Every year, buildings and properties that are normally closed to the public open their doors for a city-wide celebration of culture and architecture, offering guided tours and special activities for the whole family.
Admission to Doors Open Toronto is free, tickets are not required, and registration is not necessary.
Properties Participating in Doors Open:
- Heritage sites and historical landmarks
- Modern structures and architect's offices
- Cemeteries, churches, and temples
- Breweries and factories
- Lighthouses and rail stations
- Mansions, museums, banks, and theatres
- Universities and other learning institutions
2009 Event Highlights:
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Doors Open Toronto as well as the city's 175th birthday, and the Garden Club of Toronto is contributing to the event by setting up a special floral display at the City Hall Rotunda.
175 buildings of socio-political, historic, and architectural significance will open their doors for the event.
Featured Buildings and Landmarks Include:
- Toronto City Hall, which has become an internationally-recognizable icon.
- The Market Gallery in South St. Lawrence Market, originally City Hall, built in 1845 in the Georgian tradition.
- The Carlu, a spectacular example of Art Moderne.
- Allan Gardens, featuring the domed, iron and glass Palm House designed by Robert McCallum in 1910.
- The Gardiner Museum, designed by Keith Wagland in 1983, and recently renovated by KPMB.
- The Old Don Jail, built before Confederation, and once the largest prison of its kind in North America.
- Black Creek Pioneer Village, founded in the 1800's.
- Canada's National Ballet School, hailed by the Globe and Mail as a "beacon on Toronto's architectural scene."
- The Canadian Film Centre (Windfields Estate,) an example of Colonial Revival Style.
- The Cedar Ridge Creative Centre & Studio Gallery, built in the Arts & Crafts style.
- The Canon Theatre, designed in 1920 by architect Thomas Lamb.
- The Casa Loma Stables, designed by E. J. Lennox and built by Herbert Elgie.
- The Chapel of St. James-the-Less Cemetery and Crematorium, which feature a High Victorian Gothic design.
- The Kiever Synagogue, built in 1927 by Benjamin Swartz, in the Byzantine-Romanesque style.
- The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, a Gothic Revival school built in 1848.
- The Gooderham Flatiron Building, designed by architect David Roberts Jr. in 1892.
- The Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf and The Manor, built in 1929 in the Tudor Revival style.
- The Church of the Holy Trinity, a Tudor-Gothic building designed by Henry Bowyer Lane in 1847.
- Assorted buildings in Exhibition Place, the Historic Distillery District, and throughout the city.
Source:
Doors Open Toronto is produced by the City of Toronto, and is proud to boast the Toronto Star as its primary sponsor.
For more information and to view a complete list of participating properties, obtain a copy of the Official Toronto Star Program Guide from City Hall, or visit the official Doors Open Toronto website.
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