Ontario – Nick Watkins Photography

Fast Food and Beer

All of these images were shot on a walk along Bathurst Street in downtown Toronto. The street has a rich diversity of subject matter, and like much of the rest of the city, it has a mix of old buildings and redevelopment.

None of the doors in this collection are noteworthy – it is the stories behind these doors that make them interesting. These are my contributions to Norm’s Thursday Doors for the week of August 9, 2018.

Tim Hortons has been in the news a lot lately. Once an iconic Canadian fast food outlet for coffee and donuts, the company expanded in the 1990’s when it merged with Wendy’s International and became an American company. It was later bought out by a multi-national congolomerate in 2014. Restaurant Brands International is now trying to make every cent they can out of a cup of coffee and a donut, and many of the Canadian Tim Hortons franchisees are feeling the revenue squeeze.

In Ontario, these problems were compounded in January 2018 when the provincial government increased the mandatory minimum hourly wage to $14. Some franchisees were accused of stripping benefits, banning tips and removing paid breaks because they were not permitted to increase their prices to accommodate the wage increase.

Things have been much quieter at McDonald’s, which operates as an independent Canadian company within a world-wide corporation. It seems to have escaped any of the bad publicity. McDonald’s is the second largest fast food chain in Canada after Tim Hortons, and it is stil best known for its hamburgers. A few years ago, McDonalds got serious about the breakfast market, and incorporated McCafe outlets within their restaurants. Breakfast bagels were also recently introduced in Canada.

The Beer Store is where you go to buy a case of beer in Ontario. Established in 1927, the Beer Store is a private business owned by a group of breweries. Until recently, the ownership was monopolized by three multi-national brewers, but smaller craft brewers now have opportunities to be shareholders and sell their products.

Each province in Canada has its own unique system for the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. In Ontario, you can shop for liquor, wine and small volumes (six-packs or less) of beer and cider at the government-owned LCBO. For larger volumes of beer, you go to The Beer Store. Pubs and restaurants must also purchase their beer from The Beer Store. Wine, beer and cider are also sold at some groceries and small retail stores.

All alcohol containers are sold with a deposit, which can only be refunded by returning the empty bottles and cans to The Beer Store.

Lowering the price of beer became a campaign slogan for the newly-elected Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario this year. One of their campaign promises was a return to “a buck a beer.” This seemed to be a bizarre item to include in a party platform, but it must have appealed to some of the voters, along with other regressive promises such as a return to the sex-ed curriculum of the 1990’s in all public schools (but that’s another whole topic of concern).

You can also order your beer online for pick-up or delivery through The Beer Xpress, to go along with your drive-thru or takeout food. Maybe this is where the first “buck a beer” will become available – although you might have to buy a case of 24 to get the “deal.” There’s an app for that!

A Visit to Stratford – Part 2

Day Visits, Doors, photography

The evolution of the use of older church buildings is an interesting study topic. Originally built as places of worship during the early growth of towns and cities, churches were imposing structures funded and constructed by community members. Over time, as local congregations have moved on, and religion has lost some of its relevance, increasing numbers of church buildings have become surplus and may be re-purposed.

The church located at 70 Brunswick Street in Stratford is a good example. According to one source, it was originally named the Congregational Church when it was built in 1873-1874. Congregational churches comprised Protestant groups arising from Puritanism, and were organized on the principle that each congregation should be autonomous. Many congregational churches later joined with other churches in the creation of the United Church of Canada in 1925. At some point in time, this church was named the Mackenzie Memorial Gospel Church.

About 40 years ago, the church was re-purposed as The Church Restaurant, and offered fine dining to local residents and theatre goers. In 2015, the church and restaurant were sold to new owners, and the premises were renamed Revival House. There are three components: Revival, a street-level event space; Chapel, a second-floor gastro pub; and Confession, a small balcony VIP lounge. After the restaurant re-opened, a leak was discovered in the roof. A group of local musicians assisted the owners in organizing a fund-raising event to help pay for a new roof.

Community support to build the original church in the 1800’s has evolved into community funding for the repair of a restaurant and event space in the 21st Century! The new roof can be seen in the accompanying image.

The hinges on the front doors are also noteworthy. Apparently, the ironwork on the doors was crafted by workers at the Grand Trunk Railway, which later became the Canadian National Railway, at their shops based in Stratford.

During our visit, we found a door oddity on Wellington Street in downtown Stratford. This image of a horse (at least I think it is a horse and not a mule) could be attributed to an aspect of the history of the city: either as an “iron horse,” to early railway buffs; or a role in a Shakespeare play, as there are references to horses in several of the bard’s plays. I chose the latter. I also found this Shakespeare quote about a painted horse, which may or may not be relevant.

Look, when a painter would surpass the life,
In limning out a well-proportion’d steed,
His art with nature’s workmanship at strife,
As if the dead the living should exceed;
So did this horse excel a common one,
In shape, in courage, colour, pace and bone.

Perhaps another visit to Stratford is warranted to inquire into the origins of this door. For more encounters with doors, be sure to check out other contributions to Norm’s Thursday Doors.

d24-78 Wellington St cw — the painted horse

A Visit to Stratford – Part 1

Day Visits, Doors, photography

Stratford is a city located on the Avon River in south-western Ontario. Sounds familiar? That’s because Stratford (and its river) were named after Stratford-upon-Avon in England when it was first settled in 1832.

Stratford is best known for hosting the Stratford Festival, which presents a variety of theatrical productions among four venues. The original Stratford Shakespeare Festival started in 1953 in an amphitheatre covered by a tent.

There are some published scenic walking routes in the city, including the Festival Walk, which wanders through some of the older residential areas. There are many fine homes – and doors – along this walk. I am presenting some of these doors today as my contribution to Norm’s Thursday Doors. After taking these photos on a quiet Sunday morning, it has been interesting to discover some of the history of these buildings and their occupants while writing my blog.

The house at 115 Brunswick Street was built in 1874 in the Italianate style. It features a double door enclosed porch – I love the curved windows.

d24-115 Brunswick St cw — 115 Brunswick St.

Just down the street, at 91 Brunswick Street, is a house that didn’t make it onto the walking tour list. The house features a Palladian window on the second floor, but some exterior maintenance is long overdue.

d24-91 Brunswick St cw — 91 Brunswick St.

77 Brunswick Street is aptly named An Artist’s Cottage. It is the home and studio of Gerard Brender à Brandis, an artist who has been engraving small and detailed wood blocks for over fifty years. Brandis produces limited editions of his engravings in his home, including the printing and binding of his books.

d24-an artists cottage cw — An Artist’s Cottage

The Aubergine Bed and Breakfast is located at 67 Brunswick Street. The sand-coloured brick, the round window and the green and white trim make this an attractive residence.

d24-67 Brunswick St cw — 67 Brunswick St.

The use of gold leaf on the carving in the heading above the door was the attraction at this house located at 30 Nile Street. Many houses in the neighbourhood have large verandahs, which often wrap around two sides when the house is on a corner lot.

A Visit to Crawford Lake

Day Visits, Monochrome, photography

I recently visited Crawford Lake, located NW of Toronto, near the City of Milton. Crawford Lake is a conservation area that is managed by Conservation Halton, which is a regional land use administrative authority.

Although Crawford Lake Park is named after a farming family that settled by the lake, the park is known for the reconstructed Indigenous longhouses located on the site. The original inhabitants of this site were Nations of the Iroqoian linguistic group, who occupied a village on the site from around the 13th to the 17th centuries.

Three of the longhouses have been reconstructed and are used as presentation spaces and to display artifacts found during archaeological investigations at the site.

The images presented focus on the wooden structure of the longhouse. They are also being posted in conjunction with this week’s theme of Black & White Sunday: Structure on Paula’s Lost in Translation blog.

The basic structure consists of tree trunks that are buried in the earth, and connected at the top with flexible poles. The cladding consists of bark from trees. I am unsure of the materials used to construct the roof membrane.

crawford lake longhouse 1 cw — turtle house entrance

crawford lake longhouse 2 cw — turtle house elevation

crawford lake longhouse 3 cw — lattice structure

crawford lake longhouse 4 cw — silhouette

Doors Open Toronto – Part 3

Day Visits, Doors, photography

This is my third and final post on the downtown Toronto buildings that I visited as part of Doors Open Toronto. Before I describe these buildings, I thought that I would provide some more background on the event.

Doors Open Toronto provides an opportunity to visit buildings in the GTA that may or may not be regularly open to the public. The event also includes walking tours and other special events such as guest speakers, visits to architects’ offices and concerts.

This event was originally developed by the City of Toronto as a millennium project in 2000, and just completed its 18th annual showing, on the last weekend in May. Toronto was the first North American city to offer a Doors Open program, which has inspired many similar events. The event relies on all of the participating businesses and organizations, the financial support of several sponsors, and the efforts of many volunteers.

The Toronto Star newspaper (one of the sponsors) publishes a broadsheet map and listing of all of the opening buildings a couple of weeks before the event. This is very useful for planning your itinerary. The City of Toronto also maintains a website that lists all of the buildings and provides some background information on each one.

Some of the most useful information on the website includes the photography regulations for each site. There are three basic options for shooting indoors: not permitted; permitted without tripod; or permitted with or without tripod. There are similar levels of restrictions on interior filming. I have discovered in other indoor shooting in Toronto that there is a lot of emphasis placed on governing the use of tripods. I am at a loss to understand why tripods are not allowed inside some buildings.

The theme for this set of images is social spaces. First on my itinerary was St. George’s Hall, which is home to the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto. This building – opened in 1891 – was originally the home of the St. George’s Society, a charitable organization which supported new immigrants to Toronto. The A&L Club moved in as a tenant in 1920 and, much later, purchased the building in 1986.

As this is a private club, public access on the weekend was a special occasion. It was only in 1985 that the Club welcomed women as members. The Club has a permanent art collection on display, and also exhibits artistic work by its club members. In the 1920’s, the Club became a meeting place for artists, some of whom became known as the Group of Seven. They included J.E.H. MacDonald, who was Club President from 1928 to 1930.

st georges hall doors cw — Doors open at St. George’s Hall

Massey Hall is a concert hall that was first opened in 1894. The building was financed by Hart Massey, a devout Methodist and a founder of the Massey-Harris agricultural equipment corporation. Massey donated the hall to the city for “musical entertainments of a moral and religious character, evangelical, educational, temperance, and benevolent work.” The temperance movement was an important part of the hall’s history, as no alcohol was allowed on the premises until a bar – named Centuries – was opened 100 years later.

Massey Hall was the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir until 1982, when both groups moved into their new location at Roy Thompson Hall. Both of these facilities are collectively managed by one non-profit corporation. Massey Hall is now primarily used for rock concerts, and it can seat about 2,700 patrons.

The fire escapes were added to the front facade in 1911 to improve fire exiting. A revitalization project, to be funded as part of the development of a nearby condominium on Yonge Street, will address some of the shortcomings in public gathering areas outside the main hall and the backstage area. If the project renderings are to be believed, the exterior fire escapes will be removed as part of the upgrade.

The address of Massey Hall is listed as 178 Victoria Street, yet the main entry doors and box office are actually located on Shuter Street. I find this confusing.

St. Lawrence Hall is located one block north of the St. Lawrence Market. The hall was constructed in 1850 and it was Toronto’s first large meeting hall. It was named for the downtown neighbourhood, or ward, where it is located.

When the hall first opened, thousands of African American slaves were fleeing to Canada after the US Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The hall became an important meeting place for the abolitionist movement, and hosted the North American Convention of Colored Freemen in 1851.

The opening of larger performance centres, such as Massey Hall in the 1890’s, led to a decline in use of St. Lawrence Hall. However, it was refurbished in 1967 as part of a centennial project, and is now a popular venue for weddings, conferences and art shows.

I like the symmetry of the front entrance and facade. Too bad that the period street lights were not so precisely aligned.

st lawrence hall cw — Doors open at St. Lawrence Hall

Doors Open Toronto – Part 2

Day Visits, Doors, photography

The theme for my second part on Doors Open Toronto is the judicial system. I visited two buildings along Queen Street West that accommodate the courts and other aspects of the legal system.

Osgoode Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Toronto. It houses the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice and the Law Society of Upper Canada. The facade has a lot of neo-classical elements that convey an “orderly” message – hence my photo title Law and Order.

Lawyers and paralegals in Ontario are self-governed, and the Law Society of Upper Canada, originally established in 1797, is responsible for this role. The Law Society is governed by a board of directors, who are referred to as “benchers.” The present Benchers’ Quarters are located in the original east wing of Osgoode Hall, which was opened in 1832. Several steps lead up to the Benchers’ Entrance which is sheltered under a portico. Parts of the steps and surrounding stone work were recently repaired or replaced.

benchers entrance cw — benchers entrance

Old City Hall was opened in 1899 as the third city hall for the growing City of Toronto. It originally accommodated both city hall and court facilities, but it now operates solely as a courthouse.

There is a great amount of detail in the stone carvings that surround the building. Some of the faces that appear around the front entrance are said to resemble some of the city councillors from the time of construction. If you look carefully, you can read the “Municipal Buildings” carved into the frieze above the front entry.

old city hall front doors cw — Old City Hall front entrance

old city hall closed doors cw — side door

old city hall west doors cw — west wing doors

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