One weekend, once a year in Toronto, free and rare access to 150 buildings of architectural or historical significance is granted during a city-wide celebration known as Doors Open Toronto. The 18th annual Doors Open Toronto returns on Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28.
York University is participating in Doors Open Toronto and included in this year’s tour is the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence on the Keele campus. Also among the Doors Open destinations are buildings with connections to York University and the new subway station on the Keele campus.
Doors Open Toronto 2017 is part of TO Canada with Love, the City of Toronto’s year-long program of celebrations, commemorations and exhibitions marking Canada’s 150th birthday. Doors Open Toronto is presented by Great Gulf and produced by the City of Toronto in partnership with the Province of Ontario and the broader community.
Highlights of this year’s Doors Open Toronto
The Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd., Main floor
Saturday: 10am – 4pm, Last Admittance: 3:30pm
The Archives of Ontario’s purpose-built facility, located at York University’s Keele campus, is an excellent home to the heritage of the province. A large, bright reading room gives researchers access to a unique and multi-faceted collection that includes records dating back to the late 16th century. The expert reference staff helps visitors examine the second-largest archival collection in Canada, including everything from hand-written ledgers to electronic files, hand-drawn maps, architectural drawings, photographs, films and sound recordings. A state-of-the-art conservation lab and 12 storage vaults help us to preserve these records for present and future generations.
Visitors will be offered special behind-the-scenes tours that will include the Family Ties: Ontario Turns 150 exhibit, Reading Room, digitization facilities and feature architectural records in the Preservation Lab. Interactive learning activities for both children and adult visitors in the Spragge Classroom will be available, to engage those audiences with our collection in a fun and meaningful way. Additionally there will be a display of photographs and/or architectural drawings from the collections, showing Toronto architecture, including some buildings that will participate in Doors Open Toronto.
Aviva Centre, 1 Shoreham Drive
Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Last Admittance: 4:30pm
Canadian tennis enthusiasts know the Aviva Centre well. The sports and entertainment complex is home to the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, a prestigious professional tennis tournament organized by Tennis Canada. Centre Court holds up to 12,500 spectators, with 11 smaller outer courts. All twelve courts use a cushioned acrylic surface, the same surface used at the U.S. Open. When the best players in the world aren’t showcasing their skills at the Aviva Centre, the facility hosts a multitude of other events and serves as a year-round tennis training facility. Two creeks, a natural backdrop of wooded lots and a marsh surround the Aviva Centre and valley lands, which also lead directly to the York University Keele Campus.
Guests to Aviva Centre will experience what it’s like to be a professional tennis player. Aviva Centre will have fun and accessible tennis programming which will allow guests to hit balls and play games on Centre Court – the same court the world’s best tennis players compete on every summer. (All equipment provided.) In addition, guests will have the opportunity to take a photo with the Rogers Cup trophy.
Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, 11 Arboretum Lane, Keele campus
Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Last Admittance: 4:30pm
Sunday: 10am – 5pm, Last Admittance: 4:30pm
The Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence is a learning space for a new kind of engineer. The building has no lecture halls, which means students learn in labs, small groups, and active-learning spaces. The facade is constructed from 8,000 panels, each different and organized by a custom algorithm. The hallways, elevators, and common spaces are whiteboards, open to anyone who feels creative. Lassonde engineering students are Renaissance Engineers who combine their technical studies with skills in business, law and entrepreneurship. The Bergeron Centre is their home, an educational building for the next generation of engineers.
Visitors to the building will have the opportunity to tour the building with Lassonde student guides and take part in hands-on activities to see firsthand what it’s like to be a Renaissance Engineer. Guests can leave their creative mark on the whiteboards which cover the hallways, elevators, and common spaces.
Black Creek Pioneer Village, 1000 Murray Ross Parkway
Saturday: 11am – 4pm, Last Admittance: 3pm
Sunday: 11am – 4pm, Last Admittance: 3pm
Black Creek Pioneer Village offers a fascinating journey into the past. Black Creek is a working village, typical of those established in south central Ontario between the 1790s and the 1860s. Forty authentically restored homes, workshops and public buildings recreate the atmosphere of life in a rural Victorian community in the 1860s. Black Creek Pioneer Village is located adjacent to the Keele campus at 1000 Murray Ross Pkwy.
At Black Creek, the audience is invited to escape the modern world and experience Ontario’s rich rural heritage. Black Creek Pioneer Village is a working village, typical of those established in south central Ontario between the 1790s and the 1860s. See historical interpreters in period costumes demonstrate historic trades and crafts of the 1800s, visit farmyard animals, enjoy heritage gardens and explore exhibits in the gallery.
TTC – York University Station
Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Last Admittance: 4:30pm
Located in the heart of the Keele campus, this new subway station is part of the soon-to-be-opened Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension. The entrance features a distinct boomerang shape and two covered entry wings to the north and south. The finished metal roof is a cool roof that reflects the sunlight and absorbs little heat. With its large glass curtain walls, the station relies on daylight rather than electricity. The station also features public art and bird-friendly window glazing.
Visitors to York University Station will get a sneak peak of the station. This station is opening in December 2017 and is an impressive structure. Visitors will have access to the station, can take a self-guided tour, discover unique facts about the new station, how it was built and how it will operate, and talk to project staff and artists when available.