| Life works in really strange and wonderful ways. At | | | | noteworthy past events and are titled "A Bruce Bell |
| the beginning of this week I talked to my brother in | | | | History Project". So there is no doubt that this is a real |
| Austria on the phone, and he said he'd been reading | | | | expert, even a local celebrity.Just outside the St. |
| this German travel magazine and there was a big | | | | Lawrence Market used to be the terminus of the |
| write-up about a Toronto-based tour guide who | | | | Underground Railroad, the pier where thousands of the |
| provides culinary tours of the St. Lawrence Market, | | | | former American slaves arrived after having made |
| one of my brother's favourite places that he | | | | their secret passage from the American south to |
| discovered on his recent trip to Toronto.I asked my | | | | Rochester and on to freedom in Toronto. It's amazing |
| brother what this fellow's name was and he looked it | | | | how much history there is, even in a comparably |
| up and said "Bruce Bell". I did an internet search and | | | | young city such as Toronto, and I thoroughly enjoyed |
| within a few seconds I had located Bruce Bell Tours; | | | | listening to Bruce's unique stories.From the St. |
| and I knew I had to meet this person. Bruce Bell, the | | | | Lawrence Market building we walked north through a |
| popular history columnist for the St. Lawrence | | | | courtyard to another former City Hall of Toronto by |
| Neighbourhood Community Bulletin, is also an award | | | | the name of St. Lawrence Hall. It was the former city |
| winning playwright, actor, standup comedian and the | | | | hall of the City of York, that was officially renamed the |
| honourary curator of the most photographed building in | | | | city of Toronto (an Indian word for "meeting place") in |
| the city of Toronto, the historic Gooderham Building | | | | 1856. St. Lawrence Hall is a beautiful classical building, |
| better known as the Flatiron. Bruce just recently | | | | and Bruce took us inside to show us the ballroom, the |
| published a book on Toronto called "Toronto - A | | | | most well-preserved original ballroom in Canada. The |
| Pictorial Celebration".Immediately after I hung up with | | | | chandelier is original, was originally lit with coal gas and |
| my brother I was on the phone with Bruce, we briefly | | | | today is illuminated with natural gas.This was the heart |
| introduced ourselves and he said, come down, join me | | | | of Toronto's elite WASP (white / Anglo-Saxon / |
| on Thursday for my culinary tour of the St. Lawrence | | | | Protestant) society during the 1800s and Bruce shed |
| Market. Sure enough, this morning, punctually at 10 am I | | | | more light on the many behavioural norms of the time. |
| arrived at the souvenir shop at the main entrance of | | | | Women were not considered persons and could not |
| the market and I met Bruce and the other participant in | | | | walk on the street by themselves or accompanied by |
| our tour, a young architecture student.As the official | | | | any man other than their husband. Men had to defend |
| historian of the St. Lawrence Market Bruce has special | | | | their wives' honour in duels and sometimes ended up |
| access to all sorts of areas of the building that other | | | | having to shoot their best friend as a result of a |
| people never get to see. Right away he took us up | | | | harmless (by today's standards) misunderstanding. The |
| some stairs, pulled out a special key and led us into the | | | | city and country were run by English noblemen, and |
| former mayor's office, since the market building used | | | | Catholic immigrants from Ireland, arriving in masses |
| to be the original city hall of Toronto. The building has | | | | after the potato famine of 1849, were despised by the |
| undergone several transitions, and the two side wings | | | | local ruling class.As a result, the Catholics were |
| were removed to make way for a steel-girdered shed | | | | segregated, but they did receive a spot inside St. |
| built in 1904 that was modeled after the Victoria Train | | | | Lawrence Hall, a big room called St. Patrick's Hall, |
| Station in London.From the former mayor's office we | | | | where they were allowed to congregate since they |
| had a perfect view of the market and we also had a | | | | were barred from entering the ballroom which was |
| beautiful vista of the downtown skyscrapers and the | | | | reserved for the WASP elite. Irish Catholics had to |
| famous Flatiron Building to the west, and St. Lawrence | | | | enter St. Patrick's Hall through a back staircase since |
| Hall to the north. Bruce took us down the stairs in the | | | | they weren't allowed to mix with the English |
| market hall itself and shared various tidbits of history | | | | aristocracy. The portion on the northeast side of St. |
| with us. The shoreline of Lake Ontario used to be right | | | | Lawrence Hall housing St. Patrick's Hall incidentally |
| at Front Street, and after landfill was added, the | | | | collapsed in 1967 and was completely rebuilt.After St. |
| Esplanade became the waterfront, and today several | | | | Lawrence Hall we walked through a beautiful Victorian |
| hundred meters of additional landfill have expanded the | | | | Garden outside of St. James Cathedral, Toronto's |
| city's territory to a new waterfront.Under Bruce's | | | | largest house of worship, and the 5th church in the |
| guidance we started our tour of the shops which | | | | present location. Bruce took us inside and shared more |
| include bakeries, butcher shops, fish mongers, fruit | | | | historical information with us, about the original British |
| stands, delis, dessert places and specialty vendors of | | | | settlers of Toronto and ruling elite of the times, which |
| all kinds. The first place he took us to was a bakery | | | | included the famous Bishop Strachan, the creator of |
| that also serves lunches, and we got a delicious taste | | | | St. James Cathedral. Bruce showed us the various |
| treat of smoked salmon and backbacon, each on a | | | | stained glass windows that adorn the church, all of |
| small piece of bread. I am not usually a big fish eater, | | | | which were crafted at different times. Especially |
| but this savoury morcel was delicious. At another store | | | | stunning are the Tiffany stained glass windows on the |
| we got to sample "Indian candy" - smoked salmon | | | | east side which have a particularly intense coloration.St. |
| cured in maple syrop. What a treat!We walked by | | | | James Cathedral marked the end of our culinary and |
| some of the butcher shops, many of which have been | | | | historic tour of the St. Lawrence Market area. We had |
| in the same family for generations. I admired the | | | | received a great introduction to Toronto's history and |
| creatively presented cuts of pork loin stuffed with | | | | enjoyed the diverse culinary delicacies of Toronto's |
| spinach, cheese and bacon, a perfect solution for a | | | | greatest market. Bruce's entertaining and informative |
| non-chef like me - just stick it in the oven and pull out a | | | | lessons on a time in Toronto's history when women |
| delicious gourmet meal.After a brief tour outside the | | | | and men were segregated, when society was strictly |
| building where Bruce explained the building's history and | | | | regimented by expectations of etiquette and social |
| early Toronto society to us, we went into the lower | | | | status, and when Irish and English weren't allowed to |
| level, where all the dessert shops, fruit stalls and | | | | mix made me realize how incredibly far Toronto has |
| specialty vendors are located. We got several more | | | | come in the last 150 years.Bruce Bell offers other |
| samples: a huge variety of delicious honeys from New | | | | interesting tours about Toronto's Distillery District, its Art |
| Zealand, a sampling of speciality jellies and jams, | | | | Deco skyscrapers and a tour called "Comfort and |
| tender white chocolate truffles that just melt in your | | | | Steam" that takes you through the Fairmount Royal |
| mouth, and for dessert - after all these sweat treats - | | | | York Hotel, Union Station, the Skydome and the Air |
| Nutella-filled crepes. All the samples we received were | | | | Canada Centre, among other places. Considering |
| utterly delicious.Bruce took us into the bowels of the | | | | everything that I learned in the St. Lawrence Market |
| building, today mostly used for storage and | | | | tour, I hope to have a chance to catch another one of |
| refrigeration, but in previous times these areas were | | | | Bruce's tours and broaden my local knowledge of this |
| the men's and women's jails. Bruce explained that in | | | | city in the near future.Susanne Pacher is the publisher |
| the 1850s women had no rights and many men simply | | | | of a website called Travel and Transitions ( Travel and |
| stuck their wives in prison, especially after child-birth or | | | | Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is |
| during menopause, when they got a little cranky. The | | | | chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, |
| iron hooks that prisoners were chained to are still | | | | interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights |
| visible on the walls.The basement is also decorated | | | | and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and |
| with a number of murals that explain Toronto's history. | | | | many other features. You will also find stories about |
| As the official historian of the St. Lawrence Market | | | | life and the transitions that we face as we go through |
| and a well-known columnist of the St. Lawrence | | | | our own personal life-long journeys.Submit your own |
| Community Bulletin, Bruce is actually depicted on the | | | | travel stories in our first travel story contest ( and |
| mural. About 15 historic plaques throughout a variety of | | | | have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on |
| buildings in the downtown area provide insight into | | | | the Amazon River. |