heard shrieking and moaning noises coming from the rooms. Items have gone missing or have been moved.”

Christine Simpson, who is in charge of publicity at the new Hall says, “If we’ve misplaced something we say, ‘Well, it must be Dorothy.’”

Recently a gentlemen and his young son arrived to tour the hockey exhibits. After proceeding through the lower concourse level they entered the building proper. Directly ahead of them, just to the left, was an elevator; the door was open. The son stood staring fixedly at the elevator doorway as he watched the ghost of a pretty young woman beckon him to enter. Seconds later the door closed and travelled up to the third floor.

For half a century Dorothy has remained behind. She gambled everything for love — and she lost.