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Hockey, Heights and High Heels in Toronto
A visit to Toronto is like visiting a city in
Europe –
only it’s closer and less expensive.
By Fran Folsom
If Europe is not in your travel plans this year you can
get a European feel in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. Located on the shores
of Lake Ontario, Toronto has just as many museums, galleries, theaters and
shops as any city in Europe. Whatsmore, it’s closer, and, the rate of
exchange, $1.00 US = $1.47 CN, makes it less expensive. The city has seventy
theater venues totaling 43,000 seats making it the third largest theater
center in the world, next to New York and London. Hit plays include The Lion
King, Mamma Mia with musical score by ABBA and Aida with music by Elton
John. You’ll not only have your choice of theaters; there are 18,000 hotel
rooms and over 5,000 restaurants in the city. You’re bound to find a bargain
that suits you.
Toronto, laid out on a grid, is a walker’s paradise.
You won’t need a car, as most everything is accessible by foot or public
transportation.
  Even if you’re not a hockey fan, it’s hard not to enjoy
the Hockey Hall of Fame housed in the old Bank of Montreal building at the
corner of Front and Yonge Streets. The
fifteen exhibit areas are called zones; each is filled with hockey
memorabilia dating back to 1892 – the year hockey was first played. This is
where kids whisper about playing like the great ones, Gordie Howe, Bobby
Orr, and, Wayne Gretzky. Grown men walk around carrying beat up hockey
sticks and sighing “Gretzky, I wish I could’ve played like him.”
You could spend several hours here – what follows is a
highlight of the must see zones if your time is limited.
The Toronto Sun Great Moments Zone – tells what hockey
is all about – the winning and the losing – spotlights the careers of some
of the games greatest players. Included is memorabilia of the Canadian Dream
Team – the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal champions.
 Wayne Gretzky – The Legend – pays tribute to one of the
greatest team sport players in the world, Wayne Gretzky. The exhibit chronicles Gretzky’s life from age two and his first pair
of skates to his final pair of pro skates at age thirty-eight. Included are
his sixty-one National Hockey League (NHL) records, the jersey, stick and
puck he used when he scored his 1,851st career point. And, the net in which
he scored his 802nd career goal breaking Gordie Howe’s record. There’s also
the full set of equipment he wore during his final NHL game.
Grand Old Houses of Hockey Zone – tells the stories of
the Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, Detroit Olympia, Madison Square Garden,
Montreal Forum and Maple Leaf Garden. Any hockey fan fifty and over will
remember that these were the home rinks to the Original Six Clubs – the
Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers,
Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Among the photographs and
other memorabilia on display are the jersey and knee brace worn by Bobby Orr
when he scored the winning point for the Bruins in the final game of the
1970 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Blockbuster Video Dressing Room Zone – a full-scale
reproduction of the Montreal Canadians dressing room complete with exercise
and hockey equipment, game videos and piles of dirty laundry.
The Bell Great Hall – holding center ice in the Hall is
a replica of the Stanley Cup. On the walls hang portraits and biographies of
the 316 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
 The Spirit of
Hockey Shop – here’s your chance to shop like the pros and get everything
from hats to hockey pucks, videos of vintage games and hockey jerseys with
your favorite team on them.
A fifteen-minute walk from the Hockey Hall of Fame
brings you to the CN Tower. At 1,815 feet it is the tallest freestanding
structure in the world.
Six high-speed glass fronted elevators whisk visitors
to the main observation deck in fifty-eight seconds. On a yearly basis
Toronto has more than sixteen million visitors, more than half of them go to
the CN Tower. The wait going up or down can be as long as two hours. But the
incredible views across Lake Ontario and Toronto are worth it. On a clear
day you can see the mist from Niagara Falls.
 From the CN Tower it’s a short trolley ride up Spadina
Avenue to Bloor Street and the Bata Shoe Museum. The theme of the museum is
‘All About Shoes – Footwear Through the Ages.’ Exhibits show how the wearing
of shoes began with the Ice Age, 40,000 years ago.
At the Star Turns mini-theater you can push a button
and highlight a pair of Fred Astaire’s dance shoes, the red stiletto heels
worn by Marilyn Monroe in the movie ‘Some Like it Hot’, and Madonna’s red
sequined ankle strap platform pumps. There’s also shoes belonging to Wayne
Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Walter Cronkite and Princess Diana.
 The All About
Shoes section tells about the Chinese custom of binding women’s feet. How it
began in the twelfth century and continued for eight centuries before it was
abolished in 1912. On display is a pair of tiny – size three – brocade
Chinese wedding slippers.
There are also shoes dating back to 1700’s France.
Marie Antoinette, the queen of France who lost her head to the guillotine,
had a servant whose only job was taking care of her five hundred pairs of
shoes. When Napoleon was Emperor of France he got special treatment for his
new boots, servants wore them until they were broken in.
Fortunately the Bata Shoe Museum is located in the
heart of Toronto’s up-scale shopping district. Seeing all those shoes will
definitely give you the urge to shop. And, with the great rate of exchange,
$1.00 US = $1.47 CN, you can get two pairs for the price of one. Now, if you
only had some servants at home to break them in for you.
Whether you plan a week or a weekend visit you will
find something interesting any time of year in Toronto.
For Further Information
Tourism Toronto 1-800-499-2514 or
http://www.tourismtoronto.com
Ontario Canada Tourism 1-416-314-7555 or
http://www.ontario-canada.com
Things To Do
Theater Tickets – Ticket King 1-800-461-3333
http://www.ticketking.com
Hockey Hall of Fame - 1-416-360-8500
http://hockeyhalloffame.com
CN Tower 1-416-360-8500
http://www.cntower.com
Bata Shoe Museum 1-416-979-7799
http://batashoemuseum.com
Royal Ontario Museum 1-416-586-8000
http://rom.on.ca
Art Gallery of Ontario 1-416-979-6648
http://ago.net
Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art 1-416-586-8080
http://gardinermuseum.on.ca
Where to stay
The Metropolitan Hotel 1-800-668-6600 or
http://www.metropolitan.com
Getting There
Air Canada 1-888-247-2262 or
http://www.aircanada.com
Text & Images, Copyright, Frances J. Folsom
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