Like every summer, the end of August means that it’s time for the Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE. For two weeks the Exhibition grounds come alive with games, rides, food, exhibits, concerts, and other events. Here are some photos from opening day last Friday.
… another walk down Graffiti Alley
below: Part of a monochrome mural by Nicolas Araneda aka niko.volts that has a lot of very American feet walking all over the faces of other people as lay on the ground…. ‘Trampling’ might be a better verb than ‘walking’
below: Some walk in heavy boots, and others swim with open mouth ….
below: Looking crazed and demented, “Lobo” by Horus (aka Trevor Goodwin)
below: Not quite so crazy or so demented but certainly not cuddly and warm either.
below: “Bring your green hat” by FreshPaintDaly aka Billy Creekwater
below: Two (and a bit) of six panels, drawings by Hartshorn (or posts collective).
below: “Not today Satan”. There’s a lot going on here – the Silly Sausage Gang being front and center. 33wallflower33 in her white coat with the fuzzy collar and little decorations by catchoo . There is also a T-bonez (of urban ninja squadron fame) wearing a green shirt and a necklace with a pendant – that’s Sticker Eddie he’s wearing, apparently. The red-hearted pug’s name is Mopsi. Mopsi has something in his mouth but the donut is in the way (for more Mopsi see the Instagram page of his creator, So schoen immer weider)…. And the other dog is a collaboration between TRP613 (check out the reflections in the sunglasses!) and DivadogLA
below: “Get me out of here” and a dose of Instant Karma.
below: Free Iran
below: This painting of a woman with her headphones above and yellow birdie walking a dog below was one of the first murals in Graffiti Alley – the work of Uber5000. Not many originals still exist!
below: Elicser Elliott’s contribution to a larger mural that has been painted below the pink Poser bunny, “Don’t watch me cry”
below: Half a face. He only needs one eye to stare at you.
below: Gold… With a garland of white and blue flowers.
below: A very large and very purple bear is at the door.
below: He or she looks rather cramped in there. Signature says Neem?
below: Another flower garland and another Neem head squeezed into a box.
below: Scowling and smoking with ace in his cap.
below: Skydome forever and ALCS, as well as Vladdy’s number 27 shirt and World Series 2025…. little blue and white pieces of ceramic that celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays that someone lovingly made.
below: One Inch? … And other stickers crammed together.
below: “We are the colours of corn”
below: More stickers and pasteups including catchoo’s dumpster fire that t-bonez from urban ninja squadron is using to dry his socks and underwear.
below: A couple of contributions from Dogmaslaps here (they’re all about dogs in case you haven’t guessed yet).
below: More pasteups, some of which are quite intricate and detailed … especially the top two (vulture and jaguar?) which are both the creations of Ezpektro.
below: Sharing space with the Ezpektro pieces are a few smaller pasteups, some of which were made by artists that are new to me. There is a pink bike in the top right, the same bike that is in the Make Art Not War poster in the above image… BikeDeSuro creates stickers and wheatpaste featuring bikes. From the left, a woman by Fiigueers and then a young girl with the Spanish words, “que nunca se apague la llama de la autonomia” which translates to “may the flame of autonomy never be extinguished”… The collection is rounded out with a guitar player from Sentient Cookie and a cute little green guy from Catchoo.
below: MonkYi cat with a very real looking heart in his claws. Two carp swimming on the pavement in front.
below: Charmander, a Pokemon character.
below: Alfred E. Neuman makes an appearance in a couple of places – he’s the dude from MAD Magazine.
below: By 50 shades of greatt aka Adam McKnight – It looks a lot like Sponge Bob… maybe it’s his cousin? But what’s with that tongue? It looks like a slug is trying to slither out of his mouth.
below: Verity and a happy face.
below: Someone is not impressed…. Lame
below: Green guy says: “In one year’s time, strike your blow, I shall return.”
below: “These days will define us”
On a recent wander through the Art Gallery of Ontario I encountered a few ‘people’. They were happy, forlorn, busy, engaging, cute, creepy, odd, and more. I hope that you’ll agree!
below: “Interesting Story” 1898, by Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930)
below: A Louis Valtat (1869-1952, French) painting that depicts a couple at a cabaret. Can you see the dancer?
below: “June”, bright and bold, by Lynn Donoghue (1953-2003, Canadian)
below: This is a section of “Torn Heart” by Natalka Husar (b. 1951, Ukrainian roots). One comment about her painting that I saw on an AGO website is, “Husar’s paintings are a compelling mix of joy, guilt, mystery, and seduction, and Torn Heart vividly expresses the complexities and paradoxes of love stories we have all lived.” (source)
below: “Night Games at the Paradise” by Rae Johnson (1953-2020, Canadian) is a painting of people sitting in the outdoor section of a bar next to Johnson’s Toronto home. No one is happy.
below: Watching one the videos made by Diego Marcon (b. 1985 in Italy). I am having trouble with this one as I found Macron’s videos to be too creepy, too dark. His digital/CGI people don’t look quite right (on purpose?).
The AGO has a photography exhibit, “Picture Space” (until 1 Nov 2026) that features some photos from their collection, including from the following four photographers.
below: Barbara Astman (b. 1950, Canadian) – two big eyes staring back at you. This is “Seeing and Being Seen #1”
below: Luther Konadu’s photos from “Ambient Photo” are actually four put together and displayed in one horizontal image. I have separated them into two halves (this photo and the next). “Ambient Photo” is on ongoing project that looks at the mechanics of photography.
below: Sandra Brewster’s “Hiking Black Creek” 2018 is a very large picture that is printed on wood panels. The original photo was taken in the 1970s and shows her parents hiking shortly after they arrived in Toronto from Guyana.
below: “Beauty at a Proper Distance” by Suzy Lake (b. 1947 in Detroit, now in Toronto).
And last, with a bit of silliness, a quirky photo taken in Yayoi Kusama’s infinity room.
Two very different men born in different times and in different places… who happen to take pictures. Some of these pictures are now hanging on the walls of the TMU Image Centre.
The main exhibit showcases some of the work of Dawit L. Petros a Montreal-based artist and winner of the 2025 Scotiabank Photography Award. He was born in Eritrea and came to Canada with his family when he was a child. His work often focuses on the ideas of belonging, migration, displacement, and the idea of ‘home’. Except for his earlier work, most of his photography is conceptual. (bottom section below)
In a smaller gallery are photographs by Larry Fink (American, 1941-2023) that are drawn from the Image Centre’s collection. “Social Graces” is a series of 31 black and white photographs from the 1970s that contrast wealthy urbanites with poorer rural folk. Rich people at fashionable Manhattan clubs and social events on one hand and working-class rural Pennsylvanians at their parties and social occasions on the other hand.
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Both exhibits end on the 1st of August.
All of the pictures in this post were taken on Dundas East, just west of Jones Avenue. Along this stretch of Dundas, garages and backyard fences line the street. Most of them have been painted with bright and cheerful images of flowers, birds, animals, and other living things.
below: There is only one person who would paint a mural with these cute but mischievous raccoons, Emily May Rose
below: Sadly, unsigned and unknown. Two snakes slithering through pink flowers and green grass.
below: La Pupila (aka Valentina) has painted rosy red apples with faces, and even a bite taken out of one of them.
below: Two dog portraits by Jeff Blackburn
below: Red hearts and laughter in a mural by Phillip Saunders
below: A young child with bond curly hair holds a very large pink flower in a painting by Wade Benedict.
below: Picking oranges and watering flowers, working together in the garden in a mural by Golden Butter Murals
below: Making hearts. Long necked ducks or geese beak to beak.
below: White flowers by timmifuk
below: More garage door flowers – this time pink peonies in a vase.
below: Orange lilies by hotsnackz (aka Chrissy Kuiack)
below: Black on colour.
below: Ryan Dineen painted this little bird
below: A young looking loon swims as the sun sets in a mural by Julia Prajka
below: Two red cardinals in flight by Adrian Hayles.
below: A ruby throated hummingbird flies among the fireflies, by Blazeworks.
below: Close up of an abstract mural by Bareket (bkez)
below: Que Rock, butterfly
below: “I’ll be here until you arrive”, a portrait of an older man with a beard, in shades of red, by Jarus
below: Nick Sweetman – a pelican and a flamingo splashing in the water
below: On the right, covering two garage doors, is an aquatic scene by Jarus.
below: This spider painting is signed “Vudu” (Christine Mazzulla?)
below: Another bird flying over a garden full of flowers on a fence painted by Julia Louise Pereira (aka ohlordyitsjulia)
below: A very Toronto sight, by Skamoney
This was a StreetARToronto project
Photos taken June 2026
A look at another intersection (and its surroundings)…….
below: Swimming by the 401 highway – You might recognize this image as Georges Pierre Seurat’s 1884 pointillism painting, “Bathers at Asnières”. Man in hat lying with his dog, sailboats in the distance, people sitting on the shore and people playing in the water – these are all elements in that famous Seurat painting.
It appears as part of a large mural that Ian Leventhal painted in 2006; it covers the wall that helps support the 401 as it cuts across the Bathurst and Wilson intersection. The large triangle created by this wall and the two streets is a park with the very unimaginative name of Bathurst-Wilson Parkette.
below: Looking east on Wilson at Bathurst.
below: Both Bathurst and Wilson pre-date the building of the 401 highway. This old photo (1950) is taken from an excellent article in the Toronto Star written by Shawn Micallef, (28 Sept 2019) that details the history of the 401 highway development around Bathurst Street. The brown lines show the original layout of the highway and the on/off ramps. Not all of these ramps exist now. I have added a bright red line to show the present day on-ramp from Bathurst (northbound) to the EB 401. You may have noticed that the original on and off ramps were residential streets!
But changes are always happening. Now it is the southwest corner of Bathurst and Wilson that is about to be transformed…. or at least it was. At the moment the property is under court ordered receivership as the developer is having “financial issues” to the tune of at least 28 million dollars. The property is for sale. Tims is open but everything around it is vacant. Condo development was booming in Toronto until it wasn’t. I don’t have an exact number, but there are a lot of vacant/abandoned properties like this around the city.
below: Brooklyn Furniture Emporium – boarded up and forgotten. They started business in 1958 and survived for more than 60 years.
below: Gone is the gas station that was here.
below: Looking north up Bathurst.
The development property that is on the market also includes a couple of addresses on the next street west, Richelieu Road whose properties back onto Bathurst.
below: Another proposal includes the remaining houses on Richelieu (across the street from those backing onto Bathurst). I am unsure of its status, but it makes for a rather sad looking little street.
below: This area was originally developed at a time when the 2 storey brick mini plaza (or strip mall) was popular. A line of stores/restaurants/businesses with some parking in front became a feature of large segments of Toronto’s main streets. Will we mourn their loss once it is their turn to be replaced? They may be ugly but they provide a space for local businesses.
below: Bathurst and Wilson has become predominantly Filipino. This place specializes in ensaynadas which is something that I had never heard of. It’s a Filipino bun with different flavorings/toppings such as cheese, or almond (or many others). Filipino, but from Mallorca (Spain) too … and possibly with a Jewish origin.
below: Beaver Cleaners – where to go when the beaver needs a good scrub. More importantly, just beyond it is The Inside Scoop which sells fabulous ice cream!
below: You can also find a mural by Nick Sweetman nearby. It lines both sides of the Bathurst underpass at the 401. I have blogged about it previously – in fact, it was the previous post: Animals under the 401
below: A banner to advertise a production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in Yiddish with English subtitles that was playing at the Elgin Theatre (downtown).
There are two large murals by Nick Sweetman that cover both sides of Bathurst street as it passes under the 401 highway. The murals are a collection of animals – birds, frogs, cows, cats, foxes, bats, tigers, and more. This blogpost is a selection of images from those two walls.
A walk down Coxwell Avenue with a few diversions along the way…..
below: Part of larger mural painted by Al Runt that covers most of the exterior of a building on Gerrard near Coxwell.
The “Soller” part of the title of this post is a direct reference to artist Rowell Soller. As it turns out he was touching up one of his murals on Coxwell when I walked past.
below: This large painting is on the same building as the mural in the photo above. It is a collaboration between Soller and Flips. If you see a painting in Toronto that has those curls and swirls, it was probably painted by Flips.
below: “The choice is yours”
below: Coxwell and Gerrard (south part), looking southeast. A quirk in the map, a jog in the street. For reasons no longer clear (probably something to do with the history of the area), Gerrard is divided by Coxwell into a southern and a northern section. This is the southern part where it is Gerrard to the west of Coxwell but Eastwood Avenue to the east.
below: The sign says Fairford Avenue, which is partially correct as it is Fairford to the west of Coxwell, but Gerrard Street to the east. Confused yet? The 506 Carleton streetcar runs on Gerrard as far east as Main Street and west all the way to High Park… but it has to make two turns at Coxwell to stay on Gerrard.
below: Signs of summer!
below: Bowmore Road Junior and Senior Public School is just east of Coxwell. It was built in 1923.
below: Does anybody still refer to Toronto as ‘The 6ix’? It was popular ten years ago when Drake used it in a song but I haven’t heard it much recently.
below: Another Coxwell mural, another collaboration between Rowell Soller and Flips (from 2022).
below: … and yet another, this time with yellow curls
below: More Soller painting, this time on Queen East close to Coxwell, a woman in blue.
below: Emdaabiimok Avenue is now the name of the lower part of Coxwell, south of Queen. In Anishinaabemowin, Emdaabiimok translates to “where the road goes to the water”
below: There are a lot of tiny houses on Coxwell!
below: There is also this tall skinny house that has a footprint of only 16′ x 16′ (just under 5m x 5m). It has one bedroom and is built on stilts. It is accessed from the sidewalk by a bridge. Originally it was painted in blue, red, green, and yellow squares and rectangles and really did look like it was made of Lego blocks. If you hear of someone referring to it as the Lego House, that’s why. This pale blue and dark grey mix looks much better!
below: Like most other places in the city, there are always changes to be seen whether it is a complete reno of a house or the addition of a rooftop terrace.
below: If you walk (or drive) slightly farther north on Coxwell, you might see this car. Its collection of colourful and sparkly decorations has slowly grown over the years to the point where there isn’t much room left!
subtitle: A little wander down King Street East (and area) with a look at both the past and present .
…Starting with a cup of coffee and a CONTACT exhibit – photos by Jamaal Owusu-Ansah titled “Hints of Orange” at the Black Canary coffee shop on Sherbourne Street just north of King, showing until 5th June (but coffee and goodies still available after that!)
“I don’t care what the weather says anymore, It’s iced coffee season”
below: Looking west on King from Jarvis with the steeple of St. James Cathedral rising above.
below: King Street has been a vital part of Toronto since the beginning. It was one of the original roads laid out in the late 1790s in the Town of York (which became Toronto in 1834). At that time it ended at Berkeley Street.
below: south side of King street, looking west from Sherbourne
below: The southwest corner of King and Sherbourne streets.
below: More views of the King and Sherbourne intersection – this time the northeast corner with the newer condos rising above. The old bank building became part of those condos.
below: In 1972 when this photo was taken, 230 King Street East was a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). It was built in 1908.
Photo from City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 2032, Series 841,
Betty’s (once the Betty Ford Clinic – or just the Betty Ford? – until the original Betty Ford issued a cease and desist order) has moved to Queen St East. The King location closed in 2022 after 30 years on the premises. The building, and its neighbour, 234 and 236 King Street East, are listed as city heritage sites. In 1888, the red brick building was constructed as a warehouse for a bedding manufacturer, Chaney and Co Bedding. And yes, they are empty because a developer plans to build a condo tower here.
below: Duke Mews is a short lane running west from Princess, back towards Sherbourne. It is just north of King Street, between King and Adelaide. Once upon a time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street.
below: West end
“You are the love of my life”
.
below: Looking east towards Ontario Street at a view that won’t be available for much longer. The buildings that were once here have been demolished and the site is awaiting redevelopment.
below: This is the brick facade that was retained when the Drug Trading Building was redeveloped (into offices and workspaces, not condos). It was originally built in 1942 (and expanded in 1946). The Art Deco elements on the entrance were also saved. This was the administration building for the company -factories were on the other side of Ontario Street. In 2022 this was the Sun TV building even though the transition to a taller repurposed building was already underway . The Drug Trading Company had been founded in 1896 to supply independent pharmacies with medications and other products.
below: Looking northeast from Duke Mews – past the empty lot and the edge of The Shift to farther along Adelaide Street.
below: Now looking southeast from Duke Mews towards King Street. A small sliver of that property along King will become a park.
below: The facade of the three storey red brick building at Princess and King is being saved.
below: Once upon a time, the Crow Bar restaurant was on the corner of Adelaide and Princess. It closed in 2016 and in more recent years, the corner was a parking lot.
This 1972 photo is from the City of Toronto Archives, fonds 2032, series 841, file 38, item 7. Fonds 2032 is from the Toronto Planning Board and series 841 is a large collection of photos taken of intersections around the downtown core in 1972.
below: Another restaurant of the same vintage nearby on King Street, the Patrician Grill, just closed
below: Interior of the Patrician Grill, at the same location since 1953.
below: Looking southeast at King and Berkeley. Metrolinx has cleared the whole block between Berkeley and Parliament for Ontario line subway construction.
below: Looking southwest at King and Parliament at the hoardings around the block that Metrolinx has taken over.
below: Brick buildings on the northwest corner of King and Power Streets. They are actually the back of 93 Parliament Street – built in 1908 for the Aluminum and Crown Stopper Company as factory and warehouse. They manufactured supplies for bottlers.
below: King and Power 1972 with a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on the corner.
City of Toronto Archives, fonds 2032, series 841
below: Also King and Power, but in January of 1937 when there were houses on Power Street. This photo is from a large collection of photographs taken in 1936 and 1937 of housing in this area. A large number of the houses are in awful condition, poorly built, and condemned by the city.
below: If you then turn around and face east, this is the view that you get. It’s in black and white and I bet that it could pass as a vintage photo even though I took it a few days ago (except the modern cars might give it away).
below: Another City Archives fonds 2032, series 841 photo from 1972. It’s not a direct match to the photo above, but the building on the corner of King and Power (356 King East) is the same one. It wasn’t looking too healthy in 1972! It is nice to see something that has improved with age (and some TLC). This photo happens to show the row of buildings on the north side of King adjacent to number 356.
below: There are four leaf clovers hiding in the greenery in this Rowell Soller mural beside Sackville Park
below: If you have ever walked or driven this section of King Street East, you may have noticed the bright pink exterior of Cam’s Muffler/Thruway Muffler!
below: Repairs and updates are in progress on the ramps between the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway that cross over King Street. The concrete supports were painted by Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky a few years ago.
In 1901 King Street was extended as far east as the Don River. Because of the curvature of Lake Ontario, King Street swings north and merges with Queen just before the river.
I’ll end this blog post with three bits of cuteness, all are sections of the large Uber5000 mural on the Queen Street wall of the Toronto Humane Society, one of the last buildings on Queen Street before the Don River. Uber5000’s little yellow birdie is such a happy fellow!
below: People walking on Queen Street West. Do you think that they realize that a large yellow eye is watching them from behind? This is the eye of a very large painting of a cat, probably a Japanese cat.
The mural, the JapanTown mural on the side of the Sanko Trading Company, has been re-painted. The previous mural dates from 2013/4. A blog post with photos of what that looked like in 2015 is at: Sanko Wall. This blog post should give you an idea what it looks like now.
The group of artists (‘The Summit’) who painted the mural also made a video for youtube: The JapanTown Project No. 5
as I walk Toronto 