Cabinets Upgrade Phase I Completed

The majority of our exhibit cases are beautiful oak department store counter style. While these look great, it means that many of the objects and labels are only a six inches from the floor, and you don’t have to be 6’3″ and have trifocals to find these awkward to view. So in 2022, we engaged a museum exhibit consultant to assist us in considering options (within our limited budget.)

The solution was to create 18″ ‘risers’ which would raise the cabinets enough to make the objects and labels more visible while still meeting accessibility requirements. We contracted with Holman Inc. to build four risers in 2022 and were extremely happy with the construction and their matching of colour to the existing cabinets. They also have nylon sliders which will make them easier to access for cleaning or changing exhibits without the risk of scratching the floors.

This year we ordered seven more risers to complete the upgrade for our remaining oak cabinets. These were all installed by our museum team last Thursday evening which involved removing objects and labels from each cabinet, lifting them up onto their new riser, giving them a good clean, returning the objects and labels, and moving them back into their position. “Teamwork makes the dream work” as they say! Thanks to Curator Shaun Kelly for managing the project and to all our volunteers for pitching in.

We’ve also been installing LED lighting on timers inside each cabinet to further improve the visibility of the objects. This has been completed on several cabinets but we’re still sorting out power for some others. Despite Sir Henry bringing hydroelectricity to Toronto, Casa Loma doesn’t have many outlets – I guess there just weren’t many things to plug-in in 1911!

Thanks also to the Casa Loma staff for their help in getting the risers to the third floor!

Phase II will be determining the best option for our aluminum-framed cabinets used for the more modern era’s.

If you would like to help offset the cost of these upgrades and support all the work of the Regimental Museum and Archive, we invite you to donate to The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Trust Fund and apply your donation to the Museum Fund.