A few wheel turns from bustling University Avenue’s new bike lanes is St. Michael’s College. Fashioned after British universities, the University of Toronto is an umbrella to several colleges, including this Catholic university. Further to the British-ness, some buildings are fashioned after those in Oxford and Cambridge. This college was established by Father Henry Carr, a Basilian priest who supported Catholic schools within secular universities.
A lovely oasis--obviously tended by a gardener who takes pride in his work. The laneway leads to a house where Professor Marshall McLuhan taught. The Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Canada’s 21stprime minister, also resided in this house during his student days.
Marshall McLuhan, a world renowned Canadian philosopher you may have encountered in passing: he coined the term “global village” as well as the expression, “the medium is the message”. He predicted the world wide web 30 years before its existence. His life was relatively short—he died at age 69 in 1980, not long enough to see the WWW come into being.
