Nathan Phillips Square is the public plaza in front of Toronto’s modernist City Hall, named after Nathan Phillips, the city’s longest-serving mayor. Designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell after a landmark international competition, the square opened in 1965 and was refurbished in 2007 to improve accessibility and add green space.
More than 1.8 million visitors attend events here each year, from summer concerts, food festivals, and Canada Day celebrations to a seasonal farmer’s market that has run since 1990.
In winter the square hosts the Cavalcade of Lights, when its reflecting pool becomes a skating rink and the plaza is transformed with elaborate light displays and the official lighting of Toronto’s Christmas tree.
