Each day now work proceeds on the restoration of the gates- it is quite dramatic, although slow to watch as it seems each step takes hours or rigging and careful attention to the process.
from wikipedia…
The gates are made of a mix of stone and concrete. The statue at the top of the arch is the “Goddess of Winged Victory,” an interpretation of the original Winged Victory of Samothrace, designed by architect Alfred Chapman of Chapman and Oxley, and carved by Charles McKechnie. In her hand she holds a single maple leaf. There are nine pillars to either side of the main arch, representing the nine Canadian provinces in existence at the time of construction. Flanking the central arch are various figures representing progress, industry, agriculture, arts and science. The gates were designed by Chapman & Oxley in Beaux-Arts style.
During the fall of 1986 the Winged Victory statue was taken down and found to be seriously deteriorating. It was subsequently replaced by a glass-reinforced polymer plastic copy in 1987, designed to withstand the elements for over a century. That same year the gates officially became a listed building under the Ontario Heritage Act.
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These monumental Beaux-Arts gates are beautiful. They remind me of the monumental public spaces and infrastructure built in European capitals during the era of (European) imperialism. The Ex was supposed to get a variety of monumental buildings to match it, but there was supposedly a lack of money.
Thankfully, these landmark gates are being thoroughly restored. But it's so strange to see the columns dismantled like that.