The 11th annual Doors Open Toronto (toronto.ca/doorsopen) features 150 buildings, from the modest Scadding Cabin, the first residence in what is now Toronto, to massive structures like the 250,000-square foot Mount Dennis bus garage. The free public weekend, May 29 and 30, is your chance to trespass on properties normally off limits. Here are my top five must-sees.
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PORTLANDS ENERGY CENTRE
Sometimes Doors Open shows you the dirty side of city living. We fought like crazy to stop this east-end $730 million eyesore, so we might as well take a look at it. Maybe a hard-hat tour will reveal the real cost of putting an ugly box-shaped 550-megawatt natural gas plant and its smokestack right smack in the skyline, at 470 Unwin, emissions and all.
The 135,000-square-foot facility is restricted to guests 12 and up, and will provide protective equipment.
It might also be worth bringing your imagination to dream up a power generation solution that uses clean renewables instead and that isn’t a drab slab slapped up by short-sighted provincial types.
CITY HALL
Say hello to Toronto’s largest publicly accessible green roof, appropriately encircling the heart of City Hall. The 35,000-square-foot living garden portion of Nathan Phillips Square’s revitalization officially opens during this year’s Doors Open.
It’s not tough to find – just take one of the ramps leading from the square to the podium level. If you can’t make the 11 am Saturday launch – which includes an intro by the mayor, live entertainment and a reading by poet laureate Dionne Brand – the area will remain open for the entire weekend from 10 am to 5 pm.
When you go, you’ll find a $2 million reno featuring new walkways, street furniture and landscaped gardens filled with grasses, herbs and flowers selected specifically for our harsh climate. 100 Queen West.
KING EDWARD HOTEL
Opened in 1903, the 18-storey King Edward Hotel stood for elegance and class. Then it fell on hard times. In fact, the site of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famed pre-bed-in stay and a scandalous unmarried romp between Liz Taylor and Richard Burton was threatened with demolition in the 70s, but was saved.
What wasn’t renovated was the rooftop Crystal Ballroom – a 1920 addition that remains spookily empty.
The King Eddy was threatened again when owner Lehman Brothers tumbled, but it was bought in March by the Le Meridien arm of Starwood Hotels.
The Le Meridien King Edward is opening its doors after a few years of Doors Open inactivity. Tours through the weekend will include a rare glimpse of the abandoned top-floor Crystal Ballroom, and Tafelmusik performances Saturday (10:30 and 11:30 am, 1:30 and 2:30 pm) and Sunday (10:30 and 11:30 am). 37 King East.
GREENWOOD MAINTENANCE SHOP
It’s not the luxurious surrounds of the King Eddie, but those who love to see what keeps the Rocket moving should hit the TTC’s Greenwood maintenance shop for a peek at some grimy gear-mashing goodness.
It might be a good wake-up call to see the hard work that goes into keeping aging transit equipment running along the Bloor-Danforth, Yonge-University-Spadina, Sheppard and Scarborough lines.
The yard is regularly home to over 100 subway cars and more than 200 workers. 400 Greenwood.
Enzo DiMatteo
INGLENOOK COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
Before it was one of Toronto’s first alternative schools, the Inglenook site in Corktown was home to Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, escaped slaves who built a house there in 1834.
The school itself, built in 1887, is the longest continually operating school in the Toronto District School Board and serves as a standing connection to the Victorian-era blue-collar Corktown neighbourhood. The first archaeological dig on an Underground Railroad site in Canada occurred on the property. 19 Sackville.
JOHN ST. ROUNDHOUSE
The roundhouse wedged between the Gardiner and CN Tower/Rogers Centre is more than a brewery and furniture store. The last railway roundhouse remaining in Toronto is also home to the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, which officially opens during Doors Open and should be a top pick for parents looking for exciting things to do with kids.
Get up close with the restored old-timey trains or admire the unique interior of the 1929 crescent-shaped building – a link to Canada’s rail heritage.
Kids will get a kick out of riding the mini steam locomotive or getting interactive with the conductor simulator. 255 Bremner.
HAVE AN iPHONE? Be sure to check out this list on the unofficial Doors Open Toronto mobile site. Read more about it here.
