Simcoe Day at Fort York

This afternoon, Teena and I walked over to Fort York for Simcoe Day activities. Ontario cities and towns have today off as part of their Civic Day holiday weekend. In 1968 Toronto named this weekend after John Graves Simcoe, who was the founder of Toronto. Simcoe also ended slavery in the Canada's, although with some limitations in 1793.

Here is a view looking eastward towards the fort and the city behind it from the military graveyard.

This is a lookout behind the new Fort York visitor centre where there is an excellent view of the fort and city.

The Battle of York was fought from just west of and across the Exhibition grounds.

Old and new. An 1812 cannon in front on newly built condos.

The entrance to the fort with the fort behind.

The Blue Barracks to the left and centre blockhouse.

The magazine which was built in 1814.

The officers' mess.

An officers room. Those boots look quite heavy!

The officers' dining room. Officers seem to have it rather good.

This is the first time I have seen the basement open. Here is the original cooking fireplace from 1815. Down here too are two rooms built in 1837 to store and protect the money held by the Upper Canada Bank in Toronto.

Making cherry pies.

Another city view.

There were dance demonstrations. A short dance lesson followed.

There was a military march and drill presentation. The soldiers were of all ages and they all looked like professional soldiers of the period. Well done! The sound of 50 bayonets being slapped onto the tips of their muskets at the same time, sent shivers down my spine.

 The drum and fife corps.

Here come John Graves Simcoe himself to give a short declaration and inspect the troops.

This was so cool and so loud. They did not fire their muskets at once but do so one, right after another, left to right, all the way done the line ending with a blast from the cannon. It only only took about fifteen seconds to complete.

Afterwards they marched off in formation.

The second magazine (left) and eastern barracks. It was the first time I had been in the brick magazine, which inside show cases the battle of York on both floors.

A cannon protects the fort from the encroaching city.

It was a fun day at the fort. Originally I was going to do something else and Teena suggested we hit the fort. I always have a fun time there and next year I would like to go for Simcoe Day again.

Doors Open Walk - Industry and Internment in Liberty Village

Teena and I have missed the past couple of years of the Doors Open weekend in Toronto.

The 17th annual Doors Open Toronto presented by Great Gulf returns on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29, 2016, offering free and rare access to more than 130 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city.

The Doors Open Toronto 2016 theme of Re-used, Re-visited and Revised will explore the adaptive re-use of buildings throughout Toronto's architectural history.

Today we corrected that by going on a free walking tour led by Richard Fiennes-Clinton of Muddy York Walking Tours. We have gone on many tours with Richard, who always leads an interesting and informative walk. Today's walk was on Industry and Internment in Liberty Village.

We met across at Hanna and Liberty St, across from the old Brunswick building. Here are Richard's volunteers who assisted with the walk.

Our first stop was by Lamport Stadium. It was an extremely hot day and Richard found the shady spots to stop for a talk.

I never knew but Lamport Stadium was built on the site of Mercer Reformatory for Woman, the very first women's only prison in Canada. Built in 1872, it was finally shut down in the 1960s due to mistreatment of the inmates and the inhumane conditions that they were forced to live in.

The Liberty Market was our next stop. It was a rail stop for the unloading and storage of parts and equipment.

The east side of the original building (to the right), and the maze of condos in behind.

Next up was the last existing building from the men's prison, that stood on the Liberty grounds, the prison chapel which was built in 1877.

Richard told us the history of the prison and how the chapel was used for storage by Inglis, while they had their factories on the site.

You can still tell it was part of a jail.

The west side of the chapel. You can still kind of see the Inglis sign over the door to the left.

The west side of the chapel.

A view of Toronto as we came up over a hill on Liberty near Strachan.

Our final stop was at the Massey-Harris offices. I've always been pleased that although turned into condos, the outside was kept in its original form. Richard told us of the history of the Massey family and business. I never knew that Raymond Massey, a famous actor from the forties and fifties, was the son of the wealthy Massey family.

The Massey Harris symbol, which sits on top of the plaque to the right of Richard, dedicated to those Massey employees who lost their life fighting in the first world war.

Cool window on the east side of the building

The east side of the building

The plaque out front.

The north and west side of the building

The creative Massey Harris molding on top of the north side.

Looking closely at the west side, you can see two extensions were added to the original offices.

The Massey Harris building sits in nicely with the newer buildings of today.

It was an enjoyable and informative walk, as Richard's walks always are and I learned a little more of the neighborhood where Teena and I live.