Running around Toronto’s downtown core, taking photos of the different public spaces that checker the city, I realize there are more public spaces out there than initially meets the eye.
Making my way to Nathan Phillips Square, one of the most well known civic spaces in the city, I stumbled upon a space I had never taken the time to notice before.
After crossing Bay Street from the Eaton Centre to Nathan Phillips Square, out of the corner of my eye I saw park benches and greenery that were clearly not a part of the concrete madness of the notorious square. I quickly made my way over to see what it was I had been missing out on for the past year during my time in the city.
There, attached to a cement wall, was a bronzed plaque, which bore the name of the park I was standing in and I quickly retrieved my camera to take pictures of the quaint space.
“Larry Sefton Park,” the plaque proclaims, was created in memory of the member of the United Steelworkers of America with the same name.
The plaque goes on to describe Sefton, the director of District 6 of the Steelworkers Union for 20 years, as being a man whose “greatest wish was that people should have the opportunity they require to enrich the human spirit in everyone.”
The sad part of all of this is that it seems this park remains overlooked because of it's close proximity to the more prominent Nathan Phillips Square.
After taking so many photos throughout the city, it ‘s clear that there are many spaces just like this that go unused and unnoticed because there is nothing going on in them. More emphasis needs to be placed on bringing beauty and utility to such places and to encourage more people to come out and take part in their communities.
Afterall, according to what is written on Sefton’s dedication plaque, that’s what he would have wanted to take place in his park – the opportunity to enrich - essentially, the opportunity to develop, create and enhance.
Making my way to Nathan Phillips Square, one of the most well known civic spaces in the city, I stumbled upon a space I had never taken the time to notice before.
After crossing Bay Street from the Eaton Centre to Nathan Phillips Square, out of the corner of my eye I saw park benches and greenery that were clearly not a part of the concrete madness of the notorious square. I quickly made my way over to see what it was I had been missing out on for the past year during my time in the city.
There, attached to a cement wall, was a bronzed plaque, which bore the name of the park I was standing in and I quickly retrieved my camera to take pictures of the quaint space.
“Larry Sefton Park,” the plaque proclaims, was created in memory of the member of the United Steelworkers of America with the same name.
The plaque goes on to describe Sefton, the director of District 6 of the Steelworkers Union for 20 years, as being a man whose “greatest wish was that people should have the opportunity they require to enrich the human spirit in everyone.”
The sad part of all of this is that it seems this park remains overlooked because of it's close proximity to the more prominent Nathan Phillips Square.
After taking so many photos throughout the city, it ‘s clear that there are many spaces just like this that go unused and unnoticed because there is nothing going on in them. More emphasis needs to be placed on bringing beauty and utility to such places and to encourage more people to come out and take part in their communities.
Afterall, according to what is written on Sefton’s dedication plaque, that’s what he would have wanted to take place in his park – the opportunity to enrich - essentially, the opportunity to develop, create and enhance.
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