King Edward Hotel

I have always loved the subject of history, which well includes architectural history.  It was an honor to be a part of a celebration at the King Edward Hotel.  The "King Eddy" as it has been known to local Torontonians for decades resides at 37 King Street East, on the south side, west of Church Street and occupies the entire second block east of Yonge Street.

It has lived here since the structure opened in 1903 and housed 400 rooms and several ballrooms as well as the grand lobby.  The King Edward Hotel was designed by two famous architects.  Chicago's Henry Ives Cobb and Toronto's E.J. Lennox and was granted his namesake by King Edward VII.  

Since then, there have been several revisions made to the original hotel which included 530 additional rooms and an 18 storey tower added to the original eight-storey structure to the east of the hotel.  In the late 50's the two top floors occupied the Crystal Ballroom, which since has been permanently closed due to stricter fire codes and was not included in the restoration project in the early 80's.  

Throughout the years, the hotel has seen a number of hands pass ownership, one of which in 2009 was retained by ' Le Meridien to manage it.  They closed the hotel to perform a major restoration which included 140 condominiums from the third to the fifth floors.  These floors have been unused for a number of years, and there have been rumours of 'hauntings'.  Historically, there are always rumours that emerge that involve the closure or ruins of historical places.  It alludes mystery.

Last year, in 2012 saw the most recent ownership from "Skyline Hotels" .  We were all happy to enjoy wonderful food, good music and dance to celebrate a successful year.  I hope that 2013 will finish off better than it has started.  This was a good way to begin.

The King Edward welcomes visitors to view and take pictures of many paintings and the historical architecture and furnishings that adorn the building.   You may even get a chance to visit the 4th floor...

Canterbury Falls- Hamilton

 It's been a very long two weeks after a crushing blow to the family.  I wept for my sons who lost their father both unexpectedly and much too young.   Alan Laine had left quite the legacy as over 200 people showed up for his funeral and I just had to sit back and smile during the reception afterwards to listen to the stories and laughter spread across the room filled with people who had something funny to tell about 'Big Al'.  During the eulogy there were stories shared of his strength and fellowship by his dearest friends and music played in honor for his life, which brought me and my sons to tears.

The service was respectful and not over-indulgent.  Just long enough to keep our attention and the visitation the day before brought me to tears as I had said my final goodbyes to the man I loved for his dedication to fatherhood.  He was a pillar of strength and will be missed by his co workers and friends and family.

My sons are taking this hard as his death was untimely for them, but the three of them were lucky enough to spend the last few years living together building and mending bonds.  My own husband has been patient and understanding through my grieving and allowing me all the time and space I need to be there for my family.  

Many times in life when we lose someone we care about, we turn to the church for support.  I may not attend church as much as others, but I never lost my faith and my hope in my spirituality.  Whatever God is to me, it lives wherever I do, and I am able to talk and listen to my own better judgement to which I can trust is the answers to anything I need to know.

The Canterbury Falls in Hamilton is owned by the Anglican Church of Canada.  The surrounding land is facilitated as a conference retreat, church and children's camp.  I hoped to spot some deer but it was just too frigid out for them I suppose.  These pictures were shot at dusk and the exposure was set high to get as much light as possible, but I was not very happy with the pictures.  The last time I saw Canterbury there was no water at all so was surprised to read that it has a year-round flow.  I will be pleased to finally take a fine shot and get down about 10 metres (32 feet) to get a good shot of the entire cascade.  The waterfall is a tributary of sulphur springs creek.

After a few hours of walking in the cold outdoors, I felt a little better, and the flow of the waterfalls reminds us all that life goes on...