I first posted pictures of the pasteups and posters at Charlotte and Adelaide back in September shortly after they first appeared. I walked past them the other day. There are a few that I forgot the first time and a few that are new. Being street art, they have been subject to the sufferance and whims of others – some comments are added, marks are made.
These are the photos that I took recently:
below: Ulysses Curtis mural by Danilo Deluxo McCallum. Curtis (1926-2013) played for the Toronto Argonauts football team in the 1950s. He was considered to be the first black player on the team.
The Downsview area and airplanes have been linked since the late 1920s when land here was being used for airfields—Barker Field, the Canadian Express Airport and the Toronto Flying Club. In 1929 de Havilland Aircraft of Canada purchased 70 acres of farmland along Sheppard Avenue West. In the mid-1950s de Havilland moved its operations to newly constructed modern facilities to the southeast. De Havilland Canada was sold to Boeing in 1988 and then to Bombardier in 1992.
below: Bombardier facility and GO tracks on the east side of the park. Downsview Park station at the north end of the park connects the GO system with the TTC’s Line 1.
In 2017, the Sesquicentennial Trail was developed on part of the site. Sesquicentennial means 150 years, as in Canada was 150 years old in 2017.
below: The North Plaza of the trail features a semi-circular wall of rusted steel with cutout silhouettes of real historical photographs showing various people, buildings, and airplanes that was designed by John Dickson.
Small models of four of the aircraft built by DeHaviland ‘fly’ over the trail – the DH.60 Gipsy Moth, the Dash 8, the DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Mosquito. They cover years of both DeHaviland and aircraft history from the bi-winged Moth in the mid-1920’s to the turboprop Dash8. The later was developed in the early 1980s and is still in production today.
below: High overhead, a DHC-Beaver, a bush plane developed in 1947 here at Downsview.
Grounded! But still great for child’s play.
Hundreds, and probably thousands, of trees have been planted on the site.
below: Tulip tree
below: Other areas have been set aside for native grasses and wildflowers such as milkweed, purple coneflower, and wild lupine.
below: There is a large hill in the park and this is the view to the southwest from there.
below: At the top of the hill stands an installation of blue flags along with two of the many red muskoka chairs scattered around the park. This is “Wind Rose” by Future Simple Studio. This picture doesn’t show it very well but at the northwest corner, two of the flags are not blue – one is black and the other white (black for west and white for north). These two flags, “The Turtle and the Traveller,” were designed by Mi’kmaq artists Chris and Greg Mitchell. They are best seen when the wind is blowing!
Downsview has also been associated with the military. In 1937, the Royal Canadian Air Forces expropriated portions of the site to establish the RCAF Station Downsview. The site once had two residential areas with barracks – one for the enlisted soldiers and their families and another for the commissioned officers and their families. Over the years the base expanded to include the original de Havilland lands. In the 1960s, the military expropriated the lands adjacent to the Downsview Airport and closed 2.5 miles of Sheppard Avenue between Dufferin and Keele Streets. That is why Sheppard Avenue swings north around what is now Downsview Park.
In 1996 CFB Toronto officially closed. Parc Downsview Park Inc. was established in 1999 to build and operate Downsview Park but administrative control over the land wasn’t transferred to the Park until 2006.
below: ArtworxTO Hub North with a mural by Mediah. At the time, the site was being used by a film crew.
below: Another mural on the exterior of the ArtworxTO Hub building. This one was painted by Kreecha.
I heard from two different sources about a “castle” that was about to be torn down so when I found myself in the neighbourhood, I had to stop by and take a look at it myself.
below: Screenshot from Google street view, dated January 2021. All of the shrubs have been removed and the black fence has been replaced with the same fencing that you see surrounding most construction sites.
below: The house as it looked in mid-November, east side. The lower windows are now boarded up as well.
Apparently the house sold in 2018 . The previous owner, Max Heiduczek, lived in and worked on the house for more than 40 years. He bought the property in the 1970s but had to sell when age and health concerns became an issue.
below: Minaret, dome, rooftop terraces, and a replica of Michelangelo’s David.
below: The tower has little blue windows.
below: South side of the house
The current owners applied to subdivide the property into pieces. In August 2021 conditional consent was given by the city for this severance.
below: The southwestern end of the Meadoway is at Thomson Memorial Park – it exits the park at McCowan just north of Lawrence and runs 16 km through Scarborough. The goal is form one continuous linear urban park from downtown to the Rouge River.
below: The steeple of St. Andrews Bendale Church is just visible through the trees. This church is adjacent to Thomson Memorial Park
below: Springfield Farm House is also at McCowan and Lawrence. It is the oldest brick house in Scarborough, built in 1840 by James Thomson.
below: The Meadoway follows the Gatineau Corridor, a swath of land under hydro transmission lines.
below: Large sections are in the process of being “naturalized”, i.e. meadow restoration is underway.
below: from left to right – New England Aster, Little Blue Stem, Common Milkweed, Switch Grass, Cup Plant, Bergamot, Big Blue Stem and False Sunflower.
below: The Meadoway as it crosses Bellamy Road
below: school access
below: Daventry Garden plots with highrises on Markham Road in the background.
There is a large gap from Scarborough Golf Club Road to Conlins (just east of Morningside). The Gatineau Corridor transmission lines cross the Highland Creek and the 401 where there is no path beneath the wires. The city has tried to make continuous bike routes and now Conlins, which runs north-south has bike lanes and crosses the 401.
The northeast end of the Meadoway is still a bit bleak but at least the potential is there…. being November doesn’t help!
below: The Meadoway crosses diagonally through the intersection of Sheppard Ave East and Dean Park (just west of Meadowvale).
below: Looking southwest from near Sheppard and Dean Park
The trail ends shortly after at Meadowvale Road which is just beyond the Sheppard Transformer Station.
below: Spindleberry tree (Euonymus europaeus)
Development of the Meadoway is led by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority with help from the city, Hydro One, the Weston Family Foundation, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Foundation.
For more information – Meadoway website
Some of these photos were taken in 2020.
East of Brimley and north of Lawrence is a large park, Thomson Memorial Park.
I have mentioned the Thomson family’s role in the history of Scarborough in a blog post about St. Andrews Bendale cemetery where many of the Thomsons are buried. St. Andrews is adjacent to this park and is on land donated by David Thomson.
In this blog post I wanted to look at a corner of the park – the southwest corner is home to the Scarborough Museum and it’s small collection of old buildings.
below: The McCowan log house is one of the houses.
The McCowan Log House
This cabin was built about 1830 in the northeast part of Scarborough and was moved to its present site by the Scarborough Historical Society in 1974. From 1848 until his death, it was occupied by William Porteous McCowan (1820-1902) who had come to Canada in 1833 with his parents, Margaret Porteous and James McCowan, a coalmaster of Leshmahagow Parish Scotland. The McCowan family, including four sons and four daughters, settled near the Scarborough Bluffs east of the present McCowan Road.
“Uncle Willie” McCowan narrowly escaped death by cholera which claimed his father and brother the same night in 1834. A bachelor, “Uncle Willie” was succeeded as owner by his nephew James McCowan.
below: There is another plaque nearby, this one for Rhoda Skinner who you have probably not heard of. She had a lot of children!
This plaque is dedicated to the women who pioneered the wilderness of Ontario in the early 19th century and, in particular, to Rhoda Skinner (1775-1834).
In addition to laborious household chores, assisting with the farming, and coping with fears and challenges unheard of today, they were often called upon to raise huge families. Rhoda was the mother to 37 children by two husbands. Her children and their years of birth are as follows: [names & birth years of the children are then given]
First, Rhoda married Parshall Terry (1754-1808) whose wife Amy Stevens died in 1792. Parshall was 20 years her senior and already had 7 children, 3 boys and 4 girls. Or at least, I assume that a child with the name Submission is a girl, sadly. The oldest, Parshall Jr. was born in 1777; he was only two years younger than Rhoda would have been 15 when his mother died.
Rhoda’s first child was Simcoe born in 1794 when she was 19. Her oldest step-daughters, Mary and Martha, would have been 14 and 11 – instant babysitters and helpers. IF they had survived. Considering the higher infant mortality rate of the time it is possible that some of these offspring didn’t make it to adulthood.
Rhoda went on to have 12 children with the youngest, Eliza, being born after her father died. 12 children in 16 years. Parshall Terry drowned in the Don River in 1808. At the time he and Rhoda’s brothers, Isaiah and Aaron Skinner, had a sawmill and a grist mill at Todmorden Mills. Terry was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
Rhoda must have married William Cornell (1766-1860) shortly after because Rhoda and William had a son, Edward, in 1810. William Cornell was a widower with 12 children already. He and Rhoda had 5 more children after Edward. In the end, Rhoda gave birth to 18 children, the last one in 1821 when she was in her forties and when her eldest, Simcoe, would have been 27.
Rhoda died in 1834 and is buried in St Margarets in the Pines cemetery in Toronto (at Lawrence near Morningside) as Rhoda Terry Cornell. Her second husband is buried there too – written on his stone is “A native of Rhode Island U.S. and settled in Scarborough in A.D. 1800 being the second settler in the Township”.
below: The Cornell House. It was built by Charles Cornell and his wife Matilda. Charles was the son of William Cornell & Rhoda Skinner.
below: ‘GrandMother Moon (and the Equinox Wave), 2019’ by Catherine Tammaro, Spotted Turtle Clan (photo taken in 2020).
below: Thomson Memorial Park. One of the many attractions of the park is the fact that it is the western end of The Meadoway – a project to turn a hydro corridor into green space with bike paths and walking trails. (but that’s another – blog post! – see link!)
Starting at King and Berkeley and walking a little bit north and a bit farther west.
below: This wall, at King and Berkeley, used to have a large painting of a black chair on it. Now it has two boys on the run with an Afghan flag.
below: It was painted by Mahyar Amiri a few months ago in an effort to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
below: In front of the Alumni Theatre on Berkeley Street.
below: Also on Berkeley Street, the old Christie Brown stables are now the lower floors of a condo building.
“This building was once a stable that housed horses and wagons for one of Canada’s largest biscuit manufacturers. From here, Christie, Brown & Co delivered baked goods prepared at its Adelaide Street factory across Toronto.”
“Designed by the architectural firm of Sproatt & Rolph, the building’s Beaux-Arts Classical style was popular at the turn of the 20th century for its appearance of stability and grandeur. With elements such as the contrasting stone trim and arcade windows, it was built to reflect the appearance of the nearby Christie factory. The state-of-the-art stable included two floors of wagon storage with a purpose-made elevator, stalls in the back for the care of sick horses, and a central horse shower underneath a large skylight. “
“Founded by Scottish-born businessman William Christie (1829-1900), Christie Brown & Co manufactured over 400 types of baked goods at its peak. In 1928, Nabisco acquired the company. The stable was later used as a garage, seed plant, and film production office. It is now part of a residential complex. “
below: Christie Brown biscuit factory on Adelaide street in 1902. The building still exists and is part of George Brown College. It takes up the whole block between George and Frederick streets.
below: This neighbourhood advertises itself as “Old Town, since 1793”.
below: But a lot of it is starting to look shiney and new (what? a new parking lot in downtown Toronto?)
below: A copy of a late 1890’s lithographic poster advertising bicycles from Fernand Clement & Cie Cycles Paris. The original artist was Jean de Paléologue (1860-1942). This version is a large mural on Worts Lane.
below: Mother of God of Prousa Greek Orthodox Church on Richmond East
below: Old and not so old. The taller grey building is the Chapter House for the Greek Orthodox church that is immediately to the east.
below: Apparently everything ends here on Ontario Street
… and around the corner
below: This street art faces a parking lot between Brigden and Queen East that is now fenced off. It is one of 4 or 5 paintings along that wall.
below: This is one of the street art pieces on the same wall. The photo was taken in 2012 when the site was accessible and before the vines and shrubs took over.
below: A very large empty building and vacant lot that used to be a car dealership. This is part of a large section of land that has been under redevelopment for at least five years (includes the parking lot in the photos above).
below: … The original proposal back in February 2016 was three towers of 39, 45 and 39 storeys, on top of two base buildings ranging from 3 to 11 storeys within a site bordered by Queen Street East, Ontario Street, Richmond Street East and McFarrens Lane. That was turned down by the city. Since then there has been various modifications, appeals, and litigation (ongoing?).
below: On what was once a Honda dealership there is now an art installation with words…
below: … and pasteups from jumblefacefoto aka Jeremy Lynch
below: On the same wall: In the line of fire – urban ninja squadron‘s t-bonez takes aim with very heavy firepower. It looks like spudbomb has already been hit by an arrow and is bentoghoul providing the target?
below: Looking west on Richmond from Brigden Place. Richmond Street jogs to the right at Jarvis – it doesn’t dead end like it looks in the photo.
below: Looking north on McFarrens Lane to Queen Street
below: About 1910 this is what the northeast corner of Richmond and Sherbourne Streets looked like. Not surprisingly, this is all long gone.
below: From biscuits to hot dogs…. Soloways Hot Dog Factory Outlet, in business since 1927. They sell a wide range of bulk meat, meta products, and plant based meat products both wholesale and to the public.
below: Richmond and George, with the bright red of the George Diner dominating the intersection.
below: The windows have been painted.
below: Old newspaper articles taped to the window. The top one is a review of the restaurant (with apologies for it being too small/fuzzy to read). The bottom one has a headline that reads “Don’t be like Dick”. With an image like that I immediately think of Dick and Jane (yikes, those of us who remember Dick and Jane from our childhoods are dwindling in number!).
below: At Richmond and Jarvis, northeast corner
below: Mystic Muffin on the southeast corner of Jarvis and Richmond.
below: Richmond Street bike lanes are now separated from traffic by a low kerb that has been decorated by a number of street artists. This section is the work of AndreaCataRo aka Andrea Rodriguez
below: Another view of the bike lane barrier, this one at the intersection of Richmond and Berkeley and looking west towards the city center.
below: Jumbleface foto collage, slightly peeling. Keep cold.
below: Doesn’t he fit right into the poster? Or are you busy looking at all the little creatures swarming around t-bonez head?
below: It’s Life, it’s a one-eyed red daisy
below: Smugrat, Las Mujeres Vampiros, bentoghoul, and others.
below: Wash your hands after It’s Life yellow daisy takes first prize
below: Miss You! Nika loves Aura, and other messages around the coffee.
below: Crying real water
below: And you’re looking blue too.
below: Gas Phaseout? We CANDU It! Part of the poster has been torn off ….
below: … but this Homer Simpson poster is probably related. Climate Hero! Eating donuts? No… “In Ontario nuclear workers provided 90% of the electricity needed to phase out coal – North America’s greatest CO2 reduction. Let’s phase out natural gas next”.
I can’t read all the handwriting but part of what someone has written on the poster says: “How did you turn off my portable Panosonic TV Karen? Did your boyfriend help you?” Can you make any sense of that?
There used to be this birdo mural (aka Jerry Rugg) on the northeast corner of Borden and College….
It’s gone now; replaced by this painting:
There are a few animals such as this blue bull in the mural with a lot of textual stuff.
below: There is also what looks like a little green humanoid squatting in the corner. Are those UFO’s in the mural as well?
below: Across the street is another animal theme mural; this time, it’s pink pigs.
Just north of College Street, Cyril Lane runs east from Borden. Back in April 2015 I posted about some of the street art that I saw in Cyril Lane. There haven’t been too many changes in 6 1/2 years but I thought that I would ‘update’ the photos from this lane just the same.
below: I think it’s still trying to say something – and has been since before April 2015.
below: These two people date from the summer of 2015 and you can see what they looked like when new in this blog post (click). I am not sure if the paint was purposely removed from the eyes or if that was an area more prone to peeling.
below: Also from the summer of 2015 (there are actually 3 men in the mural):
below: Yoda peaks out from behind the wall.
below: a face in blue and white by Philip Saunders
Just over a year ago, I found two murals in a lane near Yonge and Sheppard, one by Rowell Soller and the other the work of @rowdyradrat aka Ian Gabriel.
below: “Make me smile” is still written here. Street art by rowdyradrat
below: Rowell Soller’s painting of a man’s profile is now joined by Spooky Boo, a striped ghost-like figure by Jieun June Kim.
below: Two animal stickers, a cat and a tiger (or is it two tigers?), both by Jieun June Kim.
Since then, other street art has appeared in the same alley.
below: another piece by Jieun June Kim
below: A little blue bird by KJ Bit (who helped organize the painting of many of the murals back in June of this year).
below: Straight lines on blue, geometric and abstract, painted by Erica James aka Nixo
below: Construction in the background
below: A tricolour jaguar, in yellows, blues, and reds, by Nick Sweetman
below: A little sparrow with a rusty coloured cap, by luvs
below: Another luvs painting – the woman on the left – beside a snail and a blue dog with a very long pink tongue by cruz
below: A snake among the plants in purples and oranges, by Planta Muisca
below: On the right, colourful blobs and splashes in motion painted by Andre Kan
below: frog and snail
below: …. and last, another frog. This one was painted by Eugene Lee
The El Mocambo, a Spadina landmark since 1948 has had a makeover
… including a new sign to go with its renovations. It has just re-opened after being closed since 2014.
The alley behind the tavern has been spruced up a bit too – 24 new murals have been painted over the past few weeks all within the theme of “Grit”
below: Elicser Elliott’s painting of the back of a building, with a masked and hooded horseman to the left.
below: Road runner and coyote, still together
below: Doorway painted by Adore
below: Circular calligraphy by kreecha
below: A Poser street scene
below: Devilish art
below: An older man sits on a bench watching the pigeons, a painting by Steam.
below: Archer in the city with a loaded paint brush, part of a mural by Keitha Keeshig Tobias
below: Oh oh! Little pink guy seems to have broken through…. painting by Skero
This project had the support of the city’s StreetARToronto program, the Chinatown BIA, as well as local businesses including El Mocambo and Gwartzman’s Art Supplies. It was led by Amos Danniels (a.k.a. ‘SIGHT’) as its co-curator and project manager along with Project Coordinator Nishina Loft.
as I walk Toronto 