Tag Archives: Toronto

Photography

Toronto Scenes

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The lights at two complicated, major intersections in downtown Toronto went out, and motorists quickly adjusted to treating them like four-way stops. This operated well up to a point, but police officers soon arrived to help out.

We visited the Art Gallery of Ontario where I was fascinated by the roof architecture. I vastly enjoyed many of the art exhibits, too, but I found that ceiling amazing!

From a window in the gallery, I could see apartments across the street that are about 150 years old. Many of these older buildings now have heritage status, and I love the juxtaposition of old and new.

The blue and grey building is the AGO’s exterior, again juxtaposed against a much older building. The plain wall was being prepped for an art display.

And last but not least, another view of the Toronto tower.

Happy weekend.

nature, Photography

Toronto Tower

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For 32 years ending in 2007, the iconic Toronto tower was the world’s tallest freestanding structure until it was displaced by the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper  in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

M and I have both been at the top of the tower before – as you can imagine, it has spectacular views of the city and Lake Ontario – but we felt that we didn’t need to go again. Do you see the moon to the left of the tower, above its viewing deck?

Instead, we enjoyed it from the rooftop patio of an adjacent hotel which itself provided beautiful city and lake views. Here’s one of the Skydome, where we had just watched a Blue Jays baseball game.

It was a beautifully warm, clear day, great for looking at the lay of the land!

Happy Monday.

musings, Photography

Campus House and Other Buildings

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On a recent visit to Toronto,

I strolled through the University of Toronto’s sprawling campus, which actually IS in the middle of downtown Toronto. The university grounds have lead to the preservation of a large swath of urban parkland as well as to the preservation of many of its original buildings. They are still going strong at an average age of about 130 years old, but have been re-purposed and refreshed with additions.

In this country, I still find it a little surprising to find excellently preserved old homes and other buildings living well in the centre of a big city, continuing to be useful and healthy. North America hasn’t been particularly good at this, but it’s getting better, I think.

Honouring age doesn’t just apply to buildings, it applies to people too, of course. The tendency to write people off because they’re “older” (whatever that means) is sad.

What do you think?