75 Highland Crescent certainly fits the description of dream home. This house includes 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and a five car garage on a lot that's over 13,000 square feet large. Floor to ceiling windows are located throughout and bring tons of light into the modern space and open up onto a patio bigger than my apartment. There's not a cramped spot to be found.

This home isn't just large though - it comes with plenty of luxury features too. There's the large and bright indoor pool and an accompanying plunge pool. And then there's temperature controlled wine cellar and wet bar. Did I mention the heated floors and driveway snow melting system? Plenty of high tech conveniences in this modern home. There better be with a $16.5 million price tag!

SPECS

Address: 75 Highland Crescent
Price: $16,500,000
Lot Size: 94.93 x 389 ft
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 5
Parking: 8
Taxes: $54,544
Walk Score: 50

NOTABLE FEATURES

• Over 13,000 square foot property with a ravine view
• Wine cellar and wet bar
• Indoor walk in pool
• Underground hydraulic garage lift

GOOD FOR

Car lovers. This property has a five car garage complete with hydraulic lift and a total of eight parking spaces. And aside from the space, this house also sports Porsche-designed doors and BMW metallic painted beams in the entrance. Plenty of space for your luxury vehicles and the decor to go with it!

MOVE ON IF

This fifteen year old house is too modern for you. Or, you think the underground garage looks too much like the torture room in the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Plus there's always the $16.5 million price tag. Taxes alone on this home clock in at over $50,000 - more than many people make in a year. You'll have to save more than a few pennies to purchase this ravine lot home. But that's what the lottery and surprise inheritances are for!

MORE PHOTOS

Read other posts in this series via our House of the Week Pinterest board.

This summer has been a total bust for heat lovers. Last year, the City of Toronto issued 13 official heat-related alerts, six of which resulted in pool hours being extended into the night. This year, there have been no alerts, and no officially approved late night swims. Just five days remain before the pools close on Aug. 31.

For dedicated pool hoppers, mild weather, chain link fences, and padlocked gates are no obstacle to an illicit dip. It might be against the law for swimmers to break into Toronto's 58 outdoor pools (you've been warned), but the practice is relatively widespread, particularly at Christie Pits.

With that in mind, dedicated hopper Randy ("Just Randy. Like Cher," he says) has assembled a graphical guide to pool hopping at Alexandra Park, Christie Pits Park, and Stan Wadlow park at Woodbine and O'Connor. It includes the height and location of fences and recommended escape routes, information which is sure to draw the ire of authorities.

"This guide is the result of wanting to share what we learned with others who might be intimidated by these late night adventures," he says. "These specific pools ... were chosen because of their ease of entry, escape, and enjoyability ... there's nothing better than playing sports with friends then taking a dip afterwards to cool down on a summer night."

Randy says he's distributing the posters near city pools for people who want to "scratch off pool hopping from their bucket list."

Something tells me the ad campaign won't last long.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

For all its kid-friendly reputation, the Ex isn't shy about trying to entertain the 19+ crowd once the sun goes down. I tend to think that organizers have mixed results in this capacity. So often the musical acts are dated or no-name bands that do little to inspire interest from local music fans who don't remember that back in the 1980s, Tom Cochrane and April Wine were a pretty big deal.

The casino is always a draw, but it's rather predictable. That's why this year's Northern Comfort Saloon, a massive (if makeshift) country music venue, sounded intriguing when I first looked into the CNE's entertainment offerings this year. The 1,500 capacity indoor/outdoor space looks to capitalize on Toronto's newfound love of all things western, and includes a mechanical bull, a barbecue-heavy menu, and nightly line dancing, much of which is set to live music.

That's the checklist, but what's it really like in here? First off, it's an exceedingly quiet place when there's no bands on stage. If you're looking for a scene and lots of other people to mingle with, you'll want to go after 9pm (no surprises there). Before that, the saloon is actually a good place to take respite from the bustle of the midway.

The food is more plentiful than I expected, with a full menu from Bourbon Barrel Smokehouse. Alongside pub fare like nachos ($12) and CNE staples like poutine ($8), mains include bourbon and brown sugar ribs ($14 half rack / $22 full), chicken and waffles ($15), and the requisite pulled pork sandwich ($13). Liquor options include big brand beer, Onatrio wine and Jack Daniels coolers.

Where the saloon comes into its own is when the line dancing goes down. I'm no fan of country music (or dancing for that matter), but it's undeniable that the fun factor is dialled up when smaller groups of dancers come together in formation. Perhaps the reason behind our love of western cowboy culture is that is so obviously dispenses with the pressure to be cool.

Toward that end, the mechanical bull is serious business. The record ride time when I visited was just over two minutes, which is a whole lot longer than it might sound. This thing spins and kicks with a force that's vigorous to say the least. I didn't ride it, but I was more than happy to watch a few macho types take a tumble after looking hyper confident going in (sorry, bro). If you think you've got what it takes to tame the bull, take your best shot.

Photos by Jesse Millns

Photo by Nick K in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto stop by the lovely new Ratio venue on College for music from experimental artists Vera Brim (Buffalo MRI) with Tarpit, Father Dust, and Fleshtone Aura. Jim Zub's new comic Wayward, set in Tokyo, will launch with a party at Guu. If you're back at the CNE for more death snacks, why not attend a cheese cook-off?

None of this matters, though, because Chris Isaak is at Massey Hall. Sometimes I pretend I'm Chris Isaak. I lie back and imagine I recorded "Wicked Game." Forever Blue, with all its heavenly highs and lows and dirty highs and lows, was crafted by me, a conduit for greatness. I am divine. I am rolling on a beach with a beautiful model and appearing in Fire Walk With Me. I love myself as much as I am loved. A single tear falls on my guitar and pricks the night like a sparrow landing on a tin roof. For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Music: Chris Isaak (Massey Hall)
• Endless Folding: Washi Wednesday - Free origami lessons (Japanese Paper Place)
• Music: Vera Brim (Ratio)
• Comics: Wayward #1 Launch Party (Guu SakaBar on Bloor)
• Circus: Artscape Street Party: Circus 2014 (Wychwood Barns)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Image: Wayward

Robyn and Royksopp's concert at Echo Beach was one of the most anticipated of the year for fans of off-centre, futuristic pop. The long-time friends and collaborators are touring for this year's Do It Again EP. They did not disappoint with a two hour-plus set of pounding dance beats and empowering pop featuring Royksopp, then Robyn until finally both collaborated together. Robyn reminded us again and again that she is basically the coolest.

After wandering through the CNE and their culinary temptations, we arrived at Echo Beach, essentially a parking lot covered with sand. The venue seemed prepared for a potentially drug-addled EDM crowd, with on-site paramedics and gigantic, eight dollar bottles of water. With this ravey atmosphere, the crowd was enthusiastic but nothing like this .

Royksopp's set sans-Robyn had the requisite slick, pounding beats, and seizure-inducing lasers of a major EDM show but with detailed, melodic arrangements that set them apart from their peers. They had a huge live band including a lead singer (awesome) while the core duo stood behind their decks in the middle of the stage. While each track impressed, "This Must Be It" was especially awesome.

The transition from Royksopp to Robyn was so smooth that it took a few seconds for much of the crowd to realize that Robyn was on-stage. It didn't take long for the crowd to be won over by Robyn's elven-ish charisma and bad-ass attitude.

Robyn's set felt like one hit after another. Her biggest anthems, such as "Indestructable" and "Dancing on My Own" were rapturously received, with "Dancing..." inspiring a massive sing-along. She previewed a few tantalizing tracks from her upcoming album, the best of which was "Work it Out".

Like Royksopp, Robyn played with a big band including two drummers. While her songs often focus on breakups, the message of resilience in the face of despair clearly resonated. This was aided by Robyn's intense dance moves, including air-punching and ironic twerking (apparently, this is a thing).

After a very short break, Robyn and Royksopp united for a brief set of their collaborative material, including 2009s "The Girl and the Robot". Royksopp wore Kanye-style mirrorball masks as they whipped up intricate tracks that were overall moodier and more atmospheric than Robyn's solo material. The robo-sexy "Sayit" hit especially hard with Robyn trading come-ons with a mechanized voice and some menacing videos in the background.

They finished their set with a triumphant version of "Do It Again" , followed by an encore of Robyn's "None of Dem". The crowd was clearly buzzing after two hours of pure dance excellence.

MORE PHOTOS

Photos by Hannah Jor

Makeup junkies, heads up: International cosmetics chain Inglot is coming to Toronto. The Polish company, which has stores across Europe and the U.S., will be taking over a retail space in the under-utilized strip at the southern edge of Dundas Square, just a few doors down from the Hard Rock Cafe. (The Toronto opening, strangely, comes on the heels of the company shutting down its existing stores in Montreal.)

The mid-range cosmetics chain (price-wise, think a notch below MAC) offers a range of skin, eye, lip and nail products in hues ranging from the perfectly practical to the outlandish (check their holographic lip glosses). Interestingly, the company made headlines a year ago when their line of "breathable" O2M nail polishes became a surprise hit among Muslim women. The formula allows water to permeate the varnish and touch the nail, which means women can wear the polish and still wash their hands thoroughly before prayer. (Not only that - it comes in about 70 colours.)

Owning Twitter won't guarantee election success, but a strong social media presence is certainly a good way to broadcast political messages and display a little personality. This election period, Toronto's big four candidates--David Soknacki, Olivia Chow, John Tory, and Rob Ford--have all used Twitter to broadcast campaign promises, share photographs with supporters, and (occasionally) take swipes at the opposition over differing transit plans.

Here's a look at the leading candidates for Toronto mayor on Twitter.

David Soknacki--@Soknacki2014

BIG thx to all the donors giving as we come near to Labour Day. Want to back the most thoughtful campaign?: https://t.co/YEx6o1LDvv#TOpoli

— Soknacki Campaign (@Soknacki2014) August 26, 2014

Followers: 3,705
Tweets: 1,486
Average daily tweets: 18
Who tweets: David Soknacki (but he likes to tweet personally from @DavidSoknacki,) Supriya Dwivedi (press secretary,) Brian Kelcey (campaign manager,) and Jonathan Scott (communications volunteer.)

Soknacki's official twitter account has recently been soliciting donations and retweeting messages of support. At their best, Team Soknacki broadcasts slick graphs and videos. Of all the candidates, Soknacki seems the most willing to engage with internet users, hosting a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), responding to tweets, and even buying up domain names for people who misspell his last name. Grade: A

Olivia Chow--@oliviachow

Thanks to @heritagetoronto for organizing the debate tonight. Conserving, promoting our city's heritage important part of mayor's job.

— Olivia Chow (@oliviachow) August 22, 2014

Followers: 56,800
Tweets: 5,080
Average daily tweets: 7
Who tweets: Chow likes to tweet herself, though occasionally a staffer will take the controls, says Eiman Zarrug, press secretary.

Olivia Chow's campaign account benefits from a number of followers gained during its owner's stint as MP for Trinity--Spadina, giving it double the number of John Tory's account. Chow typically tweets photos of supporters and pictures from official appearances but there is little personality on display. Right now, it's all about transit maps. Grade: B

John Tory--@johntoryto

Happy #NationalDogDay to our favourite Pooch @TorontoMarlies mascot Duke. #Hockey season around the corner #Excited - @MapleLeafs_TML

— John Tory (@johntoryTO) August 26, 2014

Followers: 25,900
Tweets: 7,161
Average daily tweets: 9
Who tweets: The campaign declined to release detailed information related to its Twitter account, but did confirm the output comes from Tory and various volunteers.

Tory's team likes to tweet photos of supporters, transit maps, and the occasional campaign message. It's carefully curated, if a little bland and repetitive--lots of "thank-yous," "great seeing yous," and the occasional selfie. Grade: B

Rob Ford--@2014MayorFord

Thank you to everyone who came out last night & contributed to the Rob Ford Campaign. #VoteFord#ToPoli#Torontohttp://t.co/i3W2Xku1eW

— Rob Ford Campaign (@2014MayorFord) August 23, 2014

Followers: 1,145
Tweets: 158
Average daily tweets: 2
Who tweets: It's not clear (the campaign didn't respond to our enquiries) though it appears to be a joint effort by the campaign team. The account description implies that Ford himself has little to do with the output.

The Ford 2014 account, much like the mayor's official account over the last few years, is a mechanical mix of retweeted photos, #RespectForTaxpayers rhetoric, and campaign promises. The conversation is entirely one-sided, despite the more popular tweet attracting widespread attention, much of it negative. Grade: D

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Photo from Oliva Chow's Flickr.

I like to imagine myself pretty well informed at this point when it comes to TIFF's line-up this year but the simple truth is no one is more of a TIFF guru than the programmers themselves. They've spent hours upon hours watching movies, thinking about movies, and writing about movies. If there's anyone who truly knows the films offered at TIFF 2014 inside and out, it's these guys.

Which is why I thought it'd be a good idea to go directly to the source to guide your film selection process. Five TIFF programmers generously took the time to give us their own personal top 3 hidden gem recommendations for movies you should check out and be sure not to overlook.

MAGALI SIMARD

The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer (Short Cuts Canada Programme 3)
It's one of the most visually arresting films we're showing in the entire Festival. A profound piece on memories and two brothers' lives. Randall Okita is the real deal.

A Ceremony for a Friend (Shorts Cuts International Programme 2)
This is an Iranian short film that is as absurdly funny as it is political. It's hard to achieve this tonal fine line in a film about the death penalty and moral policing.

Tatuape Mahal Tower (Short Cuts International Programme 1)
A animated short film featuring little scale model people living in a scale model sized environment. It packs in commentaries on city developments, societal hierarchy, revenge, and even sex (scale model sex that is...)

AGATA SMOLUCH DEL SORBO

Corbo
It's one of the most gripping, emotionally complex, and politically intelligent films to come out of Canada in recent years. It examines the FLQ through the eyes of idealistic 16-year-old Jean Corbo, who joined the radical group in 1966, and his involvement in sparking a revolution, ultimately, through terrorism.

The Price We Pay
It's an incredibly smart and eye-opening documentary. It tackles the issue of multinational corporations using tax havens and how this practice deprives rightful cities and countries of corporate tax revenues, and deepens income disparity. Director Harold Crooks powerfully demonstrates how big companies sheltering profits affects us all.

Guidance
Fun and sharply written, Guidance is the story of a boozing, down-and-out former childhood star who is so desperate for employment, that he fakes his resume and gets a job as a high school guidance counselor. The advice he dispenses is awful and wrong, but he becomes a hit with students and the result is a hilarious comedy.

COLIN GEDDES

The Editor
The newest film from members of the ragtag Winnipeg collective Astron-6 (Father's Day, Manborg) is a delightful tribute and parody of the Italian slasher genre known as "giallo" full of kinky sex, blood and guts, all done on a DIY budget.

Luna
Comic book visionary Dave McKean (Sandman, Arkham Asylum) intertwines beautiful magic realism hallucinations and dreams around this emotional drama about the reunion of friends from art school. McKean has been working on this project for over six years for which he directed, wrote, scored and did the animation and effects for.

It Follows
A fresh twist for the horror genre about a sexually transmitted haunting. Yup. Just think about that. Director David Robert Mitchell's second film doesn't fall prey to the tired sexual threat that is found in many horror films and it is as refreshing as it is shocking.

THOM POWERS
A note: This year for TIFF Docs, we received around 500 submissions that were narrowed down to 22 selections. I would recommend them all, but I've been asked to pick only three. So here goes:

Sunshine Superman
This film has love, adventure and astonishing footage of people jumping off buildings (with parachutes). Director Marah Strauch looks at the pioneers of BASE jumping and draws upon an extraordinary archive of 16 mm footage.

The Yes Men Are Revolting
The Yes Men are prankster activists who impersonate government and corporate officials. If you like a good laugh, this doc is for you.

This is My Land
This very timely film looks at the education system in Israeli and Palestinian schools. It's told with great sensitivity and intelligence.

JANE SCHOETTLE

The Dead Lands
Because when have you ever had a chance to see an authentic Maori martial arts movie? NEVER. Except NOW.

Meet Me in Montenegro
From the creator of In Search Of A Midnight Kiss, a transcontinental modern love story about artists who grapple with choosing between a relationship and their careers.

The Little Death
Six story strands about unusual sexual fetishes, but grounded in sweet, funny, emotional stories, yet bound to be controversial. A first film from well-known actor Josh Lawson.

Thanks to the Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington, for sponsoring our coverage of TIFF 2014.

Top image from The Yes Men are Revolting.

$50 per haircut might not seem like much to those who frequent a decent hair salon, but for men who've grown accustomed to a much cheaper rate at an old-school barber shop it's sticker shock. But perhaps if there's anywhere in Toronto this price will fly its Yorkville and and at this brand new lower level barber shop that eventually wants to offer memberships and scotch tastings.

Read my profile of Axe & Hatchet in the fashion section.

The best galleries for emerging artists in Toronto are great places for a truly divergent, original art experience. If you're looking for art that's not expensive, and not created en masse to decorate a condo, these venues will show you work that's experimental, seedy, playful, and ignores everything we know about art from the past - all in spaces that are often run by the emerging artists themselves. If you're jonesing to rub elbows with the new guys in the city's art scene, you can get your fix here.

Here are the best galleries for emerging artists in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Contemporary Art Galleries in Toronto
The Best Photography Galleries in Toronto

A City of Toronto anti-littering campaign doesn't sound like it'd generate much interest (just more finger-waving from the town that hates fun), but occasionally clever creative work can overcome even the most boring of subjects. Such is the case with Live Green Toronto's new anti-litter ads, which are designed to shame garbage tossers by reminding them that "littering says a lot about you."

It's the most simple of devices, but the message spelled out by combining bits of trash is actually rather memorable. When recently posted to Tumblr, for instance, the set of adds racked up over 130,000 notes in less than 24 hours. Oh, and they also allow the the city to call its littering residents and/or visitors "pigs" without being overly insulting. Here's a look at the ad campaign everyone's talking about.

What do you think of the ads? Let us know in the comments.

Today we're opening up voting in our latest Best Of poll. Now you can have your say in 10 categories including Chinese restaurants, Fish and Chips, Bread and Onion Rings.

Take the best of poll here

Voting in the poll ends at 1pm this Friday August 29th.

The drab section of Bay south of Harbour St. is set to get a major facelift thanks to Toronto's StART program. Home to the Conference Centre at the Westin Harbour Castle, the facade on the east side of Bay will serve as a giant canvas for photographer and former Grange Prize winner Sarah Anne Johnson. To be precise, the wall will offer the artist a 12-metre-tall by 44-metre-wide space to install a site-specific photo mural that will take inspiration from its location near the harbour.

"Beginning with Lake Ontario and Toronto Island as her subject, Johnson's site-specific new work will transform this grey city block into a magical place," explains Bonnie Rubenstein, the Artistic Director of the Contact Photography Festival, who is a partner in the project. The mural was made possible by a $50,000 donation from Partners In Art (PIA), and is scheduled to be in place by the arrival of the Pan Am Games next year. Johnson is known for her fantastical photographs, so you can count on a major transformation of the currently anonymous corridor.

The top cosplay artists in Toronto are part of the city's thriving fan community. What was once a niche (and often mocked) hobby has become mainsteam, and will be displayed in full force at the 20th annual Fan Expo this week. Cosplay ("costumed roleplay" for the uninitiated) is so popular that some are making a lucrative career out of designing costumes and dressing up as their favourite fictional characters, whether there's a convention in town or not.

In order to get the lowdown on the Toronto cosplay seen, I consulted with Sassmira, a local up-and-coming cosplayer (and, full disclosure, my little sister) to find out who some of the most interesting and high-profile players are in Toronto's community today. These artists have a knack for crafting breathtaking costumes, building an online following, and making appearances at virtually every comic-related happening in Toronto and beyond.

Here are five of Toronto's most eminent cosplayers.

GillyKins
Admired for her prolific output and well-constructed outfits, Gillykins is a long-time player in Toronto. Many of her characters are recognizable even outside of geek circles - Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and The Avengers' Black Widow are a few of her go-tos - but she also tackles some more unconventional and clever characterizations, such as this version of X-Men's Psylocke as she was drawn in the eighties.

VickyBunnyAngel
A 10-year veteran of Toronto cosplay, VickyBunnyAngel is renowned for meticulously crafted costumes. She's recreated memorable characters from just about every medium and genre, but is perhaps best known for her anime and videogame creations, first creating a buzz with her portrayal of Asharothe from Trinity Blood and later pulling off a stunning version of Dark Valkyrie Diana from League of Legends. It's no wonder she's snagged multiple awards at conventions like Fan Expo, Anime North and Con-G over the years.

Lee Scion
An initial desire to work in theatre was the genesis for Lee Scion's now burgeoning and award-winning cosplay career. Her seven years in the game have been spent developing techniques and honing expertise for the most intricate costuming, such as that of Cortana from Halo or the Scarlet Witch from X-Men. People now flock to her for advice in various workshops and panels. Deemed a "master level cosplayer" at Fan Expo, she'll be handing out awards at the convention's cosplay ceremony this year.

Corrupt Cosplay
Christopher Guidotti has donned the guise of many a crusader over the past six years, predominantly at conventions but also at other times, like when he famously ran around Toronto as Deadpool asking civilians if they wanted to see a movie about him. Some notable looks to date have included Green Lantern and Two-Face; he has a couple of brand-new ones planned for this year's Fan Expo.

Zombie Bit Me
Shantel Knight, a.k.a. Zombie Bit Me, attended her first convention in costume only a few years ago, but has been ardently cosplaying at every related event in local range ever since. With more than 16,000 Facebook fans and large followings on Twitter, Tumblr and deviantART, she knows how to draw crowds via social media - whether it's with outfits like this Dragonborn from Skyrim or with her more traditional modeling work.

BONUS

Toronto Batman
Maybe less of a cosplayer and more of an extremely committed character study, Toronto Batman keeps a watchful eye over Gotham - er, Toronto - at all times. You never know when he'll pop up in Yonge-Dundas Square or on a streetcar, yelling something at you in a voice that somehow tops Christian Bale's unnerving vocal fry. Truly, he's the hero Toronto deserves, but not the one it needs right now.

Photos: Zombie Bit Me by Lucky 73, Corrupt Cosplay, Lee Scion by Kevin Chan, VickyBunnyAngel by M1photo, GillyKins by Paul Hillier.

Writing about the history of Toronto occasionally produces an unexpected tidbit so tantalizing it's difficult to let go. Stories of hastily abandoned secret tunnels, tragic unsolved murders, a lost prototype of a failed ocean liner, and even a vanished safe have all made headlines in this city in the last 200 years, some of them finding their way into stories on this site. The others have languished in a folder on my computer awaiting a chance to be retold.

Here are five of Toronto's strangest and most enduring unsolved mysteries.

What happened to Ambrose Small?
Ambrose Small was a theatre tycoon and playboy with a taste for money and women. At the peak of his notoriety in the early 1900s, Small was famous for his raunchy parties held out of a private room at Toronto's Grand Opera House, the flagship of his empire, at Yonge and Adelaide. In 1919, Small abruptly decided to sell up: he handed control of his theatre business to a national company for $1.7 million--about $21 million in today's money.

In December that year, Small, dressed in a dark tweed suit, an overcoat with a velvet collar, and a soft felt hat, deposited a $1 million cheque--the first in a series--and vanished without a trace. No body was ever found and his small fortune remained untouched. The Papers speculated Small had been shot, burned in the theatre's furnace, or waylaid by illness, but there was no evidence for any of the theories.

The only sign of foul play centred on John Doughty, Small's former aide. The day his employer's disappearance had been made public, Doughty took $150,000 in bonds from the company safe and fled. He was eventually tracked down, but police couldn't link him to a crime concerning Small. The case was officially closed in 1960, but the fate of Ambrose Small remains unknown.

Why did someone dig a tunnel under Fort York?
Late October 1904: William Morton, the foreman of Park, Blackwell, and Co., a pork packing company located near Fort York, spots two figures in the half light on the ramparts surrounding the historic fortification. Sensing his gaze, the group drops to the ground in an attempt to hide. A week later, a similar occurrence further raises Morton's suspicions.

On further inspection, Morton and a colleague discovered a patch of freshly disturbed soil covering the entrance to a rectangular tunnel running about 12 feet down into the soil. The walls were expertly braced and at the end a pick, shovel, pail, and length of rope. When the pair's eyes adjusted to the dim light, a side tunnel was discovered running east toward the block houses. Nearby, they found a shovel engraved with the initials M.C.M. and several empty bottles.

The mysterious diggers never returned, perhaps sensing the discreet police surveillance. According to the Toronto Daily Star, the incident was the third of its kind in the same location. Each time the tunnel had been filled in with rocks only to be re-opened. Theories as to the tunnel's purpose ranged from buried treasure to a possible hiding place for stolen goods, and even a hiding place for escapees from the nearby Central Prison. Days later William O'Harra, who has been caught "digging for buried treasure" in the same location a decade earlier, was re-arrested on a charge of drunkenness, but refused to comment on the tunnel.

What happened to Knapp's roller boat?
Everything about Frederick Augustus Knapp's "roller boat" was weird. Built and launched on Toronto's waterfront in 1897, the cylindrical vessel was 110 feet long, 22 feet tall, and supposedly capable of cruising on top of the water rather than through it. It's inventor hoped the design would slash Atlantic crossing times and make him a fortune.

Unfortunately for Knapp, the roller boat was slow and extremely unreliable. It broke down on several occasions and was involved in repeated mishaps, the most serious of which caused considerable damage to the Turbinia, a large lake boat. Knapp sold the hull to cover the cost of the repairs and the shell was left half submerged on the shore of Lake Ontario near Lake Shore and Sherbourne for several years. It's not clear whether the boat was removed or buried by infill where it lay. A 2005 City of Toronto archaeological assessment suggests it might still be under Lake Shore Blvd. behind a FedEx facility.

What was in the safe found in an underground room at King and Simcoe?
The site of Roy Thomson Hall has in the last 100 years been the location of Ontario's Government House and a Canadian Pacific freight office. Before the development of the downtown railway lands, sidings penetrated as far north as King Street. After a highly controversial land deal was approved in 1976, work began on New Massey Hall--the original name of Roy Thomson Hall--and the surrounding land, which eventually became home to Metro Hall.

Digging the foundations for the music hall to detailed plans prepared by surveyors, workers struck an unexpected wall, behind which was a room directly beneath Simcoe Street. It was 10 feet square and contained a chair, a table, two empty mugs, and a locked safe. The contents were hauled to the surface--the safe was about 2 feet square and weighed "several hundred pounds"--and suddenly vanished. Workers had planned to crack the safe open, but chose to wait. "It wasn't a priority," Eugene Blane, the project manager, told The Star.

Workers found a similar tunnel under Wellington Street, but feared it might collapse if entered. Both spaces were filled in and the safe was never found.

Who killed the city's first lighthouse keeper, and why?
The story of the death of John Paul Radelmüller has morphed over the centuries from tragic crime to urban myth. Thanks to research by Spacing contributing editor Sarah B. Hood, we know that the German-born keeper of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, who took his post in 1809, was also responsible for collecting customs duties in the nearby port. He was found murdered on Jan. 3, 1815. Two suspects--John Henry and John Blowman--were arrested.

The pair pled not guilty to the crime and were released. No-one was ever convicted in connection with Radelmüller's death--even the motive for the crime was unclear (Hood suggests he was killed for the customs money he kept.) The tale has since been exaggerated to include ghosts, bloody lighthouse steps, and tales of bootlegging, none of which have been corroborated. Almost 200 years later, we're further than ever from understanding what really happened that winter's night.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Images: City of Toronto Archives, The Spokesman-Review, Mar. 7, 1937, Toronto Star, Nov. 3, 1904.

Food trucks tend to bring a party to the streets, but five weeks after Toronto's first-ever food truck alley rolled into the Tire Source parking lot at 141 Queen St. East, the sleepy corner of Queen and Jarvis, on an average day, is still on the quiet side.

The corner lot, designated earlier this summer as a spot where food trucks could roll in and park over the lunch hour to serve downtown diners, now hosts between one and three trucks every weekday. Though it may seem like boom times for Toronto food trucks, the space is experiencing something of a summer slowdown.

Though it's walking distance from Ryerson, George Brown College and St. Michael's Hospital, foot traffic is already on the slow side for the area, which hosts few businesses aside from a strip of stores to the west on Queen.

Trucks who attend the spot, including Fidel Gastro's, have seen major ups and downs. "It's pretty inconsistent," says owner Matt Basile, who's bringing the truck back to the alley on Friday. "There was one time we went there and we did really well - it was really busy, a lot of foot traffic. Next time we went there, it was no foot traffic, it was pretty sporadic. I think consistency's a big problem there."

Will Randolph, the space's organizer and owner of the Feisty Jack food truck, adds that many food trucks booked in the space don't always show up on the scheduled days, which throws off customers expecting to grab some of their favourite eats.

"The main question we get, every time we go there, is 'what's going on with the schedule?'" he says. "We've been getting rid of the trucks that don't show up - we've been weeding them out. There are a lot of trucks that are no longer welcome, because they've missed three days."

For the trucks that do attend, he says, business isn't bad overall; he reports that Gastro's, Food Dudes and Gourmet Gringos, in particular, have all had banner lunch services.

"If you want to put a truck there and serve food, there's a good opportunity to do it. There's lots of people that live in that area. It's a busy time. If a truck had a serious commitment and wanted to actually set up shop, they could do a good job - but we schedule people in, and they don't show up."

That's been compounded by the fact that they opened in mid-July, without much of a buffer before a slowdown in August. "You'd think it's good, but it's actually the slowest month of the year, because a lot of people go on holiday," he says. He and Basile both say they're optimistic for the fall, as office workers return from vacation and word continues to spread.

"Do I think it has potential to be a good spot? One hundred per cent," Basile says, adding that a tight lineup of trucks (no more than two or three at a time) and a larger push for awareness, like posters or signs in the area, would make a major difference.

"There's a lot of offices in a four or five block radius from that spot. I think the biggest obstacle is making sure the neighbouring office communities know that we exist, and that we're so close, because there's a lot between them and us.

"Knowing food trucks are an option there every single day is kind of half the battle."

Photo by Antoine Bruneau in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Today in Toronto FanExpo will call the city's geeks, cosplayers, comic artists, and curious to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Horror fans should especially find Little Terrors of interest. The people on the TTC wearing costumes have been explained, you can now carry on as normal.

Do you have want to sing your favourite Minor Threat / Miley Cyrus mash up? Let live karaoke band Good Enough join you tonight. Circuit Gallery @ Prefix ICA is hosting the opening of Judy Natal's Future Perfect photo exhibit, if you're looking for an intriguing art opening. If you just want us to give you indie rock, RSVP here to see Deebs, Imposters, Waxlimbs, and more at Tattoo thanks for Field Trip. For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Geek: Fan Expo (Metro Toronto Convention Centre)
• Circus: Cirque du Soleil - KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities (Port Lands)
• Comedy: BeerProv presents "The Draft" (Comedy Bar)
• Music: Field Trip Discovery Series IV Ft. Deebs (Tattoo)
• Art: Judy Natal: Future Perfect (Circuit Gallery)
• Music: Live Band Karaoke (Parts & Labour)
• Party: Marcus Visionary presents Run Red (Thymeless)
• Film: Toronto Film School Festival of Films (Cineplex Odeon VIP Theatres)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo by Matt Kozovski

Toronto Restaurant Openings highlights the latest restaurant openings and closings in Toronto and also gives a preview of what's coming soon. Find us here every Thursday morning.

OPEN NOW

• Sutra Fusion, a new Indian-meets Asian-restaurant, celebrates their grand opening at 113 Roncesvalles Ave. on September 1.

OPENING SOON

• Hardware Food & Drink is coming soon to 760 Queen St. East, taking over the former address of Hardware Interiors.
• The Borough is slated to open soon at 1352 Danforth Avenue.
• Quinta (1282 Dundas St. West) is soon to be revamped as Essen, a new family-style restaurant with the same chef /owner, Leor Zimerman. Expect a September opening.
• ZaZa Espresso Bar continues to expand with a new location set to open at 585 Church St. (formerly Java Jive Coffee & Tea Co.)
• The Contender, a new spot from Jamal Watson of Unlovable and the folks behind The Lakeview, is in the works at 1155 Dundas St. West.

Have you seen restaurants opening or closing in your neighbourhood? Email tips to liora@blogto.com

Photo of the burger at The Lakeview.