St. James Cathedral

Every May the City of Toronto hosts a program called Doors Open that encourages buildings to open their doors and welcome us ordinary citizens in to take a look around. For those of us who are interested in architecture, or just pretty things, it can be an exhausting weekend. So much to see, and so many other people out there trying to see it at the same time. So it's a nice treat when buildings of interest, with beautiful interiors, open their doors to the curious year-round.

The building I'm thinking of is St. James Cathedral, at the corner of Church and King. Opened in 1853, this beautiful Gothic Revival structure welcomes visitors during open hours, asking only that you be quiet and respectful of those using the space for worship. They even provide a downloadable self-led tour booklet, which is chock full of terminology and interesting facts. Like for instance, that this church has the tallest church spire in Canada. On their tour page they also indicate that tours can be arranged by contacting the Archives and Museum.

The Archives and Museum is located in the adjacent Parish House and can also be toured by appointment. They periodically mount exhibits in their large gallery space, which are also free to view. Unfortunately, their current exhibit celebrating The Queen's Jubilee recently closed, but it can be hoped that their annual exhibit of nativity scenes from around the world will open shortly.

The church also hosts a number of regular musical events which are open to the public and free to attend. This includes their weekly organ recital series held on Sundays at 4 pm and Tuesdays at 1 pm. In addition to this they also occasionally program special events. On Friday December 14, the St. James Cathedral Choir will be joined by a live orchestra for a performance of Handel's Messiah (part one) and Vivaldi's Gloria. Tickets for this performance are $40.

The three images of St. James are courtesy of Michael Hudson Photography.