Morning Reflections

 

Biidaasige Park

August 2026 - Toronto ON

We took our initial visit in 2025 when the first phase opened.

 Take the new ferry to

Water shuttle service will run seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Torontonians keen to hop aboard can book a ticket online in advance or purchase a ride at the docks. Much like the city’s ferry, the service runs on a fixed schedule.

Headed eastward, the shuttle leaves the Portland Slip at the top of every hour (e.g. 11 a.m.) and the Yonge Slip near the ferry terminal at 15 minutes past (e.g. 11:15 a.m.). The final stop is at Ookwemin Minising around half-past (e.g. 11:30 a.m.).

Conversely, passengers keen to head west can expect to leave the Ookwemin Minising stop at half-past (e.g. 11:30 a.m.) and the Yonge Slip at quarter to the hour (e.g. 11:45 a.m.). The final stop is at the Portland Slip on the hour (e.g. 12:00 p.m.).

The Portland Slip is at the base of Dan Leckie Way, just west of Bathurst Street on the waterfront. The Yonge Slip is just east of the ferry terminal, near the intersection of Yonge Street and Queens Quay West. The Ookwemin Minising stop is near the intersection of Cherry and Commissioners streets.

Passengers can ride the shuttle to the end of the route, or just one stop — and can bring their bikes aboard.

The Art Trail

It was transformed from a hellish landscape of decay, oil tanks, gravel and asphalt to a vibrant, living space for people, plants and wildlife.

100 photos of Biidaasige Park expansion.

Travelling by public transit

The site can be reached easily using public transit, with several TTC options available. From Union Station, take the 114 Cherry Street bus directly to Commissioners Street, with a journey of approximately 13–15 minutes. Visitors can also take the 504 King or 514 Cherry streetcars eastbound toward the Port Lands, exiting at Cherry Street and walking south to Commissioners Street. From the east end, the 72 Pape bus stops at Saulter Street and Commissioners Street. For the most up-to-date route and service information, visitors are encouraged to consult the TTC website before travelling.

New signage

CLICK HERE FOR A DETAILED HISTORY.

PARK CREATION

2001

Motivated by a bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics and other potential opportunities, the federal and provincial governments, with the City of Toronto, formed the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. It was tasked with the development and rehabilitation of the city’s waterfront, which included the Port Lands Flood Protection (PLFP) project. PLFP included the renaturalization of the Don River by creating a new river course and parklands through the Port Lands, and was designed to flood. This would protect the land beyond the flood area.

2007

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, based in New York, wins an international competition to design the new Port Lands, including parks along the banks of the new river mouth.

2017

Construction starts on the new river mouth. Plugs on the north, west and south prevent river and lake water from entering the construction zone.

2024

The City establishes a formal Day One working group, comprising various divisions and agencies, to plan for the opening of Biidaasige Park. This includes the handover from Waterfront Toronto, the park’s designer and builder, to the City for ongoing management.

November

The new island created by the new river mouth is gifted an Indigenous name following an Indigenous-led naming process established by Toronto City Council PDF. Ookwemin Minising means “place of the black cherry trees” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. The same process bestows a name on the new parkland: Biidaasige Park, meaning “sunlight shining towards us” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. Later the same month, the “north plug” is removed, allowing the waters of the Don River to flow through the new river mouth, recreating the natural route lost more than 100 years ago.

July 2025

The first phase of Biidaasige Park opens to the public. Other phases will open in future years as Ookwemin Minising is developed as a flood-protected home for approximately 16,000 people and a workplace for another 3,000.

2026

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom hosts Tuesday's Treasures.

August 2026 - Toronto ON

I hadn't walked along this section of Front St. in a long time.

Best photo I could get of Small's three homes, unless I crossed the street and it was too hot out!

Next three photos from City of Toronto planning files.

Aerial view looking north, you can see the Globe and Mail building I referenced in this post.

The original National Hotel is the three-story yellow-brown brick facade visible directly at the street corner (currently housing the Value Buds retail store).The historical building itself was carefully dismantled in 2013. Its north and west brick walls were preserved as a heritage facade, and the modern King+ Condos tower was built directly over and integrated right into it.

 The yellow-brick facade originally belonged to a commercial storefront property dating back to roughly 1868.It is highly regarded as a rare surviving example of pre-late-19th-century commercial design in Toronto's original 10 blocks of the old Town of York.

The larger, dark-red brick structure was a 20th-century vernacular warehouse built around 1927. It historically served as a central facility and sales room for commercial businesses in the area, most notably operating as the location for the Linde Canadian Refrigeration Company.

In architectural terms, vernacular refers to common, everyday structures built to serve a strictly practical purpose rather than to follow formal architectural theories or high-design trends.

These two plaques belong to the photo below of the two buildings.

This specific stretch of Front Street East is famous for its remarkably preserved Victorian industrial warehouses and manufacturing facilities:

Standard Woollen Mills (219–221 Front St. East): The distinct brick structures with prominent segmental arched windows were built starting in 1882. Designed by famed Toronto architect E.J. Lennox (who also designed Toronto's Old City Hall and Casa Loma), the main building served as a warehouse and factory for the Standard Woollen Mills Company. It originally housed manufacturers of woollen goods and cigar boxes.

The Toronto Knitting & Yarn Factory (Berkeley Castle): Directly adjacent at Front and Berkeley streets is the historic Berkeley Castle complex, built in 1871. It was a core driver of Toronto’s late-19th-century industrial boom.

The historic George Brown College St. James Campus building on George Street in Toronto was originally constructed in 1874 as the Christie, Brown & Company biscuit and cookie factory.

Building History & Details

Original Use: Factory for William Mellis Christie's famous baking empire, which expanded across the block bounded by Adelaide, King, George, and Frederick streets.

Architecture: Features classic multi-story red brick masonry, segmental arched windows, and a ground-floor arcade facing the street.

I wrote about Mr. Christie's Cookies in 2013!

The image shows the historic Bank of Upper Canada Building (constructed between 1825 and 1827) located at the northeast corner of Adelaide Street East and George Street in Toronto’s Old Town/St.Lawrence neighborhood.

Architecture: A two-and-a-half-storey Neoclassical stone structure featuring distinctive dormer windows and a slate mansard-style roof.

Significance: Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada and one of the oldest surviving purpose-built bank buildings in the country, which also shares a complex with Toronto's First Post Office. I've posted this block several times, the latest a few weeks ago.

Morning Reflections

 

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "G"
2. A Favorite
3. GOLD- Chosen by Tom

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Starts with G Salt Lake City Utah

FAVOURITE

GOSSIP - Montreal QC

GOLD

Aria Casino Las Vegas NV

REFLECTIONS

GLASS GLADSTONE Hotel Toronto

Can you see us????

May 6 - Budapest and Danube River Cruise

May 4 2012 - Copenhagen to Budapest

May 5 2012 - Gate 1 Budapest

May 6 part 1 - Budapest Jewish Interest Tour

May 6 2012 - Budapest and Boarding MS Sound of Music

After this morning's Jewish Interest Tour it is time for lunch before we head to our ship for our Danube River Cruise.

At our guide's suggestion we head to the New York Cafe located in the Boscolo Hotel. Check out my link to their website as it is beautiful.
It was located a couple of blocks down the street from our hotel.

One anecdote tells of how the famous writer Ferenc Molnár, on the day the café opened threw the keys into the Danube so that it would never close.

The lobby

 

My lunch and can I say that this was delicious, John was drooling and wishing he had ordered it:

Malac csülök hagymákkal pirított burgonyával, tejfeles uborkasalátával
Roasted pork trottle with grilled onions, potato & cucumber salad in sour cream

 Borjú Bécsi hagymás burgonyasalátával
Wiener schnitzel with onion potato salad - John

Then it was time to head back to the hotel and ensure our luggage gets on the bus for the short trip to the Danube and our ship The Sound of Music. It was rather chaotic at the hotel as people were pulling out their luggage instead of letting the bellboys do their job.

We (and our travelling companions) held back and waited for the last bus. After a quick ten minute drive we were at our ship.

This is our agenda for the next seven days.

The MS Sound of Music is a 2006-built deluxe river cruise vessel that accommodates 144 passengers.

It is chartered by Gate 1 operators for European waterways like the Danube and Rhine, but the physical ship has since be renamed the MS Johann Strauss.

That's me boarding in pink, Dimo was our constant entertainment, always there to greet us as we re-boarded in various ports.

Coffee, tea, snacks and fruit could be had all day in the lobby area. Wi-fi was also available and a couple of PCs for passengers' use.

 Captain welcoming cocktail party and introductions to the ship's crew

 Our cabin

 We were in cabin 319 on the top deck. We had French balconies, however, in future I don't think it is worth paying the extra as it is simply a window, there is no balcony. Also another thought that being this close to the restaurant may not be for everyone as the vultures guests line up outside your room waiting for the dining room to open.

The view of Budapest as we waited to sail at 9PM

Seating at meals was supposed to be open seating, however, we were seven and had the same large table with the same server for all meals. Sherilly guarded our table for us and ensured no one else sat there. She is from Indonesia and had left her three children with her mother while she worked on board. I think she had a soft spot for Tom, the elderly widow at our table.

The views of Budapest were breathtaking as we sailed out of the city around 9PM.