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Pecaut Square
Pecaut Square (formerly known as Metro Square) is a large concrete-and granite-clad plaza located in front of Metro Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The square supports the PATH (Toronto), PATH network connection between Metro Hall and nearby buildings such as Metro Centre. Glass pavilions provide access to the PATH network. History Pecaut Square was built as part of Toronto's Postmodern architecture, postmodern Metro Hall project, meant to house the government of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, which existed from 1954 to 1998. The agreement to build Metro Hall was signed in 1988, and the project was completed in 1992. It was formerly known as Metro Square but was renamed in April 2011 by a unanimous Toronto City Council vote to honour the late civic leader David Pecaut. Culture and amenities The public space features Canadian sculptor Bernie Miller's ''The Poet, The Fever Hospital'', a 1992 piece made up of galvanized steel, bronze, granite, and marble. The sculpture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most widely used building material. Its usage worldwide, ton for ton, is twice that of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminum combined. Globally, the ready-mix concrete industry, the largest segment of the concrete market, is projected to exceed $600 billion in revenue by 2025. This widespread use results in a number of environmental impacts. Most notably, the production process for cement produces large volumes of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to net 8% of global emissions. Other environmental concerns include widespread illegal sand mining, impacts on the surrounding environment such as increased surface runoff or urban heat island effect, and potential public health implications from toxic ingredients. Significant research and development is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Thomson Hall
Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its circular architectural design exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. It was designed by Canadian architects Arthur Erickson and Mathers and Haldenby. Itzhak Perlman acted as a special advisor to the architects on accessibility needs for disabled performers and guests. The hall seats 2,630 guests and features a pipe organ built by Canadian organ builder Gabriel Kney from London, Ontario. The hall was formerly known as The New Massey Hall during its construction and pre-construction phase. It acquired its official name on January 14, 1982, as thanks to the family of Roy Thomson (first Lord Thomson of Fleet and founder of the publishing empire Thomson Corporation), who had donated C$4.5 million to complete the fundraising efforts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postmodern Architecture In Canada
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modernism, opposition to epistemic certainty or stability of meaning, and emphasis on ideology as a means of maintaining political power. Claims to objective fact are dismissed as naïve realism, with attention drawn to the conditional nature of knowledge claims within particular historical, political, and cultural discourses. The postmodern outlook is characterized by self-referentiality, epistemological relativism, moral relativism, pluralism, irony, irreverence, and eclecticism; it rejects the "universal validity" of binary oppositions, stable identity, hierarchy, and categorization. Initially emerging from a mode of literary criticism, postmodernism developed in the mid-twentieth century as a rejection of modernism and has been observed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squares In Toronto
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adjacent sides. It is the only regular polygon whose internal angle, central angle, and external angle are all equal (90°), and whose diagonals are all equal in length. A square with vertices ''ABCD'' would be denoted . Characterizations A convex quadrilateral is a square if and only if it is any one of the following: * A rectangle with two adjacent equal sides * A rhombus with a right vertex angle * A rhombus with all angles equal * A parallelogram with one right vertex angle and two adjacent equal sides * A quadrilateral with four equal sides and four right angles * A quadrilateral where the diagonals are equal, and are the perpendicular bisectors of each other (i.e., a rhombus with equal diagonals) * A convex quadrilateral with succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, which were starting to urbanize rapidly after World War II. It was commonly referred to as "Metro Toronto" or "Metro". Passage of the 1997 ''City of Toronto Act'' caused the 1998 amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto and its constituents into the current City of Toronto. The boundaries of present-day Toronto are the same as those of Metropolitan Toronto upon its dissolution: Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north, and the Rouge River to the east. History City and suburbs Prior to the formation of Metropolitan Toronto, the municipalities surrounding the central city of Toronto were all independent townships, towns and villages within York County. After 1912, the city no longer an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fountains In Canada
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were originally purely functional, connected to springs or aqueducts and used to provide drinking water and water for bathing and washing to the residents of cities, towns and villages. Until the late 19th century most fountains operated by gravity, and needed a source of water higher than the fountain, such as a reservoir or aqueduct, to make the water flow or jet into the air. In addition to providing drinking water, fountains were used for decoration and to celebrate their builders. Roman fountains were decorated with bronze or stone masks of animals or heroes. In the Middle Ages, Moorish and Muslim garden designers used fountains to create miniature versions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France used fountains in the Gardens of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Phillips Square
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 for 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 , it is Canada's largest city square. Nathan Phillips Square is used regularly for art exhibits, concerts, rallies and other ceremonies. Annual events include a New Year's Eve Party and the Cavalcade of Lights Festival lighting of the official Christmas tree. The annual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Campbell Square
Albert Campbell Square is a public square in Scarborough City Centre in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Albert Campbell, the first mayor of the Borough of Scarborough and former Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. Albert Campbell Square is located at 150 Borough Drive, adjacent to the Scarborough Civic Centre south of Scarborough Centre station and Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall. Features The Albert Campbell Square was modelled after Nathan Phillips Square (built 1965) in Downtown Toronto and in turn inspired Mel Lastman Square (built 1998) in North York City Centre. Part of the Albert Campbell Square is an outdoor ice rink, which held its status of being Scarborough's only permanent outdoor ice rink until the construction for an outdoor ice rink at McCowan District Park began in 2014. Events Albert Campbell Square has hosted a number of events. It has served as the starting point of the annual Scarborough Canada Day Parade, one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Layton
John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of acting mayor or deputy mayor of Toronto during his tenure as city councillor. Layton was the member of Parliament (MP) for Toronto—Danforth from 2004 until his death. The son of a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, Layton was raised in Hudson, Quebec. He rose to prominence in Toronto municipal politics, where he was one of the most prominent left-wing voices on the city and Metropolitan Toronto councils, championing many progressive causes. In 1991, he ran for mayor, losing to June Rowlands. Returning to council, he rose to become head of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In 2003, he was elected leader of the NDP on the first ballot of the convention. Under his l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death And State Funeral Of Jack Layton
On August 22, 2011, Canadian New Democratic Party leader and Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton died from an unspecified, newly diagnosed cancer. Prior to his recent diagnosis, Layton led his party to gain a historic rise in seats (from 37 seats to 103) during the 2011 federal election. His state funeral was held on Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Protocol does not mandate state funerals for a Leader of the Opposition as it does for Prime Ministers and Governors General, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper used his discretion to offer the honour, via the Governor General- in-Council, to Layton's widow Olivia Chow. Layton's death sparked a wave of mourning from Canadians of various political beliefs. In the early hours of August 24, the flag-draped casket was taken from Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home in Toronto with Toronto Police Service escort towards Ottawa. The hearse arrived in Ottawa, was greeted by a Guard of Honour of Royal Canadian Mounted Police ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Alexandra Theatre
The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in North America. History The Royal Alex is a 1,244-seat, beaux-arts style, proscenium-stage theatre, with two balcony levels, built in the style typical of 19th century British theatres. Construction began in 1905 and was completed in 1907. Since 1963 it has been owned by Ed Mirvish Enterprises, a company established by Toronto department store owner Edwin Mirvish. Since 1986, the theatre has been managed and operated by Mirvish Productions, the theatre production company headed by Ed's son, David Mirvish. The theatre, commonly known as the "Royal Alex", "the Alex" or "the R.A.T." is named for Queen Alexandra, a Danish princess and the wife of King Ed ward VII, great-great-grandmother to the King of Canada, Charles III. The theatre received l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
