there is an annual event here in toronto called "doors open" where select buildings are made accessible to the public. when this event started in 2000, my sister and i would visit as many places as we could manage for those two days and we ended up with oodles of photos when digital cameras were just starting to come out into the market. in later years until before the pandemic (the event was of course cancelled in 2020 and in 2021 due to health restrictions) we learned to pick and choose and we structured our visits so that we didn't go from one end of the city to the other.
it was such a delight to do it again today. we had a short list of places to see and then if there was a couple of other buildings nearby that were participating and looked interesting then we went and visit. today our first venue was the st. paul's basilica, the oldest roman catholic congregation in toronto. it was built in 1824 in its current site. it houses one of toronto's largest centres of charity which was initiated in response to the plight of the desperately poor including many irish immigrants.
the church has a status of 'minor basilica', in the style of romanesque revival. this is inside the basilica. the dome right above the altar has paintings almost mimicking those in its parent church in rome. below it is a reproduction of the last supper, with a woman among the twelve disciples to the right of jesus. it is an impressive structure and has an enormous organ that expands the width of the church. i'd have loved to hear the sound of that.
This is an incredible capture of this gorgeous scene. Sometimes organists have recitals, maybe this one will and you can go! I love the open doors idea.
