Nathan Phillips Square and the City Hall

- New City Hall, Old City Hall, Toronto sign

Nathan Phillips Square is Canada's largest square, at a size of 4.85 hectares. It is sitauted between the new and the old City Hall. It was named after Nathan Phillip, who was Toronto's mayor from 1955-1962. In 2006 a revitalization plan was presented, that was inspired by Greek agoras and theaters. It was finished in 2014. Queen St, Dundas St, Bay St and University Ave surround it.

In the middle of this square you find fountains, ponds, trees and a very large Toronto sign, popular for photographs. Futuristic skybridges, that partly surround the square, connect the square with nearby hotels. The Toronto sign was installed temporarily for the 2015 Pan American Games, and was intended to be moved to another location after the games, but it became so popular that it is now a permanent feature of Nathan Phillips Square. It is so large that you can go inside the letters, and they are beautifully illuminated at night. The sides of the white letters are coloured in different colours and have different Toronto neighbourhoods written in them.

The pond is a popular place to skate, and the square is center for both the Cavalcade of Light festiival (lighting of the christmas tree) and the New Years Eve party.

The City Hall of Toronto is situated in one historic building, and two modern ones. The new part consist of two futuristic curved highrise buildings, designed by the Finnish architect Viljo Revell and completed in 1965. The tallest one has 27 floors. They were built because there were not enough space i the old city hall. There is a podium with a futuristic white dome, the inside of it can be seen from the lobby. The city's largest accessible green roof is situated on top of the podium.

Opposite the modern City Hall stands the Old City Hall, also a Toronto landmark, but completely different in style. The Old City Hall was built in 1899 in a beautiful romanesque revival style, with its landmark clock tower. It was designed by Edward James Lennox. We were allowed to go inside, after a security scan, but not to take pictures of the beautiful romanesque atrium inside. For many years it was one of the tallest buildings in Toronto. The clock tower is actually somewhat taller then the new city hall, 104m to the top. Since 1984 it is a National Historic Site.

The Peace Garden is a memorial to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Pope John Paul II lit the flame with an ember from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima, and poured water from a river that flows through Nagasaki into the pool.

Other sculptures, like Henry Moores The Archer can also be found.

The historic, 98m tall, Canada Life Bldg from 1931, can be seen from the square. Trump Tower, Hilton and Sheraton Centre are also near.