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RESEARCHED WALL RECORD

Freedom Arches, Nathan Phillips Square

Toronto, Canada

43.653° N / 79.384° W
This record was researched and written for this atlas rather than taken from a source inventory, which is why it carries no listing reference. Every claim on it rests on the sources below. Nobody has confirmed it in person, so current condition and access may have changed. How the catalogue is built ↗
FragmentReportedOutdoor
A bronze plaque mounted at the base of a concrete arch in a city square.
The plaque at the base of the centre Freedom Arch, where the fragment is set. · Photograph: Throwaway618420, CC BY-SA 4.0 — source

The record

A block set into the base of a city-hall arch, flown over by the German consulate in 1991 for the Black Ribbon Day Committee.

A block of the Wall is embedded at the base of the centre Freedom Arch on the south side of Nathan Phillips Square, with a plaque. The arches over the square were dedicated to freedom in 1989 and the block was added afterwards. The organising body is the part worth recording: the Black Ribbon Day Committee, the Eastern European diaspora campaign that marks the anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The object is German, the square is Canadian, and the argument being made is about the Baltic states and the pact that delivered them to Moscow.

How did it get here?

Bought by Marcus Hess, an engineer from Kitchener, and flown to Canada by the German consulate in 1991. The naming of the arches and the placement of the block were a project of Hess and the Black Ribbon Day Committee.

Sources & verification

Freedom Arches — Toronto LocalWiki ↗
The block at the base of the centre arch, the Hess purchase, the 1991 consulate flight and the Black Ribbon Day Committee's role.
Source accessed 2026-09-17

What's there at Nathan Phillips Square — City of Toronto ↗
The city's own listing of the square's features, including the arches.
Source accessed 2026-09-17

Last verified: Not yet verified

Our sourcing standards

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On the map

Source-reported position. This marker may identify a general area; it is not confirmed visitor guidance.