Osgoode trees

Posted: December 1, 2022 in construction, nature, old buildings, transportation
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Welcome to Osgoode subway station.

young woman in short coat, boots, and a reddish handbag stands on the osgoode subway station platform

It’s not the busiest station on the University Line but changes are in the works.  It is going to become one of the transfer stations with the new Ontario Line.  This line will cross downtown underground with stations at: Corktown, Moss Park, Queen, Osgoode, Queen/Spadina, and King/Bathurst.

Osgoode subway platform

When the University Line was built in 1966, Osgoode station was yellow with greenish accents.

section of wall at osgoode subway station, original yellow tiles have been revealed when part of new white cladding was removed

Like other University Line station, it is nondescript and built with the minimum of fuss.

escalator from platform level at osgoode ttc subway station, yellow and green tiles on the walls

One could say the bare minimum

tunnel to an exit at Osgoode station, green tiles on walls, grey institutional flooring, overhead lights, exit sign at the end of the tunnel

One of the only extras that have been added to the station recently is direct access to the  Four Seasons Centre on the southeast corner.

stairs connecting osgoode subway station with Four Seasons centre

The other three corners of the University and Queen West intersection have stairwells on the sidewalks that connect to Osgoode station.   But…. I didn’t really mean to dwell on the station itself….

below: Canada Trust building on University Avenue
Canada Trust building on the west side of University Ave., just north of Queen, people crossing University Ave at the intersection, rainy day

I came here to document the intersection as it is now, pre-Ontario Line construction (and years of disruption!)

below: Looking north up University Avenue from Queen, east side of University (including the present subway entrance on the sidewalk – close to where the pedestrians are in the photo).

looking north up University Avenue, east side, from Queen, Osgoode law school with green grass and trees in front, surrounded by black wrought iron fence

Behind the black wrought iron fence is the former Osgoode Law School (for which the subway is named).  There is public access to the grounds and it is an oasis of green and shade in the summer time.  Green ribbons have been tied around the large trees.

trees in a park, late autumn, early winter, green ribbons are tied around the large trees

… and at least one tree has been tagged as an historic tree.

a large tree trunk with a gold ribbon and green tag on it. Tag says historic tree

Metrolinx wants to build another subway entrance here.  Apparently a third-party independent review of alternative station designs is in the process but hasn’t been completed yet.  Metrolinx decided that in the meantime they’d cut down the trees on the 5th of December (this coming week) anyhow.    If you want to see one of the ideas for the plan, there are artist’s renderings on their website:   The Ontario Line – Neighbourhood Updates – Downtown – Osgoode Station.  As usual, what is pictured now is never guaranteed to be the end product!

The Law Society of Ontario is the custodian of this greenspace and they have formally objected to Metrolinx trying to short-circuit the process.

green space in front of Osgoode Hall, trees, grass, tall buildings in the background (looking south)

Yet another location to keep an eye on!

intersections – Bathurst and Lawrence

Posted: November 28, 2022 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, old buildings
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below: Bathurst at Lawrence on a snowy November day. (looking east)

below: Standing in the same spot but turning slightly,  Lawrence West, north side, west of Bathurst

black and orange traffic construction cones in the snow on the right lane of Lawrence, Bathurst Plaza in the background

below: Southwest corner of Bathurst and Lawrence

southwest corner of Bathurst and Lawrence, midrose apartment building that curves around the corner, retail at street level, two older people with walkers crossing at the intersection

below: Seniors Safety Zone.  How effective can a sign like this be on a busy four lane road?  If you want cars to slow down why not just reduce the speed limit?  But yes, there are a lot of seniors living in the area.

a woman walking up snowy sidewalk on Bathurst, past a pole with a yellow Seniors Safety Zone sign

below: There are many apartment buildings from the 1960s and 1970s in the area. They are old enough that the trees have grown up around them.

large old poplar tree in front of a brown brick midrise apartment building

brown brick mid rise apartment building from the 19703, in winter with snow, trees with no leaves, Bathurst Street

below: There are signs of redevelopment

vacant snow covered lot in the foreground, black brick wall of apartment building in background,

below: Some are of an age that it is more convenient to tear them down – for better or worse.  Long gone are the days when curved arches like this were popular with builders.

metal construction fence around a large curved arch in a 1970s apartment building empty and waiting demolition

below: Many of the residences on Lawrence are four or six plexes but here too, there are signs of changes afoot. Here the proposed new building is 4 storeys high and has 10 apartments.

blue and white city development notice in front of a residential 4 plex, in the snow,

residence on Lawrence West, 6-plex, winter

chairs stacked in front of a building on Lawrence, in the snow, beside a chain link fence

below: Alley behind Lawrence Ave

alley behind Lawrence Ave West, south side, backs of 4 plexes residences, with balconies overlooking the alley

old white door, entry to multi residence building

a blue arm chair and a wood chair in the snow beside a snow covered pile of rubble, a yellow bin, in front of a small apartment building

fence in an alley, winter time, painted in teal, pink, and yellow

below: Last season’s left overs.

poster on wood utility pole advertising spring tire change, even though it is now winter

a utility pole that is also a TTC bus stop with a lot of clear tape wrapped around the pole with many torn TTC signs saying that this stop not in use

two young men sit in bus shelter, backs to camera, waiting for a bus, stores can be seen across the street, Bathurst Street

below: Celebration Presbyterian Church, built in 1951.

Celebration Presbyterian church on the corner of Coldstream and Bathurst, small brick building, red front door,large pine trees on either side of the front entrance, snow,

below: Looking north on Bathurst towards Lawrence Avenue

west side of bathurst street, looking north towards lawrence avenue,

below: Many languages – English, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, French, and Tagalog

windows of an old medical building, empty, for lease sign on it, signs in window say we speak many languages, english, hebrew, russian, spanish, french, tagalog

New York Bagels, Haymishe Bakery, and Cocoy filipino restaurant on Bathurst street

faded, blue tinted, travel posters in hebrew in a store window

empty store window with hebrew lettering on it

a poplar tree with most of its leaves gone, just some yellow leaves remaining, snow, apartment buildings in the background

below: Dell Park Variety – just above the sidewalk to the right of the variety store is a mosaic mural, “Almonds and Wine”.  More photos of it are in the previous blog post.

curved building, Dell park variety store on the corner of Bathurst and Dell Park

torn poster on hydro pole that says we still believe in love for you, ad for a speed dating service, ripped, torn

old empty Shoppers Drug Mart on Bathurst with ghost sign

below: South on Bathurst approaching Glencairn.

lower corner of a brown brick apartment building with Bathurst St street scene in the background

below: Hoardings on the southwest corner of Bathurst and Glencairn. The artwork is “Ayurveda” by Kirk Sutherland.

sidewalk and hoardings on Glencairn at Bathurst, artwork by Kirk Sutherland

below: Old tilework, little tiles, on an exterior wall – remnants of an earlier age.

metal frame plant holder outside in snow, in front of a wall covered with small tiles in beige, brown, and blue

Almonds and Wine on Bathurst

Posted: November 25, 2022 in graffiti and street art, public art
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“Almonds and Wine” was a short (5 minute) animated film by Arnie Lipsey.  It is the retelling of a Yiddish folk song about a wedding of a couple from Eastern Europe.   In the film the newlyweds emigrate to Canada and become part of Toronto’s Jewish community.  In turn their children grow up, marry, and have their own children.

Using scenes from the film, a mosaic mural was created that now lines a section of sidewalk on Bathurst Street.  It was designed to look like a strip of film with black lines between the frames as well as the sprockets along the edges.

Almonds and wine mosaic title panel, based on the animated film by Arnie Lipsey

scene from a Jewish wedding, bride and groom held up in the air on chairs

scene from a mosaic mural like a film, with sections and sprockets, a group is heading to a synagogue for a wedding

section on Bathurst Street with mosaic by Cristina Delago,

three men dancing, with their backs together supporting each other as they kick their legs out with arms folded

mosaic, Mural Routes, Almond and wine, passover dinner scene, in a film with sprockets

a scene from almonds and wine animated film, turned into a mosaic picture by Cristina Delago, two men protest, carrying placards,

mosaic of a man dancing with a bottle on top of his head

Mosaic Artist: Cristina Delago.  The mural was completed in 2010.

ending credits for mosaic mural almonds and wine, mosaic artist cristina delago

from Highland Creek Village to West Hill

Posted: November 20, 2022 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
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Going east to Scarborough again….   You can find Highland Creek village at the east end of Old Kingston Road while the West Hill neighbourhood is at the other end of Old Kingston Road.  This short stretch of road winds down to the Highland Creek and then back up the hill on the other side.  It was bypassed when a new wider and higher bridge was built over the river.

scarborough blue and white street sign for old kingston road, highland creek

Although this area was one of the first parts of the city that was settled, there are still lots of signs of the rural nature of the area.

split cedar rail fence between autumn leaf covered sidewalk and trees

There are plenty of signs of changes too…. but there are no glass and steel highrise condos being built out here (in Highland Creek) where the developments are just as likely to be single family homes.

development imagining of housing in large picture beside a new development, large single family homes with large trees, with real trees and grass surrounding the picture

There is a mural on the side of one of the stores, it also happens to be beside the cemetery. This is Mural 8 in the Heritage Trail by Mural Routes. “Community Spirit in Early Highland Creek, Winter 1867” the building of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.   It was painted in the summer of 1994 by John Hood, Alexandra Hood, and Zeb Salmaniw.  For more information, see a previous blog post from 2017 Heritage Trail, mural 8

The tombstone in front of the mural is for Nelson Hawkins and his wife Susan Cornell who were married in 1877. Nelson was a farmer and he and Susan raised 6 children in the area (not all lived to adulthood).

part of a mural routes mural on the side of a building, beside a cemetery. some old tombstones, autumn scenery,

old small tombstone in a cemetery with a wall behind it, mural on wall of a woman sitting by grave stones in a cemetery

Also in the cemetery is a plaque to commemorate the life of Cpl. Michael William Simpson (1948-1974) who died in Syria while on a UN peacekeeping mission – all nine Canadians on UN Flight 51 died that day.

blue plaque in Highand Creek cemetery for cpl Michael William Simpson

below: Deer by the creek in “Creekside” designed by Emily Harrison and painted by a group of youth and local volunteers in 2014.

vehicles parked in front of a large mural of a forest scene with deer, a creek,

The Scarborough Historical Society website tells the story of William Knowles who purchased land in Highland Creek in October 1802 and moved his family from New Jersey. …  “Knowles was a blacksmith and built the Township’s first smithy, making the nails for the first frame barn in Scarborough and planting one of the first orchards. His son, Daniel, kept the first store in Highland Creek, was a Commissioner for the straightening of Kingston Road in 1837 and was a prominent member of the Scarborough, Markham and Pickering Wharf Company which did an excellent business in shipping grain, timber and cord wood from Port Union to Oswego, New York and other Lake Ontario ports.”

below: Shadows on the door of St. Josephs Church.   This Roman Catholic church first served the influx of Irish immigrants who started arriving at the time of potato famine in 1847.  It was the first RC community in Scarborough.

shadow of a large tree on the wall of a church, pattern of crosses in the brickwork, steps up to the door

front of St. Josephs Roman Catholic church, including steeple

The early history of these communities is dominated by families with roots in England, Scotland, and Ireland but like the rest of Toronto, it has become much more multicultural.

below: On a quiet corner in Highland Creek, Baitul Afiyat Mosque

Mosque in Highland Creek village

below: And another mosque under construction in West Hill

behind a black wrought iron gate, construction of a new mosque

below: A short walk through St. Margarets (Anglican) cemetery reveals a more multi-cultural side of the neighbourhood.   This is just a small sample of the diversity of surnames found there.

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter, two with veerasingham surname, a zimmerman, and a de nobrega

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter with surnames quail, thoss, and nikolic

a row of old cars and trucks parked beside a road
two old red trucks

below: Another Highland Creek mural.

part of a mural, a couple walking their dog beside a creek, with trees

mural in Highland Creek, painted grey brick wall, the front of a vintage red truck has come through the wall, pile of bricks beside, a young boy in blue cap and brown overalls sits with his dog in another hole in the wall

part of a mural, a parent raccoon and a young one peer out from a hole in a stone wall

part of a mural, a young girl in blue top and blue shorts, arms upraised, like she is asking to be picked up

below: Centennial Community Scarborough consists of the southeast corner of Scarborough and includes both Port Union and Highland Creek Village neighbourhoods.

stop sign at all way stop with a toronto road sign for Ivan Road, with top part that says Centennial Community

below: This is the intersection of Kingston Road with Military Trail and Morrish Road, looking southwest towards a wide bridge over the Highland Creek.  There is an entrance to Colonel Danforth Park on the other side of Kingston Road (off the left side of the photo) but getting there is very difficult.  In the background, right side of photo, are hoardings.   Construction has begun on two 8 storey buildings, Highland Commons.

intersection of Kingston Rd., Military Trail, and Morrish Rd, large wide roads, one sign, low traffic levels, sidewalks, no people

Military Trail is a remnant of Scarborough’s first “highway built in Scarborough in 1799 by American Colonel Asa Danforth Jr.  It was a highway to connect the new town of York (i.e. Toronto) to Kingston.  The story is that the finished road was considered substandard and Danforth didn’t get fully paid.   Or maybe it was a backlash against American entrepreneurs trying to make a quick profit in Upper Canada.  Whatever the truth was, Danforth returned to the USA shortly after.

Kingston Road became Hwy 2 and was the main route to Kingston until the 401 was completed in the 1960s.

below: High And Plaza.   Strip malls or strip plazas are still plentiful.  There is talk of an Eglinton East LRT and many TTC express buses serve the area but cars still rule.

sign in a strip mall in Highland Creek, listing and advertising the businesses there such as CIBC, Scarborough Bitcoin, a pharmacy, By the Lake Dental, The Kilt Pub,

below: Proposal for a 9 storey building with 143 residential units plus retail at street level.  City infill on major routes…. and no Greenbelt is affected.
blue and white development notice in front of a strip mall on Lawrence Ave East in West Hill

below: Sign in the window: “This store is operated by Sovereign People on Sovereign Land.  We are exercising our constitutional and inherent rights.”

iroquois cannabis store in a strip mall plaza in west hill

below: Wine and yoga! Note the poster in the window about Metrolinx LRT plans on Ellesmere (just to the north).

looking in the window of In the Spirit a yoga studio and wine lounge with the motto wellness meets wicked in joyful harmony
exterior, strip mall, outside Creek Coffee Company on a sunny day

below: Morningside Ave with its red bus lanes. Looking north towards Ellesmere

Morningside Ave., looking north, from north of Lawrence to Centennial College, and U of T Scarborough. The red lanes are for buses.

below: Another stretch of Morningside, closer to Kingston Road.  Certainly not designed with pedestrians in mind. It’s scene like this that give credence to Scarborough’s nickname Scarberia.

morningside avenue, north from kingston road, some apartment buildings and trees, 4 lanes of traffic

below: Looking northeast at Galloway Road and Lawrence

2 rows of townhouses at Galloway road and lawrence in West Hill, intersection of two major streets, lots of lanes of traffic

below: Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road.  It was built in 1852.

Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road, red brick building with black and white steeple, on a hill, winter time, snow,

below: Very few traces of old West Hill remain.  The village got its own post office in 1879 (prior to that it was part of Highland Creek).

old two storey brick house on a hill surrounded by large trees, in the snow

below: West Hill suburbia.  There must be thousands of houses like these 1960s bungalows in Toronto and the GTA.  This street could be in Richmond Hill, Willowdale, or Rexdale.  West Hill must have had a major growth spurt in the 1960s and 1970s.

suburban street in winter, single car garages and 1970s bungalows, some trees, one car parked on the street, driveways,

tall horizontal murals on the sides of apartment buildings at Overture Blvd, on Lawrence

below:  On the southeast corner of Morningside and Lawrence is a mural painted in 2018 by BEHIND the Lines in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough.

mural at the corner of two walls, a person is peeling back a white curtain to reveal a planet and a phoenix with other things in the mural too, in front of an apartment building in Scarborough

mural in front of an apartment building at Morningside and Lawrence

below: Northwest corner of Morningside and Lawrence

intersection of Morningside and Lawrence, northwest corner, no frills grocery store, part of Morningsde commons retail

large deciduous tree with autumn gold and orange leaves towering over a fence with a street art throw up tag on it

below: garbage overflowing.  In the recent municipal elections there was a lot of talk about how something as simple as garbage collection was messed up in the city.  Although it is outsourced, it has always been problematic.  Bins get broken and never repaired.  Bins get filled and never emptied.  Now when I walk around I see how much of an issue this is.

overflowing city garbage container between sidewalk and street

below: Mayday SOS alert for a love emergency. Whoever scrawled this message probably had a more personal reason but I will use this image as my little prayer to the city. Do better. We can be more. The potential is there if we are willing to reach for it.

on a metal pole, a small painted white heart and three letters, S O and S.

With the Strength of Our Diversity

Posted: November 14, 2022 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Eight squares of positive messages.

With the strength of our diversity;
With the wisdom of our ancestors.

We look ahead to our prosperity

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person's back

We create our own identity

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person's back, braided hair down middle of head

Based on love and empathy

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person's back, short hair, tattoo of sun on back of neck, carrying a violin case on his back

We firmly believe in equality

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person's back

Embracing our unity; unleashing our creativity

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person

Striving for peace and respect

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person, in profile, holding a parasol over their head, hair held back in a bun with pair of chop sticks

These simple paintings are arranged along a fence at Kingston and Galloway Roads in the West Hill neighbourhood in Scarborough. At one end, on Galloway Road, only the back of the person is seen from the sidewalk. In the middle, the people are starting to turn so that by the other end of the line they face the street.

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person of Caribbean origin, male, wearing oversized heat

concrete block against a metal fence with simple painting of a person, male, african type clothing including hat

This was a StreetARToronto project with the help of the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough as well as Behind the Line

a little bit of Adelaide

Posted: October 30, 2022 in history, intersections, locations, old buildings, public art
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Eastward from Bay with a diversion or two.

These photos were taken on two different walks and you will have no trouble figuring out which images belong to which day! The first walk was on a damp morning back in September; the second walk was on a pleasantly warm and sunny October afternoon.

below: Looking up Bay Street to Old City Hall and its clock tower.

looking up Bay street from Adelaide including old city hall tower

below: New public art  “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa made of polyester resin and marble dust.  Brilliantly white.

large white head public art on Adelaide, side view

large white head public art on Adelaide

Hidden by scaffolding …   par for the course that no matter where you walk there will be construction.

construction on Adelaide, front of building covered with scaffolding

Even though there have been a lot of changes on Adelaide, there are some old details that have been preserved such as these mosaics that are temporarily behind scaffolding. They are above the entrance to the Bell Canada Building at 76 Adelaide West. Five panels, each twenty feet tall and five feet wide, of glass mosaic tile are embedded in the cement of the building. They were designed by York Wilson and installed in 1965 when the building was constructed. The theme of the piece is communication and each panel represents a different form of communication – writing, drawing, music, voice, and satellites.

mosaic tile decorations on exterior of building, behind scaffolding

At 100 Adelaide West is the remains of the Concourse Building. When the area was redeveloped recently, only the front and east facade of the original Art Deco 1928 building were preserved. The original entrance way on Adelaide remains; they feature mosaics created by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald and his son Thoreau.

art deco doorway - tile mosaics, carved stonework, and metal decorations on window and door,

Art Deco stonework

art deco details carved in stone on exterior of building

The remains of a metal fence or railing.

old metal railing outside entrance of a building

below: Looking east, at Sheppard Street.

street scene

pressure cleaning, with water, outside a building downtown

below: It looks like a splash of paint – like someone threw a can of paint at the building.

exterior of Deloitte building at Adelaide and Yonge, glass exterior has new artwork that looks like a large splash of water

below: The octagonal entrance to 1 Adelaide East (at Yonge) with its stained glass roof is being renovated.

below: Distraction!  Film crew on King Street (looking down Victoria St).

street scene to film crew working

below: Film trucks line both sides of Toronto Street

film trucks parked on both sides of Toronto street

below: Toronto hieroglyphics

yellow hydrant on sidewalk, with pink lines spray painted beside it

below: A short, tidy alley off Adelaide near Victoria

short tidy alley between two older stone and brick buildings

below: Fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard.  Collectively, the work is “Synthetic Eden” and it was created by Stacey Spiegel back in 1991.   The fountain with the metal mesh covering it – the mesh is supposedly the head of Adam.

fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard

below: The snake lurks over the garden.  The entrance to Adelaide Courtyard is beyond the etched glass panels.

Adelaide Courtyard

below: St. James Cathedral from the corner of Church and Adelaide.

St James Cathedral seen from the intersection of Church and Adelaide

below: Slight diversion north on Church where there is now a large vacant lot at Lombard.  How many cranes?

Church and Lombard vacant lot

below: Church Street, north from Adelaide.  A vacant lot on one side, a partial development on the other.

street scene with TTC street car

people walking past the ontario heritage plaque for the York Mechanics Institute at the corner of Adelaide and Church, now a patio for Tim Hortons

“The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in Britain and soon spread to North America. Its aim was to teach workers the applied technology behind new methods of manufacture and craftsmanship introduced during the Industrial Revolution. The first Institute in Ontario was established at York (Toronto) in 1830. It sponsored lectures, held classes and operated a lending library. It moved from rented quarters into its own new building on this site in 1861. After passage of the Free Libraries Act in 1882, the Institute transferred its assets to the municipal government. Its book collections formed the foundation of the Toronto Public Library, which opened in the former Institute building in 1884.”

below: Circa 1900, the music room of the York Mechanics Institute as a newspaper reading room

old black and white picture of the interior of the York Mechanics Institute that became a public library, newspaper reading room

photo credit: Photographer unknown, image from digital archives of the Toronto Public Library.

.

below: “Brickman” by Inges Idee stands outside a residential building at Jarvis and Adelaide.  He stands 10m tall and is actually made from precast concrete, not brick.

 

very tall brick sculpture of a man shape, called Brickman, outside a brick building

below: Looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking through the glass windows of a gelato and coffee shop on a corner, two women walking past, chairs inside, sunny day, park across the street

below: Old Post Office.  This building was opened in 1832, before Toronto became a city.  According to Wikipedia “It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the British Royal Mail and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys’ school” until 1913.  It was used for various things (offices, cold storage, etc) until 1971 when it was closed up and left vacant.  When it was (re)discovered to be the old post office, it was designated as an Ontario Heritage Site as well as a National Historic Site.  Since 1982 it has been a museum as well as a functional post office.

Torontos first post office on adealide street, 3 storey brick building with Canadian flags flying on either side of the entrance

below: Future chefs, George Brown College

looking in the windows on the 2nd storey of George Brown College into the kitchen of the cooking school. students in chef outfits, white, with hats, standing around a class

below: Looking west from Frederick Street.  At this point we are in the old town of York, laid out by John Graves Simcoe in 1793.  At that time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street, after the Duke of York.  Richmond Street, one block north was Duchess Street for his wife.  The Duke of York at that time was the second son of King George III, Prince Frederick.

Adelaide East, looking west towards downtown

below: Looking west from Sherbourne.  This was originally Caroline Street, named after  Caroline of Brunswick who was the wife of Prince George in 1793 (and later George IV).  When she became too unpopular, the street name was changed to Sherbourne, after the town in England with the same name but a different spelling, Sherborne.

people crossing Adelaide at Sherbourne, looking west on Adelaide towards downtown

I stopped to take a picture of an old car (remember when diesel cars were going to take over the world?) and I found an old shoe.  Keep walking and keep your eyes open because you never what you’re going to find along the way!

an old beige diesel mercedes parked on the side of a street, a single abandoned shoe on the pavement behind it

Annex alleys

Posted: October 26, 2022 in graffiti and street art, locations
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This past Saturday’s walk started on a familiar corner, Bloor and Bathurst, but at a new place, Mallo Coffee.  I don’t always mention my coffee starts and stops but not all of them have wonderfully eccentric washrooms!  The wiggly strands of light were blue which gave the room an eerie blue glow.

part of washroom wall at Mallo Coffee shop, black and white paper with drawings, images, and words, with a blue neon (led?) light that curves around giving the room an eerie blue glow

Pre-COVID there was a proliferation of small independent coffee shops in the city.  It’s nice to see that many have survived and many new ones are opening up.  It’s not so nice to see the remains of those that didn’t make it.

covered windows of closed coffee shop, plywood in one pane, picture of pink and whtie coffee cup and chocolate chip muffin in another pane

From Bloor and Bathurst I walked generally east with a little south thrown in.  Is this The Annex? or Harbord Village?  Technically the quadrant to the southeast of Bloor and Bathurst is Harbord Village but I kept seeing street art referencing The Annex.

When you’ve been taking pictures in a city for more than 10 years, you end up walking the same streets and alleys.  Sometimes you find yourself with identical pictures.   Other times things have changed and there’s a new story to present.  For this blog post there is a bit of both.  Some of the murals that I saw in the lanes behind Bloor were new to me but there were many that I have blogged before.  Rather than show all of the previous murals, I have linked to older posts.

below: Part of “Meet me at the Magnolias” by Leslie Phelan

large mural on the side of store featuring magnolia flowers painted by Leslie Phelan

below: The back part of a larger Elicser Elliott mural on the side of Dirty Bird Chicken and Waffle restaurant on Bloor Street.  The full mural is featured in the blog post “feeling hungry?” from early in 2017.

part of an elicser elliott mural on dirty bird chicken and waffle, man in brown eating a very large sandwich on a plate, a smaller man with a drink in his hands

Bagpipe Lane runs behind the south side of Bloor for less than a block

below: A few simple designs

elicser elliott mural in background, 2 abstract minimalistic designs on a wall with air conditioners and other containers, one is red on pink and the other ooks like a green eye and eye lashes on orange paper

below:  Boris Badenov from the “Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” – who is he trying to blow up now?!

graffiti, black and white wheatpaste of Boris Badenov, cartoon character from Rocky and Bullwinkle show, about the throw a round black bomb, evil look on his face

Barbara Barrett Lane is the eastern continuation of Bagpipe Lane.   This is what you see when you first enter the lane from Borden Ave.

side of a two storey brick house with lower half covered in a mural with stylize street scene, houses, street, cars, green grass,

barbara barrett lane street scene mural

barbara barrett lane street scene mural

below: Nine years ago this was part of a mural that covered the back of buildings on Bloor Street.  You can see it, and other murals that were in Barbara Barrett Lane at the time, in a blog post from 2013.

part of an od mural, faded, headless man with brown vest, blue diamond motifs

There is a large mural by Elicser Elliott on Barbara Barrett Lane.  I have already posted quite a few pictures of it so rather than show more of the same, here is the link to the “elicser paints people” post.

 

mural that says you are here Annex

David French Lane runs south from Barbara Barrett Lane.

below: Near the north end of David French Lane is this black and white garage.  It is now partially covered with ivy and vines but it too also been around since 2013.  At that time many of the garages were already covered with street art but they have all been re-painted (see 2013 blog post, ‘graffiti on garages’)

ivy and vines with leaves in green, yellow, and red, hangs over a garage with a door that is black with white line drawings all over it

below: This mural on David French is very similar to the “street scene” mural on Barbara Barrett shown above.  I wish there was a signature of some sort on them!

street scene mural on david french lane

In 2017 there was a laneway paint project, “You Are Here” on David French Lane.  Once again, you can see images of most of the garages in a previous blog post.

below: Dudeman’s skulls and old TTC bus were part of that project.  Route 77B was a combination of the 77 Spadina bus and the 510 Spadina streetcar; it runs from Spadina station (on Bloor) south to Queens Quay before looping and returning north.

mural by Dudeman covering the front of a garage in an alley, lots of differenc=t coloured skulls, a TTC bus, signs for Spadina

below: A dog with a spiked collar by Christina Mazzulla.

street art on garage door, large dogs with spiked collars, big teeth, open mouth, pink tongues, painted by C mazzulla

alley view, mural on a garage door, back of three storey house, back yard

below: A blue eyed, black haired person with a tiger and a bluebird, all at 263.

painted garages in David French Lane, the one in the middle has a person with long black hair and blue eyes beside a tiger head in profile and a blue bird taking flight

below: Emily May Rose’s now iconic raccoons.  They hang out all over the city!

emily may rose raccoon mural an a garage in David French Lane

a mural on the outside of a wood garage, red x in the middle with other tag, text elements

below: “Fat bottomed girls … You make the rocking world go ’round”  Name that tune!

alley view, garages with street art and graffiti including a pink bum, with backs of houses and trees seen above the garages

in the foreground, black and white faded and peeled painting, with mural across the lane in the background which has a marine theme, large whale and other aquatic animals

Farther east there is another lane but with no name (Toronto is full of nameless lanes!).

black graffiti on a white garage door, black stencil of man upper body, some blobs and the words they live

alley view, line of garages with utility poles

below: Glorious old textures

an old wood garage door in an alley with old tags, faded paint, moss on roof, newer wood gate beside,

painting on a garage of a topless man holding up something very heavy across his back and shoulders, sort of like greek god atlas.

below: This may or not be something called Tomo

on a wood fence, painted white, with black line drawing of a large plump cat like figure with two ears that stand up, small eyes, whiskers, and 3 hearts on his tummy, a small rabbit sits on its head. red word tomo with question mark beside it

… and back to Mallo.  Until next time!

interior of Mallo Coffee shop, woman behind bar, bar with orange, turquoise and blue tiles, a young woman witting at a table, red model airplane hanging from ceiling,

Colonel Danforth colours

Posted: October 24, 2022 in locations, nature
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october scene, leaves on trees in different shadesof greens, yellows, and oranges, with blue water of highland creek, as well as reflections of leaves in the water

Colonel Danforth Park is located where Kingston Road and Old Kingston Road pass over the Highland Creek in Scarborough.

people walking by highland creek in october with lots of red leaves on the trees

This past weekend we had some amazing warm and sunny days – great days to spend some time meandering through a park, especially this year when the autumn colours seem so much brighter and plentiful than in past years.  Is it just my imagination or have the colours have also lingered longer?

large deciduous trees with lots of orange and red leaves, october

The north part of the park merges with the grounds of U of T Scarborough campus.

bright orange and red leaves on mid si

people at univerity of toronto scarborough campus tennis courts on lower playing fields, october, trees in bright autumn colours

large group of autumn trees, with lots of leaves on the ground

birch trees in autumn, lots of blue sky too

late afternoon sun low in sky, long shadows, light through tree trunks, with lots of october leaves on the ground

october afternoon in the woods, large mature trees with lots of colourful leaves

afternoon sunlight shining through forest

three tall straight pine trees beside a path

a path through the woods in October, different coloured leaves on the trees, leaves fallen on the path

trees in the woods at Colonel Danforth park, one is dead, the others have colourful leaves, october scene

below:  Seed pods of ‘dog-strangling vine’ (or swallowwort) starting to burst.  This plant is an invasive species.  It is quite pretty at this time of year as the seeds are released and the leaves of the plant turn a silvery colour.  Unfortunately, it is a fast growing vine that quickly climbs other plants such as this young sumac tree.  It will kill that plant.

dog strangling vine growing on young sumac or sumach with red leaves

the remains of a very old tree, a broken stump, very large, beside another tree

below: A wasp nest high up in a tree

large globe shaped wasp nest up in a tree

big fat pine cones growing on a pine tree

large reddish hued pine tree with gnarled trunk in the foreground, benches in the park in the background

below:  Ooops!  “Off roading” taken a bit too far.

a small plastic toy ride on truck stuck on the rocks in a creek

below: Under Kingston Road

three faces, graffiti on concrete supports for a bridge. each face has black hair, one has glasses and their skin is various shades of brown

graffiti on bridge concrete support

tall concrete supports holding up bridge, Kingston Road, over Highland creek and Colonel Danforth park

***

historical society plaque for Highland Creek Mills

“Highland Creek Mills
The early settlers of Scarborough used the waters of Highland Creek to provide power for their many saw and grist mills in this valley. The first mill in the township was built here in 1804 by William Cornell who hauled his mill stone from Kingston on his sled. In 1847 William Hellewell built the first of his four mills on this site. Downstream there were saw mills operated by Jordan Post, Stephen Closson, and others. …”

 

There have been discussions recently about the lack of washroom facilities in Toronto parks especially once the city deems summer to be over. There were no facilities that I saw on my walk but I was thankful for the porta-potty that was provided. Not the best but I have seen worse!

Roncy old and new

Posted: October 21, 2022 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Walking an old favorite, the upper section of Roncesvalles.

below: The old Roncesvalles Village mural with the 504 streetcar is still looking good….  Jac’s Milk convenience store at Wright.

Jac's Milk convenience store on Roncesvalles, with a large mural on the side wall, a TTC streetcar, text that says Roncesvalles village, people waiting for the streetcar

below: There is now a bright new mural for Roncesvalles. It was painted by Philip Cote and Jim Thierry Bravo. It’s title is: “The Original People Leading to the Eighth Fire”.

new indigenous theme mural for roncesvalles village, a large brown bear looks down at the text in the mural, a lone of fish and birds under the text, a row of rental bikes in front of the mural, an orange sun in a yellow sky

There are many symbols that have been incorporated into the mural.  The large brown animal at the top (over the window) is a wolf who was the companion of the first humans.  There is an article on the Roncesvalles BIA website that provides more information and insights into the mural’s stories and symbols.    Also, what used to be a pharmacy is now Early Bird & Worm – but the painting of the interior of an old pharmacy is still there, under the new black and white sign.

left hand side of new Roncesvalles mural with a large green fish, a blue bird, and a bear, on the side of a brick building

below: On the far right is a thunderbird, a co-creator of the world.

right hand side of mural painted by Philip Cote and Jim Thierry Bravo, indigenous symbols, thunderbird

below: It’s pumpkin season!

Roncesvalles fruit market store with produce on display outside, pumpkins and sunflowers

view in a store window, gold and black and white pumpkins, picture of a woman in a frame

looking in the window of Good Neighbour store on Roncesvalles

old black sign with red peeling letters that say we scoop kawartha dairy ice cream, some letters missing

a man anad a woman talking and looking at a phone while standing on sidewalk by bicycles parked there, across street from White Corner Variety Store, new condos behind the store, Roncy, Roncesvalles

3 store fronts on Roncesvalles, Thai restaurant, Amma Roti place, and

below: Relax and Recover

two garages in a lane, ivy covering a lot of the nearest one, the word relax painted on the door, on the second garage, two large eyes above the door, and a white heart on the door with the word recover written in the middle of it

below: An oldie – a grominator on a concrete wall in an alley

street art on a cement block garage in an alley, a black and white grominator on one side and an abstract of swirls and wavy shapes in multi colours on the other

below: Bike parked in front of a painted door.

a black goccia bike parked in front of a door with multi color painting, abstract, on it

below: A defaced 33wallflower33 slap on the back of the traffic sign.

33 wallflower slap on back of traffic sign, two children in period clothing, sidewalk scene beside the sign

below: Opossums eat about 5000 ticks per season – now you know!

metal sidewalk box that has been painted with a picture of a possum along with some facts about the animal

samples of store merchandise on a door, a mat that says everyone welcome, a canvas bag with an image of an old TTC streetcar, a pink bag with a black stenciled womans face on it

turquoise and gold sign in the window of a door along with a lace curtain, sign says closed

parts of an old green sofa discarded and left by a bus shelter

opened! – the first new Port Lands bridge

Posted: October 7, 2022 in construction, locations, transportation, waterfront
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The middle of three new bridges built for the Port Lands redevelopment has just been opened to traffic.

looking north up cherry street through new yellow and white curvy bridge

The bridge may be open to traffic, but the area is still a construction zone!

Eventually Cherry Street will be realigned so that there is no jog in it at Lakeshore.    At this point in time, the south part of the realignment is closer to completion.  This is where the new bridge is.

Commissioners Street has been extended westward to join the new segment of Cherry Street.

 below: This is the east intersection of Commissioners and Cherry (looking east).  Yes, it’s a mess!  There are traffic signals even though only two of the four approaches are open.  If you are traveling south on Cherry, you have to turn right onto Commissioners.

cherry street and commissioners street intersection, canary diner restaurant, construction, port lands redevelopment

below: Same intersection, looking west.

intersection of Cherry and Commissioners street, construction, police watching over, trucks in intersection, new traffic signals

below: New part of Commissioners Street

construction along the west end of Commissioners street in the port lands, with the toronto skyline in the background

below: The west part of Commissioners ends here

dead end street, Commissioners street, west end, fence and no entry signs, traffic lights

below: If you stand in the same place as the above photo but turn to your right, this is the view that you see.  This is the new part of Cherry Street being realigned to match the section north of Lakeshore Blvd.  The new bridges over the Keating Channel are in place but there is still a lot to be done before this part of Cherry Street can be opened.

Glooking north where the new part part of Cherry Street is being built, new double bridge to go over the Keating channel as well as condos in Distillery District are in the background

below:  Looking south… It is the middle bridge that has been opened to traffic first.  It is located approximately where the T ‘n T grocery store used to be.  An interesting line of large boulders!

new Cherry Street bridge with its yellow curved lines, large rocks in the dirt in the foreground, construction still in progress

below: This is the view from the new bridge looking west.  The large white crane structure predates the construction.  The channel has always been here as it provides water/ship access to the Lafarge cement site on the south side of the waterway.  What is new is that the channel is being extended eastward to join the mouth of the Don River.

view from the Cherry Street bridge new bridge, towards Lake Ontario, Toronto skyline in the background, construction equipment in the foreground for the redevelopment of the Port Lands

below: Traveling northbound

a cement truck and a ttc bus on Cherry street on the new bridge

two cyclists pass over the new Cherry Street bridge in the bike lane

below: Looking east from the bridge.   Pinewood studios in the background on the right.

looking east from port lands yellow bridge, overlooking construction in port lands

below: Another view to the east but slightly more south.  This time Pinewood Studios is more to the left in the photo.   A pedestrian bridge is already built to span the new water channel that is under construction.

port lands redevelopment, noew pedestrian bridge over new water channel that is being created

temporary pole with pedestrian crossing light at an intersection in a construction zone, a cyclist is passing through, new port Lands bridge in the background

below: Looking north up Cherry Street towards the Distillery District.  The old, and now closed part, of the street is being torn up.  The new street and bridge are to the left in this photo.

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

big yellow machinery digging up the asphalt from an old road and placing it in a dump truck

a man in a red shirt walks two dogs on the sidewalk along Cherry street, towards construction and the new bridge, TTC bus in the oncoming lane of traffic

orange construction sign that says be prepared to stop, haul trucks entering and exiting, with construction, and a large dump truck beside and behind the sign

below: To the south, the lift bridge on Cherry Street is being refurbished but not replaced.  This part of Cherry Street is not being moved.

looking south at Cherry Street to lift bridge that is being refurbished

in the early morning sun, stairs in the sunlight beside a bridge, going down to the water, an old building and its reflections behind

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