Archives /// Water

The thought of sewers and storm drains tends to bring to mind dark, damp places that provide necessary functions we're grateful for, but would rather not ponder on too long. But what remain obscure bowels to us are places of wonder to Michael Cook, who, along with a handful of other storm drain enthusiasts, chronicles his subterranean expeditions into the urban underground on Vanishingpoint.ca. His first storm drain exploration was four years ago in Burlington, and he recalls "the experience of being underground in a dark, wet environment was really, really exciting." As with most urban explorers, part of the excitement ...

Spending a summer evening at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre watching a cultural festival doesn't at first seem to have much to do with going to the beach. Visitors come to watch a performance, and then they usually leave. They may walk along the sand-free walkways at a safe distance from the waves, but they don't tend to stick around for whole afternoons lounging on beach towels. Yet the presence of water, which seems almost unnecessary to Harbourfront Centre, might actually inspire the use of the space. With craft centres, educational programs, international markets, and roughly 4,000 performances a year, Harbourfront Centre ...

While broadly admired, those moist, kinetic sculptures we know as fountains are, to most, part of a static urban interaction that begins and ends at the retaining wall. People see the urban fountain as a type of street furniture that is not exactly participatory. Yet a growing number have learned to appreciate their city's aquatic adornments more damply than their fellow citizens. They're not afraid to put their sandals aside in favour of a deeper urban experience. What I am trying to say is that some of us like to get into fountains. Though the first splash may have been born out ...

Our ravines define Toronto and make it unique. They're our equivalent to the canals of Venice, the hills of San Francisco, and the grand avenues of Paris. As our largest natural refuge, they contain the last remnants of the forest that once graced the entire region. They help filter and cool our air, and though they weren't a result of an international design competition, they bring immense beauty to our city. Unfortunately, the kilometres of waterfront that line our rivers don't enjoy the same attention as those bordering Toronto's oft-talked-about harbour. If we don't start paying attention, the ravines that so ...

Michael Redhill's novel Consolation uses the contents of a shipwreck in Lake Ontario as one of its main sources of suspense. There is something mystifying — almost romantic — about shipwrecks; perhaps it's the possibility of hidden treasure, or, more practically, the link they provide to another time, the ship as an afterimage of a civilization different from our own. Although the shipwreck in Redhill's novel is fictional, several shipwrecks do lie in Lake Ontario, but they're forgotten like marooned sailors, drowned in the city's collective amnesia. One of the oldest of these shipwrecks, the Sligo, was built in 1860. ...