Ryerson University abandons promise to re-post famed Sam the Record Man sign

If I told you that you could live in my house, but you had to leave up my decorative, vintage wallpaper, how would you react?

Would you agree? Would you stick to that promise? Or would you move in, bide your time and tear the wallpaper down, anyway?

One presumes you would rather not live in my house at all, but for the sake of strained analogies, bear with me.

This is the debate going on in Toronto right now, where Ryerson University has now entirely and officially shirked its promise to honour one of the city's most beloved builders.

During a round of massive expansion in 2008, the downtown university came to an agreement with the city to build on the site of the famed, but now-closed, Sam the Record Man shop after promising the legendary music hub would be honoured in a very specific way.

Sam the Record Man, which was once a Canadian retail juggernaut, was famous for its flagship store in downtown Toronto and that store's massive neon sign. Ryerson University had promised that, in exchange for the right to tear down the building to expand its campus, they would protect the sign and display it on the outside of its student centre.

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That promise was forgotten, delayed and ignored. And on Thursday, it was killed altogether, in a fashion that a cynic could suggest the school never had the intention to keep its promise.

The Toronto Star reports the city abandoned its demand that the school re-post the sign after Ryerson expressed concerns about ensuring the safety of the mercury-charged neon device, the cost to keep it running and a “decrease in the number of qualified neon sign professionals.”

None of these issues are any more relevant now than they were when the deal was reached. Yet they are being offered as unexpected pot holes. And treated as loopholes. And also: A decrease in the number of qualified neon sign professionals? Come on. You only need the one. Plus it's that kind of thinking that has torpedoed the neon sign profession.

The new deal with the city states that Ryerson will protect the sign for another two years while other plans are considered and establish some other form of on-site commemoration for Sam the Record Man. Likely a plaque.

At this point, only Toronto heritage-philes and hardcore Canadian music enthusiasts care all that much about the fate of that 800-blub flashing sign. But that's what happens when you play the waiting game. The company founder, Sam Sniderman, died last year. Time marches on.

Sniderman built his empire up from a radio store, beginning in 1937. The franchise eventually spread across Canada, but fell victim to technology and the declining music industry. His flagship store in downtown Toronto operated until 2007. The property was bought by Ryerson the following year in order to build a student learning centre.

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Sniderman is considered a key city builder, in the same vein as Ed Mirvish. He is a member of the Order of Canada and a member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. His flagship store was declared a heritage site in 2007, with the intention of protecting both the building and its landmark sign.

That protection was bent to allow Ryerson's expansion, thanks in part to the school's promise to return the sign to its former position. We may not care about that sign anymore, but we should still care about living up to one’s responsibilities.

Ryerson University moved into Sam Sniderman’s house and promised not to tear down the wallpaper. That wallpaper is now gone, as kitschy and distracting as it may have been.

If you move into my house and tear down my wallpaper, I won't help you paint the walls. I would question what type of person I had invited into my home. And then I'd probably show you the door.

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