Glenn Cochrane's Toronto: Tales of the City

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

Glenn Cochrane’s longevity on CFTO TV’s Nightly News and his
lighthearted, up-close-and-personal style of reporting have provided him
with the perfect tools with which to entertain his readers while
introducing them to Toronto and its residents. For over 22 years, the
city and its inhabitants served as Cochrane’s personal laboratory from
which to cull and collect his daily news segments.

In the book, Cochrane describes the evolution of the immigrant
neighbourhoods of the 1950s and ’60s. Italian College Street gave
birth to the best gelati, biscotti, cappuccino, and espresso in town.
Kensington Market, then known as the Jewish Market, was home to
Grossman’s Tavern, Shopsy’s, and Switzer’s delis and, further
south on Spadina Avenue, the fashion district. Honest Ed Mirvish changed
the entire ambience of Toronto with his world-renowned discount emporium
at Bloor and Bathurst streets, developed Mirvish/Markham Village (a
mecca of art galleries, antiques, funky restaurants, and bookstores),
and turned King Street west of University Avenue into the city’s
theatre and nightlife district. Cabbagetown, Greektown, and the
Beach(es) are all given their due in the book, as are notable
individuals like Toronto Parks Commissioner Tommy Thompson, who gained
worldwide notoriety and will always be remembered for inviting everyone
to “[p]lease walk on the grass.”

Cochrane’s Toronto tales will appeal to a wide readership, from those
who have been a part of the city’s fabric and development from town to
major urban centre to new arrivals, visitors, and younger residents
unaware of the factors that transformed “Hogtown”—as Toronto was
once disparagingly known—into today’s thriving, multicultural
metropolis.