I have been using a very helpful book called “111 Places You Must Not Miss In Toronto” by Anita Mai Genus, Clare Davenport & Elizabeth Lenell Davies to explore the city of Toronto. It has been very helpful and so far I have found 60 of the places mentioned in the book. Now I admit I have not actually visited every one; for example the Restaurant with $120 steaks was only found and walked by; the steak will have to wait, and the places unfound are mostly further outside the downtown core, but I am still working on seeing as many as I can.
In the summer, we took the Line 2 subway out to Christie Pitts to explore this park, but I should have checked the nice map at the back of the book a bit closer or I would have noticed that there was another suggested attraction we could have visited while out that way.
Sally the Elephant, number 85 in the book, lives a short distance north of Christie Pitts and we could have taken a short detour and crossed another “Place” off the list back when it was warm. So today, I decided to brave the cold and go back and hunt the elephant. Fortunately, a better exploration of the book showed another attraction not far away from Sally so I was able to make the outing a 2 for 1 trip. Then looking on Google maps for the best route, Dupont Subway stop was suggested for the ideal start for our winter walk, and I discovered that this particular Subway station is one of the most attractive in the city, with some beautiful tile work and some unique architectural features, so my 2 for 1 became a 3 for 1.
I can tell you that the Dupont Station really is worth a visit even though it is not in the book, with lovely tilework incorporating some beautiful artwork, and open architecture and arched glass domes over the entrances.
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| Dupont Subway Station |
A short walk from the subway, we found the Tarragon Theatre which is housed in an old Cribbage factory. It was not open, but looks like it might have some interesting upcoming productions worth further investigation.
Then a couple of blocks later, through some streets and laneways with some really interesting Street Art, we found Sally the Elephant standing proudly on the front lawn of a really ordinary house in a very ordinary neighbourhood. Sally, a full sized model of a female elephant, was originally created by a student for a University courses, and went into storage for a while until a friend offered to display her on his front lawn where she has proudly lived ever since. She has been there for over two decades and has become a popular neighbourhood attraction, even making it into the 111 places book.
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| Sally the Elephant |
So . . . . Less than half of the 111 places still to visit.
And lots of Street Art.
