Michael Glassman Photography

From the book "Views of the CN Tower"; Oasis Swimming Pool, Port Lands, Toronto. View North-West

Sculpted lions, reflections on the water, gray sky, mist – memories of Venice and St. Petersburg are overwhelming. But this is Polson Pier's Oasis Swimming Pool, in the midst of an industrial Port Lands area. On some days the lion disappears from its pedestal, presumably for cleaning and possibly feeding.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower". View South from the rooftop of the Kiever Synagogue.

View south from the rooftop of the Kiever Synagogue (from Kiev, capital of Ukraine), overlooking Bellevue Square in Kensington Market. The location was originally the site of Belle Vue, the house built in 1815 by the area's first British settler, Capt. George Taylor Denison. In the 1920s the area had at least 40 Jewish congregations and was known as the Jewish Market until the mid-1970s. The Kiever was officially incorporated in 1914. The present building in the Byzantine Revival style was completed in 1927. In 1979 the Kiever was designated an Ontario Heritage site, due to its distinctive architectural features and because “it was the first synagogue built by Ukrainian Jews who had escaped from Czarist Russia.” From poverty and persecution in their native land to freedom and prosperity in Canada, one may add.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower". University of Toronto campus, with Stewart Observatory. View South.

View south of a wedding party on the grounds of the University of Toronto. On the left is the building of the Stewart Observatory. The observatory served as Canada’s primary meteorological station and official timekeeper for over fifty years beginning in 1840. It is considered the birthplace of Canadian astronomy. While observing the rotation of the stars over the years, the observatory itself was moved several times until it settled at this location in 1907.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower". Bathurst and College St., View South.

View south, intersection of Bathurst and College streets. The tower in the foreground is all that is left of College Street Presbyterian Church, built in 1885. It was demolished one hundred years later and replaced by a condominium, from whose rooftop this photo was taken.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower". The old building of Amsterdam Brewing Co. on Bathurst St. View East.

View east. Amsterdam Brewing Company’s old building at 21 Bathurst Street in the process of being demolished on December 5, 2012. More than others, this view captures the convulsions of change that have gripped Toronto over the past ten years. The brewery building, including its parking lot, will make room for three new condominiums, and the CN Tower will disappear from view.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower". View from the Amsterdam Brewing Company building (now demolished); View East.

After a day’s work at Amsterdam Brewing Co. – brewing Amsterdam beer – the boys are enjoying a chat, a smoke, and an Amsterdam beer. View east.

From the book "Views of the CN Tower", John and Richmond St., view South

View south from the corner of John Street and Richmond Street West. John Street was named after John Graves Simcoe, the founder of York (today Toronto). During the epidemic of 1847, 863 Irish immigrants died of typhus in fever sheds built by the Toronto Board of Health at the corner of King and John streets, two blocks south of this location.

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