Toronto Under Construction

Paul Kennedy

I'm lucky enough to live near the heart of the oldest part of our now-sprawling mega-city.... Half way through this walk, we'll pause briefly in my neighbourhood, which my friend Jane Jacobs played a significant part in designing.... But we'll begin near the site of Upper Canada's first parliament buildings (which were burned to the ground by American invaders in 1813).... We'll make our way through "Muddy (if it's raining) York", to the setting of a new/old Market that has been a meeting place for indigenous inhabitants for several millennia.... And we'll conclude by following in the footsteps of convicted criminals, from the place where the city's founding father's built an early wooden jail house, to the location of Toronto's first gallows -- where a local tailor had the honour of being executed (for forging a one-dollar note!)