Pyat and Teddog go to the park

[pyat]

Went exploring with commanderteddog today, just at random. We explored an odd marble-clad stairwell that went deep beneath the already subterranean path, found a mysterious Staples outlet, and explored the worst playground in Toronto.




I mean, really, just look at these lame monkey bars.


First of all, this hedge maze goes NOWHERE. Secondly, it's made of freaking GLASS.


I admire Toronto's dedication to public green space.


Hey, look! This wading pool is fed by rainwater from a trough!


Come on in! The garbage is fine!

Yeah, okay, so these are all actually examples of public art.


I find the bad English on this sign to be curiously charming.


This old firehall is now something called the "Gilda Radner Club," something to do with cancer survivors/people living with cancer.


This skycraper looks complete - save for a stripe of plywood boards rising its entire length.


Walking the PATH, a hallway serving as a sort of airlock between the Scotiabank Plaza and Dundee Place.




Deep underground, people banking in a lurid neon glow.


This curiously antique stairwell is connected to a very sleek and modern underground mall, part of the much older skyscraper above it. It went down several more flights, terminating in... a locked door!


Built in 1910, and looking much more modern than some much newer structures nearby.


The Ontario Heritage Centre. A middle-aged woman rather snarkily informed us that it was not a public building, when I checked for a public washroom.

Comments

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Ah, the PATH... a vast underground mall network that looks like someone's concept of the future... circa 1985. People who work in the bank towers and commute never have to go outside. Working in the TD tower was surreal, let me tell you. I don't like going down there, now, I get claustrophobic.

Gilda's Club has been around for quite a while. It's a great support for people living with cancer, and their loved ones.

Bombay Palace's sign is fine, provided you remove the quotation marks. :)

And yeah, we have rather a lot of weird public art. The Sculpture Garden always seems so random...

[anidada.livejournal.com]

...also, there might well have been a power vault behind that locked door. Apparently there were outages in the downtown towers today (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/586379). *eyes you suspiciously*

[pyat.livejournal.com]

*looks shifty*

Well, dogs like to dig, and mice like to burrow... no telling what we might have disturbed...

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Bombay Palace's sign is fine, provided you remove the quotation marks.

That didn't even occur to me. It does make sense, now.

I like the PATH, but I have to admit I like it on the level of "This reminds me of a science fiction movie."

[halfelf.livejournal.com]

Remember, kids, Ontario's Heritage is private, and not for the unwashed masses!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

They don't want my urine? Fine! I'll take it elsewhere. :)

[thebitterguy]

You sure it wasn't the Heritage Front, Ontario?

[pyat.livejournal.com]

If it was, they were right next to the Ontario Black Heritage Office. No wonder she was tense!

[melstra.livejournal.com]

It strikes me that if you haven't yet ventured out there, you REALLY need to take an outing to "Guildwood Park" in Scarborough, just off the bluffs. It's a gorgeous park where they have a giant sculpture garden of facades from demolished historic buildings in Toronto. J and I went there once to catch an open-air production of Scheherezade. Stunning.

Here's an online album of pix I found of it:
http://www.pbase.com/dale_simmons/guildwood

[pyat.livejournal.com]

This is lovely! If it's accessible by subway, I'll suggest to Teddog for an one of our extended lunch hour outings in the spring.

[melstra.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I don't think it's accessible by subway-- I remember it taking us a little while to get there when we went. However, do put it on your list to take a nice outing with the girls and Erin later in the spring/summer!! I think they'd all love it--esp. if you can look up any of the theater or open air concerts they sometimes have!

[pyat.livejournal.com]

A capital idea!

[(Anonymous)]

Nothing in Scarborough is accessible! You can get from downtown Hamilton to downtown Toronto on public transit faster than you can get from Scarborough to downtown. It's also an area where they should have put a freeway in (not that I'm a fan of car culture!), but it was killed off and now you can't drive into Scarborough very well either.

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

It's not. I researched it for an RP storyline. It's really in the middle of nowhere.

[pyat.livejournal.com]

What did I say about me randomly naming places, only to have you tell me you'd written a fic about them? :)

[commanderteddog.livejournal.com]

That one is a special case, though. It came out of photos of the Guild Inn (which was linked below) and the fact that some parts of the inn still have power.

It was my suggestion that an inn like that, a mix of cool and creepy, plus with the gardens would make for an amazing setting for a dramatic scene. That it's out in the middle of nowhere helps matters too, as it would be hard to reach and... uh... hard to find a body in the surrounding area.

IIRC, I picked that over the Bayview Ghost (http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread_archive.asp?threadid=50015), because while the Ghost does spill over into a wooded area, it would be pretty landlocked by homes on other sides.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Some of rentagurkha's wedding photos were taken there. Very pretty. Also, the Guild Inn (http://www.blogto.com/city/2008/09/torontos_forgotten_landmarks_the_guild_inn/) itself is pretty cool -- abandoned, said to be haunted (http://www.pararesearchers.org/Ghosts/guild/guild.html).

And, if you ever decide you want to check out this place (http://spacing.ca/wire/2009/01/26/little-house-in-the-valley/), you MUST let me know. I have always wondered about it -- it's best seen at this time of year, going north on the DVP. Poor lonely little house.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the botched code. Can't edit. :(

Son of edit

[anidada.livejournal.com]

More on the Guild Inn here. (http://spacing.ca/wire/2009/02/11/building-storeys-long-live-the-guild/)

Re: Son of edit

[pyat.livejournal.com]

I'd never heard of the place. It looks fascinating. :) And the little house looks even more interesting, in some ways.

[feywild.livejournal.com]

I miss the Toronto underground. The two times we've been to the city, we stayed at the Sheriton Centre. It's such a great area!