Brookfield Place

Allen Lambert Galleria and its details

Brookfield Place is a huge office complex in downtown that is famous for its galleria that resembles a crystal cathedral from the renaissance period. This six-story high pedestrian walkway is a famous selfie spot for the tourists.

Allen Lambert Galleria is connected to Bay Street with Sam Pollock Square.

 Fountain by Santiago Calatrava in Sam Pollock square.

Ice hockey goaltender or goalie outside an Ice hockey equipment shop.

 The businessman statue by William McElcheran in Bay Wellington Tower.

Canadian Business Hall of Fame wall.

Hockey Hall of Fame is also part of the complex. It is housed in a former bank building on the south-eastern side.

There are around two dozen restaurants in the complex as well. The famous ones include 'Marché Mövenpick', a European marketplace style restaurant and 'Chotto Matte', a Peruvian-Japanese eating place.

These unusual names compelled me to do a bit of google search. I knew that 'Marché' is French for the market but it turns out that 'Mövenpick' is a German word. It translates into 'picking seagull'. The name was inspired by seagulls swooping for food. 

On the other hand, 'Chotto Matte' is Japanese for 'wait a little'. Chotto means 'a little' in Japanese and it sounds almost similar to the Urdu word 'چھوٹا' meaning small. Since both languages belong to two different families, this similarity could be due to a loan word in either direction or it might be a pure coincidence. Nonetheless, it is quite interesting.

CN Tower From Yonge & Front Street

CN Tower and Canadian flag over Dominion Public Building from the intersection of Yonge & Front Streets.

Berczy Park

Berczy Park is a small beautiful park in downtown that is famous for its dog fountain. Twenty-seven dogs are looking at a golden bone on top in four circles and the water spouts are jetting from their open mouths. 

The park is named after William Berczy (pronounced 'ber zee'), the famous architect, surveyor, writer, and painter, who is considered co-founder of the modern Toronto along with John Graves Simcoe.

The dogs seem to be all of the different breeds. With some googling, I was able to identify some of the bigger ones at the outer circle. I think these are Alsatian, Bernese Mountain Dog, Giant Schnauzer, St. Bernard, Bull Terrier, and Golden Retriever.

But these are not alone, a cat is also present at the scene.  Although her attention is focused at two birds on a nearby lamppost.

There is also a second cat on steel box west of the main fountain. I am not sure about the focus of her attention.

Two giant hand statues named 'Jacob's Ladder' are installed on the western side. However, the rope lattice connecting these two hands was missing today. Maybe it got damaged recently and needed a replacement.

A small 'Family Group' statue by Almuth Lutkenhaus is located on the eastern side of the park near curtain mural.

Another famous feature of the park is its curtain mural on the eastern edge. The mural is actually part of the Gooderham Building, which is also known as 'Flatiron' building due to its triangular shape resembling a clothes iron.

Feel Good Lane

This laneway was named after Barry Luksenberg, a local singer who performed under the name of ‘FeelGood’. Barry was killed in a bike accident in 2014 while traveling in Vietnam. The laneway was beautified with murals in his honor last October.

Eagle on The Esplanade

This gigantic sculpture is a relatively new addition. It was installed in the last August as part of the new Apartment building named 'Backstage' on 1 The Esplanade road in downtown. The building is named backstage due to its proximity to the 'Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.