By Katy Lalonde
CN Tower © T. Harper 2008
Amongst the earliest known photographs of Toronto are a series of panoramas taken by Armstrong, Beere and Hime in 1856 atop the Rossin House Hotel. Taken from all angles, the series of photographs was submitted to Queen Victoria in the competition to become Canada’s capitol city.
Although Toronto lost the competition, the photographs are impressive, both because of their age, but also as a view of how people in Toronto wanted to present themselves in the mid-19th century.
In 2009, you can hardly capture the entire city through photographs taken from the top of only one building (even if that building were the CN tower), especially if you are looking to capture the essence of the city, and not just have it as a photograph. Last month, my sister, after living in Toronto for two years, returned to Edmonton to work for the Alberta government. In honour of her leaving we prepared an entire day of Toronto-related activities, composed of various things she would miss about the city. We had to decide exactly how to capture the essence of Toronto in one day.
I moved to Toronto eight years ago from Alberta. I came for university, stayed for a second degree and then have continued on to begin my professional life. Over the better part of a decade I have had numerous opportunities to show off the city to visitors from out West.
What do I show them? Are these the same things I would miss? Often this is not the case. I show people the ‘tourist’ attractions you find in books – Niagara Falls, the CN tower, the Royal Ontario Museum – none of the things we ventured to see on my sister’s farewell tour of the city.
For me, Toronto is more about neighbourhoods.
I spent my first four years living within steps of UofT campus – China town, Harbord Fish and Chips, Bloor Street, Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library.
Later, I moved further west to the much trendier Trinity-Bellwoods. My grasp of the city broadened- brunch at Squirrely’s, walking to ball games during the summer, Toronto Island, Little Italy.
These days I have left the downtown life for Forest Hill Village, and I love wandering along St. Clair West, over to the Wychwood Market and to the Cupcake Shoppe. The Gardiner Museum is my favourite of the recent renovations to Toronto’s museums and galleries; Harbord House
for brunch on Saturdays; and the flower shops at Avenue and Davenport.
None of these things are particularly unique to Toronto – you can get fish and chips, farmer’s markets and brunch anywhere, even Edmonton. It’s the way they are laid-out in Toronto: Each neighbourhood has its own character, paints its own panorama. Each time you move to a new area of the city, you find new places to explore.
My sister’s farewell tour began Friday night at Saddle-Up at the Royal Canadian Legion at King and Bathurst. The next morning we started at Union Station, then made our way to the Distillery District for coffee at Balzac’s. Following lunch at Mill St. Brewery, we spent the afternoon at the Jays game, and then walked up University Avenue by the TD towers (her favourite buildings in the city). The afternoon ended with a stroll through Mount Pleasant Cemetery. She stopped by the AGO a few days later, as well as Boom
house of 9 download for breakfast.
I would need more than a day, maybe more than a week, to see everything on my farewell tour, but you can guarantee it would include a stop by the City of Toronto Archives to see the 1856 panoramas.
Last 5 posts by Jennifer
- Oasis Aqualounge - Toronto's Adult Playground - April 13th, 2011
- Steven Marshall - March 27th, 2011
- DECKS: DJ Kymm D - March 3rd, 2011
- Decks: DJ Ortemy - March 15th, 2010
- The ABC's of Attraction - March 15th, 2010
