Ontario's last wooden railway Water Tower

Specifically the last wooden railway water tower on a wooden base structure and it is located in Barry's Bay, northeast of Toronto by a couple of hours. You can find it in the town's Water Tower Park! The towers were required during the early years of railroads as the steam locomotives needed water to boil to produce steam to power the engine. The railway was also very important to Barry's Bay as the lines were busy transporting lumber in and out of the area in the early 19th century.

It is easy to understand why there aren't too many railway water towers left, firstly there aren't anymore steam trains in active service (beyond the few tourist trains like the South Simcoe Railway) since they ended steam locomotive service in 1960, secondly a number of railway lines became unsustainable and shut down (luckily many have become recreational rail trails, or multi-use paths) and this is the case with Barry's Bay CN rail line, it ceased operations in the 1970s, the tracks were removed in 1984 and the line was converted to the JR Booth Heritage Railway Trail. This was going on throughout North America and most of the old equipment which was no longer required were allowed to fall apart or were actively destroyed for safety or development reasons.

This wooden tank was two-stories high and had a capacity of 60,000 gallons, with a shallow roof on a wood frame, held together with 14 iron hoops and lugs along the outside of the tank, all sitting on top of 12 timber posts on a concrete pad. It was actually the second tank as the first was built in 1894, dismantled and replaced in 1943, by 1964 it was unused and sold to the village in 1965 for less than $80. In 1975 it was going to be demolished due to its deteriorated condition but the community rallied for saving the tower and in 1977 it received its historical, protected designation. It took several years for the people to setup a restoration committee and finally in 2000 the Water Tower was restored and dedicated in the new park.

The park has quite a few attractions including commemorative historical plaques and a small section of rail line with a velocipede (a railway bike), a caboose (also not really used nowadays either), a wind phone memorial in addition there is a small, wooden train and an old steam tractor.

Submarine museum HMCS Ojibwa in Port Burwell

We finally hit the road to Lake Erie and stopped in Port Burwell to take the full tour of the decommissioned Oberon Class Cold War submarine as we had previously only been in the torpedo room. Port Burwell is just over two hours south west of Toronto, but a world away from the hustle and bustle - and extensive construction happening in the city, full of long beaches and cool places to see.

Over 5 stories high and almost 300 feet long the naval ship provides an interesting view of the tight spaces that sailors had to endure on month long voyages around the world. You learn on the tour that the ship was an electric-diesel propelled submarine, designed to run on batteries and be recharged by their diesel engine. It was quiet and apparently sounded like a school of fish to anyone listening.

Made during the turbulent times of the sixties when the USSR was our main potential enemy, an enemy that could ignite a new world war. Instead they played cat and mouse games with each other and occasionally got into wars by proxy. Ojibwa was constructed in England and transferred to Canada before it was scheduled to go into service with the British and after a long period of service for Canada it was decommissioned in 1998 and towed to Port Burwell in 2012 to be part of a future naval museum planned for the town. The museum is still to come but the submarine is open for tours.

The amusing part of the tour is that it seems like the exploits, both exciting and routine are highly confidential and secret so you really come out of the submarine without knowing what it really did during the cold war.

See more photos of the vessel after the jump.

Avro Arrow in the wild

A large replica of Canada's ultimate fantasy airplane, known as the CF-105 Avro Arrow, looking like it is blasting off in pursuit of bad guys is located at a park in Barry's Bay, Ontario. The town is just under 4 hours northeast from Toronto so plan your trip if you want to see the replica yourself.

The story has always been that this jet fighter would have conquered the air fleets of the whole world because it was so good, but Canada's desire to have nuclear weapons meant that the budget had to be trimmed and the plane was cancelled. Not only cancelled but destroyed. They did find one model launched into Lake Ontario and brought to the surface rather recently, so obviously they couldn't destroy it at the time, otherwise that one would have been destroyed as well. So we weep for the loss of the super supreme plane.

Barry's Bay connection to the Avro Arrow was the Canadian Polish pilot Janusz Zurakowski, whom the park is named after, who lived in the area after WWII. He fought in the war as a Spitfire pilot and immigrated to Canada in the 1950's. After the war he became a test pilot and worked on and flew the Avro Arrow. The park was opened in 2003 and includes posters, a spitfire weathervane, a gazebo and the model of the famous supersonic jet interceptor.

This Avro replica is 22 feet long and over 12 feet wide and was built by Gerard and Peter Trader along with Ron Coulas and Morris Towns.

A Spitfire weathervane

Sankofa Day Celebration in Yonge-Dundas Square

Just kidding, it's Sankofa Day in Sankofa Square, formally Yonge-Dundas Square and the celebration is on Saturday, August 23 from 10am to 11pm. The Day is special as it is the UNESCO International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, observed annually on August 23rd and is a time for reflection and healing; "Looking Back. Building Forward."

The free celebration is a day of culture, community, food, art and music which will end with a free closing party featuring MOONSHINE.

From the Square's website, "Sankofa Day features a vibrant cultural showcase that includes a celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture with JERK X JOLLOF, an Afrodiasporic DJ set to groove to by Afrique Like Me, and a live performance by Indigenous artist Natasha Fisher. The stage will also feature a special free DJ set by the legendary Kardinal Offishall, presented as part of the iDREAM Awards. Attendees can also grab commemorative giveaways, explore art installations by Nicole Nomsa Moyo, watch the Everyone vs. Racism Graffiti Project come to life, and enjoy a Caribbean Film Festival screening."

Looking Back. Building Forward

Yorkville Murals 2025

Toronto’s shopping district known as the mink mile is full of art from August 23-24, 2025 as part of the Yorkville Murals with no empty spaces promised. Open from 9 to 9 over the weekend.

A couple of big chess games

Hayley Axelrad Pool Talk Inflatable

From the festival's website, "Toronto’s most dynamic art and muralism festival returns from August 23–24, 2025 with the third edition of its theme, No Empty Spaces. Yorkville Murals transforms Yorkville Avenue—stretching from Bellair Street to Hazelton Avenue—into a vibrant, interactive cultural playground. Visitors can expect a weekend packed with creativity and connection: large-scale murals, inflatable art, immersive installations, live painting, thought-provoking art talks, high-energy dance battles, pop-up shops, music, and a lively evening block party. Every moment offers something new, encouraging culture lovers to return again and again throughout the weekend."

Adam the Illustrator Big Love Inflatable on the Yorkville Rock

Birdo Pigeon Inflatable

There are a bunch of inflatable art pieces in Yorkville Park along Cumberland, west of Bellair to the big rock at the Bay Street ttc subway station. Otherwise the vendors and art stations are along Yorkville Avenue from Bellair to Hazelton - along the giant blue carpet.

Michelle Hoogveld Heart Inflatable

The YVM DAY PARTY is on Saturday, August 23 from 11 AM - 5 PM on the rooftop of the Cumberland Parkade.

See more of the festival after the jump.

Monument to the White Squirrel at CAMH

Toronto's famous white squirrel was immortalized in a rather large statue, part of CAMH’s Therapeutic Art Installations and sitting in the CAMH adjacent greenspace - TD Commons Park. The 6 foot high white rodent was created by sculptor Brandon Vickerd.

The artist moved from Sarnia to Toronto and while living near Queen West he learned of the white squirrel. The very rare white rodent was spotted around CAMH and eventually became the unofficial mascot of the mental health hospital and lead to the naming of one of their internal roads as White Squirrel Way. During the redevelopment of the site and as part of the Therapeutic Art Installation project the statue was commissioned and later installed in the park in 2019.

Events at Stackt Market Toronto

Stackt Market is an interesting space located at 28 Bathurst Street, just north of Old Fort York and the railway lines, and is made of a combination of steel seacans, or shipping containers and a number of buildings, stores, food and beverage vendors and a craft beer brewery. Besides the stores being a reason to visit the area there are a lot of events and festivals put on throughout the year which you can check out on there website.

Outdoor patios, a basketball court, picnic tables, a dog park, art installations (like the hanging umbrellas) and comfy alcoves make the destination a great way to escape the stress of the city and relax with friends.

Tunnel of Love

Keep alert to some of the following events: Chillin’ & Grillin’ on Sundays, Brews and Chews, Art Month in October and Holiday Hills, a free winter festival.

TinyTO model of downtown Toronto

There is a model of the city's buildings sitting in the lobby of Toronto City Hall, just off to the left as you come in, showing many of the city's iconic landmarks such as the CN Tower and Rogers Centre (note the dome is open) in white. It is modular and ready to be updated as the city evolves.

Humber College through their Centres of Innovation Network has recently partnered with the city to update the tiny model buildings to accurately portray the city's downtown skyline. Students from various school departments (Industrial Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, User Experience Design and Game Programming) using Toronto's 3D Massing info.

The 3D model of the city core has 12 tiles (4×3 grid) with each tile being 1.2m x 1.2m with a model scale of 1:1250