Tag: architecture

Univer-city

Many Canadians, who live somewhere other than Toronto, sometimes refer to our great city as the “Centre Of the Universe.” And not in a nice way! But the other day, as Peter and I had a chance to wander down University Ave, we both felt proud.

We started our journey along Hospital Row which is itself a cause for pride. There we passed Sick Kids’ Hospital, and Princess Margaret Hospital, both of which are known world-wide for their specialties. Then we came to Toronto General Hospital which has been chosen as the 2nd best hospital in the entire world. Pretty good, I’d say from personal experience, as I pat my new pacemaker!

Farther down on the right is the Canada Life Building, built in 1931 in the Beaux Arts style. It is particularly well-known for having the oldest weather beacon in Canada on top. The signals are clear: red for cloudy, flashing red for rain, white for snow, and green for sunny. Lights flashing up mean temperature going up, and flashing down means the opposite. The weather “report” is updated every 6 hours, but mostly this winter it has been white! Apparently the interior is magnificently adorned with gold leaf and marble, but we were on the other side of the street and had more things to see.

Back on the left side of the street are the McMurtry Gardens of Justice, enhancing the Superior Court of Justice building. In the gardens’ centre stands a provocative statue called the Pillars Of Justice by Edwina Sandys, 2007. The sculpture denotes the 12 jurors in our justice system, except – one of the jurors is missing. That spot is reserved for us, the ordinary citizens who are called upon to be part of our legal system.

At University and Queen we find the Four Seasons Centre For the Performing Arts. From the outside in the daytime, it’s uninspiring. The entrance looks like a square concrete box. But go inside for an event and enjoy the magnificent glass staircase, and the wood trim which enhance acoustics. Both the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet call this centre home.

Once again on University Ave, we are attracted to a pile of shiny metal on the right. We cross over again to inspect. In front of the Shangri La hotel stands a sculpture titled Rising. And indeed from some angles a dragon arises. This unique sculpture was designed and built in Shanghai, China, 2012, by artist Zhang Huan. In order to transport it to its destination in Toronto, it had to be disassembled, stored in 15 crates, and delivered by ship. Then it had to be re-assembled! The owner of Summit Metal in the village of Nobleton was selected for this painstaking work. Grant Kimber says it took him over 360 hours to assemble and weld all the pieces, including 300 birds, together.

Continuing south we notice the variety of architectural designs. We come upon this streetscape, with an historic church, a couple of modern glass office buildings, Roy Thompson Hall snuggled in between, and Metro Hall in the distance.

Finally we come to an end of University Ave as it intersects Front St,. For the grand finle we we come to a sweet folk art interpretation of our city:

Sue

Toronto For Italians

A few weeks ago Peter’s nephew Beniamino and his wife Anna announced that were coming to Toronto for 2 weeks at Christmas. It seemed a strange time to leave Italy and travel to Toronto and our cold and snowy weather. But we will be excited to see them.

Beniamino and Anna have entertained us countless times when we have gone to Italy. They have housed and fed us, driven us cross country, taken us to historic towns, classic concerts, and beautiful coastlines. They have even welcomed our friends and family into their lives. We owed them so much. How could we give them a similar experience?

First of all we told local family and relatives about the visit and everyone was excited to contribute to this holiday adventure. Then I decided to use my blog experiences to choose the best places in Toronto for Beniamino and Anna to enjoy. We started with the Eaton Centre. What visitor doesn’t want to buy a few souvenirs to take home?

From there we could walk over to the “old ” and “new” city halls, built in 1899 and 1965. But then I remembered our visit to Rome to see the oldest structure there, the Pantheon, built in 27 BC. Maybe we could show them our New architecture instead. We could walk south to King Street and look up at the glass and steel skyscrapers sparkling in the sun and almost touching the sky.

The AGO, Frank Gehry’s masterpiece, might be of interest. The Galleria Italiana, a long corridor made of glass and Douglas fir that cures along the front of the building and connects several galleries, shows off nicely. And maybe we could take them to a concert at Roy Thomson hall, another great modern building where the acoustics would highlight the sounds of “Bravissimo, a night at the Italian Opera. But how would it compare to a concert we had seen outdoors on a starry summer night in the courtyard of Cassamare, an old Italian convent built in the 1200’s?

What was the best way to show off Canada in the winter? Someone suggested a trip to Blue Mountain with cross country skiing and maybe a sleigh ride in the woods. Or we could do a day trip to Niagara Falls to see the lights. But what would Beniamino and Anna wear? Would they own tuques and mitts? Did Italians even know about thermal underwear?

Then I started thinking about food. For sure we would take them to Eataly for shopping and a meal. One day we would have to visit San Remo, an Italian bakery with huge line-ups and mouth-watering veal sandwiches. Or there was Queen’s Pasta on Bloor St for an elegant dinner. At home I cold cook minestrone soup and make polenta casserole.

Then someone casually mentioned that maybe these Italian visitors would like to sample some other choices in the most multicultural city in the world. Perhaps some Thai food? Or maybe a trip to Greektown. Or would they like to try a steak house? Or possibly some spicy Indian food.

Then other cracks began to appear in my carefully planned agenda. Would they have room in their suitcases for the shopping part? Do they like opera? Had I left enough time for them to visit other cousins and family members they know here? Had I allotted any time to just relax with an espresso?

In the end I made lists – places to visit, things to eat, people to see. Then I put the lists away. When Beniamino and Anna arrive we will give them big hugs and make espresso. And let the days go wherever they take us.

Sue

PS Happy Holidays dear readers. I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t write next Tuesday. I may be busy rewriting my lists.