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Maple Leaf Gardens

January 26, 2012 by · Comments Off on Maple Leaf Gardens 

Maple Leaf Gardens, A time capsule buried at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931 and revealed on Thursday contains an NHL rule book, a municipal code, financial information on the team and a tiny carved ivory elephant, the symbolism of which remains a mystery.

The capsule, contained in a weathered copper box, was discovered last fall by workers as the building was being remodelled to house a Loblaws grocery store and an athletic centre for Ryerson University.

Maple Leaf Gardens, built by Conn Smythe in 1931, was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs until 1999 when the team moved to the Air Canada Centre.

Contents of the capsule include:

A four-page typewritten letter from the directors of Maple Leaf Gardens.
Four-page stock prospectus for Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd.
1930-31 NHL rule book.
1931 rule book for the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
1930 Ontario Hockey Association rule book.
1931 Toronto Municipal Handbook.
A red ensign flag.
A small ivory elephant with fragments of a blue ribbon.
There are also editions of four newspapers from Sept. 21, 1931, including:

The Globe.
The Mail and Empire.
The Toronto Daily Star.
The Evening Telegram.

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