Toronto

12,500 years ago the Laurentide Ice Sheet, a continental glacier that covered northeastern North America, retreated from the area of present-day Toronto. Soon afterward small groups of Indigenous people moved into the area to hunt animals such as caribou.

The French first set up trading posts in the area which they abandoned as the British conquered French North America.

Tensions between the British and Americans persisted and war broke out in 1812. Peace came after only two years of the war which ended in a stalemate. York was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834.

During the 19th century, a major port of distribution as Upper Canada was settled. Toronto businesses grew including the meat packing business, leading to the nickname of “Hogtown”.

In the second half of the 20th century, Toronto became the economic capital of the country. In 1998, the “megacity” of Toronto was formed by the dissolution of the regional government and the amalgamation of the Toronto municipalities.

In the 21st Century, Toronto integrated the core and the suburbs under one government. The central core has seen unprecedented office growth and residential growth, particularly of condominium apartments, while the former suburbs and further outlying suburbs have seen the bulk of new industrial investment.

A major metropolis of over 2.8 million people, Toronto is one of the most ethnically diverse in the world. All of this growth took place on the lands of the original Toronto Purchase, of which final agreement was only finally reached between the Mississaugas and the Government of Canada in 2010. (wikipedia)

Plan For Visiting Toronto

Finance

• Toronto Stock Exchange (130 King Street West)
• Casa Loma (1 Austin Terrance) – a castle in the middle of the city built by financier Henry Pellatt, a 2nd generation stockbroker

Places/Sites of Interest

• Infiltration – an early urban exploration zine and website by Ninjalicious that I was a big fan of.
• The Beguiling (319 College St.) – alt comic shop
• Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas St. West) – extension by Frank Gehry
• Aga Khan Museum (77 Wynford Dr.) – the largest museum dedicated to Islamic arts and culture outside of any Islamic country designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki
• Quayside (307 Lake Shore Blvd E) – Google’s Sidewalk Labs utopian e-city (link)
• Textile Museum (55 Centre Ave) – a leading center for research and education on textiles

Restaurants

• Mother’s Dumplings (421 Spadina Ave) – Recommended by multiple shareholders
• Bellwood Brewery (124 Ossington Ave) –

Coffee

• Sprudge Guide
  • Pilot Coffee Roasters (multiple locations)
  • Sam James Coffee Bar (multiple locations)
  • Neo Coffee (161 Frederick St) ?
  • Boxcar Social (four locations)
  • The Library Speciality Coffee (281 Dundas St W)

• Recommended
  • 49th Parallel (multiple locations)

Specific Events

• Biidaaban: First Light at MOCA (158 Sterling Rd)
• Retro Futures at TD Gallery (789 Yonge Street)