As our last walk of 2022, we were happy to revive our traditional walk through the downtown area to see Christmas decorations, attend a free noon-hour concert at Roy Thomson Hall, wander over to the St. Lawrence Market for the traditional back bacon on a bun, and to end up at the Christmas Market in the Distillery District.
We began at the Eaton Centre.
When I was a child, I remember attending performances of The Christmas Story at the Church of the Holy Trinity; we went because my grandfather was in the pageant. I remember the church surrounded by Eaton’s buildings where they manufactured and stored goods for their stores. Now the church is surrounded by hotels and office buildings.
Venturing along what is left of Albert St., we crossed Bay St. over to Nathan Philips square. At the time, I was also taking photos for the Probus Photography Club meeting, with the theme of Architecture. I love the contrast between the Old City Hall (Romanesque Revival) and the new glass and steel skyscrapers.
Wandering down Bay St., we admired the seasonal decorations in the lobbies of the banks and trust companies.
Some displays were simple but effective.
The Scotia Bank Plaza had some outstanding displays.
After an hour or so, we ended up at Roy Thomson Hall for a free noon-hour organ recital of beautiful music.
After the recital, we walked over to the Royal York Hotel to see their Gingerbread Lane where even the walls were made of gingerbread.
We passed grand old Union Station and some examples of the newer architecture en route to St. Lawrence Market.
The Hockey Hall of Fame is housed partly in a gorgeous old Bank of Montreal building.
Front St. has some handsome old warehouses from the 1800s.
The new St. Lawrence Market building seems to be nearly finished. . . .
. . . while the original market building is built around Toronto’s first city hall (in background).
A few hardy souls managed to make it to the Distillery District where they sampled seasonal treats (and maybe bought some new boots) before heading home.
Even Santa Claus was there for us.
After missing this outing because of COVID, we were glad to, once again, be able to take this excursion.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 