|
Hot Off The Press!! New pix of Toronto
Someone suggested to me that I copy my SSC photoblog of pictures that
I have been doing since last Winter. I originally posted too many pix all at once, forgetting that I needed to add a few blank entries in to replace the comment ones for SSC, or they would all pile up on one page here. So... I start first with pix from early Spring. I hope you enjoy my on-going photo blog of my city, Toronto! |
A few more pix I took this morning, while out walking the dogs. This time in my
neighbourhood. http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/1...rvisstv1rv.jpg http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/5...isstiii0lv.jpg http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/5...arvisst9wz.jpg The almost completed new home for the National Ballet of Canada School: http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/2...letofcanad.jpg Allan Gardens, where my dogs love to run. It is the home of the Toronto Horticultural Society, formed in 1834, and a fine place to go on a chilly day when you want Spring to hurry up!! http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/2...ardensi7dp.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/8...rdensii8pn.jpg http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/3...densvii3re.jpg http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/3...ensviii1bm.jpg |
Yesterday was a lovely sunny day, so I grabbed my camera and went out snapping..
the first fellow is a bit of the "local colour" who wears this outfit year 'round and is always eager for any publicity! ;) http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/741...06zanta3hg.jpg Some pix taken more uptown, toward Yonge/Eglinton, and Yonge/Summerhill: http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1...glinton4ty.jpg An old train station beautifully renovated into the largest and best liquor store in Canada-an 8000 sq metre Temple o' Booze: http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/580...erhilli5zg.jpg http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4...thieves0dr.jpg Then hop on the subway and head downtown: http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8...latformsub.jpg http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/581...an1910i7dy.jpg http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/898...onbldgi2pu.jpg http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1...ficevii9en.jpg http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5...officei5qy.jpg these shots were all on Bloor St, and here is one looking West: http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2...onbloori3t.jpg Back on the subway, and right downtown to the financial district: http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8...wnshots8fh.jpg http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6...tsxibetter.jpg http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/371...shotsvi1ol.jpg http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3...nshotsv3ju.jpg http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1...nshotsi4uy.jpg http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/2...tstdbetter.jpg Then a wander over to Queen Street, and the entertainment district: http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1...tmarket3ik.jpg Dinner at the Queen Mum, in an old building that started out as a tailor shop in 1850 http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/502...cafe18507p.jpg Catch a movie ( Ice Age 2): http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1...rsparamoun.jpg http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1...rsparamoun.jpg And up the long escalators....... http://img348.imageshack.us/img348/1...rsparamoun.jpg View out the lounge window after the movie: http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/1...mparamount.jpg then the walk home- here is the almost completed new home of the Canadian Opera Company, that will open this year with a series of four epic operas Der Ring des Nibelungen: http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5...racompany2.jpg and finally, as Samuel Pepys famously said "and then to bed"! |
I know this seems a bit "bloggish", but here are some pics from my past week. I
like to jump on the subway or streetcar and photograph some of the neighbourhoods in Toronto. This week I was briefly in Little Italy/Portugal, and yesterday I visited The Beaches (or, as some yuppies insist, the grander sounding "The Beach"!). I will start with a few pix from Little Italy: http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6...sceneii9js.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...ceneiii6mp.jpg The Beaches is an area about a mile or so due East of downtown. There are several lovely beaches there, and it is about as closest thing to Vancouver life that exists East of the Rockies. Fiercely proud and very family oriented, the Beaches are always an excellent place to visit on a sunny day. As always, my pix are in no particular order, just snapped as I go along my wanderings. Let's start with the 1850's Ashbridge House, which still charms us to this day: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/3...ouse18547t.jpg The beach I chose to go to yesterday was Kew Beach, in the heart of "The Beaches". It is still too early for sunbathing, but the charming Victorian habit of "promenading on the boardwalk" is still a big part of life in the beaches. Yesterday was no exception and the boardwalk was crowded all afternoon: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/5...rdwalkii7m.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1...ewbeach7ya.jpg http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/5...rdwalkiii3.jpg Even the housing is different in The Beaches... because there is very much a "seaside" feeling (albeit on a lake), much of the residential architecture has a mediterranean flair, with an emphasis on outdoor balconies: http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2...ehouseiii9.jpg http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/9...ehousesii5.jpg the quaint old 1915 Beaches Library: http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/7...ary19155kx.jpg and some street scenes: http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/9...estation2m.jpg http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6...esscene4eu.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5...scenexv6tr.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3...sceneii1sz.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4...nonthebeac.jpg The Beaches has a bit of a reputation as being a laid-back, hippie community which stems from the 70's. Remnents remain. This is the Church of the Universe: http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1...rchoftheun.jpg Let's catch the streetcar and head toward downtown. http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7...enexiii9vv.jpg Here are scenes along the way: St Paul's Basilica.. a Roman Catholic church which is an unusual Italian Renaissance style: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2...lica18993u.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9...licalapiet.jpg The old 1879 Dominion Brewery, since renovated for office space: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/4...brewery0gu.jpg and various downtown shots: http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5...1006pix4if.jpg http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/981...ryerson5qw.jpg http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/112...frisbee5mz.jpg http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9...yersoni2uy.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9...ersonii7xg.jpg http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3...stro9907xo.jpg Our Lady of Lourdes Church across from the No Thrills in Jamestown: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...ourdesi2br.jpg http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5...canyoni9xe.jpg http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5...eastside3c.jpg http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/3...theymca9pl.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4...hmabeer1cr.jpg http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/9...stscene8hp.jpg Here is an empty old Georgian style brick building, almost 200 years old. Handsome, but in poor shape... will this survive into its second century? http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/3...dgeorge9vl.jpg http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/6...tebolista3.jpg More downtown buildings: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2...queenst1re.jpg a smart old Greek Revival townhouse from the 1850's: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1...segreekrev.jpg an old Knights of Columbus hall: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2...olumbus6ma.jpg a landmark hotel, The Selby, whose claim to fame was having Ernest Hemingway as a tenant while he lived in Toronto as a reporter for The Toronto Star: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5...byhotel8wp.jpg Victorian rowhouses.. http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8...yhoteli7hg.jpg and various downtown sights: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/4...staurant3q.jpg men playing chess: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5...players0vd.jpg an old library built in the now toney Yorkville, by the Carnegie Foundation, about 100 years ago: http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9...rarymaybe1.jpg http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1...brarymaybe.jpg an old mid 1800's firehall in Yorkville: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...restation1.jpg http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/6...hurchst9ss.jpg evening sets in: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/6...tscenev7dt.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5...enesams5kr.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2...sceneii0sr.jpg Construction is everywhere downtown, and only rests at night: http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/1...606rocp2pl.jpg http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3...106mars6tl.jpg http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1...ceneiii3oc.jpg and then finally home, and one last look off the balcony before bed: |
This past weekend I ventured out to Roncesvalles St, which is the heart of the Polish community in Toronto. I went on a Monday afternoon, which is a strangely quiet time to visit the street... many of the businesses close Monday, and as this is a strongly working class neighbourhood most people are at work. There is a sometimes shabby, but very comfortable 50's feel to this street- I think a big wave of Poles came to Canada around that time, and it continued to the mid 80's. Today the neighbourhood is finding increasing influx of other nationalities, and young people from across the city seeking inexpensive lodgings, with good shopping nearby. However, the heart and soul of Roncesvalles remains Polish. I hope you enjoy this little tour, even though
it is not a glamorous part of Toronto, it is part of what makes our city a "City of Neighbourhoods" :) http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/4...vallesv0qg.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9...lesxxxi1ej.jpg I remember years ago when I first became aquainted with this street, I marvelled that it seemed to be a street where the Churches looked like Banks: http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8...lesxxii1gq.jpg and the Banks (or in this case Credit Union) looked like Churches: http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9...esxxviii9t.jpg Some street scenes: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/4...allesii7uu.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5...llesiii4cn.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8...allesiv7sp.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1...lesviii0tb.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9...vallesx6oo.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1...allesxi8lh.jpg The main Polish Church (which does not look like a bank!! ) http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/4...esxxxxi0ti.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1...esxxxiv8wx.jpg The best bakery on the street, which makes the best Easter goodies.. Mrs. Granowska's: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2...esxxxii9kt.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3...esxxxiii3k.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2...esxxvii1xx.jpg One of the local weekly Polish newspapers: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9...lesxxvi6mc.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9...llesxxv5ia.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8...lesxxiv6jh.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9...llesxix7zc.jpg I was crushed to find my favourite chocolate shop, Wedels, has closed, but was relieved to find I could still buy some of their products: http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7...llesxvi3rk.jpg Strangely, while one side of the street are solid shops and restaurants, the other side is almost completely residential. Very post WWII houses, looking right out of an old Archie Bunker show: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9...llesxii1kv.jpg http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1...esxxxxiv4n.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6...esxxxxix4m.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2...esxxxxv2gq.jpg http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2...esxxxxvi5b.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7...esxxxxvii3.jpg My favourite of the many Polish delicatessans along the street: http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9...esxxxxx1eo.jpg http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/8...esxxxxxi4j.jpg http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2...esxxxxxv0t.jpg http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/7...esxxxxxvi0.jpg There is pretty much anything you need to buy, on Roncesvalles... you just have to keep your eyes open: http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4...esxxxxxvii.jpg http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6...esxxxxxvix.jpg Walking and gawking and snapping pix is hot, thirsty work and a fella works up a big appetite. I figured I deserved a "fix" of good old fashioned Polish cooking, so I swung into Krak, my favourite restaurant on the street: http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6...esxxxviii4.jpg Sure, its a bit hokey and 50's..... http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4...esxxxxxxii.jpg http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1...esxxxxxxv1.jpg but the people are always friendly, and the food always delicious. Here you can see I enjoyed schnitzel, cabbage rolls, and meat pierogi. All washed down with a frosty Zywiec or two.... Nosdrovia! :cheers: http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1...esxxxxxxvi.jpg Thanks for taking this little tour with me through one of my favourite neighbourhoods! |
Hello! Me again... here is what has been going on in my life these past three weeks. I apologize in advance if there are too many pictures... but Spring is such a beautiful time that I have been out snapping photos on any sunny day off. My first stop was on April 28 to the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition the oldest and largest annual fair in the world. In 1878 it settled in its current location in Toronto and has not looked back. This is off season for the fairgrounds, and workmen are just starting to tinker about and get it ready for the summer season ahead. We enter the fair through the grand gates, which you could say are Toronto's answer to the Brandenburg Gates. Opened in 1927 by Edward, Prince of Wales, these portals are appropriately called the Princes' Gates:
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/8...e1927iv8dj.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/5...te1927v0xf.jpg http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/6...e1927ii2zg.jpg Most of the architecture on the CNE grounds tends toward the theatrical grandiose.... none of it is a pure style... none of it is done with particular finesse (concrete statues replace marble ones) but this type of fairground entertainment was the opiate of the masses, and the masses demanded to be awed with some of the grandeur that they imagined lay far from the farming community that they tended. The result is a romantic hodge-podge of styles that has held up remarkably well over the years: http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/5...ressbuildi.jpg http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/2...dsscene0sy.jpg http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6...undsiii2lj.jpg http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/8...roundsi1ot.jpg http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/3...undsiii4xc.jpg http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/5...ndsviii3vz.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/4...undsvii5lp.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/9...ndsxiii1wt.jpg The heart of the CNE was historically the agricultural show, which carries on to this date in the form of the annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Here is the charming old Art Deco "Horse Pavillion": http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/4...villion9ye.jpg Ironically, nearby I encountered a couple of mounted City of Toronto policemen. This mounted force is a vital part of our city life, and we see them downtown frequently on their magnificent steeds: http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/3...orontopoli.jpg http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/8...ildings2bz.jpg And, a visit to the CNE grounds is a visit to the very cradle of Toronto... this is where Europeans first settled and built a fortification in 1750 called Fort Rouille: http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6...lle1750vie.jpg As you can see, this fort held a commanding view of the Harbour: http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/6...lle1750vie.jpg Also on the grounds sits the oldest existing residence in Toronto... a humble log cabin built in 1794 by John Scadding. I have a mental image of Mr Scadding sitting at his supper table, reading the only newspaper in Toronto at the time, The Upper Canada Gazette, of exciting and rebellious events happening in France that would lead to Napoleon Bonaparte declaring himself emperor ten years later: http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6...cabin1794i.jpg The good Mr Scadding and his family must have been short people, for when I stand upright on his doorstep my chin hit the top of the door! LOL! One hopes Mr. Scadding was not tall and came home drunk one night.... Mr. Scadding would surely have felt he was drunk had he looked out his window and saw this, North America's first urban wind turbines, modelled after those in Denmark. So, from the past we go to the future: http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/5...roundsx3de.jpg The weather was fine, and my day was free... so I wandered back over the bridge to Old Fort York, which dates back to 1793, and was burned to the ground in the War of 1812 by our American friends, and rebuilt as we see it today. Here is a view from an overpass showing the view from the CNE location relative to downtown. Interestingly, the Gardiner Expressway was closed that day for repairs: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/1...iewdowntow.jpg Welcome to Old Fort York: http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9...entrancei8.jpg http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/3...barracksi4.jpg Where the soldiers slept: http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/6...barracksin.jpg and where the officers took dinner in the Officer's Mess: http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/3290/smess3je.jpg The old Union Flag, which changed to the current Union Jack shortly after this fort was founded: http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/523...nionjack2p.jpg |
Now, onto the streetcar, and then on the subway to High Park, to view the magnicent
display of Japanese flowering cherry trees... these are the earliest to bloom (late April) and are called Somei-Yashino and were donated by Japan to Toronto in 1960. But first, a couple of subway scenes as I get off to go to High Park: http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/250...platform2b.jpg http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/47/...station1ke.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/5...ssomsxi4ib.jpg http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/9...ssomsvii7u.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/4...ssomsxvii9.jpg http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/861...ssomsiii6q.jpg http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5...ssomsvi9rp.jpg and the final picturesque setting of Grenadier Pond..... http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/6...ssomsxi3qv.jpg Back downtown for a well deserved dinner on Queen Street, and just enough energy for two more shots before I trundle home with sore feet and a full memory chip of pix! http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/2...egeofarti2.jpg http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1...egeofartdo.jpg And so, to bed.. :) |
Another day, another photographic adventure. What better way to see April out than to tour through Cabbagetown. Cabbagetown was settled in the 1800's by Irish families who fled the famine to find a new life in Canada. It is one of the largest intact collections of brick Victorian houses in North America, and... if there is a more blatantly picturesque neighbourhood in all of Toronto, then I am a monkey's uncle. Cabbagetown was headed for typical 1950's North American urban decay... but its downward spiral was halted by the wonderful luck of an amazing group of urban planners who took
root in Toronto in the 60's to halt the "doughnut" effect of a hollow downtown with suburbs. In particular, gay men took to the dingy old Victorian neighbourhoods, and soon real estate was spiralling. Today it remains a highly desireable area to live, and is a short 15 minute walk from the gay village. It has a strong community feel to it, and is a wonderful place to raise a family. Come with me on a tour of Cabbagetown in the Spring... a heady mix of fragrant cherry trees and magnolias. Enjoy!!: http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4...etownii6ip.jpg http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/7...magnolia0v.jpg http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/2...convenienc.jpg http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/4...getownv8hq.jpg http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8...wellesleyc.jpg http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/5...melianears.jpg http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/7...ceneoldnur.jpg http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3...scenevi0bi.jpg http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/3...cenevii2qq.jpg http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8...cenexvi3jb.jpg http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1...etownii3hv.jpg http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9...getownv2cc.jpg http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/8...wnscene7rv.jpg Down to the ravines of the Don River.... http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/1...riverdaler.jpg and the magnificent Riverdale Park. This extensive park also houses quite an exotic petting zoo for children, and an 1850's Ontario farmhouse that acts as a focal point for the park. In the summer on Tuesdays there is an organic vegetable market where produce of the farm is sold to the public. Lots of old fashioned vegetables grown from heritage seeds, and bread baked in an outdoor oven: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7273/dsci00050dh.jpg http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6...verdalepar.jpg http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/6...verdalefar.jpg http://img470.imageshack.us/img470/3...rontonecro.jpg http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/3...rontonecro.jpg http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2...townxii2nu.jpg http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4...ownxvii0zh.jpg http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/6...agetown2ax.jpg Another picturesque Victorian Chapel, St. James-the-Less: http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1...schapeliii.jpg and as we walk back toward the village, an Afghani man peddling some exotic carpets: http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/2...ghanrugs8d.jpg |
edited to cut down on the number of photos on page one! Sorry....
|
Wow, this is one of the best photos threads I've seen in a long time. Well done.:cheers:
|
Another fine day, so on May 17 I set out to enjoy the wonders of Queen's Park. This
glorious park was a "planned" park... laid out and designed in 1860, and named after the reigning Queen Victoria. http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1...parkiii7vm.jpg http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9...sparkiv1ie.jpg Our provincial legislative buildings: http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/3...islatureii.jpg http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/6...kingnorth5.jpg http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/1...ticestatue.jpg and across the road to the University of Toronto. The largest university in Canada, this magnificent downtown campus was granted by Royal Charter in 1827. The grounds are a peaceful oasis in the rush of downtown life... join me on this spring tour! Let us start with the 1866 momument to volunteers: http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/3...smonument1.jpg http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/2...ycollegese.jpg http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/3...ycollegepo.jpg http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/2...ycollegeii.jpg http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8...ycollegeco.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/7...ollegei7zn.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/3...college1lr.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/9...llegeinter.jpg http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/5...llegeiii2e.jpg A couple of lovely stained glass windows installed in old Trinity College in 1949. The first depicts a hockey scene: http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/6...asswindow8.jpg and the second looks eerily like Harry Potter: http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/8...asswindowi.jpg who I am sure would have felt right at home in the old halls , such as this one from Hart House: http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/2...oftorontoh.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/723...seiijpg8kj.jpg http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2...oftorontoh.jpg The old Observatory: http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/8...rvatory3fe.jpg Old cannons found in the harbour of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, that were sunk in a battle in 1750, and transported to the University to take their place on the lawns: http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/787...cannon1758.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/4...rthouse4fy.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/9...campusx1oq.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2...pusviii9fz.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6...mpusvii9ch.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/3...ampusvi0kv.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6...campusv6px.jpg http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/1...statuei7ej.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3...mpusiii9ie.jpg http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/4...ampusii6wj.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1...campusi0hf.jpg And leaving the campus, we travel south on University Avenue. This is the "Avenue d'etat" of Toronto... a grand boulevard sweeping through the heart of the business district: http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/7...sityave8fd.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9...estatue4nh.jpg http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8...ookingnor1.jpg http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/4...ityavei7tp.jpg and a visit to the gracious Osgoode Hall; home of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and built around 1830: http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5...odehall9kl.jpg http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7...ehallxv8rf.jpg http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5...hallxii8ki.jpg http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9...dehalli3au.jpg I've more pictures, but will save them for another day. Thanks for putting up with all the heavy downloading!! Cheers! |
Before I dash off to work, here are some pics that didn't make the cut, but I liked for
whatever goofy reason. Starting with the 1840's House Of Industry which I like mostly for its name! http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8...trybldg4fp.jpg Statue detail almost obliterated by weathering: http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/3...smonument1.jpg me in a purple haze: http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/7...epurple7nh.jpg A clever subway advertisment for the upcoming Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Makes me want to go and see some of the movies!! http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/8...nnerjew2it.jpg a liquour store in Old Town http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/4...iisepia8ds.jpg Our Flatiron Building: http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/2...ronbldg8ti.jpg A byzantine church on Bond Street: http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/2...chbondst4i.jpg an apartment building in my 'hood http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/6...llesley6hp.jpg City Hall during Tulip season: http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/7...tulipsi2xk.jpg a manhole cover installed in 1889 and still doing its job well today. Speaks volumes for the quality of work then: http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/7...lecover9kr.jpg And finally, I don't know how I missed this little guy. He is a fierocious monster from old China who guards the entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum. He looks pissed off!! http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2...1306rom0ss.jpg ok. I'm outta here. Dang.. just started to rain as I leave for work. Sheesh. |
I like to chose pix that have a bit of a story attached to them! I was going to be lazy and not post pix from this past couple of weeks, but Hey! now I am here I may as well put some on. They are just all jumbled up and are from various areas downtown. Let's start on May 09 with a bicycle tour around Rosedale. Rosedale
was Toronto's first bedroom suburb, and took its name from an old 1821 farmhouse there called Rosedale Villa. It quickly became a leafy retreat for the elite of Toronto, and to this day is home to many of Toronto's older, monied elite families. There are neighbourhoods of bigger, flashier, newer homes... but none have more charm or cachet than these gracious residences. The first picture shows the relation of Rosedale to downtown Toronto: http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/999...sedalei5er.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/684...alexjpg5by.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/619...cottage8sf.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/7...sceneiv5ln.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/206...ceneiii7dz.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/9...escenei5ae.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/826...ere1821cot.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/349...edaleii8ad.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/5...eiscene4gw.jpg The day I rode my bike through, almost all of the houses had their gardeners out working to make the grounds ready for summer. This is not the type of neighbourhood where the family has to get out and plant the pansies themselves... Even new homes in this neighbourhood make a supreme effort to fit in with the older ones: http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/949...schwartzho.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/507...yblossoms3.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/407...blossomsi1.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/350...yblossomsi.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/705...exxxiiv2et.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/881...exxxiii5gk.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/395...lexxxii4se.jpg http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/2...dalexxx5ng.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/140...exxviii6sd.jpg http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/208...lexxvii3ry.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5...alexxix9yb.jpg http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/5...alexxiv1gc.jpg http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/7...dalexxi7wj.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8...alexvii9ry.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5...alexiii8pe.jpg http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/8...dalexii2qe.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8...leiviii1xf.jpg I can just see myself living here: http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/7...daleiiv2ai.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2...daleiii1es.jpg http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/9...sedalei5jj.jpg And cycling back downtown I noticed one of my favourite reno's of an old apartment building to a very smart condo. http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6...borough7yg.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/3...roughii1pa.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/3...oroughi4tk.jpg http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8...nandcoi9wp.jpg Beside the Rosedale Subway Station: http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/8...bwaystn7sr.jpg Ridpaths, an old Toronto furniture shop to the wealthy: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8...idpaths7tc.jpg |
Now fast forward to today, where I rode my bike downtown. First stopped in at St Lawrence Market for my lunch. This market started over 200 years ago as a farmer's
market, and is still much loved by Torontonians. Wonderful meats, vegetables, cheeses, fish and just about anything else can be bought here: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3...et200year1.jpg http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8...ket200year.jpg http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/7...onautosett.jpg Popping into St James Cathedral, where an organ recital was about to begin: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9...ralinterio.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/9...ralinterio.jpg This window is called an Amity (friendship window) to display the connection at the time of King George V between England/Canada/South Africa/Australia, NZ, etc... the quality is high, and the window was made by Tiffanys. It felt surreal taking the pix as Sir Edgar Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance crashed away in the background from the organ recital: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8...vwindow9kh.jpg One of the older gravestones from the church, laid in 1817: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1...ravestone1.jpg One of the two oldest Post Office buildings standing in TO, and now headquarters for the embattled Hollinger, Inc http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/4...toffice1tw.jpg Annesley Hall, part of the University of Toronto: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5...esleyhalli.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/6...gdowntown6.jpg One night we went to a Brazilian restaurant, located up in the original Little Italy: http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/8...leitaly6lu.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/1...irrio401gl.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/1...rio40ii1bf.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5...rrio40i9ux.jpg and in closing some pix I took last weekend in my neighbourhood, one some of the streets I walk my dogs on. So, these are from the gay village, and nearby Cabbagetown: http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/8...riatime7ue.jpg http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9...geareai3da.jpg http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/8...eareavi4dn.jpg http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/4...etowniv2pd.jpg http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/3...etownvi4ur.jpg http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/6...ropolis9ep.jpg http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/9...emetary1au.jpg http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/1...ogwoodi2xu.jpg http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/7...sonhousefo.jpg http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5...ododendron.jpg http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/674...eareavi9nw.jpg http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/3...areavii4jl.jpg http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/3...sonhouse7u.jpg And a dear old lion having a snooze after protecting this tombstone for the past 150 years ( I'd want a nap, too) http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7...tarylionse.jpg http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7...taryiii1zj.jpg Nothing is as pretty as dogwood in full bloom: http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/5...dogwood8fr.jpg Hope you liked tonight's tour, and I am so exhausted I am going straight to bed!!! Cheers! |
Pix from the last 18 hours... first coming home on my bike last night past the
rather grand entrance of the Princess Margaret Hospital with its superb broken pediment. If I had to take a broken arm anywhere, I would feel slightly better entering a grand portal like this! ;) http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4...rethospita.jpg Pix from walking the dogs.. just got back into my apartment. http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6...hrapark3im.jpg Cawthra Park, where I walk the dogs every day: http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/2...monteithst.jpg If you go through the portal shown, you come across charming Victorian rowhouses... if you look on the RHS, this is the townhouse where a Toronto barber and his wife had a baby in 1892 named Roy Herbert Thompson. I wonder if Roy, when playing on the steps of these townhouses, had any inkling that someday he would own a huge international fleet of newspapers including The Times of London. He was to become, of course, the famous Lord Thompson of Fleet. http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/9...dthompsono.jpg If you walk down my street, Church Street, be sure to look up at the rooflines of the old Victorian houses. There are some fanciful ones that I love to gaze upon: http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/2...oflines0kl.jpg Around the corner, and the dogs lead me to a very English style garden of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. I refuse to let them pee on one: http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7...enrhododen.jpg One of the hundreds of elegant old brownstone apartment blocks downtown, built to last in the 1800's. This whimsical old one always makes me smile! Plus I love the late Victorian Art Moderne lettering they used for the rather grand- sounding "St Charles Court"... the little white lions guarding the entrance look far from ferocious and appear to be swatting flies. http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/2...escourt6aq.jpg |
I didn't do a major photo shoot yesterday or today; been busy so just snapped
a few pix here and there. Firstly, here is a nice example of an old Victorian building being saved as part of the wave of condos sweeping the city. This old building used to be a community centre, and played host to "Homo Hops" back in the early 70's. Times changed, and need for such a space decreased, so this condo development, Jazz, was built: http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6...hurchst0qc.jpg http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/8...urchsti6aq.jpg While walking my ever patient dogs this morning, I snapped a couple of pix at neighbouring old homes on Jarvis Avenue. Jarvis was once THE street to have a smart house or townhouse on, in Toronto. There are wonderful examples of "Robber-Baron" houses that are all Victorian, and range in style from this fanciful Mock Medieval: http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/8...omesjpg3et.jpg to more classical Georgian: http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/6...thomesi7jk.jpg A popular style for both residential and public buildings in Toronto during Victorian times was Romanesque.. here is an example on St. Joseph Street that caught my eye: http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9...lmershouse.jpg And some earlier Victorian townhouses from about 1850, that probably had the Mansard rooflines installed twenty years later as a "modernisation": http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7...nhouses1pn.jpg http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8...nhousesii7.jpg I just got home after seeing DaVinci Code, and was famished, so stopped at my "local" for some take-out Buffalo Wings. The patio was packed with people taking advantage of the warmer weather: http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8...ldodger8em.jpg And, I have to say, the wings were most excellent! Night! |
Finally the dreary rainshowers seem to have left, and it felt much warmer tonight as I cycled home from work. A few random shot... first, our Legislature Building:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3...slature8cx.jpg http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7...ewindow7yv.jpg http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/3...arlesst5ko.jpg |
moved these pix to the end where there is more room!
|
edited to spread out the pix
|
| All times are GMT. The time now is 7:58 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Prev