Notre Place

"Notre Place" is a monument in downtown that celebrates the French-speaking community and its culture in Ontario. It displays the Franco-Ontarian flag symbols of fleur-de-lys (Lily Flower) and  Trillium flower on the symbolic stainless steel trees over and over again.

By the way "Notre Place" just means "Our place" in French. Same as in the "Notre-Dame de Paris" Cathedral which means "Our Lady of Paris", referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The monument name is from a 1989 song by Paul Demers and François Dubé.

Franco-Ontarien – Notre place Song

Lyrics - Our Place

To no longer have
Our language in our pockets
I will sing, I will sing
Whether you come from Pointe-aux-Roches or Orleans
I will sing, I will sing
To put accents where it is needed
You have to get up, you have to celebrate
Our place
Today for tomorrow
Our place
For a better future
Our place
Yes, let's give our hand
Our place
It comes from the heart
Whether you come from Lafontaine or North Bay
I will sing, I will sing
In order to bring us closer
From here to Fauquier
I will sing, I will sing

Trust

I saw a black squirrel hiding a peanut in Osgoode Hall garden in a newly upturned flowerbed and stopped to take a snap. Sensing my presence, it stood on its hind legs, watched me intently for a while with its suspicious beady eyes. Finally, it decided that it was safe to trust a human with this little secret and hurried back to nearby shrubs. I hope that no one disturbs this cache and its trust of humanity is not weakened.

Old City Hall

Old City Hall and its entrance

Old city hall is one of the most well-known heritage buildings in downtown Toronto. It housed the Toronto city council from 1899 to 1966. Presently it serves as a courthouse for the Ontario Government. The building is richly carved in Romanesque style.

Clock Tower and its gargoyles. In ancient and medieval times gargoyles were placed to ward off evil spirits and to divert rainwater away from the building walls. In modern architecture, these are used for aesthetic purposes only.

World War I memorial in front of old City Hall.

Sir Adam Beck

Statue of Sir Adam Beck at University Avenue, an early 20th-century Canadian politician and a stalwart of Hydroelectric power.  He proclaimed that hydropower "should be as free as air", helped appropriate Niagara Falls hydroelectric station of Sir Henry Pallet of Casa Loma and contributed massively to his downfall.

On the other hand, his work for the promotion of publicly owned hydro-electric stations, the establishment of Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario and development of transmission lines earned him a knighthood in 1914.

City Hall and Around

City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square

The Nathan Phillipe square, in front of City Hall, is a famous site of concerts, festivals, and other public events, In winter months, its reflecting pool is converted into a rink for ice skating.

Toronto Sign is a famous selfie spot in downtown but a sudden cold drizzle forced everyone to run for covers.

Pool with Freedom Arches and Old City Hall in the background. The bases of these arches embed a piece of the Berlin Wall. 

On the left side of the square is the Peace garden with an incomplete gazebo and an ever-burning flame. The garden was created as a memorial to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The unfinished gazebo probably symbolizes the incomplete quest for world peace. In its small reflecting pool, a vial of water from Nagasaki was poured by Pope John Paul II in 1984. The flame is set at a very low setting during summer and thus it is barely visible during day time. But it is always there reminding everyone about its purpose. 

In the lower right end of the square, there are several chess tables. On a good day, you may find several players competing against each other.

Osgoode Hall is a historical landmark building west of Nathan Phillipe Square. Built in 1832, it served various purposes during 19th and 20th centuries including being the site of the first law school in the province. Currently, it houses several courts and a Law Library.

Roman Column

There is also a small Roman Column near Churchill memorial in downtown. It is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. According to its plaque, this granite column was quarried in Egypt between 300 to 400 AD. Then it remained part of a Roman building for several hundred years in Italy. Survived the destruction of that building and then in 1957, it was presented to the Toronto mayor by the mayor of the city of Rome as a token of friendship. 

I touched the column and wondered how many humans have done so before me throughout its lifetime. What is in store for it in the foreseeable future. This piece of stone is probably going to outlast countless more generations and witness the changing face of the earth and life around it. That is some rich and colorful life for a mere piece of stone.

Churchill Memorial

Churchill Memorial at the corner of Armoury and Chestnut Streets near City Hall

Statue plaque and quotes from Churchill's famous speeches.

Churchill and Canada

Peace Through Valour

Peace Through Valour Memorial is adjacent to the Churchill Memorial. It was dedicated by the Italian-Canadian community to the more than 93,000 Canadians who took part in the Italian campaign of World War II.

Toronto Courthouse

Entrance to the Courthouse

Toronto Courthouse is located at University Avenue just west of City Hall. It is a major court in Toronto and a branch of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. It has several interesting sculptures and works of art.

Freedoms of Religion and Expression are guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

Pillars of Justice

Campbell House

Campbell House is another heritage house that is being maintained by the city of Toronto. It is located in downtown just west of Osgoode subway station. The hose is restored in the style of the early 19th century. It was built in 1822 for the Chief Justice Sir William Campbell of Upper Canada. The house was originally located nearly 1.5 km northeast of its present site. It was literally moved here in 1972.

As compared to the other historic houses like Spadina House, it is not very extensive. At the time of my visit, no guided tours were available and some of its furniture and fixture was removed to accommodate an art exhibition. So, all in all, it was not very informative or engaging experience.

The outside garden contains several commemorative stones from the older demolished buildings in downtown Toronto.

Head of Bacchus was a decorative keystone in the window arch of an old Ontario Bank building in downtown. Now it rests in a little enclosure of its own at Cambell House garden. Bacchus was the Roman god of agriculture and wine, in case you are wondering about these grape vines around his head.

Dandelion Galore

Dandelion is a humble weed but every spring for a brief period of time it owns the green spaces. They seem to be everywhere. I find its happy yellow presence delightful. And mind you, it is not a useless weed either. It is edible from tip to toe and is used in several herbal remedies, various drinks and foods too. 

All the flowers that now adorn our gardens, started out as wild plants. Human intervention selectively improved and enhanced their splendor over generations. But somehow, Dandelion never graduated to that level. Someone once said that if dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn. In fact, Dandelions are so apt at flourishing that every gardener and lawn owner tries its best to eradicate them.

So this raises the question that is there any intrinsic value in the things that we covet or the worth of everything is determined solely on the basis of its scarcity and abundance? What if diamonds were as numerous as common stones and conversely pebbles were as scarce as gemstones? Would we be fighting over gravel and craving it instead?

A Dandelion puff-ball, ready to start a new cycle of rebirth and resurgence.

Pharmacy Avenue Underpass Murals

Murals at the Pharmacy Avenue underpass near Teesdale were created by Emmanuel Jarus in 2017. These represent two children from the community.

Murals at West Scarborough Neighborhood Community Centre

Street Art at the West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre includes various murals in the laneway and all around the community building.

According to City's StreetARToronto website, it was created by Bryan Taguba in 2014. Although some of the murals were certainly created at an earlier date. These wall paintings represent the multicultural diversity of the Scarborough community.

Four Seasons

Entrance to the laneway