Toronto: Landmarks and Institutions

Toronto has many parks and historic buildings, such as the factories in the Distillery Historic District, now converted largely to commercial and artistic uses. The Toronto city hall is a modernistic structure completed in 1965. The 1,815-ft (553-m) CN Tower (1976), a telecommunications spire, was long the world's tallest freestanding structure, but in 2007 the Burj Khalifa, under construction in Dubai, passed it. Exhibition Park is the site of the annual Canadian National Exhibition. The Skydome, a baseball stadium for the Toronto Blue Jays, was completed in 1989. The Maple Leafs (National Hockey League), Raptors (National Basketball Association), and Argonauts (Canadian Football League) also play in the city.

The Univ. of Toronto was chartered in 1827 and opened in 1843 as King's College. It was renamed in 1850 and is Canada's largest university and most important graduate research center. York Univ. and Ryerson Univ. are also in Toronto. Other notable institutions include the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies; the Osgoode Hall law school; the Ontario Science Centre; the Art Gallery of Ontario; and the Royal Ontario Museum, housing an important collection of Chinese art. There also is a noted zoo, an aquarium, and a botanical garden. Toronto has Anglican and Roman Catholic bishoprics and is the headquarters of the United Church of Canada.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• History
• Landmarks and Institutions
• Economy and People
• Bibliography

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