Toronto Monuments - Part II

Toronto Monuments - Part II

Toronto ranks highly in global rankings and is consistently ranked first in Canada.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, significant pieces of Toronto's architectural heritage were demolished to make way for redevelopment or parking. In contrast, since the 2000s, Toronto has experienced a period of architectural revival, with several buildings by world-renowned architects having opened during the late 2000s. Daniel Libeskind's Royal Ontario Museum addition, Frank Gehry's remake of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and Will Alsop's distinctive Ontario College of Art & Design expansion are among the city's new showpieces. The historic Distillery District, located on the eastern edge of downtown has been redeveloped into a pedestrian-oriented arts, culture and entertainment neighbourhood.

You can appreciate here a few monuments that make Toronto one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

A group on Bloor street.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806). first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (1791-1806). Founder of the City of Toronto, July 30th, 1793.

Queen Victoria.

Sir Oliver Mowat (1820 – 1903). Born in Kingston, Mowat studied Law under John A. MacDonald after moving to Toronto in 1840, he was elected a liberal membere of the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1857 and served as provincial secretary in 1858 and Postmaster General, 1863 – 1864. He took part in the Quebec Conference of 1864 which led to Conederation in 1867. Mowat became Ontario’s third Prime Minister in 1877, succeeding the Honorable Edward Blake and retained that post for almost 24 years. Resigning in 1896, he accepted a seat in the Senate, and became Minister of Justice, 1896-97, in the cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Mowat served as lieutenant-governor of Ontario fromm 1897 until his death.

George Brown, one of the Fathers of the Confederation.

Monument to Whithey.

вв

Robert Gourlay (1778 – 1863). He championed reforms ahead of his time. In Scotland – a vote for every man who could read and write. In England – a living wage for workers. In Canada – fair land distribution. Banished from Upper Canada in 1819 on false charges of sedition brought by the Family Compact. His writings had an impact on events leading to the 1837 rebellion. Monument erected thanks to Lois Darrocj (Milani) Christine (Milani) Bayly Families and Friends, North Yora Historical Society, Toronto Culture. "The first question in political economy should be, can the mass of the people live comfortably under this or that arrangement? But this most necessary question was forgotten, and many of the people have perished." (Robert Gourlay, Statistical Account of Upper Canada, 1822).

A Roman statue on the University of Toronto campus.

Business images, or illustrations pertaining to daily lives of real and animated businesspersons. More pictures grouped according to theme can be found on the artwork, photography and animation index page.

A monument on Avenue Road in Yorkville.

Woman's Head. Animated businessperson.

Mayberry Fine Art, Yorkville

Per Ardua Ad Astra. Im Memory of our Canadian Airmen who fought in the skies to preserve freedom and order in the world.

Sculptor John Robinson. This symmetrical combination of interlocking hollow triangles, no two of whick are linked, is an example of borromean rings studied in knot theory.

Gwendolyn MacEwen. Poet and Author (1941 – 1987). But it is never over nothing ends until we want it to. Look, in shattered midnights, On black ice, under silver trees. We are still dancing, dancing. (From Late Song – Afterwords, 1987).

The Vessel. Artist: Ilan Sandler 2009. This sculpture of a water-carrying vessel is made from 4 kilometers of stainless steel rod. The rod measures the approximate length of Taddle Creek, which ran from Taddle Creek Park through downtown Toronto to Lake Ontario. The piece reconstitutes a memory of the buried creek by referencing its length and by bend in the steel rod into water-carrying arteries. Water from the Vessel  is stored in an underground cistern and used to irrigate the park. Vessels have accompanied all peoples for millennia and are often seen as a surrogate for the body; like a container, it also acts as a fountain, relating the creek`s historical significance as a life-sustaining water source to the future pleasure of the community. (Commemoration and Installation: June 2011. Commissioned by the city of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Cultural Services, Public Art Office. Taddle Creek Park, Toronto.

A monument to an unknown lady between Bay and Yonge Street in down-town Toronto.