Royal Ontario Museum hosts unique walks throughout the GTA
From Parkdale to Cabbagetown and points between, ROMwalks tell the history and stories of Toronto’s neighbourhoods.
“Our objective is not only to teach people about neighbourhoods, but to encourage people to come into the museum and get involved with the museum itself,” said Rodger McLennan, one of the volunteer guides with the free ROMwalk program. McLennan has been guiding ROMwalks for about six years.
During the walks, run by the Royal Ontario Museum’s Department of Museum Volunteers, guides point out interesting buildings and explain their history and the nature of the community at the time of construction.
“We find out if there were any interesting people or interesting enterprises that were, and possibly still are, connected with the individual buildings,” he said. “We tell the story about the buildings and about the people (who) we think will convey a sense of the story of the neighbourhood and the architecture to the listener.”
The ROM offers approximately 17 different walks, although not all of them each year.
ROMwalks have been a service offered by the museum for more than 25 years, and in 2005 the ROM walk got two heritage awards for the tours.
ROMwalks include The Annex, Parkdale, Sculptures in the City, Citadels of Wealth, the Entertainment District and Mount Pleasant Cemetery. All walks are free unless otherwise specified and occur most Sundays at 2 p.m., and Wednesdays at 6 p.m. They last between one and two hours.
ROMwalks in August:
Sunday, August 10, 2 p.m.
Yorkville: A Tollgate Village
Wednesday, August 13, 6 p.m.
Yorkville: A Tollgate Village
Wednesday, August 13, 6 p.m.
Along the Front
Wednesday, August 20, 6 p.m.
Yorkville: A Tollgate Village
Sunday, August 24, 2 p.m.
Cabbagetown
Wednesday, August 27, 6 p.m.
The Annex
Sunday, August 31, 2 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery - Part One
Wednesday, September 3, 6 p.m.
Citadels of Wealth
For details and a list of remaining 2008 ROMwalks, visit www.rom.on.ca or call 416-586-8000.
