There can’t be more than one. Manhattan’s Central Park Tower on 57th Street will be the tallest residential building in the world when it’s finished. At 131 storeys and 1,550 feet, it would be the tallest building in New York City – if it wasn’t for the spire on top of One World Trade Center. When it’s completed in 2020, the tower will be home to a seven-floor Nordstrom and condominiums on the top. 
Monthly Archives: October 2019
CAPE DORSET ARTIST, OOLOOSIE SAILA, MAKES THE FRONT PAGE OF TODAY’S SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES
Over 3 pages (including the front page), CATHERINE PORTER writes an extensive article with pictures about Cape Dorset artist, OOLOOSIE SAILA, her son PALLU, and her debut Feheley Fine Arts show in TORONTO. <photo above – Feheley Fine Arts>
Life in CAPE DORSET on the heel of Baffin Island, is focused around art and artists. Like all 25 Inuit communities in NUNAVUT, the hamlet is completely isolated in winter where temperatures can reach minus 40 degrees. Summer isn’t so bad. It’s 1,425 kilometres from TORONTO. Ooloosie’s second son, PALLU, was born with serious health issues and needs regular trips to the nearest children’s hospital in Ottawa, which isn’t cheap. Cape Dorset has a population of about 1,400, and a goodly number of them are binge drinkers. There’s an ice rink and a busy jail, no movie theatre or downtown, and a general store which serves as a social hub. And the cost of food and necessities is sky high. FEHELEY FINE ARTS has a vast collection of sculptures, paintings and lithographs by Cape Dorset Inuit artists. For images and detailed write-ups go to – https://feheleyfinearts.com/
OCTOBER IS CANADA’S SEASON OF COLOUR – IN THE CITY AND ALL AROUND THE PROVINCE
APOLOGIES – OUT-OF-DATE ITEM REMOVED – MAKING SPACE
AFTER A 14-YR., $128-MILLION RENO, TORONTO’S ST. MICHAEL’S CATHEDRAL IS RESPLENDENT AGAIN
The 169-year-old St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, 65 Bond Street, was designed by TORONTO architect WILLIAM THOMAS. It’s the principal church of Canada’s largest English-speaking Catholic archdiocese and now, after a complete reno, its interior is among the most spectacular in the city. The Archdiocese, encouraged by Cardinal THOMAS COLLINS, hired TORONTO’s +VG Architects to take on the task of restoring the yellow-brick structure inside and out. 
The aspect that’s captured the public’s imagination is the crypt. The first Bishop of TORONTO is buried there, along with other important people. One such is John Elmsley, a convert from the Anglican church, director of the Bank of Upper Canada and member of the Family Compact,. His father was Chief Justice of Upper Canada. “The cathedral will link with the Royal Ontario Museum and Ontario Tourism so that visitors will know that they can see those buried here were part of the social and cultural history of Canada,” said TERENCE WHITE of the architecture firm.
All the stained-glass windows were restored to their original magnificence. The rose windows in the south and north transepts were revealed after a century. New stained-glass windows were commissioned from TORONTO’s Vitreous Glassworks.
NEW YORK-based Ecclesiastical Art created decorations for the walls, and transformed the ceiling into a celestial sky with more than 18,000 stars.
The balcony was rebuilt and now seats 230. The old organ, installed in 1880, blocked some of the most beautiful stained-glass in North America. It’s gone, replaced by Opus 3907, a new $2-million pipe organ by Casavant Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. The pipe chests were split to preserve the view and the daylight. Ongoing phases of the restoration include the restoration of the Bishop’s Palace or Rectory, and completion of the new crypt chapel. <ALL PHOTOGRAPHS by Paul Cormack/Concrete Pictures>
PEARSON INTERNATIONAL HAS UNDERTAKEN CANADA’S FIRST AIRPORT WORKFORCE SURVEY
F.Y.I. (FOR YOUR INFORMATION) – Pearson Internnational is Canada’s largest and most active airport. Nearly 50,000 people work there for over 400 companies. They serve nearly 50-million passengers annually.
46% were born outside of Canada. 80% have post-graduate educations.
78% rely solely on cars to get to work while 14% take transit. Average daily commute time to and from Pearson is 2 hours. 56% enjoy driving. 92% of the workforce has permanent positions. 80% agree that Pearson is a great place to work.
The airport is named after former Liberal prime minister Lester B. Pearson.
IN BOTH CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES BILLIONS OF BIRDS ARE DISAPPEARING
“The skies are emptying out,” says the New York Times. Bird numbers are down by nearly three billion over the last 50 years, and it isn’t only exotic and rare birds that are disappearing. Many common species are going too.
TORONTO’s buildings are killing millions of them annually due to fatal light awareness. In other words, they collide with our city’s skyscraper forest.
Every spring and fall, day and night, hundreds of thousands of birds overfly the city, to and from the southland. Unobstructed until they reach Greater Toronto, these tiny spirits are suddenly confronted by hundreds of buildings – some 70-80 storeys high, and oftentimes illuminated. Millions annually plummet to their deaths from these structures.
<ABOVE – the four North American bird flyways. TORONTO is in the Atlantic Flyway>
FLAP (or the Fatal Light Awareness Program) is TORONTO-based. It’s been valiantly fighting to save the birds, and is having some success. Through research, education, rescue, rehabilitation, and now the courts, FLAP is challenging developers to be much more environmentally friendly.
In an earlier New York Times article, “Toronto Looks to Save Casualties of Urban Skies”, October 28/2012, Ian Austen writes: “There is no precise ranking of the world’s most deadly cities for migratory birds, but TORONTO is considered a top contender for the title . . . (Professor Daniel Klem Jr., an ornothologist at Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pa.) was quick to say that the city also leads North America when it comes to addressing the problem.
FLAP volunteers rise before dawn every day, and head out carrying butterfly nets and paper bags. They rescue injured birds before the city wakes up for another day. The dead are wrapped in paper, and taken to FLAP headquarters. The injured are treated, and later released on the shores of Lake Ontario. More than 164 species have collided with Greater TORONTO’s buildings in the last 15 years.
<ABOVE – an injured Ovenbird being treated. It will eventually be released.> To find out more about TORONTO’s Fatal Light Awareness Program (or FLAP), call 416-366-3527 or check their website – https://flap.org/ Volunteers and contributions are always welcome. <PHOTOS –SARA SCHARF & J.P. Moczulski>
MAYOR ANNE HIDALGO OF PARIS IS CONDUCTING A WAR WITH CAR & TAXI DRIVERS – AND WINNING
Ms. Hidalgo has made a lot of enemies, but a great number of Parisians support her attempt to bring nature back into the City of Light. 
She learned a lesson from 2019’s deadly summer heat – 42 Celsius . . . 107.6 Fahrenheit with citizens bathing in public fountains and doing their best to keep cool. <PHOTO – AccuWeather> 
The Spanish-born Mayor has launched 8,000 construction projects, approved by city council (including a vast network of bicycle lanes) across the city. “There’s been a very violent reaction at times,” she told Adam Nossiter of The New York Times. “Part of it has to do with being a woman. And being a woman that wants to reduce the number of cars meant that I upset lots of men. Two-thirds of public transport users are women.” 
<Two-way cycle track, photo – Raise The Hammer>
TORONTO could learn something about dealing with climate change from PARIS. Its government is “putting nature back in the city,” says Mayor Hidalgo – “We’ve got a proactive policy, compared to other cities in the world.” Paris has risen in the list of bike-friendly cities to 8th place from 17th since 2015. ‘The War on Cars in Paris” is a good read. It’s at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/world/europe/paris-anne-hildago-green-city-climate-change.html
LITTLE CANADA, ‘OUR HOME AND MINIATURE LAND’ IS A NEW ATTRACTION COMING TO #10 DUNDAS ST. E.
Opening in 2020, this magical journey of discovery across Canada could well be our city’s next big attraction. Under one roof you’ll be able to explore the nation in miniature – the sights, sounds and sometimes smells of the Great White North.
A Little Canada passport will get things underway. <ABOVE – exploring TORONTO in winter>
<ABOVE – a tulip garden, possibly in OTTAWA>
<Much work has already been done on the project by those building the miniatures.>
LAUNCHING IN 2020 – Little Niagara, the Golden Horseshoe, Toronto, Ottawa, Little North (now under construction), & Quebec.
IN THE FUTURE – Montreal, the Prairies & the Rockies, the East Coast, History of Canada, and the West Coast.
‘Little Canada’ is receiving a lot of attention. To find out much more check out the website – https://www.little-canada.ca/
A NEW LOCATION FOR ‘DANCE COLLECTION DANSE’ – #1303, 2 CARLTON ST., DOWNTOWN TORONTO
It may not be the largest gallery/archives/museum in town, but DANCE COLLECTION DANSE, 2 Carlton Street at Yonge (#1303) has a devoted following both online and on-site. Founded in 1986, the national archive and publisher is dedicated to the preservation of Canada’s theatrical dance history. Programming combines collection, exhibition, preservation, research, publishing and education. Website: http://www.dcd.ca
PHOTO ABOVE – Jean Grand-Maître, Artistic Director, Alberta Ballet with Swan Lake dancers (2012) had this to say: “Dance Collection Danse’s efforts to preserve and archive the vibrant and ground breaking legacy of Canada’s internationally acclaimed artists is as important to our culture as the creators’ repertoire. I applaud them for their valiant efforts and for being such excellent caretakers of an often neglected art form.”
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, and his younger brother Sacha, try out the Nutcracker sleigh, surrounded by the National Ballet’s Artistic Director Alexander Grand and Principal Dancer Nadia Potts.
Detail from The Nutcracker backdrop, painted in the late 1940’s
Jury Gotshalks & Irene Apinee, Swan Lake, 1951 HOURS: Monday to Friday, 10-4 or by appointment.
Toronto Savvy 