Garage Doors and Barn Doors
Garage doors in Toronto have evolved from humble beginnings even as they had practical objectives. As the 19th century drew to a close and the horseless carriage, that is the automobile, made its early appearance on the streets of Toronto, 'car owners' contemplated how to protect their new possessions.
Yes, there was the barn to protect the mode of travel, which in those days was the horse and buggy. But protecting and parking the automobile, known in those days as the 'horseless carriage,' was a challenge for which a solution has not yet emerged. And so, the barn as well as the tool shed commonly doubled for storing this unique vehicle.
As time went on, it became evident to residents of Toronto, at least among those that owned automobiles, that storing an automobile next to cows or horses might lend a kind of 'fragrance' from the barn to the automobile that may not be in the best interest of automobile drivers or passengers.
Garage Doors for Toronto's 'Horseless Carriage'
As you can see in image (1), the door of the barn is quite primitive compared to modern garage doors in Toronto today. In fact, there is no door to speak of. There is simply an opening where a door should be. And yes, these kinds of edifices protective of horses also doubled for storing the 'horseless carriage.' But for reasons outlined above, this was not a very practical situation. So, designers endeavored to make changes. In the artist's rendering to the right in image (2), designers conceived of housing both the buggy and the 'horseless carriage' in the same building. The barn's openings reveal doors, in fact they're the prototype of early garage doors as they might have looked in the early days of Toronto. So, in this case, the buggy and the 'horseless carriage' were housed in the same building
Garage Doors in Transition
Transition from rural life style to urban living brought about further changes to the garage. Photo (3) from the early twentieth century shows that the garage was developing its own unique identity. This building, although shed like in appearance, is no longer used for housing animals. Nor is it used for housing a buggy, but is specifically built for the 'horseless carriage' or the automobile. This building can be viewed as an authentic garage, albeit an early version of the very classy and automated garages we have today. The doors are simply double doors with swing hinges for opening and closing. From these earliest beginnings, the appearance of the garage and its functionality began
to change.
As the car began to play an important part in the lives of Toronto residents, it was natural that protecting this important part of life should also receive valued consideration. Hence, the garage and its doors received gradual improvements that continues to this day. Garage installations, garage openers, as well as garage doors evolved into exquisite technical marvels that have come to enhance our modern residential life style.
Garage Doors in Toronto become Electric Powered
In image (3), where the garage doors were simple double doors that swung out wards, also created operational complications. The doors swung into the hedges alongside the drive way and made accessing the car, after a snow fall during the winter, even more complicated. So, in the early 1920's the over head garage door was
developed as shown in image (4). Such an operation saved space, and removed some of the complications of swinging the doors outward over the driveway. Mostly formed of wood, the door panel lifted upward and into a recess below the ceiling of the garage. While this was an improvement, the doors were quiet heavy and so around 1927 openers were developed that were powered by electricity.
Garage Doors Go High-Tech
Even though electric powered garage doors added more conveniences to the life style of Toronto residents, the overhead garage door was going to benefit from even more improvements. It was noticed as the overhead garage door was lifting upward, it was also swinging outward, so valuable driveway space needed to remain free just for this operation. So, further modifications were made to the garage door to save even more space.
The development of the 'roll-up' type garage door built in sections and hinged together between the panels became the new modern standard that we know today. In image (5) you can see how the traditional look of garage doors
and barn doors are part of the modern garage door heritage. However, behind the traditional look is a modern remote controlled 'roll-up' type garage door system that powers the opening and closing of the doors; and even has built in safety features that automatically stops the door should a child pass under the closing doors.
Today, residents of Toronto enjoy the highest standards and most advanced high tech garage doors available on the market today.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)