June 22, 2010

Tourists in Toronto: Brick

I have to beg the indulgence of my blogger friends from the North. Brick buildings may be a common sight to all of you, but they are rare here in Manila so I was fascinated by the different kinds of brick architecture that we saw in Toronto.

The Royal Conservatory of Music.

The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto


Canadian Opera Company.

Canadian Opera Company, Toronto


No. 8 Hose Station. I'd never seen a fire station with a clock tower before either.

brick fire station, Toronto


Steam Whistle Brewing. They only make one kind of beer, a pilsner, which I tried (along with many other kinds of beer—we don't have as much variety here in Manila). It was fine, but of all the beers we tried, I liked the St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout the best.

Steam Whistle Brewing, Toronto


St. Lawrence Market. The neighborhood around this historic building is also called St. Lawrence.

St. Lawrence Market, Toronto


One of the many buildings which house shops, galleries and restaurants of all kinds along Queen Street West in the Art & Design District.

shops along Queen Street West in the Art & Design District, Toronto


Funky Junky at Kensington Market. If I lived in Toronto, I'd do much of my clothes shopping at Kensington Market, one of the city's older neighborhoods. Shops in brightly painted historic buildings selling retro, vintage, multicultural ethnic and army surplus clothing. It is also the location of Average Joe's Café, owned by Chinese-Canadian Joe Ng. His coffee was the first we had in three Canadian cities that was brewed the way we like it—strong.

the Funky Junky shop at Kensington Market, Toronto


I never found out the name of this church. Neither can I remember now what district I saw it in. But I love its domed spires and the painting over the doors. Very unique in my eyes. (6.23 UPDATE: My cousin tells me that this is St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral on Bathurst Street. Thanks, Ana!)

brick church, Toronto


St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. Surrounded by big, beautiful, leafy trees, it had a poster on a wall saying that it was available for rental for performances, meetings, classes or weddings.

St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, Toronto

17 comments:

Photo Cache said...

I was the same way. I couldn't get enough of the brick buildings I saw when I first got here. They to me are so precious and so pretty. Just like the ones you're showing.

Anonymous said...

As Athens is mostly a city filled with concrete, these were surely a delight to see. Reminds me much of home. Thank you for sharing. Please have a nice Tuesday.

daily athens

brattcat said...

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where many of the buildings are brick. Now I live in New England where most buildings are made from wood so I, too, love seeing brick. Thanks for showing us these.

Mike Rose said...

Hilda a good choice of theme. Coming from the North I do miss brick buildings here in the tropics.

Don and Krise said...

Wonderful group of brick buildings. Brick structures always catch my eye. They do give such a feeling of strength and history.

Olivier said...

de belles architectures, mais j'aime beaucoup la "No. 8 House Station"

lewi14@gmail.com said...

Great shots. My favourite is the FunkyJunky. It is very colourful. It looks like very lively.

Cezar and Léia said...

I'm enchanted by this beautiful architecture!Picture number 6 reminds me so much Holland with the facade and bikes!Just wonderful!
Hugs
Léia

M. CHRISTOPHE said...

I'm always impressed by the time people had spent to built such big constructions with so small parts.

Verna Luga said...

you really have enjoyed your trip... thanks for sharing...

Kaori said...

Brick buildings have so much character! I love them, too :D

Lianne said...

funky junk looks like a fun shop to check out!i bet there are a lot of great finds in there.

leethroughthelens.blogspot.com

arabesque said...

have to agree, they look quite interesting, esp. when you compiled them all together, feels like i'm browsing from a mag. ^0^

the last bit was my fave,i like how the door's shaped, apart from the clock tower that's very unique in its structure and the "funky junky."

ps: cute profile btw. ^0^

Lois said...

I absolutely love that clock tower at the fire station Hilda. It's so tall!

James Mark said...

Ha! As I scrolled down, I was wondering if you had some of Kensington Market. The area is so British. We were driving through Belfast, Northern Ireland, a few years ago, both thinking, "This reminds me so much of KM Toronto!"

George said...

I'm glad you were able to see such a wide variety of brick buildings. We do take them for granted entirely too often around here.
I've enjoyed touring Toronto with you over the past several days. Thanks for taking us along.

Lowell said...

What a wonderful trip you had. Thank you for showing us parts of it. And showing those parts so well. There is a sense of solidity and timelessness about brick buildings and I you've captured that perfectly in these pictures!