Church Street: Not much to see here, but one thing you notice is that the roads aren’t great but there’s a mix of old and new architecture….mostly kind of new-ish as it’s not an old city
Pizzeria Libretto (Ossington): One of the best pizza joints in the city (that also does GF crust). I used to come here a lot so i couldn’t resist.
Libretto
OCADU (Ontario College of Art & Design University): This is my old art school. it got a lot of attention when the extended piece was put on as people said it looked like an abstract dalmatian screwing the school
There’s a lot of graffiti and murals in the city so i’ll capture more
Little Italy (College Street): This is my old flat (the arrow) at the end of the strip. It was super busy last night as there are restaurants and bars
Trinity Bellwoods Park: This is part of the park that is at the end of my old street (College Street). It used to be seriously dangerous in the 90s then this part of town became super trendy now it’s a hipster park and packed with people all summer. Oh yes, and the CN Tower.
Chinatown: obvs.
Old City Hall: I think it’s from the late 1800s. it’s right next to Nathan Phillips Square (New City Hall) in the foreground.
Nathan Phillips Square (New City Hall): I think this design seemed like a good idea at the time for the 60s? It might have been a bit avant guard for the time. Now, it’s kind of like that aunt that wore her hair a certain way in the 70s and still wears it the same way..
Christie Pits: This is just down the street from my old place. I loved that on a random afternoon there would be baseball games going on and locals just line the hills and watch, drink beer, keep score, or just get stoned. In the 60s Christie Pits was where Heritage Front (Neo Nazi-type organisations) and Jews came to fight. My old stepfather used to come here to fight Nazis when he was young 😳
Christie Pits: A lot of parks downtown have pop up movie nights where hundreds of ppl sit on the hill and watch movies with blankets and drinks etc. Cool vibe. I’ve been to some in Trinity Bellwoods Park.
Roy Thompson Hall: Home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and concerts.
Ossington Avenue: This is a really cool strip and one of the first streets i lived on when i moved on my own.
Ossington Ave: over the years a lot of bars and restaurants have been popping up and now the street is crazy packed. When i lived there 15 years ago it was still up and coming.
Ossington Ave
Chinatown (Spadina Ave): The one thing about downtown that’s not awesome are the streetcars (cablecars) and the cables that are on the major streets where they run which are unattractive and take away from the aesthetic but you kind of forget about them until having been away and really notice them. and you have to make sure you don’t get your bike tires in the tracks as they’ve caused a lot of injuries.
Downtown: The CN Tower used to be the tallest freestanding structure in the world. The building with the white roof is the Rogers Centre for baseball and concerts. It was one of the world’s first retractable roof.
Kensington Market: is one of the only non-gentrified areas in the city. It’s used to be a jewish market in the 70s-90s with vintage clothing shops. it still has a lot of vintage and indie shops. i was a part of this community being close with the green grocers, health food stores, and some cool indie designer shops
Toronto (from Toronto Island Airport)
St. Lawrence Market: this is a pretty large market (mostly meats and cheeses). Doesn’t compare to places like Borough Market but it’s an old building for Toronto standards.
St. Lawrence Market: the place is packed on the weekends and lunchtime
Flatiron Building (Gooderham Bulding): It’s kind of like a much smaller version of the Flatiron building in NYC
Cadbury Chocolate Factory: This is the place that filled the whole area with the smell of chocolate at night. I was riding by one night and it was so lovely. I wished i could record a scent to send to people from my mobile.
Toronto Reference Library: Love this place. 70s interior design that totally works today. I spent months working in here every day.
Yonge Street (pronounced Young) view from the Toronto Reference Library: I love when places mix modern and traditional architecture.
There’s a thing in the city where people have tiny libraries by the sidewalk for people to take a book, leave a book or just give away books. it’s sweet.
High Park: went on a ride around the park but this was just one little section. It has some lovely parts....if you don't compare it to London's parks because those are epic. Remember, Toronto's a pretty small city.