This production captures the stone construction of what is now called the “Whitney Block”, part of the Government of Ontario buildings at Queen’s Park. While the film’s theme explores the “ancient trade of stone masonry” there is a high level of mechanization throughout the construction process from quarrying at Queenston, in Niagara, from cutting the stones into massive slabs for the building’s walls to final stone carving over the entrance, which requires pneumatic chisels that still appear to require manual precision.

“A Story of Stone” 1925, film, 9 minutes 3 seconds, Graphic Consultants collection, accession number 1972-0105, item number ISN 194560, Library and Archives Canada.

Film editing by David Sobel. Music by Allen Booth

Further Discussion

Hull, J.P. "Raising Standards: Public Works and Industrial Practice in Interwar Ontario." Scientia Canadensis, vol. 25, 2001, pp. 7–30. DOI: 10.7202/800426ar

Osbaldeston, Mark. Unbuilt Toronto 2: More of the City That Might Have Been. Dundurn Press, 2011.