hkskyline's 2023 in TORONTO

[hkskyline]

Sherlock Holmes fans take note. The Toronto Reference Library has one of the largest research collections on Arthur Conan Doyle's works. A room dedicated to this piece of work has been installed where you can visit and have a read amidst an interesting atmosphere.













More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

While there has been a lot of talk about the residential building boom in downtown, there are also commercial towers going up such as CIBC Square's next phase and TD Bank's 160 Front Street. Notice both developments are spearheaded by the banks, who already have towers named after them elsewhere downtown.















More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures again!

[hkskyline]

A huge sporting goods store showcases just how many details there are in summer recreation activities. I browsed through rows of bait and other goodies for fishing alone. How many of these accessories do you use?









































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Little Canada not only has a good scale model of Toronto's downtown, they also have a few other East Coast cities on display. The Quebec City model shows a snowy winter scene, putting a beautiful tone to an otherwise brutal winter.

































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Mill Pond is a quaint community park in the northern suburbs. With a blanket of snow and light winds, branches and evergreens have a beautiful coating of white that makes a winter wonderland.































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Canada's aviation sector is pretty much entirely insulated with 2 major carrier groups, Air Canada and Westjet. Porter opened years ago as a boutique airline operating out of the small city centre airport just steps from downtown. They targeted business travellers but with small jets, don't fly too far.

All that changed as they have moved to Pearson and started flying long-haul to the West Coast. Will they stay boutique or be part of a trio of group airlines charging roughly the same fares?



Meanwhile, what souvenirs do you get from Canada? Some food options I'd suggest include smoked salmon, especially the chinook kind.



Maple syrup goes well with pancakes. In the deep winter, it is possible to visit a farm to see how the syrup is tapped and processed, and try out some freshly-laid syrup onto a bed of ice to solidify.



I also like ice wine from the Niagara region. Quality is dependent on that year's weather, as you need certain conditions to make good product.





More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Now let's take a look at Toronto's 2nd airport (there is a 3rd one which I could not visit). Porter is the rare Canadian airline that hasn't gotten a bad rep. It's actually hard to find bad news about them in the media. They manage a small operation out of downtown Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport, touting a better experience and convenient regional connections. Formerly the Island Airport, it used to require a ferry ride across the small channel to reach the actual terminal building. The ferry is still here but a tunnel has been built so we can walk across. If you live in the Cityplace condo development, you can literally walk to the airport for your short flight.







As I exited security, the windows opened up to the skyline.









More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

The downtown condo boom gained traction when CityPlace appeared on former rail lands. That's west of Yonge Street although a narrow line of shorter condos had already appeared along the waterfront. The residential boom has extended east as more condos have appeared in the narrow stretch of land between the elevated Gardiner Expressway and the lake.









































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Located at the waterfront, the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel has decent views of the lake and the skyline, although it's not tall enough to get a wide panoramic view now that it is surrounded by condo towers.









More photos on my website : Toronto, Canada Photo Gallery

[hkskyline]

One Bloor Street West, or The One, is one of many tall condominium towers under construction downtown. Located at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor, a traditionbally high-class shopping area, the 85-storey building may become the tallest residential tower in the country.

Designed by reknowned international architect firm Foster + Partners, the building's design has a lattice exoskeleton and bronze trusses. It will be home to 416 residences, including a $35 million penthouse on the entire 80th floor with 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms.











More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Named after Elizabeth Cornell who owned and farmed the land in the early 1800s, Cornell is a planned community in the eastern part of Markham with new urbanism principles. Development began in the 1990s with walkable streets, diverse and affordable housing options for 27,000 residents, and rear garages.



































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[jdcamb]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Named after Elizabeth Cornell who owned and farmed the land in the early 1800s, Cornell is a planned community in the eastern part of Markham with new urbanism principles. Development began in the 1990s with walkable streets, diverse and affordable housing options for 27,000 residents, and rear garages.



































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

I tried to ride the trail from Steeles Ave down the Don River trails on my bike. I got lost once by the diversion near Eglinton. and had divert more times then was comfortable. I needed to divert from the trail way too many times. In the past I have not been yelled at by trail Karens. We finally found the trail and once again diverted down Broadview. It looked like Chinatown. But it wasn't. We got pizza on queen street and got a taxi back to Steales ave to our car. Sunburn required Noxema.

[hkskyline]

Just east of the Don River along Gerrard Street is an offshoot of the main Chinatown around Spadina and Dundas. This small Chinatown East dates from the 1970s when rising property prices pushed the community to Riverdale. You will find the typical mix of Chinese restaurants, small supermarkets that display their wares along the street, but its decline in recent years has been quite evident with few crowds even during the day.































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

The main Chinatown is around Dundas and Spadina, whose former occupants were from the Jewish community who moved away in the 1960s. As the Chinese population grew and moved northwards, the downtown location has become more a tourist attraction, as more Chinese community facilities and shops opened in North York, Scarborough, Markham, and Richmond Hill.



































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

Taking advantage of free admission Wednesday evenings, I came for a return visit. Tarralik Duffy comes from Nunavut in Canada's far north and has showcased her childhood icons, items for sale at the local convenience store.









Cities in Flux is a special exhibition that showcases 100 photographs about the urban experience from around the world since 1850. There is a room dedicated to Lower Manhattan's destruction. In 1966, photography Danny Lyon discovered the city planned to raze 60 acres of mostly 19th century buildings below Canal Street, and he set out to photograph each one before demolition.

















More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

The Cheltenham Badlands are about an hour northwest of downtown. Formed at the bottom of an ancient sea some 450 million years ago, the unique colours of the Queenston shale were exposed by deforestation and farming in the early 1900s. Human activity removed the top soil layer, making them susceptible to nature's forces such as rain, snow, and the melt. These weather conditions eroded the landscape into what we see today, a series of red hills and gullies surrounded by the forest, with the colour caused by iron oxide.

It is about a 600m walk through the forest to the viewing platform. Although it was an unseasonably warm early October day, there were some fall colours to see.





























Parking is not allowed along the road outside that passes next to the badlands. The view from the road is quite different than the boardwalk as it offers a wider perspective, seeing the formation rise along the slope.





More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[hkskyline]

The Humber Bay area is a bit of an oasis, reachable by streetcar from downtown but you're quite a distance away from the hustle and bustle. With lake and skyline views, a lot of condos have popped up in recent years, and there is a nice waterfront park and promenade for your daily exercise.

















More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/toronto.htm

[Nite]

Humber Bay is a very underrated part of the city in my opinion.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures!

Not Toronto, but the building stock lost in lower Manhattan in those pictures is sad. That would've been a great nightlife district or refurbished area with a taste of "old New York".

Great pictures from the Badlands! It looks a little smaller than I expected.

I love Humber Bay! The drive along the Gardiner Expressway with the Humber Bay highrise condos right along one side makes me feel like I'm in a highway canyon from a video game like Gran Turismo.