Philosopher's Walk (Toronto)

The southern entrance to Philosopher's Walk

The Philosopher's Walk is a scenic footpath located in the St George campus of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. It runs in the north-south direction along the ravine landscape created by Taddle Creek, once a natural waterway that was buried during the Industrial Age and now flowing underground. The path is bounded by several Toronto landmarks, including the Royal Ontario Museum, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Trinity College and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Philosopher's Walk links the heart of the university campus to the northern edge bounding The Annex, an academic neighborhood where many of the university's faculty and student body reside. Philosopher Ted Honderich described the walk from his experience as a student: "[The University of Toronto] was in the middle of the city and had good Victorian buildings, and also such necessary pieces of tradition as a Philosopher's Walk, which led out towards an old village enclosed by the growth of Toronto. The village had not yet been smartened up, and only those academics so supremely rational as to want to walk to work lived in it."^[1]

The Alexandra Gates at the northern entrance to the path were constructed at the corner of Bloor Street and Avenue Road in 1901, at the instigation of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, and to commemorate the visit of Prince George, Duke of Cornwall (later King George V), and Mary, Duchess of Cornwall (later Queen Mary), that year. The letters on each post—E and A—stand for Edward and Alexandra, the reigning king and queen at the time. When Avenue Road was widened in 1960, the gates were moved to the head of Philosopher's Walk.^[2] In recognition of the royal visit, a plaque at the site reads "To commemorate the visit of T.R.H The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York Oct. 10th 1901".

References

External links

• Green Tourism Association: The Annex and the University of Toronto
• Taddle Creek

University of Toronto Colleges Emmanuel Innis Knox Massey New Regis St. Michael's Trinity University Victoria Woodsworth Wycliffe Academics Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design Faculty of Arts and Science Munk School of Global Affairs Dalla Lana School of Public Health Faculty of Dentistry Faculty of Information Faculty of Law Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Pharmacy Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Rotman School of Management Toronto School of Theology Research Libraries Institute for Aerospace Studies Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering Koffler Scientific Reserve Munk School of Global Affairs Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies School of Public Policy and Governance Fields Institute Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics Dunlap Institute Joint Centre for Bioethics Institute of Child Study SciNet Consortium Schools Press Places Annesley Hall Convocation Hall Graduate House Hart House Newman Centre Philosopher's Walk President's Estate Queen's Park Robarts Library Soldiers' Tower 1 Spadina Crescent Stewart Observatory Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Varsity Arena Varsity Stadium Culture People Students' Union The Varsity The Newspaper The Medium Massey Lectures CIUT-FM Hart House Theatre Hart House Review Varsity Blues Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey Rowing Club Jennings Cup Blue Sky Solar Racing Toronto School University of Toronto Scarborough University of Toronto Mississauga

Coordinates: 43°40′01″N 79°23′43″W / 43.666960°N 79.395217°W / 43.666960; -79.395217