This summer has been roaring by. Barring two days of smog, it’s been a non-stop parade of beautiful days. This city has never been more ripe for exploring.
Over the past month we’ve walked Toronto’s original shoreline, studied every wire at an intersection, tried to book a show at the Rivoli, and found the ghost of the Spadina Expressway. We have criss-crossed this city several times over.
And this is just the beginning: my tours for the month of August are now live.
This month holds several brand-new offerings. Here are the highlights.
For the past 200 years, Toronto’s waterfront has been steadily creeping outward. Through a process called land reclamation, we have transformed water into solid land, expanding our city into Lake Ontario.
On this tour, we will walk Toronto’s original waterfront. In the process, you will discover that much of the ground you step on in this city was designed by the human hand. You won’t be able to see the city the same way ever again.
This tour will be delivered both in English and in American Sign Language (ASL) with interpreters translating between both. It is also along a wheelchair accessible waterfront route and does not involve any stairs.
We think of ourselves as a welcoming city, open to people, their cultures, and their cuisines from every corner of the earth. Is this perception true, and has it always been this way?
This tour on August 15th is about a small neighbourhood that defined the immigrant experience in Toronto for a century. Known as “The Ward”, this enclave was the rendezvous point for generations of Jewish, Chinese, African-American, Caribbean, and Eastern European newcomers.
Despite much community resistance, residents were displaced from their homes, and the area’s original Chinatown was destroyed in order to build City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square.
Together we will walk The Ward, and witness the enduring influence of this small neighbourhood on our city.
Over the years, many of you have asked for insights on the behind-the-scenes: What is my research process for creating new tours? How do I think about branding, marketing, video-making and community building? Why did I start a walking tour company at all, and how might my approach be helpful to other grassroots initiatives in Toronto?
On Thursday August 20th, I will be answering all of these questions and more.
This is a two-hour lecture and Q&A where I share my learnings from the past four years of Hidden Rivers. It’s also an opportunity for you to meet the kinds of people in Toronto who are creating communities, building businesses, and doing translation work across industries & fields.
Whether you are interested in making short-form videos, teaching courses, public speaking, or starting an organization of any kind in Toronto, I hope my experience will be helpful to you.
I am beyond thrilled to be teaming up with Toronto’s most knowledgeable transit expert—Reece Martin, aka RM Transit—for a tour on our city’s rapidly changing transit landscape. New buildings & transit projects seem to sprout daily. Reece and I are here to help you make sense of the change.
We will talk about tunnel boring machines, track re-alignments, and data centres. We will visit new subway stops, peer into massive construction sites, and admire the new mouth of the Don River.
This tour is already sold out, but the waitlist is open and spots are occasionally being added.
Waitlist for Reece Martin Tour
The tours I’ve highlighted here are just a preview. There’s plenty else to look forward to: more runs of The Signal & The Noise and The City Beneath Toronto; a mystery tour where you find out the location when you arrive; a trip to the Toronto Islands. Plus, an end-of-summer celebration that will be announced soon.
I’ve been deeply inspired by the conversations we’ve been having as we walk the city together. Toronto is a highly participatory group project. It’s a privilege to be working on it alongside you all.
Yours in exploration,
Matthew Jordan
hiddenrivers.ca
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