Modern Concert Hall

Contrasting with yesterday's vintage church, directly across the street from it you will find Roy Thomson Hall. It was designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and built in 1982. It is now the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as well as the location for many other events and concerts during 'normal' times.

Vintage Church

 This is St Andrew's church which is found downtown at the corner of King St W and Simcoe St. It was built in 1876 and now has heritage protection. As you can see it has become surrounded by office towers but the recent building boom of condos has meant that more and more people are joining the congregation. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Strange Seating

I've shown you a couple of different types of seating found along King St W and thought I would show you this highly unusual one. It is made from plastic tubes stacked up to form patterns and one small bench area towards the right side. I doubt that it is very comfortable.

Over The Moon

These two benches were located beside all of yesterday's chairs along King St W. At first I wasn't sure what they represented but it feels like the one on the left is a crescent moon and the other is a full moon. And of course that is one of our streetcars passing by in the background.

Pull Up A Chair

This is the scene along King St W across the road from yesterday's building,  the Royal Alexandra theatre.  I took this pic early on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago before the frost hit us so I'm not sure if there are any flowers left. I imagine the chairs are removed for the winter.

The Royal Aexandra Theatre

The Royal Alexandra Theatre is found on King St W and like all other theatres here it is quiet these days. Built in 1907 it has heritage protection and has been renovated and updated extensively inside. The play that was on when it closed in March was "Come From Away" which is based on the true story of how almost 7,000 passengers and crews from 39 airplanes were grounded in Gander Newfoundland on the horrible day of 9/11. Gander is the farthest east airport in North America and the transatlantic flights were all halted there on their way to the USA. The town has a population of around 10,000 and the townsfolk came out en masse to feed and house all the visitors.

 Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.  

January Theme Day: Photo Of The Year

The January theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Photo Of The Year which can be your favourite, your best or the most interesting to you. I chose this pic from last summer just because there is something intriguing about it - there is a bit of a story there and I also like the image!
Click HERE to see more Photos Of The Year from around the world.

Shaded

I showed you a back view of St Lawrence Hall a few weeks ago (HERE) and in my ongoing quest to get a good shot of the front I went around to the front on King St but the trees and the shade still have posed a problem. The hall is directly across the road from the park I showed you on Friday so that gives you an idea of the number of trees in the area. I do like this angled shot though and will continue to attempt a better pic - maybe in winter with no leaves on the trees!

St James Park

Right beside St James Cathedral which I showed you yesterday is St James Park which is owned by the church and the city. The park is Victorian inspired with both this lovely formal garden and with more open grassy areas for wandering. It is a welcome spot to relax in the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood.

Behind The Trees

Rising from the trees in this pic is the spire of St James Cathedral, an Anglican church on King St E which is home to the oldest congregation in the city. The church itself was built in the 1850s but the tower and spire were not completed until 1876. Those are the towers of the Financial district behind it. Tomorrow I will take you down into those trees.

King St Walkway

I spotted this walkway running off King St E in the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood on an early Sunday morning and set off to explore down to the other end. We will see what's there tomorrow.

Red Boots

I showed you a hint of these boots a couple of weeks ago when the sidewalks were crowded with people but I went back and managed to get a pic of the giant red boots outside of the Royal Alexandra Theatre where "Kinky Boots" is playing. It is nearly impossible to get a shot without someone posing in front of the boots!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

These Boots .....!

I wanted to give you an idea of the crowded sidewalks along King St during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). This pic was taken in front of the Royal Alexandra Theatre just down the block from 2 theatres showing films during TIFF. If you weren't going with the flow it was almost impossible to move along at times. I was there later at 10:30 pm when a nearby Blue Jays baseball game had just finished and movies were finishing and it was chaos along the sidewalks with so many people! 
Kinky Boots, a Broadway musical, has been here since July and has just been extended until December. 
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Meet You At The Sign

I stood for a while trying to get an unobscured pic of this sign on King St for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) but had no luck since it seems to be the place where people meet up with their friends and there was also a steady flow of people on the sidewalk. This was the 40th year for the festival which ran for 11 days in mid September, showing around 400 films to over 450,000 moviegoers. The city is alive with movies and actors for that time period and many people take their holidays to see as many movies as possible. A friend saw 34 movies this year at the festival! Check out the guy at the right of the pic - I hope he made some money.

Silver Building

The red brick building in this shot was built on King St W in 1882 for the Toronto Silver Plate Company and the silverplating operations continued here for many years under various names. It was then used for various commercial operations and was given heritage designation in 2010. The building and the properties around it were purchased for the Fashion House Condos a few years ago and the Silver Building was totally restored and incorporated into the complex with its main floor being occupied by a restaurant. It always had good bones but now it looks beautiful after all the work done on it and the glass condos frame it nicely.

Old Schoolhouse

And here we see the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and its accompanying heritage sign which I showed you yesterday. The wonderful Gothic Revival building houses a museum but also a large open space available to the public which is used for many events including wedding receptions and art shows.

Heritage Sign

This is one of the type of sign you will find around the province giving information about various historic sites. This one is found beside the Enoch Turner  Schoolhouse in the Corktown neighbourhood and it was the school which was depicted in the Underpass Art Three of a week ago (click HERE). I will show you the school tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Underpass Art Four B

This is the back of yesterday's column and the last of this series from King St E. Here we see one of the early bricklayers from the neighbourhood, Corktown, surrounded by factories and gears. Most of the buildings in the area are brick. Bravo to the artists ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky and Fiya Bruxa for this series of murals titled "Frozen Memories"! You can see 2 of the other columns in the background.

Underpass Art Four

This is the last of the underpass supports on King St E decorated by artists ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky & FiyaBruxa. It is the only one depicting a man and is titled "The Worker" as I discovered after a long newspaper article about these pieces was published here a week ago. Tomorrow I will show you the other side of this one.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE for more murals from around the world.

Underpass Art Two B

This is the back of yesterday's painted support column and shows a bit of the neighbourhood, Corktown, in the houses and also references the nearby expressways and the downtown skyline. Seems suitable since the whole installation of the four support is titled "Frozen Memories".  I'll show the third support next Monday as part of Monday Murals.