wyliepoon
Senior Member
Here are some photo highlights and commentary from my Doors Open 2008 trek... (be patient... tons of photos to load!)
(All my photos can be found here on Flickr.)
Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church
I have been waiting a long time to see the inside of SCBC (having seen and photographed the exterior so many times). My expections were greatly increased after seeing the Canadian Architect photos of the inside.
However, I was somewhat disappointed by my visit to SCBC. The interior that I saw there was not as impressive as what I saw in CA. There were some nice interior spaces, such as light wells that bring sunlight from the roof down two floors into the basement, and a massive foyer divided in the middle by the ceiling which comes down and almost touches the floor. However, most of the other internal spaces are pretty typical of Chinese churches in north Scarborough, although they do get more natural lighting than most other churches.
SCBC handled its first Doors Open event less as an architectural event and more as a community fair in which it showcased its programs and its fellowships (which provided snacks like cotton candy, Chinese snacks, and bubble tea). Mayor David Miller and Councillor Mike del Grande were there early on Saturday morning to make speeches. Unfortunately, all the church groups decided to plaster neon-coloured bristol board signs all over the nice foyer to promote their activities, which ruined any chances of taking nice photos of the foyer.
TTC Lower Bay
Easily the most palatial of the Bloor-Danforth platforms, in my opinion (Keele would rank second). I like the fact that the ceiling is so high on this platform.
The flatscreen the TTC put on the platform showing the movies that were filmed there gave me an idea... maybe the TTC could earn some extra money by hosting movie nights on the platform.
Anshei Minsk Synagogue
Kiever Synagogue
Queen's Park
I haven't been inside the Ontario Legislature Building in ages (I've tried to get inside for the past two Doors Open, but got there too late to join any tours).
The atriums inside each wing of the building are now in my list of favourite interior spaces in the city. They don't look like they belong in a government building, but in a department store (like Chicago's Marshall Field's). If the Bay Queen Street wants to create a nice atrium, look no further than Queen's Park!
Canada Life Tower Room
John Street Roundhouse
Happy to see that work is progressing on restoring the Roundhouse, even though Leon's will occupy much of the space currently under restoration. The inside of the Roundhouse has a really nice industrial feeling to it.
St. Jame's Cathedral (Bell Tower tour)
I didn't know that tickets for the Bell Tower tour for Saturday and Sunday were given out on Saturday. I went on Sunday hoping for a ticket to go up the Bell Tower, but they were long gone by then. Fortunately, some people with tickets didn't show up for the 1:45 tour, so I was able to go up the tower.
There are no views looking outside from the tower, but we got a nice demonstration of how the bells work from the tower's "change ringers", and we were shown the bells up close.
St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Stunning interior...
Union Station
The tour of Union was a lot shorter than the "behind the scenes" tour I took when it first joined Doors Open (no tours to the walkway above the Great Hall or any service or machinery spaces). Still, the tour was quick and very informative.
(All my photos can be found here on Flickr.)
Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church
I have been waiting a long time to see the inside of SCBC (having seen and photographed the exterior so many times). My expections were greatly increased after seeing the Canadian Architect photos of the inside.
However, I was somewhat disappointed by my visit to SCBC. The interior that I saw there was not as impressive as what I saw in CA. There were some nice interior spaces, such as light wells that bring sunlight from the roof down two floors into the basement, and a massive foyer divided in the middle by the ceiling which comes down and almost touches the floor. However, most of the other internal spaces are pretty typical of Chinese churches in north Scarborough, although they do get more natural lighting than most other churches.
SCBC handled its first Doors Open event less as an architectural event and more as a community fair in which it showcased its programs and its fellowships (which provided snacks like cotton candy, Chinese snacks, and bubble tea). Mayor David Miller and Councillor Mike del Grande were there early on Saturday morning to make speeches. Unfortunately, all the church groups decided to plaster neon-coloured bristol board signs all over the nice foyer to promote their activities, which ruined any chances of taking nice photos of the foyer.
TTC Lower Bay
Easily the most palatial of the Bloor-Danforth platforms, in my opinion (Keele would rank second). I like the fact that the ceiling is so high on this platform.
The flatscreen the TTC put on the platform showing the movies that were filmed there gave me an idea... maybe the TTC could earn some extra money by hosting movie nights on the platform.
Anshei Minsk Synagogue
Kiever Synagogue
Queen's Park
I haven't been inside the Ontario Legislature Building in ages (I've tried to get inside for the past two Doors Open, but got there too late to join any tours).
The atriums inside each wing of the building are now in my list of favourite interior spaces in the city. They don't look like they belong in a government building, but in a department store (like Chicago's Marshall Field's). If the Bay Queen Street wants to create a nice atrium, look no further than Queen's Park!
Canada Life Tower Room
John Street Roundhouse
Happy to see that work is progressing on restoring the Roundhouse, even though Leon's will occupy much of the space currently under restoration. The inside of the Roundhouse has a really nice industrial feeling to it.
St. Jame's Cathedral (Bell Tower tour)
I didn't know that tickets for the Bell Tower tour for Saturday and Sunday were given out on Saturday. I went on Sunday hoping for a ticket to go up the Bell Tower, but they were long gone by then. Fortunately, some people with tickets didn't show up for the 1:45 tour, so I was able to go up the tower.
There are no views looking outside from the tower, but we got a nice demonstration of how the bells work from the tower's "change ringers", and we were shown the bells up close.
St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Stunning interior...
Union Station
The tour of Union was a lot shorter than the "behind the scenes" tour I took when it first joined Doors Open (no tours to the walkway above the Great Hall or any service or machinery spaces). Still, the tour was quick and very informative.
