Archive for July, 2025

What remains

Posted: July 12, 2025 in history, old buildings, transportation
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There is talk about what to do with the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line that runs from Kennedy station, north to Lawrence and Ellesmere, and then east to Scarborough Town Centre.   The SRT was built in 1985 and then closed in July 2023.  The concrete and glass infrastructure still remains.  The tracks are gone.   A few years ago, I went for a ride on the SRT (blog post is  Are you going to Scarborough? ) but I never checked out the stations themselves.  Since I am not sure how much longer they are going to exist, I thought I’d better take a look before it’s too late.

below:  Lawrence East station nestles under the bridge where Lawrence passes over railway tracks between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.

low flat concrete building, Lawrence East station on now defunct SRT line. It is under a bridge, under Lawrence Avenue.

looking in the windows of lawrence east rapid transit station, now empty, reflections of outside as well

below: Although the SRT tracks have been removed, other tracks remain.   These tracks continue on to Agincourt GO station and points farther north.

behind chainlink fence, train station, but with tracks removed.

below: Looking south

chainlink fence, with railway tracks behind, two sets of tracks, the ones in the foreground have been removed

below: Signs for 54A and 954 Lawrence buses

overhead signs for lawrence bus routes at old lawrence east station

below: If you wanted to cross the tracks, this was the fastest way…

stairs for underground passage to cross subway tracks at lawrence east station, round hole with stairs in the middle,

stairs down to underpass under railway tracks at lawrence east srt station, metal doors locked closed,

north side of lawrence east srt station

northwest corner of lawrence east srt station

below:  Permanently closed

poster on door of srt station, picture of old srt subway car, notice that the line is permanently closed.

below: Mike Myers Drive with Lawrence East station in the background.

below: A short distance north of the Lawrence East station is the old Ellesmere station.  It too is under a bridge (under Ellesmere of course!).  It is smaller than the Lawrence East station

south side of Ellesmere station, with tracks now removed, curved glass structure under a bridge,

below:  Ellesmere station also has the circular hole for the stairs leading to an underground passage.  The station looks like a big glass tube.

ellesmere station, east side, with blue railing around circular hole, long glass tube structure in the background that is the station, bridge overhead

 

looking in window of ellesmere srt station, reflections, sign saying southbound to kennedy

below: Someone is missing their lock.

three toronto bike lock rings, painted red, one with a rusty chain and combination lock still on it.

After Ellesmere station, the SRT turned east, diverging from the other set of tracks.  Midland station was just after the turn – on Midland between Ellesmere and Progress.  Sorry, no pictures (busier street, no parking).  Although the architecture is similar (a glass tube), Midland station is built on top of a bridge, above the road instead of below it.   From Midland the trains went directly east to Scarborough Town Centre.   For most of thee eastern section, the tracks run behind industrial or light industrial land.  I haven’t been able to find out if there is any access or if it is all fenced off.

below: East view of Scarborough Town Centre station with covered walkways from both the federal government building on the left, and the shopping center on the right.

a TTC bus passes by Scarborough Town Centre station with its now abandoned elevated tracks

below: No trains run here anymore, but the station is still used for buses with the elevated rails being used as a roof.

TTC buses loading and unloading at Scarborough Town Centre, seen from above, from the walkway between station and Scarborough Town Centre

people opening doors going into Scarborough Town Centre

below: Pillars supporting the elevated tracks still run through the parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan.

pillar P53, and others behind it, SRT tracks at Scarborough Twn centre parking loto

below: McCowan station was the eastern end of the line.

McCowan SRT station, glass, reflections in the glass

below: McCowan station viewed from the east side. The tracks continued a short distance to the SRT yard where trains were housed and serviced.

east side of McCowan Scarborough Rapid Transit station, elevated line for transit

elevated tracks for old scarborough srt, in front of a tall condo building

below: At McCowan, Scarborough Transit Connect is partnered with Metrolinx to build the new Scarborough Extension subway from Kennedy station to a new terminus at Shepherd and McCowan. See a previous blog post, Intersections –  McCowan and Sheppard for some photos from

fence around construction site, Scarborough Transit connect, working on new Scarborough Town Centre station for Scarborough extension of line 1 of TTC subway

below: Traffic on McCowan is impacted by the subway extension construction

looking north on McCowan at Progress, by old McCowan srt station, concrete barrier narrowing the street, construction on the right

below: One more view of the construction at McCowan station

below: And last, I found evidence on a pole in the parking lot at Scarborough Town Centre that indicates that I have missed the Rapture; they left without me. I guess that I am stuck here!

graffiti sticker on a pole that says Rapture Jesus took us home

Royal York to Kipling

Posted: July 11, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
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This walk started from Royal York subway station.  In general, I walked westward first along Bloor Street (to Islington) and then on Dundas West.   The stretch of Bloor West at Royal York is part of The Kingsway neighbourhood.

 

front of Kingsway cinema on Bloor Street West

blue sign that says welcome to the kingsway, on bloor street west near royal york

two blue chairs beside a metal table, in an open window of a restaurant beside the sidewalk

below: Squares of yarn, some crocheted and some knit, cover a red frame heart similar to others that ShowLoveTO have placed around the city.

crocheted squares or knit squares cover a heart shaped frame, yarn,

below: There are more yarn decorations around the metal frame protecting this tree on Bloor Street West.

yarn squares encircle a pole on bloor street west

below: Also, a little Zen Garden Planter to support the CNIB since June was Deafblind Awareness Month – the planter accessories were provided by The Gardener, a local flower store.

in a sidewalk planter on Bloor West, a little brown miniature pagoda and a sign that says Zen Garden Planter for CNIB donated by The Gardener

below: Bloor West – bike lanes, sidewalk patios, and construction.  Welcome to summer in the city!

construction signs on Bloor Street West, with bike lanes, and sidewalk patios

below: Bloor West glass towers

tall uilding in background seen between two tall closer glass office buildngs

below: One wall of Brentwood Library and the small garden on the north side of the building.

large windows at brentwood Library, some clear, some green, and some blue, trees and a bench in front, some reflections in the glass

below: Old gnarly tree with Kingsway Baptist church in the background

old tree with rough bark on trunk, and large twisty branches, house and church in the background,

below: Just west of Royal York, at Montgomery Road, the subway emerges from underground.

looking west from Montgomery Road towards high rises near Islington, TTC subway tracks in the image as well

small park on Montgomery Road, between two houses, with TTC subway tracks below

The Mimico Creek passes under Bloor between Royal York and Islington.  Tom Riley Park follows the creek on both sides north of Bloor  until it then passes under Islington close to the intersection of Islington & Dundas West.

workmen, up on a crane, city of toronto works department, trimming and pruning trees in a park

a mother and two kids watching a duck on the shores of mimico creek on a summer day, leaves, reflections in the calm water

below: Another angle of the subway at ground level.  Here is looking east as it runs through Tom Riley Park (and if you could see further, you could see where it goes back underground at Montgomery)

pine tree growing in front of opening for entrance to subway, train coming out of tunnel, TTC

below: Islington subway station and bus bays.  A very large parcel of land on the northwest corner of Islington and Bloor is taken up.  Opened May 1968.

buddhist monks and other pedestrians, walking on sidewalk on islington past islington subway station, curved roof of bus bays at station, ttc, highrises in the background

below: A messy corner, at Aberfoyle & Islington (just north of Bloor)

danger due to construction sign at the corner of Aberfoyle ad Islington

long set of stairs up hill to apartment building

below: Just north of Bloor, Islington passes under railway tracks.

looking north on islington, underpass under railway, traffic ign for exit to burnhamthorpe road and dundas street west

below: Islington Towers with a fountain in front. The parts of the fountain that are brown were once blue.  It was designed and constructed by Alfio Bartoletti in the 1960s.

islington towers, apartment building from the late 1960s, with a fountain in the front

below: Across the street from the Islington Towers, a highrise with a more modern design (for better or worse, your decision!).

entrance of new condo tower being built on islington

below: Corner of Cordova and Central Park Blvd with new condo development

corner of Cordova and Central Park Blvd, new ondo being built on the corner, construction fence, and signs, traffic light
woman with gray hair, wearing jeans, walking on sidewalk part vacant lot with fence,
blue and white development notice sign, fallen on ground, behind metal construction fence

In this part of Toronto, Dundas is north of Bloor.

intersection of Dundas West and Cordova and Burnhamthorpe Road, people waiting to cross intersection, with crossing guard

Now you are in Islington village, home to over 20 murals depicting scenes from the history of the neighbourhood.  I documented these back in 2014 in a blog post, Islington Heritage Murals.  The murals are still there and are in good shape.

one of the Islington heritage murals

one of the Islington heritage murals, winter scene, with firetruck, people skating, also painting of a refreshment stand with food and drink for sale

one of the Islington heritage murals

Are cars always getting in the way of public transit?

a white car is parked in front of one of the Islington heritage murals, boy hanging off side of a local train

woman standing in front of one of the Islington heritage murals, children fishing in a creek, with fish and other marine life in the water

below: Not a heritage mural, but painted by Moises Frank for a collaborative project between Arts Etobicoke and the City of Toronto, the Dundas West #NoVacancy project.

mural by moises frank, sleeping person, slightly abstract

below: On the same building as the above mural, is this painting.  Once it was the Chinese Food Gallery, now it is vacant and surrounded by a fence.  A development notice sign on the fence says that a permit for a five storey mixed use building has been applied for.

two storey building, with sign, chinese food gallery, now all boarded up, with mural on the front as well

weeds growing in front of door and building now boarded up, particle board, painted with abstract mural now faded and peeling.

As you walk west on Dundas, you approach the intersections of Dundas, Bloor, and Kipling.   There is a lot of construction,  happening here, mostly condos.

many construction cranes in the background, a fenced off park area in the foreground

below: A park, Dunkip Park, is also being created.  Dun as in Dundas plus kip as in Kipling.

 

new park being developed, dunkip park, at dundas and kipling

temporary closure sign, falling over, against wood snow fence, by park that is being developed

man crossing street, wide intersection, car approaching as man now has red light

below: A very big hole in the ground.

large hole for construction of condos on kipling

below: Kipling Street bridge over the railway tracks

kipling bridge over railway tracks, looking north

below: Looking east along the railway tracks from on top of the bridge at Kipling (back towards Islington).

looking east along tracks from on top of bridge at kipling

below: Kipling subway station is the west terminus of the TTC Line 2 and was opened in November 1980.  It connected Line 2 of the subway with GO service to the west.  Pictured here is part of the south side showing three of its twenty concrete arches. These are similar to the arches at Islington station, but not identical to them.

rounded roof of Kipling TTC subway station, semi circles, with three newer condo buildings behind

below: North side of Kipling station, back in 1980 when it first opened, north side bus bays

Toronto Public Library, TOronto Star archives, 1980 photo of Kipling subway station, black and white photo

below: Graffiti stickers in the parking lot.  A well-suited duck in a hurry by giacco.ca and a boxy snail by Sketch Nate (aka Nate Galbraith)

two graffiti stickers on a red box in a parking lot, on top is a duck wearing blue clothes and on bottom is a snail with a box on its back
below: Eastbound out of Kipling station. The older Line 2 subway trains still have a window that you can look out.

looking out the front window of a TTC subway train as it leaves Kipling station, traveling east

along the St. Lawrence

Posted: July 7, 2025 in galleries, history
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In 1869, Canadian photographer Alexander Henderson (1831-1913) was commissioned to take a series of photos along the route of the new Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto.  These images were for a travel book, “All-round Route Guide” to sell to tourists and settlers along the route.  This Montreal to Toronto section followed the north shore of the St. Lawrence for most of its route.  The railway had opened in 1856 and more routes had been added (to Portland Maine! to Sarnia!) or were planned. 

below: Lumberer’s Shanty, Lievre River, Quebec, before 1865

albumen print, vintage black and white photo by Alexander Henderson of a lumberer's shanty in winter, small log cabin structure covered with snow, Quebec

A recent exhibit at Artspace TMU (at 401 Richmond) showcased albumen prints of some of Henderson’s photos along with photos taken by Dawson Cox.  All of Cox’s images were mounted on particle board.  The exhibit was titled, “Like the Seams of a Coat”.

below: Camera store, corner of Clark and St Antoine, Montreal.

photo in a gallery, by Dawson Cox, of stores in Montreal,

below: Victoria Square, Montreal, about 1872

old photo by Alexander Henderson, of Victoria Square in Montreal, albumen print, in a gallery, taken in 1872

below: Group shot

group photo, on a hill above a small town

below: Group shot, 1870s style – G. Company of 78th Highlanders, taken by Alexander Henderson

vintage black and white phiti, Group of G. Company of 78th highlanders, taken around 1870 by Alexander Henderson

Coat seams are usually hidden but they are essential to holding everything together. Important yet unseen.

below: Cox’s photo of torn graffiti on an old brick wall

below: Lake, Saint Bruno Mountain, Quebec, before 1865

old photo of a lake and st Bruno Mountain in Quebec, 1860s
photo of a village with a church
photo of a stuffed fox, mounted standing on all fours and seeming to walk

below: L’Anse a l’Eau, Saguenay River, Quebec, 1868

old black and white photo, a lone scrawny pine tree on a rock overlooking the Saguenay River in Quebec, with village below, village of L'Anse a L'Eau

oak trees and pin holes

Posted: July 6, 2025 in abstract, galleries
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Back in June at ASpace Gallery  (one of the galleries at 401 Richmond West), there was an exhibit that was also part of an MFA in DocMedia thesis.  Part of the exhibit consisted of photographs made with a pinhole camera.  These cameras were mounted on various parts of an old oak tree. The exhibit can also be viewed as a look at the relationship between the photographer,  Lisa Murzin, and an old oak tree.  If trees could communicate, what would they say?  What do they see and how do they view the world?

 

Whatever you think of the premise of the project, the images from the pinhole camera are intriguing.

drops of rain
the river’s thread
left behind
a stream of water maneuvers the crevice