Winter Stations 2023

Posted: March 21, 2023 in events, public art
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Winter stations 2023, as in previous years, is a collection of art installations along the waterfront at Woodbine Beach.  I went for a walk along the beach one very blustery Saturday morning.  There weren’t many of us there and I think that I was the only one who wasn’t accompanied by a dog.

below: ‘Delighthouse’, designed by British pair Nick Green and Greig Pirrie.

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, multicoloured wood lighthouse shaped structure

below: A shrine to the neighbourhoods of Toronto titled “The (Home)” designed by Canadian group, Scott Shields Architects

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, plywood hut with cut out on the sides spelling out the names of Toronto neighbourhoods. Different colours of plastic covering the names,

a portion of the wall without coloured names of Toronto neighbourhoods such as High Park and Lakeview

below: “Ripple Hut” designed by students from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Department of Architectural Sciences.

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, metal semi cylindrical structures with holes in them

below: Looking through one of the holes in “Ripple Hut” towards the curved yellow forms of “Surface Pavilion” which was designed by a Mexican team consisting of Cesar Guerrero, Ana Cecilia Garza, and Orlando Garcia .

looking through the holes of a metal art installation structure, beach

below: “Winternet”, just burlap between wood posts.   Designed, such as it is, by a team from University of Waterloo, Dept of Architecture.

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, burlap wrapped around wood posts forming a few burlap fences of about 6 feet in height

coloured muskoka chairs on the beach, with burlap fence in the foreground

below: “Life Line” – design team: WeatherstonBruer Associates – James Bruer, Nick Roland, Jacqueline Hampshire

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, long red tube leading to lifeguard station

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, round red circle with words drop ball here painted on it

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach,

below: “Conrad” is a large raccoon designed by Novak Djogo and Daniel Joshua Vanderhorst; it is also a memorial to Conrad the real raccoon who died at the corner of Church and Yonge Streets in the summer of 2015.  Whether you love them, hate them, or are indifferent to them, raccoons are part of the Toronto scene.

winter stations installation at Woodbine Beach, large raccoon made of wood and semi-clear plastic

stones and flowers and a picture of a raccoon forming part of a memorial for Conrad the raccoon

_________________________

Some previous years’ installations:

2017 – Flotsam and Jetsam

Winter Stations 2019

Winter Stations 2020

On the waterfront – Winter Stations 2022

Que Rock and Bacon in Weston

Posted: February 7, 2023 in graffiti and street art, landmarks
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There is a railway bridge over Lawrence Avenue East just to the east of Weston Road (close to Weston UP Station).   The walls beside the sidewalk on both sides of the underpass have been painted with street art designs of flowers, birds and animals.  The murals are the result of a collaboration between Que Rock and Alex Bacon.

wall beside sidewalk at railway underpass, mural by Alex Bacon and Que Rock

street art mural wall beside sidewalk at railway underpass, flowers, buildings in the background

wall beside a sidewalk, railing, with mural, large oriole, and an orange tiger lily

wall beside sidewalk at railway underpass, owl face

wall beside sidewalk at railway underpass, building in the background, fish, first nations symbols,

large white bird, crane, with long orange beak, image in a mural under a bridge,

large bird like the top of a totem pole, part of a mural, on a wall beside a sidewalk under a railway bridge

wall beside sidewalk at railway underpass, abstract

mural, two blue jays

man with red hat, part of a mural

part of a mural by Que Rock, a pink and purple heart

part of a mural by Que Rock a blue thunderbird or eagle with green and pink parts too

Another Weston mural – Out and About

Another recent Weston blog post – A little piece of Weston

 

‘Out and About’ in Weston

Posted: February 5, 2023 in graffiti and street art, public art
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‘Out and About – Windows of Time’ is a large mural by Christiano De Araujo that features scenes from the social history of Weston village.  Unfortunately, the (painted) young man who is sitting on the sidewalk and playing a guitar is hidden by the (real) car parked in front of the mural.

part of mural by Christiano De Araujoo, windows of time, in Weston, history series, starting with kids in front of bakery window from the 1880s

part of mural by Christiano De Araujo, windows of time, in Weston, history series, a WW2 couple kissing soldier and woman in blue with blue hat, also a couple dancing from the 1960s. Another window shows interior of soda parlor

part of mural by Christiano De Araujoo, windows of time, in Weston, history series, Out and About, people doing things

part of mural by Christiano De Araujo, windows of time, in Weston, history series, woman in yellow head scarf pushes a stroller past a restaurant window while a young boy wearing glasses chases birds

part of a mural by Christiano De Araujo, a young man has a ghetto blater to his ear and his arm around a young woman, in front of a restaurant window where there are people sitting

This post is actually a continuation of today’s other post, “A Little Piece of Weston”.  You’ll find other murals and street art there as well as a few little odds and ends about the Weston neighbourhood.

a little piece of Weston

Posted: February 5, 2023 in graffiti and street art, history, locations, old buildings, public art, stores
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This blog post is the result of a walk around the vicinity of Lawrence Avenue East and Weston Road.  The latter was once Main Street in the village of Weston.

mural on a wall, I red heart weston

below: Approach to the Weston pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.  The Grand Trunk Railway was built here in 1856 (now Canadian National Railway, CNR).

western approach to pedestrian bridge over train tracks, with display of cyclists over the decades painted by elicser elliott

below: Elicser Elliott’s paintings of cyclists over the years line the ramp to the bridge.

paintings by Elicser elliott of people on bicycles, displayed outside, winter,

below: Looking back to the west

weston pedestrian bridge over railway, looking back over bridge from east to west

below: Looking south towards Weston UP station (Union Pearson Express) at Lawrence Ave.

view from weston pedestrian bridge over train tracks, looking south

below: A young girl outside on a sunny day in a bright and cheerful painting on a lone house.   Next door is an Islamic Association and Masjid. Like so many other places in the city now, a larger and taller building fills the background.

house with mural on the side, also a sign that says Mike Sullivan constituency office, beside it is , behind is a large apartment building

below: Street scene and evolution – The oldest buildings are in the row of two storey commercial establishments that line Weston Road (by the traffic lights).  Behind them are apartments that are a few decade old. Last, the most recent development is in the immediate foreground, right hand side.

street scene with apartment building, shops, and a parking lot

below: Jerk Hut, Desserts, Juices, and Candy Cakes all squeezed into a little building beside (behind?) CashWay.   And while you’re there, you can get your palm read upstairs.

Weston Road businesses, Cashway money and Western Union office, very small building for Jerk Hut - desserts

below: Southeast corner of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue East.

Southwest corner of Lawrence Ave East and Weston Road

below: For all your vegan leather and faux fur needs – Honeyy dripp (I had to look it up!)

stores on Weston Road, honeyy dripp with a large window with reflections, restaurant across the street

below: There is a series of pictures on these windows that was painted by Bryan Bermudez, Jim Bravo, Niel Yee, and Rowena Kizito in 2014.  It depicts young people from three different eras.

three images, murals, in a series, history

below: ‘Weston Streetscape circa 1900’ by Mario Noviello, 1997-1998. Original concept by Eric Lee.  A streetcar passes in front of Weston City Hall.  On the right is the Central Hotel with the brick steeple of Central United Church just visible behind it.

On side of 2 storey brick building, a large historic mural by Mario Noviello, Weston Streetscape circa 1900, streetcar, Weston City Hall, Central Hotel, and a church

part of Weston Streetscape mural showing old streetcar and Weston City Hall,

painted metal sidewalk box, purple on one side and blue on the other, white people doing things painted on the purple and blue background

below: Another bike

sidewalk box painted with image of old fashioned bicycle

a woman walks down the sidewalk pushing a cart, walking past stores

below: I think that someone is a Maple Leaf fan!

entrance to Peter's Barber Shop, with Toronto Maple Laf theme, in winter, range cones in front of door, planters in red, white, and blue stripes

below: Peter’s Barber Shop is now on Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.  In fact, the street was named after Peter back in 2012, just after the 50th anniversary of the shop opening (which was in 1961).

Toronto street sign for John St in Weston, also called Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.

below: And nearby is Johnny Bower Blvd.  Bower (1924-2017) was a Toronto Maple Leaf goalie in the 1960s, a great decade for the Leafs as they won the Stanley Cup four times…. 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.   Bower and his family lived on this street at the time.

Toronto street sign, blue and white, Patika Avenue, also called Johnny Bower Blvd., in Weston,

a street of bungalows in winter, lots of trees,

side entry to a house, small green and yellow awning over the door, decorated for Christmas

I also saw many wonderful older brick houses, the kind that we aren’t building any more.  Some of the styles were common to Toronto while some were more unique.

appliance store in red brick building in residential neighbourhood

single family houses, winter scene, large trees, Weston

large square brick house, winter

below: All decorated for Valentines Day.

entrance to house, front door, decorated for valentines day, red hearts, love words

house by a level railway crossing

old house in weston

two storey brick house, green shutters

houses with big front porches and balconies, snow, big tree

winter residential street scene, older brick house, snow, trees, blue sky

old brick house, with lowrise apartment building behind it

older brick house with slate roof, trim is painted a dark pink colour

two storey single family house, winter

houses on a residential street, one has a white turret in the front,

two people standing in a bus shelter facing each other, another man is standing outside

painting by elicser elliott of a man with beard and moustache and wearing shorts, standing by his bike

The next blog post, ‘Out and About in Weston’, features a mural in Weston that was painted by Christiano De Araujo.

And after that is, Que Rock and Bacon in Weston, with even more murals on Lawrence Avenue East

farther west on Gerrard

Posted: February 4, 2023 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, reflections
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mural, purple letters on black and orange background, word says broadview

traffic signal, red light, on pole with many street signs, plus 40 kmh sign, Broadview and Gerrard

A short while ago, I posted some pictures from Little India which is centered on Gerrard Street.  If you travel farther west on Gerrard you come to what has become known as Chinatown East (as you approach Broadview).

construction infill on Gerrard, building behind the stores,

below: Nappa, Chinese cabbage, and White radish,

on display outside, for sale, chinatown, veggies,

below: Scenic Aqualium Co., Exotic Fish and Bonsai (yes it has an ‘L’).

a woman walks down gerrard street, past scenic aquarium store with exotic fish and bonsai for sale

window of a chinese restaurant, orange walls inside, copies of the menu taped to the window, open sign is lit

sushi restaurant, a fruit and vegetable store, and other shops on Broadview

below: Shoes, boots, and umbrellas.

small shoe repair shop on gerrard, umbrellas for sale, red chinese lantern hanging from ceiling

piles of taro root and butternut squash for sale

below: Carrots and tomatoes

carrots and tomatoes for sale, chinatown

vegetables for sale in chinatown

below: Pomegranates in boxes and forks on the wall

interior of fruit and vegetable market in chinatown

outside display boxes painted green and full of citrus fruits for sale, chinatown store, awning overhead, people walking by

stores on gerrard, in chinatown east

under a blue awning, shelves of plastic wrapped fruits and vegetables for sale

hung hair salon on gerrard street

faded menu board on the sidewalk, chinese restuarant, also a van from orkin pest control parked there

xray and ultrasound sign in chinese, also law office, and other businesses

below: Aging price list

an old weathered sign outside a hair salon on Gerrard Street, red lettering on white but moldy grey

a woman walk spast mi mi restaurant on gerrard street

below: Old Lumberking ghost sign on the southwest corner of Logan and Gerrard

building at the southwest corner of Gerrard and Logan, has a yellow ghost sign for Lumberking

below: Broadview and Gerrard – looking east along Gerrard

looking east from Broadview, Scotiabank on the north side of Gerrard and A & W burger restaurant fast food on the south side, both in old brick buildings, rainy day, wet pavement

below: Streetcar stop on the southwest corner of Broadview and Gerrard

people getting on and off TTC streetcar at Broadview and Gerrard

an ad for boba boy bubble tea in an old window, surrounded by street art mural

bike rental stand in front of a vacant lot with a large mural to one side, mayan temple from central america

below: Square and orange on top.

row houses, square roofline, two storey, orange brick upper, bay windows, stores on ground level,

below: More stores  –  Jiahua Trading Company with its assortment of goods beside the Dai Kuang Wah Herb Market.

stores in Chinatown East, Jiahua Trqding Company and an herb store

late afternoon in the rain, a person waits with a black dog for the traffic light to turn green

below: One Plus One Hair Salon, Tung Hing Bakery, and Sing Sing BBQ House – all adding to the eclectic mix of store fronts in the area.

businesses and stores on Gerrard Street, Chinatown East,

below: House reflections

reflection of a house in a window surrounded by street art

below: No more ‘Epoch Times’ in front of this store.

window in front of a store in chinatown, western union ad, lotto 649 ad, empty newspaper box, other goods behind glass

below: A get together of paper characters – The Incredible Raffa, Las Mujeres Vampiro, Life (that’s the one-eyed daisy), T-bonez got knifed in the back.

pasteups in a group on a brick wall, urban ninja squadron, mask, daisy with one eye,

below: Peace, in red

red urban ninja squadron t bonez sticker on a grey metal utility pole, giving peace sign

below: White roses to heal with

large painting in white on black brick white roses, and text that says here to heal, a woman's face is partially hidden by the white roses

below: Homer Simpson with 64 slices of cheese!

painting by Chris Perez on the side of a cheese store, Homer Simpson in his underwear sitting at a table and eating cheese

a sign outside a store that says repair unlock and then words in mandarin

below: Santa Claus and a skeleton – covering more than one holiday at a time.

a skeleton halloween decoration is on the railing of a porch, in front of it, on the grass is a small santa claus in a red sleigh on a small pile of snow

alley behind Gerrard St., large old garage, leaning, covered with grey shingles, old tree‘

below: Old mural street art painting in the alley (from 2016)

part of a mural in an alley, on a wood fence, nose and open mouth of a furry animal with big teeth and fangs

close up of a monkey or ape face with bright red nose, mural in an alley

looking down an alley, with houses on the street at the end of the lane, garages, winter but no snow, fences, old trees,

below: Infill – new housing being constructed in the alley

plywood covers a new building, infill housing being constructed in an alley,

backyard on a laneway that is all mud and puddles
looking down a lane with an orange jeep parked by a green garage, a brick building at the end with blue doors

in a driveway or parking lot, with a white metal gate, along one side of a store, a mural of many flowers

part of a painting on the side of a store, a blue fish and some lotus leaves

Dundas Street runs parallel to Gerrard, just a bit to the south…. and that is where you’ll find this dog sitting outside in rain or shine.

a small dark brown brick house with a window, some stickers in the window, and a large paper paste up of a dog beside the window

below: The Dundas Street Public School class of 2022 left their mark on the fence with their messages of love and peace.

chainlink fence by a school has many little square paintings attached to it, each one was by a student from the class of 2022.

below: As did the the class of 2021

chainlink fence by a school has many little square paintings attached to it, each one was by a student from the class of 2021.

This blog post may be getting too long so I will start to end it here with a brief survey of the older residential architecture on Gerrard and Dundas and the streets in between (for those of you who are interested in such things).

below: A semi with a shared central peak.

red semi detached house on gerrard with pointy roof in the center, one side has built an enclosed porch by the front door

below: Little diamond windows

flat roofed seim detached house in fake brick, two small diamond shaped windows in the front, both sides with white porch

old brick two storey rowhouses with black mansour roof with upper windows in roof

bay and gable row houses on gerrard street, painted in different colours, grey, white, maroon, one with a bright red staircase and railing.

below: Details made with contrasting colours of bricks

a row of brick houses, most with yellow brick contrasting detail near the roofline

below: Another semi detached house with a shared central peak.

white two storey plain semi house with shared central peak

below: Flat roofed houses with blues and reds.

below: Shapes – rectangles on top, rounded windows,

square roofline brick building with green trim

below: Cameras on the corner…. and a megaphone too?

on the northeast corner of Gerrard and Logan is a pole with security cameras and a loud speaker, looking diagonally across to southwest corner, TTC streetcar stopped there

And lastly,  a shout out to Lamoon Thai Cafe where I stopped for a hot drink (great Thai tea!) and to get out of the rain for a few minutes.

side of a building, window, with interior lights on, illuminated sign of a cup of tea in the window, Lamoon Cafe, Thai drinks and food

Chinatown murals

Posted: January 22, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Happy New Year!

January 23rd is Lunar New Year  as we enter the Year of the Rabbit (except in Vietnam where apparently it’s the Year of the Cat).

below: Although this mural has nothing to do with rabbits (or cats), it is found in Chinatown.  Three dragons cavorting on the wall on Oxford Street, painted by sightone in 2016.

on the side of a large old brick buildig, a long horizontal mural of dragons, in chinatown,

central, gold coloured dragon, looking straight ahead with mouth open, part a larger mural in chinatown with three dragons

below: Blue dragon guarding the door at number 5.

blue dragon, part of a larger mural in chinatown with three dragons

Nearby there is an alley where the Chinatown BIA has sponsored some murals with Asian themes.

an asian couple, woman in pink with flower in her hair, man in green,

chinatown murals in an alley

green clad warrior in chinatown mural

three characters in chinese mural in an alley, warrior,

pig standing upright with green jacket and red necktie, green cap, jacket open in front to reveal fat tummy and belly button

young man in chinatown mural

mural with Chinatown theme, man in red robes

alley with metal oil drums covered with graffiti, low buildings with street art on them,

below:  A large koi, or carp, swimming towards a pink lotus flower.

backyard and back of building, with three Asian theme murals, goldfish koi, a pink lotus flower, and

below: “Flowers of the four seasons – Autumn Chrysanthemum” by rowdyradrat.

murals on the back of Chinatown stores, in an alley,

below: Another rowdyradrat painting – this one is “Flowers of the Four Seasons – Winter, Plum Blossoms” and it features Chinese plum blossoms.
mural of pink flowers behind a store on Spadina, in an alley,

mural of a pink lotus flower on the back of a brick building

Bayview intensification

Posted: January 21, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings
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a person walks on a sidewalk on a foggy day, large trees and a park on the right, lots of traffic and red rear lights on the left

The temperatures this January have been warmer than usual but that means more grey skies and dreary weather days.  I spent one of those grey afternoons in the fog on a stretch of Bayview Avenue near York Mills Road.  It seemed like an appropriate time to see how many abandoned houses I could find.

 

remains of a concrete wall, about 3 feet high, with number 2769 on it, with vacant lot surrounded by chainlink fence in the background

Once upon a time, and not that long ago, Bayview Avenue in this part of the city was lined with large houses on big lots, often hidden behind trees.  Slowly, each house is being replaced with 4 to 6 townhouses in line with a revised city plan.   Toronto has many housing issues including a shortage of family homes.

a branch has fallen off a tree and landed on the yard of an abandoned house, leaves and some snow on the lawn as well

below: Five years ago I posted a photo of this house in a post about empty Bayview houses.  It was empty at the time too.

wire construction fence in front of a driveway with snow on it, a house about to be demolished, red brick, two storey, large house

below: This house appeared in the same 2017 post.  At that time it still had a red front door.

wood barricade across a snow covered driveway in front of a bungalow ready for demolition

abandoned and empty bungalow with low white fence in front of it, driveway blocked, snow, fog,

below: Development is rarely a quick process and things can often get convoluted – the sign on this property is for one of the newest plans – it was filed in 2022.  There are websites advertising the 4 townhouses at 2621 Bayview for sale preconstruction.  There is also a website that claims that 2621 Bayview is included in a block, 2617-21 Bayview that is/was for sale for $14,800,000.  (MLS number C5438385).

blue and white development notice for Behar planning and design co to redevelopment a section of land on Bayview Ave the involves demolishing a few houses, including large bungalow house behind a large trees still there, sign in the front yards.

below: This is 2019 Bayview, included in the 2017-21 block.     At 14.8 million just for the land to get 11 units…..  Toronto may have a shortage of units but it also has a shortage of affordable housing.   What price is affordable these days?  A quick search of properties for sale on Bayview shows that a vacant lot is priced above $4,000,000 (1/2 an acre) and that a newly built townhouse with 3000+ square feet  is above $2,000,000.

blue and white development notice for Behar planning and design co to redevelopment a section of land on Bayview Ave that involves demolishing a few houses, including two storey beige house still there, sign in the front yards.

below: Another house that has sat empty.

old white fence and broken gate post at 2595, house in the background

below: With an application filed in 2017. Five years. Is the process that slow? The city wants this intensification to happen and there doesn’t seem to be a lack of potential developers circling like vultures.   Does a  backlog of files that are 5, 6, or more years in the making suggest a flaw in the system somewhere?

blue and white development notice sign for wilket park developments to demolish house and rebuild townhouses on the lot

a bungalow behind trees, some snow, empty house waiting to be demolished

below: Preparations for a new access road/driveway have begun where 2673 and 2675 Bayview once stood.

chainlink fence in front of a vacant lot covered by a bit of now, black and yellow no trespassing sign posted on fence, some orange and black cones behind the fence, foggy day

vacant lot on bayview ave surrounded by metal fence

large house waiting to be demolished, behind fence

front entrance of house with old vines covering walls and part of windows

hiding behind the Danforth

Posted: January 19, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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On the south side of Danforth, near Bowden Ave.., there is an alley.

below: The backs of two old brick buildings that face onto the Danforth.  Some of the buildings in the area are quite elderly.   The Don and Danforth Plank Road Company built Danforth Ave in 1851.  At that time it only went as far west as Broadview Ave.

back of two old brick stores on the Danforth, driveways and parking spots, 2 parked cars, small balcony on one

below: Looking west to Bowden Avenue.  There are a few street art pieces that have been painted in the past couple of years.

an alley behind the Danforth, a painted fence, a large pink man's portrait, a painted traffic box at the end of the lane

below: Natasha Dichpan painted this young woman and wolf (dog?).  It’s probably a dog but for some reason I’d like to think that it was a wolf.

close up of part of a mural on a wood fence in an alley painted by Natsha Dichpan, a purple young woman's face beside a pink and purple wolfs face

below: The multicoloured swirls of dots and splotches are by Andre Castro.

street art on a wood fence, two womens faces, and a wolf, in an alley

below:  A young woman with flowing pink hair, pointy elf-like ears, and many eyes, rides on a blue pelican (or at least a bird with a big beak), painted by Katrina Canendo in summer of 2021.  Pink mushrooms in blue foilage on the accompanying door.

two street art paintings on a concrete building, a small painting of pink mushrooms on a door, and a larger mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

below: She also seems to have an extra arm as well as an eye on the back of her hand. She ate the mushrooms?

close up of pale green skinned woman in mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

below: By Sasha Fonkatz, the only man on the block.  The calligraphy in the black box on the right says: “Sometimes you have to be a lion to be the lamb that you are” (a Dave Chapelle quote).  I am not sure what the whole story is surrounding the pink faced man, but the first two lines start “A true community is not just about …”

mural on side of concrete building, in two sections, on the left a pink faced man with very short dark hair, surrounded by words, on the right is a square of calligraphy white letters on black with a pink flower below it. The words say sometimes you have to be lion to be the lamb that you are
below: by Amani Muhammad, blues…. blue woman, blue pigeon, and blue butterflies among the pink and red flowers

mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

close up view of mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

below: Another Katrina Canendo piece, this time from April 2022. On the sidewalk on Bowden Street with Danforth Church in the background.   Once called Chester Baptist Church, the building was completed in two stages.  The original building was built in 1911 while a newer addition fronting onto Danforth was added in 1931.

painted metal bell box on a sidewalk in front of a church

below: Bowden Ave.  The street is named after John Wilson Bowden, a builder who purchased land in the area in 1858 and subdivided it in 1871.

2 houses on Bowden Avenue, 3 storeys high, one with a large wood balcony

below: Behind the church

garages in the alley behind Danforth near Bowden including one with a basketball hoop above the door and the squares in the door all painted differently

a small shed behind a house, lane behind Danforth

To the west of Bowden there are a couple of garage doors that have been painted but that was long ago.  Some have been tagged over.

garages in an alley behind Danforth with doors with old paintings on them

below: Long ago as in 2012 which is when this double garage was painted – CHEST on one side with Magical Mystery Tour and RASR on the other with Imagine.  Beatles fans I presume.

double garage doors, one side painted by chest and says magic mystery tour and the side painted by rasr and says imagine, painted in 2012

below: and 2013 (pest, bacon, nozer).

corner of a mural signed pest bacon and nozer, on a garage door in an alley, in reds and purples, in 2013

behind an old 2 storey brick house, a fence and a gate. on one side of the gate the fence is painted teal, on the other side it is red

Little India again

Posted: January 16, 2023 in locations, stores, windows and walls
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Little India, also known as the Gerrard India Bazaar, is a section of Gerrard Street to the west of Coxwell Ave. I have walked around, and blogged about, Little India before.  Some of these images may resemble those that I have posted in the past,

below: TTC 506 streetcar southbound on Coxwell stops before it turns right onto Gerrard.

TTC streetcar southbound on Coxwell, stopped at Gerrard where people are getting on and off

In the windows of the Islamic bookstore….

black face head mannequin with teal head scarf, in islamic book store window

in store window, a framed image of arab calligraphy beside an ad for unicorn shaped gummy rush

On the street outside Lahore BBQ and Paan Center. …

Gerrard street sidewalk scene, with Lahore BBQ and paan center in the foreground, other stores

close up of metal grate covering blue curtain over the front window of lahore bbq and paan center

below: Three storeys of saris and South Asian fashion.  Bright pink!

pink three storey store on Gerrard

Mannequins in the windows of other clothing stores ….

mannequin in a window

photographs and mannequins on display in a window, reflections of street scene in the window too

mannequins in store window with reflections of globe shaped street lights and yellow lit public cart banner on light pole

And mannequins where you don’t expect them….

a white mannequin head looking out the front window of a house

Windows from the outside

below:  A boy and his robot?

two cardboard robots, male and female, in a window

below: Drumsticks, masala chai and Amma

window of a store in Little India, ad for drumstick ice cream, sign that says masala chai sold here, covid mask sign poster re Amma

old white bench outside, leaning against wall with window (store) and painted in multicoloured monsters

wall painted in yellow and red with a pile of old tires and other garbage in the bottom

And windows to look in

 

looking in a store window in Little India, figurines, shiny silver statues

below: Carpets and patterns on pattern.

carpets in a store window, some rolled in front of a carpet with diamond shapes in reds and oranges and teal,

below: Christmas poinstettia in the quiet before opening time.

poinsettia in the window of a coffee shop

below: Canadian flags for the world’s best butcher

looking in a window that has two Canadian flags, a mug that says best butcher, a hand roller,

below: The missing letters make the sign

looking in the window of a laundromat, sign on window says co laun

looking in the window of a store that has a bright green light shining on a plant by the window, reflections, clothes hanging inside

closed sign on a shop door, with a glittery gold curtain partially covering the window of the door

below: Waiting for the streetcar

below: “You Are Here” This painting is still on the wall but it is no longer The Flying Pony coffee shop, now it’s The Black Pony.

below: The old Belfast Tavern building remains, boarded up, neglected, and only a shell of what it once was.

old tavern building on Gerrard St., boarded up, now a u-haul truck and trailer rental location

below: Parked.

Outside the Lahore Tikka House restaurant, two tictoks sit behind barricades, in an otherwise empty parking lot

door with glass window that has been covered in newspaper, number 1447 sticker on it too, beside a wall with a graphic the illustrates various parts of Little India

below: Large mural on a fence in the lane behind Gerrard Street, north side.

large mural on a fence in an alley

below: Cat on the wall

mural on a fence in an alley, cars parked behind buildings, street art painting of a cat with an orange and yellow halo

alley behind Gerrard St., garages, house

below: Rowell Soller mural

Rowell Soller mural on the side of building

close up of a mural painted by Rowell Soller, green face

lit sign that says Dave! hanging over the entrance to a convenience store at Gerrard and Coxwell, Coxwell street stores in the background

below:   For whatever reason, Gerrard makes a jog at Coxwell.

two street signs, a yellow diamond shaped sign that says road narrows and green sign with words Gerrard street continues one block north

below: Gerrard India Bazaar banner and street sign.

utility pole with stop sign on Gerrard, pink pole with gerrard india bazaar banner on the top, stores on Gerrard in the background

Other posts about Little India

Back to Little India, on a snowy day in Feb 2022

South Asian Festival, street festival on Gerrard in July 2016

 

window of a store with twinkies for sale

aging on the Milky Way

Posted: January 12, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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Exposed to the elements, overgrown with ivy or bushes, and left on its own to gracefully age.  To fade; to peel.  That is the fate of a lot of street art, especially those in lanes and alleys.  Milky Way Lane is no exception and this blog post features a few pictures that I took last week.   I have posted many of these before, back in their youth.

 

on upper and lower part of wall, fish graffiti, blue on top and pink below, in the middle is a yellowmetal railing with a yellow square covered with with graffiti including the outline of an orange t shirt

below: Fear and dead ivy in the alley

looking down Milky Way Lane on a grey winter day, dead overgrown vines on a building and across the hydro wires, leafless little shrubs growing up against the building on the left

street art and graffiti and a large mailbox by the door of number 55

graffiti on a door, red and white

below: This enormous one eyed ice cream cone monster replaces another Buff Monster creation, also on a pink background.

garage covered with dead ivy and a garage door painted pink with a one eyed monsterin black and white

below: Preserving their modesty, two of the people painted once upon a time by Philip Saunders.

old mural by Philip Saunders, a couple holding hands, origianlly with no clothes on but the bodies have been painted over and their modesty preserved

orange rusty metal door in a fence in an alley

corrugated metal wall or fence with little alien spacemen graffiti

street art on a door, lion with grey man, standing upright, cartoon movie character,

small black stencil, person head and shoulders wearing a black balaclava

part of a street art mural, a person in brown and beige tones with open mouth, screaming, someone has add a red line coming out of the mouth

street art mural with the words forty seven in shaddes of orange, on a wood fence

peeling street art on a wood fence in an alley

in the corner of a mural, a little brown cone shaped character with big eyes and an orange hat

below: A square Elmo

Elmo painted on a square garage door in an alley

black and white heart with smiley face, graffiti, and the words love daddy

on a wood fence, two stars, old street art, fading and peeling, trash on the dead leaves at the bottom of the fence

Parkdale mural in Milky Way Lane

brick wall, paint is peeling, two bricks are entirely exposed

close up of dead ivy on a metal wall that has green and black street art on it

below: Part of a “Stay Home” COVID mural by Elicser Elliott, 2020

Elicser Elliott stay at home mural from 2020. A young man holds a roof over his head

below: Still looking good, a moonman mural from 2020

mural by moonman painted in 2020, a snake-like character

 

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