Along the Waterfront

Some of the adventures Peter and I have are not as successful as others.

Since June I have been wanting to write about the Toronto waterfront. Despite the fact that city planners allowed the construction of the Gardner Expressway and multi-storey condos on prime waterfront land, there are still gems near the Lake Ontario shoreline for the public to explore. On a recent Friday we decided to check them out.

One delightful spot in the east is Sugar Beach, which I wrote to you about in October, 2022. There isn’t much else to see on the waterfront until you continue west past Yonge St. along Queen’s Quay. The next place to explore is at York St – Love Park. I wrote about this too, last Valentine’s Day, when the park was still under construction. But it is finished now, and what a sweet little park it is! Beside the heart-shaped pond, there are animal sculptures everywhere. Kids often make a game of tag, running around and touching each one. There’s a lot of seating too – benches or tables and chairs – where you can relax or have a quick nap.

Farther west on Queen’s Quay are creative wooden decks resembling waves, popular with skate-boarders or toddlers learning to navigate on 2 feet. There’s a park reserved for cultural festivals, with something happening every weekend. And then there is the Amsterdam Brew House, our favourite waterfront restaurant. On our recent visit we were led to a new spot – a rooftop patio witih a view of kayaks paddling past, yachts docking at the wharf, and float planes taking off.

Then we visited the Salmon Run fountain at the Rogers Centre. This was one of my favourite outdoor fountains in days past, but it had fallen into disrepair, the empty fountain floor filling with debris. Then I read in a local newspaper that repairs were being made, so we went to see. I’m sorry to report that nothing has been done so far and the poor salmon languish, waiting for the water to rush by once again and propel them on their way to higher spawning ground.

Next on our list was The Well. I had heard about this unique condo community, recently built in the west part of the city, near the waterfront, or so I thought. I had envisioned water cascading from a well, along a water-lillied stream, towards the lake, in a park designed by landscape architect Claude Cormier. Instead we found a tall non-descript condo building, bordering on the GO train tracks, with no green space in sight. The only reference to a well was the slogan: “LIving Well.”

But there was one more waterfront gem on our trip – the Music Garden. Meandering towards Bathurst along the waterfront, this lovely oasis was created in the 1990’s. Famed cellist, Yo-Yo Ma interpreted the music of Bach’s Suite #1 For Solo Cellists, designing the garden as an accompaniment. He created 6 sections in the garden, representing the movements in the music. Even though we didn’t fully understand the musical-botanical relationship, we still enjoyed wandering through this garden paradise.

You could say that our trip along the waterfront ended on a high note.

Sue