Two murals that once adorned the former Don Mills Centre have been fully restored to connect the past with the present. One of them - a colourful mural now mounted on Lawrence Ave. East - was originally created by local resident Charles Staffer in 1962 when he was a working as an architect and designer at Eaton’s planning office. It depicts Don Mills’ housing, the local sports arena and golf club, the old curling rink dome, religious institutions, family life, the Don River and Edwards Gardens. When contacted by Cadillac Fairview a few months ago, the delightful 80-year-old was excited to learn that his mural was being restored all these years later. The following is his story. Sadly, Mr. Staffer recently passed away and his funeral was held on Monday, April 20 – just two days before the official opening of the new urban village.
Charles Staffer credits two individuals with turning him on to art. One was his late grandfather, Bela Staffer, who was a well-known sculptor back in Hungary and whose carvings adorn Charles’ spacious Toronto condo. The other was Mickey Mouse.
“When I was a child growing up in Budapest, I used to fill notebooks with my own intricate hand drawn comic strips featuring Mickey Mouse in action,” recalls Charles, 80, as he proudly shows off one of the precious notebooks he has stored safely for all these years.
Today, Charles is a retired architect, designer, painter and proud Grandpa. He’s also the man behind the beautifully restored mural that will adorn the new Shops at Don Mills. Back in 1962, while working as an architect and designer at Eaton’s planning office, Charles was charged with designing a two-storey mural for the Don Mills Centre. He not only came up with the concept but ended up building most of it in his basement on weekends.
“When my boss, Eaton’s chief architect E. L. Hankinson, gave me the opportunity to design and create this mural, I was very excited to get involved,” recalls the gentle man with the infectious smile.
To the untrained eye, the mural might look like a colourful jumble of shapes and colours. But the longtime Don Mills resident explains he had the community in mind when he set pencil to sketch paper. Look closely and the neighbourhood comes to life with houses and apartment buildings, the local sports arena and golf club, the old curling rink dome, religious institutions, family life, and even the Don River and Edwards Gardens. It took him about a month to build the mural. When it was finally erected on the Don Mills Centre, Charles climbed the scaffolding to put on the final touches and his picture appeared in the Toronto Daily Star.
After 18 years at Eaton’s, Charles became a special projects designer with Ontario Government Services where he was responsible for numerous high-profile provincial projects including the Eastern Grey Squirrel Plaque at Queen’s Park and a plaque commemorating the Air India crash. He also met the late Queen Mother when she unveiled Charles’ plaque in honour of the Queen Elizabeth Way’s 50th anniversary.
Still, Charles’ busy professional life didn’t keep him from painting. He was the first president of the Hungarian Visual Artists of Canada (HuVAC) and he has been an advisory committee member of the John B. Aird Gallery for more than 15 years. And now that his mural is back on the books, he’s in the spotlight yet again.
“When I heard that the mural was being restored, all the memories came flooding back,” says Charles. “The new shopping centre will be a terrific addition to the community, and I can’t wait to see the mural on the new building.”
Photo Credit: Gail Hammer Photography