Saturday, August 2, 2008

Queen and University

Toronto sure does make an effort to pretty up the downtown for the benefit of tourists. This little park, complete with benches and flowerbeds, is on a concrete island between the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic on University Ave., just south of Queen St.

This location is only a few blocks west of Bay Street (Canda's Wall Street/financial and business centre), a few blocks south of the University of Toronto Campus, and a few blocks north of the giant, retractable-domed stadium previously known as Skydome (now officially "The Rogers Centre"). The brand new Opera House is on the southeast corner. The club district is to the southwest. It's really right in the middle of everything.

The dignified gentleman honoured in this memorial statue is Sir Adam Beck. He played a major role in the development of Ontario's power infrastructure. He was knighted in 1914 and died in 1925.

This is the view facing south...



...and here's the view facing north.



A close-up of the angel statue. I believe this is a memorial to the fallen of one or both of the World Wars. Didn't quite get around to checking... thought I could
Google some keywords and find out online... no such luck. Still, it's a pretty statue (with a fountain at the base).



*UPDATE* A commenter has just kindly provided me with a link to information regarding this monument. Thank you K.!

The historic Canada Life Building, constructed between 1929 and 1931, stands at the northwest corner. This photo shows only the tower at the very top of what is a large office building. (You can see the bottom corner in the 2nd photo above.) At the top of the tower is a weather beacon. It's difficult to see the lights in the daytime, but at night it stands out for miles. Red lights warn of rain, white lights forecast snow, and lights running up or down the beacon indicate a corresponding change of temperature.



A few blocks west on Queen St., on my way to a dark chocolate crepe, I stopped to catch these agile robots clambering up onto the roof of the Active Surplus building. Their signs says "We Buy and Sell Anything." Next time I'm there, I'm going to buy me a robot.

14 comments:

Warped Mind of Ron said...

Is it just me or does the robot on the top seem to have really large breasts? Ummm.. sorry, I'm going to have to visit Toronto some time, your pictures are really selling me on that idea... perhaps I could even buy a robot too.

Anonymous said...

Ron is right. That robo-woman sure has some nice breasts.

Emma Gorst said...

Active surplus saved my life one year. They're one of the few places in the city where you can get electronic components. When you need a 5V motor in a pinch, that's where you go :-)

Karen said...

Very cute. Thanks for the tour of Toronto.

Nilsa S. said...

You continue to prove my beliefs true - that Toronto is a people-friendly city.

Anonymous said...

ROBOT DANCE!!! C'MON EVERYBODY!

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R-O-B-O-T !!!!!!!!!!!

Do it ! Yeah ! Yeah!

Sparkling Red said...

Ron: Good observation. But you'd have to climb up the sheer front wall of that building in full view of the passing public if you wanted a chance to feel her up.

Whatigotsofar: I suppose. Although they would not be all warm and soft, unless you put her in a blast furnace and melted her down a bit.

Aurora: Why would you need a... Oh right, the science club!

Karen: I was glad to be able to take some pictures of the city on a sunny day, for a change.

Nilsa: It's very people-friendly in some areas. You have to stick to the right parts of town.

Unsigned: Nice moves.

Anonymous said...

That angel statue is beautiful!

di.di said...

this is my first time here... :P

i've never been to Toronto, let alone Canada.. :(

Claire said...

Brilliant! And I've been to some of those places, which totally makes me grin!

Cxx

Dianne said...

you've been taking some great photos!

I love the robots on the store front!

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great place to take a neat Photo stroll.
Thanks for showing and explaining!

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_War_Memorial_(Toronto)

Hope it satiates some of your curiosity :)

k.

Sparkling Red said...

Dear K.

Thanks! That's very helpful. :-)
I am going to edit the post to include this link.