Doors Open In Toronto

Last weekend was Doors Open in Toronto and what a day it was. Over 100 architectural marvels were open in the city for people to roam and explore. There was so little time to see it all though and I got a late start to the day but managed to visit 6 key places.


This was my first stop, Old City Hall. There were no pictures allowed once I got inside but a 10 minute presentation of the court chambers was provided which made up for that. I asked about going up into the tower but alas, that was not allowed.

... I had to settle for a shot outside instead ...

Then I wandered over to City Hall which was right next door ...

 There wasn't much to see here except this ...

                               ... which is kind of funky.


While waiting for a workshop to begin, I went up to the 25th floor. There is an observation deck where I snapped this faint image of the CN tower. I imagine that if there were gargoyles on the tower, it would look really eerie.

                                                    Then I snapped the skyline ...

I rushed back for the 1pm workshop and waited about 20 minutes for the lomography (avant-garde form of photography) workshop to begin. They had gift bags and manual cameras and a roll of film to take some practice shots but time was ticking so aborted this plan and visited Osgoode Hall next door where I took more pics.

                                                           And more pics ...

                                                         And more pics ...

Not far from Osgoode Hall, I went over to the Campbell House where I saw a gorgeous antique writing desk, feather pen, inkwell and beautiful caligraphy.

On my way to the Canada Life Building I knew I would have to move quickly.

 The line was too long and I just remembered that I had gone to the observation deck 3 years ago which has a breathtaking view of the city so all was not lost. I hopped on the train and ended up at the lakefront where the Redpath Sugar Mill is located. And on the way I couldn't resist this boat ...

There was a long line for the Redpath Sugar Mill where there was a video, small museum, tour of the sugar shack and a few free sugar cookies.

This a mountain of sugar not dirt in the distance.

This is the sugar refinery.

I wound up on Front Street where I couldn't resist another photo of the CN Tower in all its glory. The clouds had lifted by the end of the day and my feet were aching but seeing at least three key landmarks during Doors Open was well worth it. The water filtration plant was on my list of things to see but I never made the trek. There is always next year though ...