About ten years ago then Mayor Mel Lastman decided that the city should have a square. He said that the hodgepodge of stores made downtown Toronto "look like a flea market'. Mr. Lastman proposed that a town square be built at Yonge and Dundas.
I did not like Mr. Lastman or his politics. I did not like the fact that the mayor of my city was a former mayor from one of the now defunct boroughs, with its big mall sensibilities and its pro car ideology.
When I first saw the square, I likened it to a Greyhound bus parking lot. It still looks very ugly to me, but I cannot deny that it is a great public space, vibrant and alive. While I used to think that Mr. Lastman was wrong about everything, I must retract that position and give him his due. A correction is in order. He was wrong about everything except Yonge - Dundas Square.
On another note, the best picture I never took happened here. One day, I was waiting outside the Eaton Centre and it was very hot, 38c. Some boys were frolicking in the fountain to cool off, when I saw a young lady ask her mother if she could join her brothers in the fountain. Her mother agreed, and she was soon cooling off. The thing was that she was wearing a full burka and must have been unspeakably hot. The sight of her jumping in the fountain was one of those great Toronto moments I'll never forget.
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