Doors Open project manager Jane French
Photo: BizBash
Ten years ago, city employee Jane French and a team of colleagues visited Glasgow and Edinburgh to take part in a series of Doors Open Days that provided public access to unique buildings in both cities. When the team returned from the trip, they began to create a Toronto event to showcase buildings of architectural, historical, social, and cultural importance to the city. The first event took place over two days in May 2000, with more than 90 buildings on the roster and more than 70,000 visits.
"Something that we launched to test the audience, potentially as a one-off, by the time the dust had settled we knew this has legs. This has an audience. There’s so much growth potential. And now we’re in year nine," said French, the City of Toronto's Doors Open project manager. On Saturday and Sunday, the doors to 150 buildings across the city will open to the public, many of which are related to this year's theme: Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles.
Doors Open is happening this weekend. Are there a lot of last-minute details to take care of this week?
Yes, now it’s what I call death in the details. We’ve gone from big, big-picture thinking—what’s our theme? who do we really want to have on board?—and then it shrinks, shrinks, shrinks down into the details ... so it’s all that fine-tuning during the week before the weekend.
For example, we’ve torn our hair out trying to figure out, How do we get the weekend survival kits into the hands of 150 buildings and not spend $10,000 on couriers? So for the last few years we’ve invited everybody down to Fort York on the Tuesday after the long weekend ... that’s the model that works and it actually went better [this year] than ever, except one of the boxes of badges got left behind here [at the office]. We thought we’d run out ... then we came back and we found 1,600 badges on the floor. So we’re going to send a few courier packages today. What can you do?How do you go about choosing a theme for the event each year?
People now approach me. I’ve picked next year’s theme. In year five it was tied to a Canada Council grant. They really wanted to support Doors Open but they said they would really like have the roster to be post-1945 Canadian architecture, which was a challenge, but it was worth doing. In year six the idea was based on buildings that have transformed Toronto, and it happened to be the 40th anniversary of City Hall, which to my mind was absolutely a building that said Toronto’s coming of age.... It's a provocative and controversial building, but to me it’s more iconic than the C.N. Tower.... The focus on the waterfront was the next year because it was bubbling up as something everybody was talking about. Green and sustainable was last year. The Clean Air Partnership approached me and said, "What about it?" It totally took off. And then I was thinking about "Faith and Worship," which evolved into "Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles" for this year. Next year is our 10th anniversary and it’s the 175th anniversary of the incorporation of the old City of Toronto. We’ve already got an advisory committee working with me to pull it together, but the idea is a literary theme.
Once you’ve selected a theme, how do you go about selecting the venues?
They find me. Step one is to take what is the bare bones criteria for Doors Open—opening the doors of architectural, cultural, historic, and socially significant buildings—trying to present in clusters, trying to reach all corners of the city. So we’ve got our general criteria and then we refine it to address the theme. But it doesn’t mean all of the 150 buildings have to speak to the theme. I think about one third of the roster this year speaks to the theme.
Do you ever have to turn buildings away?
Oh, yeah. I think 150 is enough, logistically and staff resource-wise. How much can you see in one weekend? And literally, how much can you fit in the Toronto Star program guide? The paper shrunk by one inch last year.... There’s no more room. It sounds kind of lame, but I think 150 keeps it relatively manageable and digestible.
Do you visit all of the buildings on the roster?
Oh, I try. I really, really try. Somebody asked me yesterday if I’ve been to every building this year, and I haven’t.
How has your affiliation with the city impacted the event?
I work for Toronto Culture, and Doors Open is considered a signature event for Toronto Culture. Our budget is very, very small, like $50,000. So what being a city event means is that there are physical resources like offices and computers. There are staff, but year-round it’s only me. Other people step up during the season, but I’m the only one who does it full time. So you get infrastructure and support from the I.T. department and creative services. But what all of that leverages is relationships with The Toronto Star as our title sponsor—and it’s huge, couldn’t do it without them—that leverages our relationship with CBC radio and television, and that’s kind of a multifaceted relationship because they are the radio and television sponsor, they are our weekend headquarters ... and also it’s their annual open house.
Do you ever run into restrictions with historic sites in terms of access?
It's not just historic buildings. The Mountain Equipment building ... has been on [the roster] for several years because of its green roof, which you would never have access to and even on the Doors Open weekend you have to sign a waiver before they’ll let you climb the ladder up to the roof, which has no railings. And I think in their first year they had 700 people and one dog up the ladder ... so there are always going to be some conditions. But that’s the other thing about it being a city program: We do have liability coverage as part of the city.
Are there ever any challenges in convincing buildings to participate?
Surprisingly, my track record is pretty good, but there are always ones that I want. And the issues are usually that the owner of the building is not necessarily the tenant of the building, so you have to go through many layers to convince the tenant, who may be a law office or a doctor’s office and they’re not prepared to go public because of confidentiality issues or whatever. There’s a lovely old building on Adelaide—it’s a national historic site; it was the Bank of Upper Canada. They’ve never agreed to be on because they have a high-end private tenant.
I have two goals for next year. The R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant hasn’t been open to the public since 9/11, so sometimes security and public-safety issues take precedence over Doors Open. And then there’s the Don Jail.... It was on for the first two years but because it’s attached to an active jail, there are some issues around security ... so there are always ones that are out there that I’m hoping to either get on for the first time or get back when the time is right.
How will you be spending the weekend?
I will probably start at the C.B.C. because I just want to make sure it’s all staffed, and then I am more determined than ever to get out and see as many sites as possible, because I do feel that after months and months and months, the weekend isn’t mine anymore. We hand it over to the 150 buildings, and it's so helpful to go out and see what’s working and what’s not working.... It’s so appreciated when staff get out and see it.
"Something that we launched to test the audience, potentially as a one-off, by the time the dust had settled we knew this has legs. This has an audience. There’s so much growth potential. And now we’re in year nine," said French, the City of Toronto's Doors Open project manager. On Saturday and Sunday, the doors to 150 buildings across the city will open to the public, many of which are related to this year's theme: Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles.
Doors Open is happening this weekend. Are there a lot of last-minute details to take care of this week?
Yes, now it’s what I call death in the details. We’ve gone from big, big-picture thinking—what’s our theme? who do we really want to have on board?—and then it shrinks, shrinks, shrinks down into the details ... so it’s all that fine-tuning during the week before the weekend.
For example, we’ve torn our hair out trying to figure out, How do we get the weekend survival kits into the hands of 150 buildings and not spend $10,000 on couriers? So for the last few years we’ve invited everybody down to Fort York on the Tuesday after the long weekend ... that’s the model that works and it actually went better [this year] than ever, except one of the boxes of badges got left behind here [at the office]. We thought we’d run out ... then we came back and we found 1,600 badges on the floor. So we’re going to send a few courier packages today. What can you do?How do you go about choosing a theme for the event each year?
People now approach me. I’ve picked next year’s theme. In year five it was tied to a Canada Council grant. They really wanted to support Doors Open but they said they would really like have the roster to be post-1945 Canadian architecture, which was a challenge, but it was worth doing. In year six the idea was based on buildings that have transformed Toronto, and it happened to be the 40th anniversary of City Hall, which to my mind was absolutely a building that said Toronto’s coming of age.... It's a provocative and controversial building, but to me it’s more iconic than the C.N. Tower.... The focus on the waterfront was the next year because it was bubbling up as something everybody was talking about. Green and sustainable was last year. The Clean Air Partnership approached me and said, "What about it?" It totally took off. And then I was thinking about "Faith and Worship," which evolved into "Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles" for this year. Next year is our 10th anniversary and it’s the 175th anniversary of the incorporation of the old City of Toronto. We’ve already got an advisory committee working with me to pull it together, but the idea is a literary theme.
Once you’ve selected a theme, how do you go about selecting the venues?
They find me. Step one is to take what is the bare bones criteria for Doors Open—opening the doors of architectural, cultural, historic, and socially significant buildings—trying to present in clusters, trying to reach all corners of the city. So we’ve got our general criteria and then we refine it to address the theme. But it doesn’t mean all of the 150 buildings have to speak to the theme. I think about one third of the roster this year speaks to the theme.
Do you ever have to turn buildings away?
Oh, yeah. I think 150 is enough, logistically and staff resource-wise. How much can you see in one weekend? And literally, how much can you fit in the Toronto Star program guide? The paper shrunk by one inch last year.... There’s no more room. It sounds kind of lame, but I think 150 keeps it relatively manageable and digestible.
Do you visit all of the buildings on the roster?
Oh, I try. I really, really try. Somebody asked me yesterday if I’ve been to every building this year, and I haven’t.
How has your affiliation with the city impacted the event?
I work for Toronto Culture, and Doors Open is considered a signature event for Toronto Culture. Our budget is very, very small, like $50,000. So what being a city event means is that there are physical resources like offices and computers. There are staff, but year-round it’s only me. Other people step up during the season, but I’m the only one who does it full time. So you get infrastructure and support from the I.T. department and creative services. But what all of that leverages is relationships with The Toronto Star as our title sponsor—and it’s huge, couldn’t do it without them—that leverages our relationship with CBC radio and television, and that’s kind of a multifaceted relationship because they are the radio and television sponsor, they are our weekend headquarters ... and also it’s their annual open house.
Do you ever run into restrictions with historic sites in terms of access?
It's not just historic buildings. The Mountain Equipment building ... has been on [the roster] for several years because of its green roof, which you would never have access to and even on the Doors Open weekend you have to sign a waiver before they’ll let you climb the ladder up to the roof, which has no railings. And I think in their first year they had 700 people and one dog up the ladder ... so there are always going to be some conditions. But that’s the other thing about it being a city program: We do have liability coverage as part of the city.
Are there ever any challenges in convincing buildings to participate?
Surprisingly, my track record is pretty good, but there are always ones that I want. And the issues are usually that the owner of the building is not necessarily the tenant of the building, so you have to go through many layers to convince the tenant, who may be a law office or a doctor’s office and they’re not prepared to go public because of confidentiality issues or whatever. There’s a lovely old building on Adelaide—it’s a national historic site; it was the Bank of Upper Canada. They’ve never agreed to be on because they have a high-end private tenant.
I have two goals for next year. The R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant hasn’t been open to the public since 9/11, so sometimes security and public-safety issues take precedence over Doors Open. And then there’s the Don Jail.... It was on for the first two years but because it’s attached to an active jail, there are some issues around security ... so there are always ones that are out there that I’m hoping to either get on for the first time or get back when the time is right.
How will you be spending the weekend?
I will probably start at the C.B.C. because I just want to make sure it’s all staffed, and then I am more determined than ever to get out and see as many sites as possible, because I do feel that after months and months and months, the weekend isn’t mine anymore. We hand it over to the 150 buildings, and it's so helpful to go out and see what’s working and what’s not working.... It’s so appreciated when staff get out and see it.
