A Look at the Distillery District, including a Coffee Shop Inside a Very Old Building

Two reasons made it possible for me to get these pictures, focusing on the beautiful old buildings in the Distillery District -- 1) I was there during the day on a weekday, so it wasn't as busy as it can get on the weekend, and 2) I took the King Streetcar over. With the new "Traffic Calming Project" on King, cars are limited making way for the streetcars and bicycles, so I arrived there in half the time it used to take. This left plenty of time before my scheduled friend-date with Julie, to walk around and take pictures.In brief, Toronto's Distillery District is a pedestrian-only arts and entertainment area located to the east of the downtown core. It covers 13 acres and includes 47 of the original heritage buildings and the cobblestone streets and laneways between them.The buildings were built to house what was once, by far, Canada's largest distillery of spirits, Gooderham and Worts. They were erected in three distinct phases, between 1858 and 1895. The company was in operation right through to the 1980s, so the collection of buildings remained completely intact and in excellent condition. Today they are considered to be the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.After the distilling stopped, the area went "semi-dark" for several years and then was refurbished to be used as it is today, opening as the cultural centre in 2003. A lot of housing was added, as well, so now there are new buildings surrounding the old ones.There are two websites for the Distillery District, this one that relates to current day and all that goes on in this transformed site, and this one that details the history of the place.It was on the second site that I found a 48 page document written in 1988, which talks in detail about all that went on there. If you're interested in the whole story, I encourage you to read that. If you prefer a quick synopsis, here it is ...The story of the area began with the arrival of a British miller named James Worts in May of 1831. At the age of 39, he arrived in Toronto with his wife and young children. He immediately bought a piece of land which was just on the eastern edge of what was, at that time, the established City of York (which later became Toronto). It was north of what was then a shallow marshy part of Lake Ontario, on the western bank of the Don River.In the following months he arranged to have a brick windmill erected, which was completed by the end of November. At 70 feet tall, it was the tallest windmill in the area and ended up having quite an influence on Toronto's waterfront, in that it became the easternmost marker for where docks were allowed to be built in the harbour, the westernmost being Fort Rouillé which was located within today's CNE grounds. The windmill ended up being the last large one built in this province, because power generation was right at the point of changing from wind and water to steam engines.After the windmill was built, it stood idle for 10 months without sails and machinery, awaiting the arrival of James Worts' brother-in-law, his wife's brother, William Gooderham, in July 1832. At the age of 42, he arrived from England with a large entourage of family, staff and at least 11 orphans.The two went into business milling locally grown grain. Then, after less than two years, James Worts suddenly died as a result of suicide. It's a sad story -- in early 1834 his wife (and William's sister) died in childbirth. Two weeks later, James threw himself into the well and drowned.William Gooderham and his wife Harriet took on the care of Worts' children, along with their own 13.William continued the business they had begun, adding the distillation of spirits to his output in the 1837, when grain was plentiful thanks to the opening of the Welland Canal.By the mid 1840s his sons and nephew (Worts) joined the business.The business prospered and at some point the windmill was disassembled and whatever buildings had been built were taken down, making room for construction to begin in 1858, on the buildings that remain there today.

Double Good Company and Entertainment : Going to the Theatre with Two Andreas!

I wish I'd been able to have this post up last week as planned, in time for you to go see the excellent play that I had the pleasure of seeing a week ago Sunday, but alas, my computer decided this was not to be. So, here I am working on a brand new computer, two days too late for Toronto theatre fans to see the final performance The Alexander Showcase Theatre's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

It was a musical based on the Victor Hugo novel, featuring the songs from the Disney film, and it was really well done!

This was the second show put on by this 30 year old, not-for-profit community theatre group, that I've seen. Their talented cast includes my friend Andrea's friend, Matthew.

Of course, you've met Andrea on these pages before. By coincidence, Matthew's charming fiancée is also named Andrea. So, I got to spend a lovely afternoon with two delightful ladies with the same name!

We met at "the second" Andrea's apartment, which she shares with Matthew. He wasn't there though, because he had to be at the theatre early.

A Going Away Party at Mrs Robinson on College Street

As mentioned last week, our friend Meghan has left the country for a yearlong adventure. She's taking part in a program called "Remote Year", which allows people who have the ability to work from anywhere to travel to cities all over the world, staying in each one for a month. No doubt, it's a really exciting opportunity for her, but I can't lie -- from a selfish perspective, not having her here for a whole year will be hard!We've already heard from her, though, and so far, so good.The Thursday before she left, we and a bunch of her friends sent her off with a party at a new bar on College Street West. Mrs Robinson opened last December and, based on the line-up outside and the crowd inside, it's off to a great start. With good reason, as it's a really fun place, with great 70s decor and tableware, creative drinks and appetizers and a talented live band.I have to give a special shout-out to the lady who served us -- she was pleasant and calm, given our large group, with people coming a going all evening long. She remembered what everyone was drinking and had no problem with our separate bills.The "Mrs Robinson" it is named after is Sylvia Robinson, the American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive, who was best known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records in the 1970s. The bar is set up to look as though she was the one who decorated it almost 50 years ago. My vintage-loving self was in awe of the way everything looked, from the assortment of hanging lamps, to the wallpaper and beaded curtains.When I got home from the party I noted that the photos I took were very dark, given that they were mostly lit by candlelight. So, I made the best of a less-than-perfect set of pictures, by adding some light with Photoshop. As happens whenever you do this, the shots then looked grainy, so I emphasized that look with a filter, ending up with photographs that almost look like they could have been taken with a film camera back in the 70s.

Easter at Our Place 2018 : Dinner and a Movie

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-39129 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/vintage-and-thrifted-pastel-easter-display.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">Hello and welcome! Here's a little look at Easter at our place, last weekend.Our friend Andrea came over on the Sunday for dinner and a movie. That's in keeping with what has become a friend-family tradition, in that this was the fourth year in a row we've spent this holiday together.That's pretty good, considering we've only known one another for five years. In fact, our fifth friendiversary is coming up next month.(I love this picture taken about an hour before we first met. Aside from the fact that I look like a giant in my seat, I'm enchanted to see that Andrea's back is in the picture. Little did I know that a new and cherished friendship was sitting right in front of me! You never know when your life is about to change, right?!)Before I get to our visit, here's a little look around at our seasonal decor ...

The Last Time for a Long Time : Lunch with Meghan at The Drake Commissary

Readers here will know that I hang out with my friend Meghan pretty frequently -- I checked my diary and we've gotten together at least twice a month for the past several years. So, when I tell you that she has now left the city for a whole year, off on an around-the-world adventure, you can imagine how much I will miss her.

Pictured here is our last date, shared with our mutual friend Julie. Well, we did see her one more time before she left, at her going away party, (which I'll tell you about next week), but this was the last time we got the chance for a long talk in a relaxed environment.

Of course, I'm happy for my friend because this is an exciting trip of a lifetime, and we'll be keeping in touch online, but, no doubt, the absence of her company in-person will be greatly felt.

We went for lunch at The Drake Commissary, which opened this past June in The Junction Triangle. I'd not had the opportunity to go there before but had heard it was really good. Those accounts turned out to be completely accurate.

It's a 8000 square foot space located on Sterling Road (west of Landsdowne, south of Bloor). Arriving at the former pickle factory, which was built in 1908, you wouldn't know what was in there from the outside. In fact, Nick drove me over and dropped me off on the street. As he drove away, I worried for a moment that I wasn't in the right place. I was standing in what appeared to be an industrial park, with not much going on. There wasn't a single person in sight. Now, being in the wrong place would have been no major issue for most people, however, I choose not to carry a smartphone so would have had to scramble about to find a public phone in order to let my friends know that I'd be late, because I was somewhere, on foot, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

But I saw that the building said Commissary on it, with Drake in small letters, so I walked around to the other side, waiting first for a big tractor trailer to inch its way out of the driveway. Then I spotted the entryway and got kind of excited about the location. (I love old buildings, and going inside one is always a treat!)