Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Maison Selby sits at the bottom of The Selby, Tricon’s recently completed rental building, which offers residents inviting shared spaces, an expansive gym, outdoor pool and terrace, and a custom spa. Its collection of bright, modern suites beautifully juxtaposes the storied mansion below, steeped in Toronto history.

After a multi-year restoration, the mansion has been returned to its Victorian splendour. ERA Architects were tasked with preserving both the exterior and interior. Outside, the brick was starting to crumble, while inside, they needed to restore six fireplaces, the original window shutters, and plaster cornices, among other original details. The laborious process, which also required ERA to oversee the moving of the building—it was moved 14 metres east—took almost seven years to complete.

It is now a French-inspired bistro run by O & B, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) is recognized as one of Canada's leading fine dining restaurant and event companies.

Bonacini is one of my favourite chefs in the city, you can find him as a host on MasterChef Canada.

We dined here in March.

The Selby has always been an address associated with good times. Many well-loved bars have taken up residence in the building. In the ’40s, the Skyway Lounge, a popular sports bar, operated out of The Selby. The spot then became the watering hole for sports stars. Hockey players Turk Broda and Rocket Richard, as well as boxer Whipper Billy Watson, were all known barflies who’d come by to celebrate their wins and nurse their losses at the Skyway Lounge. Later on, another bar, called The Men’s Beverage Room, replaced the Skyway. William Shatner was a fan of the atmosphere and popped in when visiting Toronto. In 1981, the gay dance club Boots moved in, making this a hot spot for LGBTQ+ events for two decades.

1883 - The mansion was designed by acclaimed architect David Roberts Jr., who had extensive connections to Toronto’s prominent Gooderham family (the cofounders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, now known as the Distillery District). Roberts Jr. was also responsible for designing Toronto’s Flatiron Building.

1910 - 1912 - The prestigious girls’ private school Branksome Hall—founded in 1903—relocated from its original home on Bloor Street East to the Charles Horace Gooderham House.

Margaret Eaton, of the Eaton family, attended the school at this location. She went on to become Commanding Officer of the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corp. and the highest-ranking female officer during World War II.

1912 - The C.H. Gooderham House became home to the Selby Hotel, originally founded as a private “hostel” that catered to elderly female clientele (when it wasn’t hosting Canadian and British officers during WWII), and was viewed as one of Toronto’s cultural focal points. The Selby became a public hotel in 1920.

1923 - Internationally renowned author Ernest Hemingway was one of many creative heavyweights who stayed at the Selby Hotel. During his brief career as a foreign correspondent at the Toronto Star, he occupied two adjoining rooms: room 301 and the “Gooderham Suite.”

Restored inside.

Tuesday Treasures

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.
Our World Tuesday
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Toronto ON

The area between Front Street on the south and Adelaide Street on the north, between Berkeley Street on the east and George Street on the west, is the ten blocks that make up the original town-site of York or Old Toronto, as laid out in 1793.

This walk is mainly along King St. East. There is an incredible amount of history in this area.

The Home District Grammar School was built at King and George Streets in 1807 and was a one-room schoolhouse. When it first opened, only five students enrolled but it quickly rose to 37 by year’s end. Eventually, it became clear that it was too small to accommodate the number of attendees it was acquiring. To replace it, another school was built in 1816 at Adelaide and Church streets, known as the ‘Blue School.’

The King Edward Hotel was built by George Gooderham's Toronto Hotel Company to meet the demand in the rising metropolis for a grand hotel. 

Gooderham is a very familiar name to Torontonians. To learn more click on Gooderham in the tags/labels below this post.

When it opened in 1903, the hotel, affectionately known as the "King Eddy", was embraced by the city. The fireproof, eight-storey building, designed by eminent Chicago architect Henry Ives Cobb and prominent Toronto architect E.J. Lennox, provided luxury in service in dramatic settings. The 18-storey tower, with its top-floor Crystal Ballroom, was added in 1920-21 to enlarge the hotel. Although threatened with demolition in the 1970s, the hotel was revitalized in 1980-81. On its 100th anniversary in 2003, the King Edward, Toronto's first luxury hotel, remains a vibrant and elegant meeting place for local and international visitors.

The lavish King Edward Hotel on King Street was once the location of Toronto’s first jail, the Old Log Gaol, which held Toronto’s first execution in 1798. John Sullivan was executed for forging a one pound note to fund a drinking spree. Early Toronto had about 120 crimes that were punishable by death, including forgery and being found disguised in a forest.

At 1 Toronto St. is this plaque.

"Be of good courage boys, I am not ashamed of anything I've done, I trust in God, and I'm going to die like a man." - - Samuel Lount. On April 24, 1824 the cornerstone of York's second jail was laid on this site. In the aftermath of the Rebellion of 1837 close to ten thousand people stood on this spot to bear witness as Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews, two of William Lyon Mackenzie's most loyal supporters, were hanged on April 12, 1838 on gallows adjacent to the jail. By 1840 a new prison, the Home District Gaol, was set to open on Berkeley Street and the old jail was to be incorporated into the York Chambers Building which stood until 1956. The last hangings in Toronto were at the Don Jail in 1962.

You can stop by and visit the museum in the Old Post Office.

Toronto's First Post Office is a historic post office. It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the British Royal Mail, and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys' school (De La Salle College) and later a cold storage building. Located at 260 Adelaide Street East, the building now houses a museum and a full-service post office, run by the Town of York Historical Society.

The Cathedral Church of St. James is both a parish church ministering to the historic St Lawrence neighbourhood and a cathedral (the church where the bishop’s chair or throne – the “cathedra” – is located), making it the spiritual centre of the diocese and a focal point for the civic life of Toronto, one of Canada’s most prominent cultural and financial centres. The Cathedral has been designated as an Ontario Heritage Property by the Ministry of Culture and has also been designated as a heritage site by Heritage Toronto.

Bean Head

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

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Sunday Post

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Sep 2022 - Toronto ON

It rained all day Saturday but since it is usually a PJ day we didn't care. We dawdled over our coffees reading/watching. Did a couple of loads of laundry. Hung my latest embroidery. 

Got rid of cardboard boxes that have started to accumulate.

I have spent some time yesterday and today going through the multitude of CDs we had used as backup. Hopefully I will finish on Sunday. UPDATE I did finish on Sunday! YAY me! I just have to dispose of them. I kept the old laptop with the CD read/write.

I received our new compost bin (I had been using a bowl on the counter). This works really well. 

Sunday was certainly productive for me. A load of laundry, I cleaned out the freezer as repairman coming tomorrow (fingers crossed) reorganized and threw out a bunch of crap. It seems like the freezer is freezing and unfreezing on the right side so any bakery products were mushy, soup stock went in garbage. Then I ended up with a gazillion reusable freezer bags to wash and a bunch of tupperware. Finished CDs as above, washed kitchen floor.

Decluttered the bar and moved the tech chargers/plugs into the drawers of the coffee table that got rid of a basket on the bookcase.

I even had an hour telephone chat with a friend.

John descaled the coffee pot, something we should do more often.

Cleared out the empty boxes were were keeping "in case".

Heck, it's Sunday...

Then I sat down to embroider and watch stuff.

Monday John used the golf simulator. 

Fridge repair guy came, nice guy, said it was because ice was building up blocking fan and unable to push cold air down...Okay...we were told to defrost it for 24 hours. So we packed up the meats and put in the other freezer, got ice and put the rest on the balcony. 

Tuesday we headed to meet friends for pizza at Libretto's, we were early so we took the long way underground.

Since it was 24 hours later, we plugged the fridge in. Waited a few hours, freezer felt cold but bottom is still at around 60 F. We put some stuff back but left the meat in the other freezer.

Wednesday I checked temperature in the morning 54 F.

We left at 9:40 to catch the bus downtown, I noticed the sign said to Dufferin. Sure enough, at Dufferin we had to get out and catch the streetcar. It was not warm out! 

Got off at John St. and walked up to the AGO for the Leonard Cohen exhibit. We found a new mural at OCAD, check back on Monday.

Back of the AGO

Entitled Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill Jungen’s new sculpture for this outdoor space is a monument to creative form and engineering. In his first large-scale work in bronze, Jungen has constructed the figure of an elephant from discarded leather sofas. “The use of discarded couches came from my experiences of walking the streets of Toronto and seeing them abandoned on the sidewalks waiting to be picked up at night,” said Jungen. “This was foreign to me and surprising, but to the residents of this city, accustomed to seeing them, they are invisible. I look forward to making them visible again.”

Intrigued by the tragic story of Jumbo, a captive circus elephant who made international headlines when it was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario, in 1885, Jungen is deeply concerned with the terrible price all living things pay when forced to perform for others. That concern is embedded in the title of the work. “Once captured and trained, things are no longer themselves: Jumbo was no longer an elephant, but a monster created by humans for entertainment. Its will and spirit were broken,” he says. The Dane-zaa subtitle of the work, “Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill” translates to “My heart is ripping.”

Click here for our visit to Jumbo in St. Thomas.

Click here for my full post on the Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows exhibit.

After a cappuccino in the Galleria Italia we walked over to St. Patrick Station and took the subway up to St. George and transferred over to Shelbourne for John's birthday lunch at The Shelby.

1883 - The mansion was designed by acclaimed architect David Roberts Jr., who had extensive connections to Toronto’s prominent Gooderham family (the cofounders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, now known as the Distillery District). Roberts Jr. was also responsible for designing Toronto’s Flatiron Building.

2018 Interloper Cabernet Franc from 13th St. winery in Niagara on the Lake.

Delicious steak frites! We both gave the sauce a miss.

Crème Brule sooooo good.

Other dining rooms. 

My BFF was gardening this morning then sent me a text asking if we were getting the storm? Yes.

We came home to the mystery of the missing crocs. John had put them on the dining room chair, out of the way of the cleaning lady. We couldn't find them anywhere so I messaged her and she said she had no idea. Around 8 PM I went to sit on the couch and found them! I sent a photo to the cleaning lady and we had a good laugh. Her husband said she had probably put them there.

Came home and the fridge was still 54 F. John attempted to contact them and got the run around.

Thursday morning fridge was 49 F but it soon climbed back up. John eventually reached a representative, Eve, who was actually helpful and scheduled another repairman for Tuesday. But he still had to provide the same information over again and again and then to the actual company who sent the previous repairman.

John used the golf simulator and I went to Longo's to get our Friday steaks.

Friday, John's birthday, so we went to Kitchen on 6th for a big breakfast. Delicious, we will be back!

Grapefruit mimosas.

We picked up gluten free cannoli from Holy Cannoli!

Cirque de Soleil Zooza is setting up a new show down the street from us. I also noticed the restaurant in our building had a poster made. It will be interesting to see the impact on traffic.

It was a very rainy day.

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COOKING

Saturday John suggested Chinese curry and I remembered I had bought a mix from Blighty's. When I opened it, it is just a spice mixture so I used it. 

Sunday pizza

Monday pork chops beans and mashed potatoes

Tuesday lunch out - sushi for me and peanut butter cheese and toast for John

Wednesday lunch out - popcorn

Thursday - chicken quarters and salad

Friday breakfast out - steak with gluten free garlic bread. We tried the Schar baguettes and they were great.

WATCHING

We finished The Consultant, not sure how to explain this one...we enjoyed it. It is described as
horror/satire/workplace comedy-drama.

We also watched a movie Dead Drop 2013, After surviving a fall from a plane 3000-feet over the ocean, a former CIA operative turned government contractor re-infiltrates a dangerous North Mexican drug trafficking ring to find his own killer. With his memory unraveling, he descends into a murderous rampage while trying to uncover the truth. Who threw him from the plane? Was it his best friend?

Bullet to the Head 2012.

READING

I finished The Girl With No Past, this was a GOOD read, the ending totally surprised me.

I started A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny's (Three Pines) number 18 in her series and it's got me hooked. It has also introduced me to a fascinating piece of art The Paston Treasure that I am also reading about. Another great article, this one gives an interesting perspective.

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

Image-in-ing
My Corner of the World

Postcards

Timeless Thursdays is hosted by Stevenson Que

Toronto ON

Click here for a history of Toronto lane naming and a list of other lanes. That post is a work in progress, and gets updated frequently.

We often visit the Distillery District, but that hasn't been possible in the last year due to the pandemic.

You can click on "Distillery District" in the tags/labels below this post for many more photos of the festivals they put on throughout the year. Even without a special event it is a fun place to visit.

With more than 40 boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops, The Distillery District is a well-known tourist destination.

These photos were taken on various outings.

Toronto’s Distillery District was designated as a national historic site because the “complex is an outstanding example of Victorian industrial design in terms of integrity, historical association and aesthetic qualities.” Founded in 1832, Gooderham & Worts began as a windmill in the wilderness and grew to become the largest distillery in the world and the largest corporate taxpayer in Canada.

I featured the flatiron building last week and mentioned William Gooderham.

This is where Gooderham originally made his money.

The story of the Distillery District starts in 1832 with the idea for a grist mill on the east end of York (Toronto) harbour. James Worts had been a miller in Suffolk, England before moving to York. He built a 70-foot tall windmill that was a prominent feature on the York skyline and started a milling business with his brother-in-law William Gooderham. Together they started a business that led to the largest distilling operation in Canada. However, disaster struck in 1834 when James Worts lost his wife in childbirth. Distraught, he jumped in the well at the mill and drowned himself just two weeks later. Gooderham adopted his children and raised them along with his own thirteen. Among the adopted was James Gooderham Worts who would become his partner in the business.

But we are here to look at the lanes.

Case Goods Lane houses the Case Goods Warehouse, which is the youngest of the existing buildings (erected in 1927). Its age shows as it looks different than the earlier structures. It came when Harry Hatch, a Bridlewood horsebreeder and industrialist, bought the distillery in the 1920s and merged it with Hiram-Walker.

Building was used to store pure spirits and industrial alcohol in tin and copper tanks.

Along what is now Tank House Lane is a complex of Tank Houses, built to house and age liquor for two years by law.

A rack house once aged Canadian whisky in barrels stacked two dozen high.