THE TORONTO STAR'S "30 BOOKS WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS SPRING"
The updated edition of a Toronto favourite meanders around some of the city’s unique neighborhoods and considers what makes a city walkable
What is the 'Toronto look'? Glass skyscrapers rise beside Victorian homes, and Brutalist apartment buildings often mark the edge of leafy ravines, creating a city of contrasts whose architectural look can only be defined by telling the story of how it came together and how it works, today, as an imperfect machine.
Shawn Micallef has been examining Toronto’s streetscapes for decades. His psychogeographic reportages situate Toronto's buildings and streets in living, breathing detail, and tell us about the people who use them; the ways, intended or otherwise, that they are being used; and how they are evolving.
Stroll celebrates Toronto's details – some subtle, others grand – at the speed of walking and, in so doing, helps us to better get to know its many neighbourhoods, taking us from well-known spots like the CN Tower and Pearson Airport to the overlooked corners of Scarborough and all the way to the end of the Leslie Street Spit in Lake Ontario.
"Shawn Micallef is the unofficial mayor of Toronto, the genial ambassador the city needs and deserves. As he strolls Toronto’s broad avenues and its little streets, he finds hidden pockets of delight – and weirdness, too. Join him and fall in love with the city again." – Liz Renzetti, author of Bury the Lead
"When I moved to Toronto in 2011, Stroll was the first book I added to my library and course reading lists. My students and I get lost in the PATH, sneak into lobbies, and visit the archives with this book as our guide. Micallef’s friendly voice invites us to slow down and notice not just a few landmark buildings but the city’s built fabric as a whole. This updated version offers our collective memory a much-needed affectionate yet critical view of recent changes to the city." – Erica Allen-Kim, Author of Building Little Saigon
"Stroll is a delightful and eccentric guidebook, full of clever writing, amusing stories and charming maps that will make you want to strap on your walking shoes and head into the streets of Toronto." – Carol Off, Author/Broadcaster
"Shawn Micallef looks at the city in a way we all should more often – he sees it as a living book that is alive with stories just waiting to be told to the attentive observer. In Stroll, he gives us an introduction to just how interesting and surprisingly dramatic those stories are, and how exciting our city is when we hear them." – David Crombie, former mayor of Toronto
"A smart and intimate guide to the city that makes you feel like an insider from start to finish." – Douglas Coupland
This new edition updates things in the city that have changed and includes several new walks.
Authors
- Pages
- 304
- Published in
- Canada
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Title 5
- Copyright 6
- Foreword 9
- A Flâneur Manifesto 10
- The Middle 19
- Yonge Street 20
- The Toronto Islands 53
- Harbourfront 59
- The CN Tower 66
- Nathan Phillips Square, the Sheraton Centre, and the PATH System 70
- University Avenue 81
- Yorkville 90
- Westish 97
- Dundas Street 98
- Pearson Airport 111
- Markland Wood 117
- Alderwood and Lake Shore Boulevard 120
- The CNE and the Western Waterfront 130
- Bathurst Street 141
- Dupont Street 156
- Northish 163
- Spadina 164
- St. Clair Avenue 179
- Eglinton Avenue and the Borough of York 188
- Yorkdale Mall and Lawrence Heights 197
- The Sheppard Line 207
- The Finch Hydro Corridor 216
- Eastest 219
- Rouge Park 220
- Kingston-Galloway, Guildwood Village, and the Bluffs 225
- Scarborough City Centre, Bendale, and the Meadoway 233
- Dorset Park 245
- Thorncliffe, Flemingdon Park, and Don Mills 253
- Eastish 265
- The Danforth and Crescent Town 266
- Downtown East Side Zigzag 273
- Castle Frank and the Brick Works 296
- Gerrard Street 301
- The Beach 308
- The Port Lands and Leslie Spit 312
- Acknowledgements 323
- Credits 325
- Photos and Illustrations 326
- Index 327
- About the Author 337