JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

A month ago, I took a carload down to Buffalo to check out the city's first cross-border edition of Doors Open. Time only allowed us to explore two buildings, but both proved to be wise decisions on a day full of surprises. The first surprise came when we reached the border. I had prepped the others, in my usual semi-paranoid state, what to expect when crossing the Niagara River. Turned out none of this was necessary, as we had a border guard who didn't seem partially cybernetic. We handed her the Doors Open program, which she thought looked interesting. No strange questions were asked and we passed through without any strange looks. Coming into downtown via Elmwood, we parked near Niagara Square, which was devoid of life. The combination of grey skies, solitary monuments and wide, empty streets left us feeling like we were in a zombie movie ( 28 Days Later was tossed around). We expected a creature to shuffle down the street at any second. The monument in the square ...

Caught little of Doors Open on the weekend. Got a late start on Saturday, so I drove down Jarvis, figuring there might be enough time to crawl from mansion to mansion. Long lines at 3pm scuttled that idea. My mind raced to figure out any location that wouldn't be overwhelmed. Cue my first visit ever to Fort York. I arrived in time to latch onto the final guided tour of the day, a trip around the barracks. The group started with around 10, ended closer to 25. One family was mildly annoying in the first barrack as hey fiddled around with loud, static-filled walkie-talkies while the guide was speaking. When discussion came to the enlisted soldier's diet, a stern-faced, baseball-cap wearing woman had a stream of questions about the "caloric intake" of a soldier. She seemed distressed that they ate so little. She also barked at the walkie-talkies. She then made a lengthy speech about class warfare, before returning to "caloric intake". The guide appeared ...

After missing it for a couple of years, took advantage of the first non-miserable weekend of the spring to take in the annual Doors Open event. Day 1 -Commerce Court/King Edward Hotel/St. James Church/Canadian Opera Company (Tanenbaum Centre) Started off above King station, at Commerce Court North , once the tallest building in the British Commonwealth and currently home to CIBC private banking services (and a handy ATM). Stayed around for a brief description of the ornate ceiling and expensive floor, then headed to the Crystal Ballroom at the King Edward Hotel, the closest equivalent Toronto has to Detroit-style ruins (not the hotel, just the ballroom). Enough was left that it wasn't difficult to imagine what the room looked like in its heyday. Faded glory Great views of the city from the ballroom, including this one of the next stop - St. James Anglican Church . Slowly circled around the church, staring at the stained glass and pipe organ (pictures taken of both for...