Category: Architecture (Page 6 of 7)
The Cathedral Church of St. James is an Anglican cathedral at 106 King Street East, at the corner of Church Street. It is the location of the oldest congregation in the city, with the parish being established in 1797. The cathedral, with construction beginning in 1850 and opening for services on June 19, 1853, was one of the largest buildings in the city at that time. It was designed by Frederick William Cumberland and is a prime example of Gothic Revival architecture.
The Cathedral has been designated as an Ontario Heritage Property by the Ministry of Culture and also designated as a heritage site by Heritage Toronto.
St. George’s Chapel was dedicated in 1936, and the organ was overhauled at that time. It is a 30-seat Chapel. A design overview of St. George’s Chapel can be found here.
For some time, it’s been on my Toronto photography bucket list to explore College Street from absolute end to end. Having never been west of Bathurst Street on College, it was territory new to me – even better! My College Street photowalk turned out to be an absolute delight. Here’s a bit of what I encountered that day; to see all the shots from this photowalk, see the link at the bottom of this post.
On College Street
1155 College Street
On the corner of Dufferin Street & College Street
846 College Street, near Ossington Avenue
783 College Street. Revival is an event venue for hire.
In Portuguese Pioneers Parkette. Luis Vaz de Camões (1524-1580) is considered Portugal’s greatest poet.
Portuguese Pioneers Parkette
Northwest corner of Beatrice Street and College Street
Southeast corner of Grace Street and College Street
Southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street. Johnny Lombardi, Broadcaster and Founder of CHIN radio among many other things, was often referred to as the “Mayor of Little Italy”. He lived in the neighborhood all his life. This memorial to him was installed at the southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street in an area known as “Piazza Johnny Lombardi” in Little Italy. The sculptures were designed by Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales.
On College Street
Still at the corner of College and Bathurst Streets
410 College Street. St. George’s is a German–English speaking Lutheran congregation with German roots. Their focus is to offer German and English speaking congregational life in downtown Toronto.
326 College Street, corner of College and Major Streets. Gourmet hot dogs!
301 College Street, near Spadina Avenue
8 Robert Street, just off College Street. The sign out front says it is Iglesia Hispana La Casa de Misericordia Eterna (Spanish church), but the sign on the church door (and on Google Maps) says it is the Hungarian Reformed Evangelical Christian Church. Whatever it’s called I think it’s a pretty, quaint little church.
James Till PhD and Ernest McCulloch MD are globally recognized as the Fathers of Stem Cell Science for their research in the 1960s at the Ontario Cancer Institute and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. They received Canada’s Gairdner Award in 1961, and were inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2004, and won the Albert Lasker Aware for Basic Medical Research in 2005. Monuments sculpted by Ruth Abernethy in 2016.
Prior to yesterday, I hadn’t been across Dundas Street East for quite some time; it’s not the world’s most desirable area. At any rate, I was amazed at the changes and gentrification that has taken place there. I was especially struck by the contrast of The Filmores versus the towering new condos. Old Toronto meets New Toronto.
I love walking down St. Joseph Street in downtown Toronto. The street consists mostly of 1940s-era Art Deco and/or brownstone apartments. Much of the original architecture is still in place and, thankfully, the street has not been totally overrun with towering condos. Yes, there are some condos on this street, but they have been kept low (not counting FIVE St. Joseph near the corner of Yonge Street) and styled to match the existing architecture of the original buildings. I always feel like I’m stepping back in time when I walk through this small street, which really only stretches from Queen’s Park Crescent to Yonge Street; it’s a small street with big character, and there’s a lot of gay history here as well.
The national office of this organization dedicated to honouring and preserving the efforts of Canadian composers is located in a residence built in the Queen Anne style in 1892 for William J. Hill, who was a City Councillor and contractor. The Canadian Music Centre has been in existence since 1959 and moved into the building in 1984, and named the building the Chalmers House to recognize the financial contributions of Floyd and Jean Chalmers to renovate the premises.
A Dark Past: 16 St. Joseph Street
The street is quite idyllic until you come upon an apartment building at 16 St. Joseph. Whenever I pass by this building I always think of that atrocious murder of gay bar owner Sandy LeBlanc in September 1978, and I wonder who committed this violent murder and for what reason. This murder is famous in the annals of Toronto’s gay history, and remains unsolved to this day.
There has been a lot written on this particular murder so I won’t go into great detail here, nor am I qualified to – just Google it if you want to learn more. Basically, friends of Sandy LeBlanc became worried when they didn’t hear from him after a day or two. The friends went to the apartment building and kicked Sandy’s door in – they found LeBlanc’s bloody body on the floor. He had been stabbed over 100 times – the police called it “overkill” and I can certainly see why. Police at the time found bloody footprints leading from the carpet in the bedroom to a window overlooking the alley. Reports said the carpet was so thick with blood it squished when officers walked on it. A bloody handkerchief was also found on the front lawn of the property.
Anyway, back to the street…
The row of five buildings were Second Empire style rowhouses completed in 1879. They are listed in the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District and designated under Part IV and Part V, of the Ontario Heritage Act. The buildings feature red brick cladding with a mansard roof over moulded brick frieze. Tapered stone lintels top windows and door openings.
“FROM ONE NARRATIVE TO THE NEXT / IF NOT TOMORROW TOMORROW / LUCKY ENOUGH TO FLY INTO THE FLAME / SLOWLY SURELY DISAPPEARING / FOLLOWED BY MOMENTS OF EQUILIBRIUM”
And… that’s about it. If you’re interested in the history of Toronto’s gay clubs from the 60s, 70s and 80s, check out the site Then & Now. There’s an abundance of detail there regarding Toronto’s gay past and it makes for fascinating reading, especially if you were in the scene at the time.
This emerging new Toronto neighbourhood on Lower Jarvis Street is called East Bayfront. The land is currently undergoing a transformation from industrial use to mixed-use as part of Waterfront Toronto’s plans to create a residential and commercial district urban core near the lake. The area is bordered by Parliament Street to the east, Jarvis Street and the Jarvis Slip to the west, and the rail line and Gardiner Expressway to the north.
This was a great food court in which to hang out. The hundreds of little ceiling panels move freely, so when they catch the breeze the entire ceiling appears to move.
East Bayfront neighbourhood
3 Lower Jarvis Street, East Bayfront neighbourhood
Offers office space for co-working, Queen’s Quay East
East Bayfront neighbourhood
I have passed through the Grange Park many times but have never stopped to photograph it… until now. Grange Park is located south of the Art Gallery of Ontario, next to the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU) and north of University Settlement House, at the north end of John Street. The Park lends its name to the Grange Park neighbourhood in the vicinity of the park. Historically, the park was the backyard of The Grange, a manor that was later expanded and became the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Left on the plaque for the Queen Elizabeth II Rose Garden in Grange Park
Gwendolyn MacEwen
by TheKaunArtist, Grange Park
In the summer of 2017, “Large Two Forms” made the move from the corner of McCaul and Dundas Streets – where it lived since 1974 – to Grange Park. The sensuous curves of this larger-than-life sculpture invite visitors to interact with and explore the bronze giant.
The W. Garfield Weston Foundation commissioned Aquaverde for the redesigned Grange Park adjacent to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. This water sculpture resulted from a limited competition to design an artwork for the circular area at the end of a curved wall carrying a rill of water across the park. The design is a mirror polished stainless steel bowl which receives the water from the rill, with seven spouts delivering laminar flowing water into cups. The cups break the flow and create animation of the water that can be seen from a distance. LED lights are set below the cups to provide a programme of colour changing lighting at night. The park was reopened and Aquaverde inaugurated on July 8, 2017 by Mr. and Mrs. Galen Weston.
“The Grange” in foreground
Underneath the Sharp Centre for Design, 100 McCaul Street
It was a sunny afternoon when I shot these frames. The 24-carat gold in the Royal Bank Plaza windows at 200 Bay Street were reflecting the city beautifully…
A Few Shots of Bay Street
Brookfield Place is an often-photographed subject downtown, and why not?! The beautiful arches just beg to be captured.
Allen Lambert Galleria
The Allen Lambert Galleria, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, connects Bay Street with Sam Pollock Square. The 6-story high pedestrian thoroughfare is structured by 8 free-standing supports on each side of the Galleria. The supports branch out into parabolic shapes evoking a forest canopy or a tree-lined avenue due to the presence of building facades along the sides of the structure.
Sam Pollock Square
Who is Sam Pollock you may ask? I asked the same question and found out that he was a Canadian sports executive who was General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens for 14 years. In the 1990s, when the Hockey Hall of Fame relocated to downtown Toronto, the indoor public square at the end of the Allen Lambert Galleria was named Sam Pollock Square in his honour.
Latest Comments
I love black and white! Great job on putting together this collection.
There is nothing like a courtyard! And this one proves that. It is so enchanting and serene. I will put…
I have always loved 401 Richmond and used to go there a lot. I do find there is a diminished…
[…] weekend: the Roncesvalles Polish Festival and the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival. I’ve posted previously about the Ukrainian…
I came upon this by accident with a friend when it was under construction. At the time we said we…