Harbour of Industry

Toronto has an iconic shoreline and the downtown area known as Harbourfront was once home to many thriving industries that relied on waterways for transportation. In a less industrial era, the Redpath Sugar Building is one of last active refineries to be located along the shores of downtown Toronto. Opened in 1958, The Redpath Sugar Building is a sugar storage, refining and museum building and is a testament to the industrious history of the city of Toronto.

Distillery District

The Distillery District is a historic and entertainment area near downtown Toronto and is North America’s largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture with 40 heritage buildings and 10 streets. James Worts and his brother in law William Gooderham originally built a windmill but because of its success they were inclined to open a distillery. The Gooderham and Worts Distillery was founded in 1832, and by the late 1860s was the largest distillery in the world.

Along the Old Frontier

Another legendary route to walk along in Toronto is Front Street which has many historic sites along and express some of Toronto’s heritage in the downtown core. The street marks the rough outline of the shoreline of Lake Ontario as it existed during the original English settlement of York. The current shoreline is about 800m south as much of the inner harbour was filled in the late 19th and early 20th century for industrial development. These are some of the photos I took.

This is part of the North wall of the Canadian Opera Company.

St. James Anglican Cathedral can be seen in the background.

This is shot of the old St. Lawrence Hall which was a prominent public meeting hall during its day

The iconic Gooderham Building which is more commonly known as the Flatiron Building. Overall, Front Street proved to be a worthwhile photographic opportunity and was also a great time exploring my own neighbourhood. Has any one else seen any of these sights?  Tell me what you think.

Berkeley Castle

I always enjoy experiencing the richness of my own city, Toronto, and the other day I was walking along the The Esplanade and I shot some pictures of Berkeley Castle which, although is not an actual castle, has a wonderful courtyard.

 

Berkeley Castle, a 144 year old building, sits on what was the edge of the Lake Ontario. During the early 1800’s infill extended the shores of Toronto south. In 1868 Joseph Simpson constructed Toronto’s first knitting factory on the site that employed 200 workers. In 1975, however, the building was condemned but due to restoration efforts it was finally restored in 1983 and is now a studio space.

 

 

The name of the building complex may come from the castle in the UK. Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK with origins that date back to the 11th century. The castle is owned by the Berkeley family and is the oldest continuously-occupied castle in England after the royal fortresses of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, and the oldest to be continuously owned and occupied by the same family.

Down at the Docks

 

 

 

 

This past weekend I played tourist in my own city, Toronto. I visited the Portlands which is an industrial and rcreational neighborhood located just south-east of downtown. The Port Lands are mostly abandoned from the days of heavy industry but the area along the south shore of the Port Lands has become mostly recreational with a bird sanctuary two leisure marinas and plenty of bike paths. These are some of my photos of the adventure.

Toronto

While out and about in my city I took these photos. It always seems appealing to me to make cityscape images in B&W rather than in colour. For some reason I think the industrial and urban mood is best displayed in shades rather than in vibrant and contrasting colours. Tell me what you think?

The Inner Workings

Recently I dismantled an old desktop computer and I was amazed by the intricacy of its interior. Everyone knows how powerful computers are and that more goes on behind the scenes that we know but I had never really looked into it before. Opening up the computer opened my eyes to a new micro world.

The word “computer” was first recorded in 1613 and referred to a person who carried out calculations and computations. Computers have developed over time and are now standard household items. Technology keeps evolving and changing the way we live our lives.

Gallery Squared

I am a member of the Art Gallery of Ontario ( http://www.ago.net/ ) and recently i was there viewing the various collections. Inspired by the photographic exhibit i shot all of these images from inside the AGO building looking outside.

Looking South to the downtown core and the CN tower. The dots in the photo are from the actual glass on the window and help in adding effects to the image without much post-editing.

Looking West.

The the reflection in the bottom of the photo was from the window pain.

I find it interesting that i was at an art gallery yet i was actually creating my own art in the process. It was like the meaning of the word “gallery” was raised to the power of two.

Urban Landscape

 

Here are just a few shots of my wanderings throughout a neighborhood near Toronto. I thought these photo express the mood of the urban landscape. Tell me what you think.

Weekend Travel: Port Hope

On a visit to the town of Port Hope, in the Northumberland County of Ontario, i became fascinated by the many trains passing by that i saw while driving. This interest of mine led me to journey further afield and capture these images.

This is a part of the train system operated by the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) for some of its freight trains.

Located in the town of Port Hope, Ontario this is a rail viaduct that allows trains to go over the Ganaraska River and the many streets below it. It is apart of the same length of track as the above picture.

In this photo one can see all the transportation links that criss-cross in such a small area and in a fairly small town.