Harbourfront (Music Garden and more)

[BuildTO]

Harbourfront on a weekday!

As I will miss an UrbanTO Harbourfront mini-meet this weekend, I had to go down and see the Queen's Quay preview myself. I'd also never seen the Music Garden or the boardwalk improvements (hangs head in shame).

I went after work and was thinking all day about what route to take, walking from Kensington. I ended up walking down Bathurst from College to Queen's Quay, but was a bit apprehensive about being a pedestrian in the Front/Lakeshore/Gardiner no-man's-land. I needn't have worried; even in rush hour, walking through the busiest intersections was a breeze. Yet another sign that we have not surrendered to the car.

Anyway, some sights from my 2-hour walk. Enjoy.

The Harbourfront school and community centre at Bathurst

Stop and smell the flowers.

And the berries...

Bunny!

The highrises are never far away...

Look at the size of this thing!

This spot was lovely. The benches, shade, and view were like something out of a stroybook. Except that the benches and walk were covered in bird sh*t.

I think we should just do this to all the streets in TO - put in small medians with flowers. Let TO become known internationally as "the city of geraniums". Or something.

Interesting angle

HtO.
I love it: if you look closely, someone has had fun putting Scooby Doo stickers all over the rendering. It looks like "HtO, sponsored by Hanna Barbera".

Almost all of the muskoka chairs I saw were taken.

So ok - it's not a masterpiece. But considering that it's temporary and they threw it up in no time, I think it's a fun conversation piece. The tourists seem to like it.

The child's bike caught my eye.

As I was leaving, some guy walking by pointed at the sculpture and yelled (jokingly) at the cop nearby that his bike was in there.

For all of the complaining and negativity about Harbourfront and the state of the city in general, I had a nice walk on a weekday afternoon and saw people everywhere - walking, sitting, and just enjoying everything the city has to offer. We take a lot for granted. And we've got a lot of improvements in the works...

 

[ganjavih]

Nice tour BuildTO. A lot of good is happening on the waterfront and I totally agree with expanding the geranium strips. The harbour around the Music Gardens should be the model for future waterfront development.

 

[bizorky]

I was talking to one of the people staffing the Quay to the City tents and she told me that the response was overwhelmingly positive. People were even telling the police they liked the changes - which was easy as there were cops all over the place.

 

[building babel]

The Music Garden becomes more beautiful every year as the plants mature and the shade canopy expands. We're so lucky Boston dropped the ball on that one.

 

[tudararms]

The geraniums are fine but I really like the perennial plantings seen in some of the other pictures.

 

[building babel]

The Thursday evening, and Sunday afternoon, classical concerts at the Music Garden continue until September 17th.

The TSO's principal cellist, Winona Zelenka, is doing Bach and a new Bach-inspired piece, on Thursday of next week.

 

[stokell]

Geraniums smell like crap. I would like to see more of whats in the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square.

 

[Northern Light]

You'll excuse the revival of a long dormant thread (a bit over 16 years) as a spot for me to park some new photos taken from and of The Music Garden, Spadina Quay Wetland and King's Landing condos et al.

*****

Photos were taken Sept 21st, 2022:

We will generally progress from East to West, and Start with the Spadina Wave Deck:

Now, looking out towards the islands from the foot of Spadina Quay:

Now a quick glance at the Spadina Quay Wetland:

Now a series of shots of the Music Garden, and of King's Landing and other buildings on the north side of Queen's Quay West from the Music Garden:

@3Dementia , per our discussion the other day.

 

[3Dementia]

The Music Garden is such a gem ... thanks for a great tour of another slice of our ugly waterfront.

 

[Goldie]

Does everyone know that the present "Music Garden" was a wartime shipbuilding site during WWII?

 

[just east of the creek]

Does everyone know that the present "Music Garden" was a wartime shipbuilding site during WWII?

View attachment 429539

Fifty plus minesweepers in the years from 1940, plus landing craft (D-Day and others), all beginning just after the Sam MacBride was built. Add in Collingwood, Midland, Thunder Bay , and Kingston as well. There is a lot of historical material available on Canada’s industrial mobilization after 1939.

 

[DSC]

March flowers - lovely!