Al and Peggy's Corner: Happy Birthday to Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

I haven't been to visit the blogs of all my Canadian friends today to see if they are celebrating Toronto's birthday, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't wish Toronto a Happy Birthday from down here in sunny San Diego.

On this date in 1834, York, Canada was incorporated as Toronto, making Toronto a whopping 176 years old. She still looks good, though!

 

Toronto is Canada's largest city with over 2½ million people, and the fifth most populous city in North America.

Other interesting facts about Toronto:

1. Until recently, the CN Tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the world at 1,815 feet 5 inches 553.33 meters metres tall. If you ever get a chance to go to Toronto, don't miss going to the CN Tower observation deck where you can stand on glass and look down to the ground; not for those afraid of heights. The letters CN don't stand for anything anymore, but originally they stood for Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Visit in the Spring and you'll see a fantastic display of tulips and daffodils on the grounds surrounding the CN Tower.
2. Toronto is the heart of the Golden Horseshoe in southern Ontario, an area that has 8.1 million people, about 25% of Canada's population.
3. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's seventh largest.
4. About 49% of Toronto's residents were born outside of Canada.
5. Residents of Toronto are called Torontonians.
6. Hurricane Hazel in 1954 killed 81 people and caused $25 million in damages. Huh? Hurricane Hazel in Canada? What's with that?
7. Toronto covers 243 square miles 630 square kilometers kilometres.
8. Also visit Scarborough Bluffs, beautiful escarpments from the last ice age.
9. Toronto ranks second in North America to New York City with the most buildings over 300 feet 90 meters metres tall.
10. Pride Week for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community is one of the largest celebrations in the world, attracting over one million visitors each year.
11. The Distillery District was once the largest alcohol processing center centre in North America and still has the best collection of Victorian industrial architecture.
12. Ontario Place has the world's first permanent IMAX theater theatre.
13. The Toronto Zoo is one of the largest in the world with over 5,000 animals representing 460 species, yet we still can't get our Canadian friends to go to the Zoo and take lots of pictures to share with us. Go figure.
14. Have some shopping to do? Visit Toronto Eaton Center Centre. Fine, fine, fine. It's also considered a tourist attraction, with over 52 million visitors each year saying they "toured" the Center Centre.
15. The Canada National Exhibition is the oldest annual fair in the world, and the fifth largest in North America.
16. Toronto is the only Canadian city with representation in five major league sports: National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Canadian Football League, and Major League Soccer.
17. The Toronto Maple Leafs is one of the original six clubs of the National Hockey League.
18. Toronto is home to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
19. The Toronto Raptors is the only NBA team outside the United States.
20. Toronto hosts the NCAA International Bowl, pitting football teams from the Big East and the Mid-American Conferences.
21. The University of Toronto has North America's fourth largest library system, behind Harvard, Yale, and the University of California at Berkeley.
22. Glenn Gould, arguably Canada's greatest pianist, is from Toronto, and the Glenn Gould School of Music at the University of Toronto is named after him.

 

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