It’s that time of year again. This Saturday and Sunday release your inner peeping Tom and take advantage of free entrance to more than 150 of Toronto’s most beautiful, fabled, and prestigious buildings.
Now in its 14th year, 2013’s Doors Open Toronto focuses on ‘Creators, Makers and Innovators’, featuring many of the city’s oldest buildings that have been reimagined and given new life for the 21st century.
With an overwhelming number of locations to choose from, here’s our guide to the most interesting stops to make…
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Mingle with the ghosts of Canada’s most notable artists from the 20th century at the Arts and Letters Club and learn about the building’s rich history from its current members.
Built by patient labour as part of the Mimico Lunatic Asylum, this is Assembly Hall’s first time opening its doors as part of the festival. Learn about how the building improved patient life and what it’s used for today.
Get a peek inside the world of Canadian television at the headquarters of CityTV and OMNI Television, inside the building originally built as the Olympic Spirit Torch Building.
Hidden inside a historic coach house, Coach House Press is helping to keep independent publishing alive and this is your chance to check out the printing and binding process while standing in the footsteps of Canada’s most prestigious authors.
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Once the home of Canadian artist Doris McCarthy, Fool’s Paradise is an extravagant 12-acre property nestled among the Scarborough Bluffs.
Check out the LEED Gold-certified Humber Arboretum’s Centre for Urban Ecology for tours that are sure to make any nature lover’s heart skip a beat.
Go by foot or hop on a trolley for a guided tour of life throughout the past 200 years in Islington Village and get close-up views of the neighbourhood’s 26 building-sized murals.
Assembled in 1967 for Canada’s 100th birthday, the TD Bank Gallery of Inuit Art highlights the continued importance of these little-known pieces to the Canadian identity.
Featuring one of the most dramatic sights in the university, the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library collection ranges from 1789 BCE – from the Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Ur to original drafts and printed works of contemporary Canadian writers such as Margaret Atwood and Leonard Cohen – and is sure to make any bookworm weak in the knees.
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The Toronto Carpet Factory offers enlightening insights into Toronto’s industrial past and the ways in which it has continued to evolve in the Information Age.
For more information on these, and all of the other attractions, check out the full listings through Doors Open Toronto.
Happy peeping!
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