This is part of my ‘end of the year clean up and sort through photos’ process that I start most years at this time – I don’t always finish but that’s a whole other story. One of the drafts that I found this morning was this post which I was in the midst of writing when the fan on my laptop died. The technological hiccups have been dealt with and on we go…. . back in the fall I spent some time around Bloor and Spadina and this is the result.
below: On the SE corner of Spadina and Bloor are these supersized Dominoes. It’s rather silly but I like the juxtaposition of Dominoes and Pizza Pizza. This is also part of Matt Cohen Park.
below: The hoardings went up around Honest Eds late in October. By the time you read this, most (if not all) of the building will be gone.
below: Jimi Hendrix Sculpture Garden includes the bronze sculpture “People helping People” 1990, by Al Green. The sculpture also appears on the property of an apartment complex in Davisville – the connection being that the two properties were developed by the same family company (the Green family as it turns out). The garden also includes two bas-relief sculptures on the wall. These are reproductions of some of the decorative facades of the Victorian houses (1890’s) that used to be on this site until they were torn down in 2004.
below: What the well dressed mummy was wearing this fall season.
below: There is not a lot of street art as you get closer to Spadina (there is more closer to Bathurst). This garage door is one of the few pieces.
below: Poster for the YCL (Young Communist League) of Canada.
below: The Ten Editions books store which sits on University of Toronto property. There is some debate/discussion going on at the moment re the development of this site. Ten Editions has been there since 1984. At that time, the building was 100 years old as it was started its life 1885 as the John James Funstan Grocery Store. The University of Toronto wants to tear it down so they can build a 23 storey residence on the site.
below: On the grounds of Trinity St. Paul Church is a sign that marks the spot of another garden. This one is the Heart Garden and it is there to honour the children who were lost in or survived the residential school system. “May we be part of a future of reconciliation and justice”. It is designed in the shape of an Indigenous Medicine Wheel. You can see the four concrete ‘paths’ that divide the wheel into four sections. I have never noticed this garden before and it is unfortunate that the first time was late in the autumn when nothing was growing. I will come back in the spring and/or summer to take a closer look. Apparently it is part of a project, just one of many heart gardens across the country.
below: Walmer Road street sign. Most of these green Annex signs have faded over time and it is rare now to find one in good shape like this one.
As I type this, there is still snow falling from the sky, the tail end (I hope!) of the latest snow fall. .. so you can expect some snowier pictures in the near future!
as I walk Toronto 