Christmas Windows At The Bay

Location: Toronto Ontario, Canada
Address: 176 Yonge Street.
Date: Dec 2014
Website: www.hbcheritage.ca

 The building at the corner of Yonge Street & Queen Street West has been there since 1896.  It was a Simpsons department store up until more recently when it became a Hudson's Bay store.  The Hudson's Bay Company has been in business since 1670, so between the building and the tenants there is a lot of history here.  A long standing tradition is the Christmas windows.  Simpsons used to decorate its front windows each year and now The Bay has continued the tradition.  As the holidays approach, everyone would gather in front of the windows on Queen Street to admire the displays inside.  Usually the windows are decorated in November and stay up until the end of the year.  Due to its popularity, The Bay has had the same windows for a number of years with animated figures showing everyone preparing for Christmas.

  One thing we noticed this year was some Canada geese sitting outside above the windows.  Some of them were wearing ribbons or wreaths.  We don't recall them being there in previous visits.  Below are a few highlights from the windows.

  Elves feed and prepare the reindeer for Santa's big flight.  The Bay has been selling point blankets for centuries.  The multistripe point coats worn by these elves have also had a long history.  They are traditional First Nation designs and products. Through the years, the green, red , yellow and blue stripes on a white coat or blanket have become a trademark of the Hudson's Bay Company.

 

  A big Christmas countdown clock counts down to Christmas Eve as the elves are busy preparing gifts and Santa Claus checks his list. Twice.

Carollers sing together in the street as a familiar looking girl eyes some delicious baked goods.  We were looking through a window at her looking through a window.  Now everyone has a craving for some sweets.

  The last window shows Santa enjoying a feast after he has finished delivering toys to girls and boys all around the world.  Some of the elves bang their knives and forks on the table as they are eager to start eating.  Make sure you view the windows from east to west to get the story in the correct order.  If you came from Nathan Phillips Square and this is the first window you are seeing then keep heading further along.  There are only about five windows in the whole display.
  Downtown Toronto always does a great job of decorating for Christmas and the windows at The Bay are a big part of that.  It is always nice to take a break and watch the windows from the street before cramming back into the Eaton Centre with all the other Christmas shoppers.

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This location is near Queen subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

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Christmas Windows At The Bay

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Post # 86

Steaming Tea Kettle

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Address: 63-65 Court Street
Date: Sept 2010
Website: www.starbucks.com

  It can hold 227 gallons, 2 quarts, 1 pint and 3 gills.  We know this since it is stamped right on the side.  In front of what is now a Starbucks, hangs a giant tea kettle from 1873.  We were in the upper deck of a Boston Upper Deck Trolley Tour when we got a really good look at this kettle.  If you look carefully you can see steam coming out of the spout.  The picture at the bottom of this post shows it best.
  The kettle was built for the Oriental Tea Company and in 1875 they had a contest to see who could guess the kettle's capacity.  Thousands of people came out to guess and find out what the kettle could hold.  The kettle was carefully filled by a city inspector to ensure everything was accurate.  The story is that several people came within three gills of the correct answer and shared in the prize of tea.  This brings us back to what some of you may have asked at the start of this post.  What is a gill?  This type of gill has nothing to do with fish, but is a measurement equal to one quarter of a pint.  It is no longer in common use today.  There have been many other changes since this kettle was first hung back in 1873.  We enjoyed seeing this little blast (of steam) from the past.

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Steaming Tea Kettle

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Post # 85

Johnny 5 is Barely Alive

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: Emily Street
Date: Dec 2015
Website: www.standrewstoronto.org

  Johnny 5 was attacked beside St Andrew's Church in Toronto.  "Who's Johnny?" you might ask.  Number 5 is a military robot who was hit by lightning and went against his programming and started to make his own decisions and develop his own personality.  He is always on a quest for more input.  Number 5 is the much loved star of the movie Short Circuit and its sequel Short Circuit 2.  At the end of the first movie he decided he should be called Johnny 5.
  You might also ask "What about St, Andrew's?"  St. Andrew's Church has been on this Toronto corner since 1876.  According to their website, there used to be Government House on the corner across from the church.  A college on the other corner and finally a tavern on the last corner.  These four corners were known as Legislation, Education, Damnation and Salvation.  Currently, St. Andrews is right across the street from the popular Roy Thomson Hall.
  In Short Circuit 2, Johnny is attacked by Oscar and two other thugs.  Oscar is played by Jack Weston who some may recognize as one of the men harassing Audrey Hepburn in the movie Wait Until Dark.  First you pick on legendary actress Audrey Hepburn and then over 20 years later you attack one of the greatest on-screen robots of all time?  Shame!  We have walked past this crime scene many times, but this time we stopped to take a few pictures.

  The scene starts with Johnny 5 passing Roy Thomson Hall headed towards the church.  You can see the church in the left of the picture above.  Some kids are flying model airplanes in what used to be an empty lot.

  He is pursued past St. Andrew's and turns onto Emily Street.  When the thugs chasing him enter the street he has disappeared. 

  Oscar comes around the corner and Johnny 5 drops out of the tree below and grabs him.  One thing we noticed about this area is that some of the fencing and one of the pillars has been removed from in front of the tree in order to allow direct access to the church's side entrance.

  Despite Johnny 5's massive intake of input he has yet to master pig latin.  Oscar says "Etgay ehindbay imhay" and Johnny does not understand.  The thugs pretend to run away, but sneak around behind Number 5 and he is attacked with an axe and a crowbar.  Oscar encourages the thugs to finish Johnny off.

  Johnny manages to send out a signal and commandeer some of the nearby radio controlled airplanes.   A plane rounds the corner at Wellington Street, does a quick loop at King Street West and gives one of the thugs a reason to prefer standing for a few days.  Despite the violent attack, Johnny 5 is still alive.  He only has a short time to total memory failure so he pulls himself up using the fence, collects his pieces and heads south on Emily Street.

  Johnny steals a DieHard car battery from a vehicle parked behind the church and this gives him some energy to carry on.  He is still in critical danger until he breaks into a Radio Shack store and finally gets repaired properly.  Thank goodness Johnny 5 is alive.  After all the events that took place, we think that everyone, including Johnny 5, should find out what time they hear confessions at St. Andrew's.  

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This location is near St. Andrew subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

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Johnny 5 is Barely Alive

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Post # 84