Toronto Time Machine

  Television has presented the world with a beautiful new medium for which many of us have experienced fiction and the real world in a way never envisioned before. From carefree programs providing some levity to major sporting events and world-changing events, the so-called “tube” is something most Canadians have formed some relations with. How we consume television has been undergoing a metamorphosis over the past decade as streaming greatly changed the importance of traditional broadcast channels with the added acceptance of paid content services. In fact, the future of television has been a matter of debate since the first signals hit the airwaves. While humankind generally embraced the technology, television’s history included a number of concepts that failed to be greatly realized for their time. In the 1960s, one of those attempts to explore the consumption of television took place in Etobicoke (today part of the City of Toronto) involving movies and sports brought to hom...

  Photo Credit: Chris Nagy Founded in 1892 as The Evening Star, the newspaper Torontonians today recognize as the Toronto Star has a long history of presenting Canada’s largest city with important news. With a black-on-white display, information conveying details of local, Canadian and worldwide stories has referenced everything from the election of prime ministers, world wars, accomplishments in sports or more recently when Justin Bieber is coming to town. Until their entrance onto the Internet in 1996, the Toronto Star was known merely through their printed words. Little is currently acknowledged for their more than decade-long impact with the use of voice. Toronto’s first radio station CFCA officially launched in 1922 with buzz that would silenced on August 31 st of 1933. One of the first commercial radio broadcasters awarded a license by the Canadian government, CFCA was Toronto’s first station. Hard to believe today where Toronto radio space on the AM and FM dial is tight, th...

Photo Credit: Toronto Blue Jays This month, a Toronto landmark marks its 35th anniversary as a hub for sports and entertainment for the entire country. The Rogers Centre or (more affectionately known) originally as the Skydome continues to exist as an achievement in engineering for its retractable roof. While the building has become a comfortable sight and there have been newer sport venues providing more than what the Skydome could provide in 1989, there is a lot of charm in a space that has hosted concerts, shows, NFL games and, of course, the Toronto Blue Jays including during the successful 1992 and 1993 World Series runs.  The Skydome’s commemoration identified the complex as a multi-use facility like no other built at this time. In addition to the before-mentioned efforts for the current tenants of the Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays , other team’s of the Canadian city that played inside the retractable roof sporting complex included the Toronto Argonauts from 1989 to 20...

For better or worse, the Canadian National Exhibition has evolved with time since it was held in 1879. Early in the event’s history, the CNE provided both a venue to escape and embrace the complexities of late 19th century industrialization for the British commonwealth’s major presence in North America. Serving as a source to observe technological improvements of a quickly opening world, amusement for all ages as well as an overall Canadian showcase, the annual event was a cultural gateway. Today, the CNE has lost some of its luster due to various year-long entertainment options over the decades but continues to be a fun, unofficial standoff to summer with memorable rides and surreal culinary delights.  As the exhibition continued into the 20th century, the grounds underwent various transformations with a number of permanent structures constructed including the still-standing Horticulture Building in 1907 and the iconic Princes’ Gate in 1927. With the conclusion of the second world...