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Photo: Hutima, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Toronto's modernist City Hall designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and was completed in 1965. Nathan Phillips Square features a reflecting pool that turns into a skating rink in the winter. You can find the "Toronto Sign" right beside the reflecting pool. The sign is a popular spot for both tourists and Torontoians alike to take a picture. The Peace Garden is on the middle west side of the square just beyond the elevated walkway. If you walk further west between the rear of Osgoode Hall and the modern Superior Court of Justice, you will see a park with a few sculptures and a fountain at University Avenue. It hosts a farmers' market Wednesdays June-early October, 10AM-2:30PM (except the last W in June). The square hosts festivals most weekends during the summer.
Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named after Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square was designed by the City Hall's architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong. It opened in 1965. The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a weekly farmers' market, the winter festival of lights, and other public events, including demonstrations. During the winter months, the reflecting pool is converted into an ice rink for ice skating. The square attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors yearly. With an area of 4.85 hectares, it is Canada's largest city square.
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York County Court House
This landmark, built in the Romanesque Revival style and completed in 1899, has a distinctive clock tower which can be seen along Bay St from Front Street. The architect was E. J. Lennox who also designed Casa Loma. Old City Hall was home to Toronto's city council from 1899 to 1966. The building is a National Historic Site of Canada, and served as the York County Court House until 2021. It is awaiting a new use.
This beautiful building was built in 1832 to house the Law Society of Upper Canada. It now houses the Ontario Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of Justice in addition to the Law Society. The building is open to the public; call ahead to arrange a tour.
This modest Gothic Revival church was built in 1847. It is approximately five storeys tall, and though the scale of the church is modest, its height is emphasized through details which point upward. With the rectory building, the church gives Trinity Square a rustic look despite the modern buildings around it. The square has densely planted trees along walkways, a decorative fountain of water falling from a wall into an ornamental pond, and an artificial stream.
See a performance of the Canadian Opera Company, or the National Ballet of Canada.
This building, built in 1931 by the Canadian Life Insurance Company, is one of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in Toronto. The building is perhaps best known for its weather beacon, installed on August 9, 1951. The beacon shines red for rain, white for snow, and lights running up or down it indicate a change in temperature. Normally, the building is closed to the public; however, its 17th-floor observation deck is usually featured during the annual Doors Open event.
This museum is dedicated to the collection, exhibition, and documentation of textiles. It has displays on historic & ethnographic fabrics, plus contemporary art & hands-on exhibits.