Archive for November, 2025

behind Alhambra

Posted: November 29, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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alley on a rainy day, wet pavement, garages, some with painted garages, street art

below: This short alley starts at Alhambra Avenue and runs east towards Dundas.

alley that runs east of alhambra south of bloor, before turning south behind dundas west

below: Renovations to expand up and out.

large house on alhambra, from alley behind, addition on back including third floor and rooftop terrace

below: Cats, dogs, and little yellow clouds.

garage with 4 cartoon-like cat and dog heads painted on it

below: He walked into my picture.

red garage with white doors, in an alley, beside a larger white building, west pavement,

below: The lane turns south and runs between Dundas West and Alhambra Avenue.

looking south down lane behind dundas west, just south of bloor

lift parked beside wall covered with street art

below: She stares at you from beside the Taj Mahal.

below: Ready to play.

basketball hoop, slightly crooked, mounted on garage with large mural of a woman with pale purple flowers over her eyes,

below: Two Kizmet Radcliffes, the crazy raccoon.

painting by kizmet, radcliffe character, on the side of a garage in an alley

metal stairs, exterior, painted orange, contrasts with a bright blue wall

below: Cruz1 painting  (signed as Cruz Uno) – a parrot flies somewhere over Toronto.

A parrot flies somewhere in Toronto - painted by Cruz.Uno

below: Herbs vegan snacks

mural on a garage door in an alley, cartoonish characters

below: The Faceless Few in orange and blue.

faceless few mural covers the front of a garage including both doors at number 15, in an alley, mural is in orange and blue
faceless few mural covers the front of a garage including both doors at number 15, in an alley, mural is in orange and blue

below: Can you see it?

alley scene, garage painted in olive green camo pattern

small building in an alley covered with graffiti and street art

below: Twelve small panes under a small arch.  Old bricks once painted white.

window with 12 small panes and slightly rounded arch top, on a brick wall painted white but with paint peeling

dead flower, petals turned brown but still intact, beside a green plant,

below: Sunflowers, bent over under the weight of their heads.

two sunflowers painted on a white garage door

alley views, back of 3 storey red brick multi family residence with black metal balconies and external stairs , black car parked beside, a white garage and a wood fence also in the picture

below: Small scrawls

small graffiti on a white brick wall, small yellow heart with black eyes, black drawing of an ugly face or head

 

from Amsterdam to Skopje…

Posted: November 24, 2025 in locations, public art, reflections, stores
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and a few places in between.

 

young people crossing o'connor drive, at intersection, with a metal box on the corner painted with a large female portrait

Amsterdam and Skopje refer to two streets that intersect with O’Connor Drive in the northeast corner of East York, Amsterdam Avenue and Skopje Gate.   There is also a Wakunda Place but the spelling is different from Wakanda, the fictional country that was created of Marvel Comics.

Every neighbourhood has a story to tell, even if it’s just the story of a quiet life in their own corner of the city.  There are many similar threads that run through the many narratives of Toronto neighbourhoods – the ethnic stores and restaurants, the redevelopment of older buildings into new housing, quiet side streets.  There’s probably a mix of residential styles – single family homes, rowhouses, older apartment buildings, and newer glass and steel condos where people are trying to live as best they can.   It is a scene repeated over and over again.  Parts are fascinating, parts are dull and lacklustre.  There will always be utility poles and wires and garbage bins in the way.    Maybe there will be an alley or two to explore – with old abandoned cars, basketball hoops, and graffiti left behind by jilted lovers or angry young men.   There’s probably a vacant lot where a building has been demolished – or perhaps it hasn’t been demolished yet but it’s just sitting there taking up space and looking sadder and sadder with time.

Just because there are many similarities doesn’t make it less interesting.  Here are a few images from “between Amsterdam and Skopje”.

old welcome banner is falling off the wall, glass wall, with bright red above it

single family homes on a tree lined street

upper two storeys of a line of rowhouses, each slightly different, brick

upper level, back of stores on O'Connor, white brick strip mall, square white chimneys

blue metal xonstruction fence in front of an empty building with parking lot in front of it

parking lot and abandoned buildings waiting to be demolished

faded picture on exterior wall, overflowing cup of coffee or tea on bottom of foot that is upside down, wearing white sock

mailbox at number 1519, beside an image of a woman lying on her back

markings on a sidewalk in pink and red


large yellow arrows on the pavement in a parking lot

backyard garden with overhead vines

bright orange leaves on a tree in front of an apartment building

brick residence, fall colours outside

window of Jesse's filipino foods restaurant

reflections in the window of an audio equipment store

looking in the window of Shakira Beauty Academy, with some reflections of trees and cars outside

halloween decoration, life sized skeleton sitting on a chair on a balcony

two metal boxes on sidewalk painted with street art

Not every neighbourhood has a large bowling pin (as public art). Backstory – the condo that this pin sits in front of was built on the site of the old O’Connor Bowling Lanes (1951-206).

very large white bowling pin sitting in the middle of a large raised garden, as art

Of all the similarities that this neighbourhood shares with others in the city, not many of the others can claim to have a cookie outlet….

entrance to Peek freans cookie outlet, one car parked in front, mostly glass front to the building

And even more unique,  it’s also the home of the Peek Freans Biscuit factory.  There was a lovely sweet vanilla-ish smell in the air the day that I walked around.  Peek Freans has a long history in England dating back to the 1850s.  In 1949 they established their first bakery in Canada, here on O’Connor Drive.

entrance to peek freans cookie factory, a yellow brick building

Although the company has changed hands numerous times since then, the East York factory still produces cookies (and other items such as Oreos and Wheat Thins) for Mondelez Canada.

looking across O'Connor Drive towards Peek Freans cookie factory

Back in 1953 when this photo was taken there wasn’t much else around!

black and white photo of Peek Freans cookie factory in 1950s, on O'Connor drive, not much else is around it ,

source: City of Toronto Archives, fonds 1128, series 380, item 39

.

tops of storage silo towers at peek frean cookie factory

below: A couple of the metal boxes painted by D. Drew.

orange painting on a metal bell box, car parked behind it, boarded up business in the background with for sale sign on it, painted by D. Drew

forest sunset scene painted on a metal sidewalk box

man walking dog on sidewalk, past fall coloured trees

orange traffic cones stored in pink container

clear bottle with yellow liquid, partially full, sitting on a yellow concrete wall

side wall of a white brick building

looking in a window with flat rectangular ceiling lights, reflections of hydro pole and lines outside

balcony wth black railing on a grey brick building, blue sky with a cloud, transformer on hydro pole, with some wires

row houses on the corner of O'Connor Drive and Skopje Gate

After I wrote this blog post I asked google for a list of streets in Toronto named after American cities.  I got this answer: “Toronto has a number of streets named after American cities, such as Chicago Street, Dallas Street, and Milwaukee Avenue. These streets often have historical connections or reflect the city’s relationships with other North American metropolises.”  I had never heard of these streets in Toronto!  Maybe I missed something.

My next move was to look for Chicago Street in Google maps.  “There is no street named “Chicago Street” in Toronto” was the answer.  I also struck out looking for Dallas Street (which is when Google tried to direct me to Yonge Street).  The answer when I searched for Milwaukee Street was the best of all – “There is no “Milwaukee Street” in Toronto; however, there is a street called Ossington Street, often mentioned in lists of the city’s coolest streets, and a retail store named The Milwaukee Road located at Yorkdale Mall).   The next time you walk down Ossington, you can think of Milwaukee!

 

walking towards the Pinnacle… and beyond

Posted: November 21, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings
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….with a group of friends on a grey November morning.

below: From Union Station, there are now plenty of routes to take indoors and we explored some of them (some for at least the second time but there are always changes or points of view that you miss the first time around).

legs and feet of people walking inside

below: Union Station has connected to Scotiabank Arena for a few years now.

large Canadian flag, and many people walking, inside Scotiabank arena foyer area between arena and Union station

below: And within the last year or two a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street has connected Scotiabank Arena with the new CIBC Square development on the other side of the street.  This picture shows the exterior stairs of that new CIBC building as seen from the south side of that bridge.  That’s a lot of climbing!  So glad for escalators.

exterior stairs on new CIBC building, Bay street

people on escalator inside CIBC building

below:  There is quite a view from the new CIBC Square park area including this one looking mostly southwest to the top of Scotiabank arena.  The architectural details (some sort of overhang?) are on the new CIBC building top of Scotiabank arena, view from CIBC park above tracks, looking southwest across Bay

below: Looking north up Bay past the shiny sparkly gold RBC building to Old City Hall that’s almost hidden behind the newer towers.

from new CIBC park above railway tracks, looking north up Bay street towards old City Hall.

below: You can also see the Royal York hotel on the other side of the railway tracks.

Royal York hotel seen through group of small trees in autumn colours, some leaves gone, at the new CIBC park over the railway tracks

below: Cranes and the CN Tower make for a very downtown Toronto photo.  Again, this is the view from the new CIBC Square.  If you are interested, a year ago I posted more photos from this new park – Above the railway tracks at CIBC Square.

CN Tower in the background, crane and its reflection in a building in the foreground

below: Work continues on the Union Station expansion and upgrades on the south side of the station.  This work will provide the infrastructure needed for increased GO train service (more trains, more often).  Comparing this photo to one taken a year ago there don’t seem to be many changes so I hope that most of the work has been inside (or else it’s going to be a very long time before this project is completed).

construction on the south side of union station

below: It is also possible to continue walking indoors through to the new GO Bus Terminal.  This is the glass wall at the south entrance of the terminal on Lakeshore Blvd.

wall of glass at south entrance to new GO bus terminal on Lakeshore Blvd

man wearing yellow and orange high viz jacket waits in line at a Second Cup coffee, Toronto Maple Leafs theme image on wall behind him

below: This is the view southwest from the corner of Bay and Lakeshore. Just beyond the exit ramp from the Gardiner is the Toronto Harbour Commission Building on Harbour Street – named as such back in the day when this was close to the shore of Lake Ontario.   It was built in the Beaux-Arts style and was completed in 1917.

looking southwest at the intersection of lakeshore and bay, old customs house on Harbour St is there as is the large parking lot beside it , also ramp from the Gardiner.

below: Harbour Commission Building, 1923, just over a hundred years ago.  Photo from the Toronto Public Library, found online in their digital archives. Harbour Street was right on the shore!  Everything that exists toady south of Harbour Street is built on landfill.  That includes most, if not all, of the developments on Queens Quay.

1923 black and white photo of the Toronto Harbour Commission Building, and its reflection in the water of Lake Ontario. From the Toronto Public Library website and was once used by the Toronto Star newspaper

 

below: A few steps later as we walked down Bay – this photo is now looking northwest back towards Scotiabank Arena and the Gardiner Expressway.   So many new towers!   The Telus building on the right is on York Street and immediately south of the tracks. On the left are twos tall building with an almost round structure on the top (with holes in it) – these are the ICE condo towers at 12 and 14 York.

looking northwest towards scotiabank arena and downtown skyscrapers, from Bay street, just south of the Gardiner

a couple on the sidewalk, walking past a hot dog and sausage vendor in front of the Westin Hotel

below: On Queens Quay, a contrast between the Brutalist type of architecture of the textured concrete Westin Hotel and the newer glass and steel condo tower beyond it.

looking east on Queens Quay in front of the Westin Hotel

Alexandros fast food Greek style on the waterfront, with construction cones and equipment around it.

below:  Also on Queens Quay (on the north side of Queens Quay between Bay and Yonge) there is a water feature at the horribly named Residences of the World Trade Centre

water feature in brownish colours on the wall of part of the residences of the world trade center at bay and queens quay and yonge

below: The same complex is also home to this mis-shapen peanut thing that is a sculpture, ‘Between The Eyes’, by Richard Deacon.   Also, the brown building on the left is the old Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street.  It was to be redeveloped into a condo tower but the market for condos is trash at the moment.  The owner/developer, Pinnacle Group, has announced that they might try to convert the building into a hotel instead.

large metal sculpture that looks like a stretched and twisted peanut, by Richard Deacon at Queens Quay and Yonge,

people walking past a bus shelter on yonge street

below: Now under construction is Sky Tower at Pinnacle One Yonge (on what was the parking lot behind the Toronto Star building).

new condo tower under construction, pinnacle, large podium at first few floors

below: 106 floors!!  Final height will be 352 metres. May they never have elevator issues.  May the underground garages never have water issues.  The tallest completed building in the city is Aura at Yonge and College at 272m.  A couple of others at Yonge and Bloor are under construction but even once they are finished, this Sky Tower will be the tallest.   Remember that picture of the Royal York Hotel – when it was built in the late 1920s it was the tallest building in the city, and the first one over 100m.

new condo tower under construction, pinnacle, large podium at first few floors with large sign advertising the fact that it is 106 floors high

workman working on exterior ground level finishes in front of Sky Tower condo development

below: When I was looking for older pictures of this area, I found this intriguing photo from 1984.  Not that long ago, right?  The Gardiner Expressway runs across the top and you can see the Toronto Harbour Commission building in the top left corner.   The Westin Hotel is there (the two towers on a triangular base, bottom left).  The rectangular tall building is the Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge.  In other words, this is almost a map of part of our walk.  A couple of things of note – first look how much surface parking there was! And second, what is that circular thing in the middle (and top) of the picture!!!  On closer examination, it’s just an old ramp for the Gardiner and all the wasted space in the center. Harbour Street follows the curve on its south side.  An incredible amount of space is devoted to the car.

1984 black and white aerial photo of westin hotel on queens quay, plus toronto star building at 1 yonge street, waterfront, from Toronto Public Library

below: Walking up the west side of Yonge.  The blue building with all the diamonds and triangles is the back of CIBC Square – we have almost completed a circle.

walking north on the west side of yonge between queens quay and harbour streets

below: More redevelopment and construction to the east of Yonge on Harbour.  Harbour then merges with Lakeshore Blvd.

construction on Harbour street

below: You should recognize the purpose of the exterior bracing on the brick building.  The facade of this 1950s brick LCBO headquarters and warehouse is being saved during its transition to ‘Sugar Wharf’ with new towers, a hotel, a park, and more.   A very familiar story that seems to play in a never ending loop.

construction on Harbour street

below: North on Yonge

tops of buildings on yonge north of the gardiner

below: Under the Gardiner

man walking a dog under the gardiner expressway

below: Bird in flight but stuck to the concrete –  a paper paste-up on a Gardiner Expressway pillar

man in brown jacket is about to walk under the gardiner expressway, past a concrete pillar with a black and white picture of a bird in flight, street art,

looking north on yonge from under the railway bridge, road repairs construction

below: I don’t think that this is Finch West.

on yonge street, near The Esplanade, a sign saying sidewalk closed use other side, but it also says Finch West LRT

below: Another bird in flight is ‘Eagle’ by Dean Drever, 2018.  His beak is pointing to another new pedestrian bridge over Yonge Street that hasn’t opened yet.  It is part of the CIBC development and will become part of the PATH system.

relief sculpture of an eagle head and wings in flight on the side of a building on Yonge street

below:  CIBC Square, north side construction.  In the distance is Union Station; we have come close to walking in a circle.  It wasn’t a very big circle but there were many changes and quite a few things happening.   The CIBC Square development includes two towers on the east side of Bay, one on the south side of the tracks and one on the north.  In case you didn’t realize it, the  one acre “park” that they have developed is actually over the railway tracks.  It’s a wonderful use of the space.  I hope that the city sees that it is feasible to create public space this way.  There has been a lot of chatter about how the city should create a park over more of the tracks and I hope that this spurs them on.

This walk was the 16th Anniversary walk for the Toronto Photowalks group.  It was a rather large group of us that started from Union Station last Saturday morning.

group shot, in great hall at union station

  Toronto Photowalks have walked twice a month since November 2009 with some exceptions during Covid lockdowns and restrictions.  I first walked with them in early February, 2012.  There have been 334 walks and most streets and alleys in the city (and sometimes beyond) have been covered at least once.  Some weeks the group is small while at other times the numbers are a bit overwhelming but all in all, it’s a great group!

 

below: I am sure that the Bearded Prof is saying “Thanks for joining us!”

a sticker graffiti slp by bearded prof, of a bearded man in a baseball cap, holding a folded umbrella

from Dupont to St. Clair West

Posted: November 12, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, transportation
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Enter if you Dare!

halloween decorations, including hand written sign that says enter if you dare, skeletons, fake cobwebs, yellow caution tape, all behind a little white picket fence

 

A late October walk on a sunny day – starting at Dupont station which is just north of Bloor on Line 1 (That’s the University side of the Yonge-University Line for those of you who, like me,  haven’t mastered the TTC numbering system yet!).  We walked a few blocks on Dupont before going under the railway tracks to Bridgman, then took a quick turn on Albany to get to Davenport.  A short block later we were on Bathurst.   Vaughan Road veers left off Bathurst just south of Bloor.  We meandered  a bit north of Bloor before walking back to St. Clair West station.

below: A bright and sparkly flower blooms on the southbound platform of Dupont subway station.   This is one of the mosaics designed by James Sutherland in the series “Spadina Summer Under all Seasons” found around the station.

mosaic flower, very large, on the wall at track level, by platform of Dupont subway station

below: More Dupont station flowers to greet subway travelers, this time on the concourse level.


mural picture seen inside dupont subway station, concourse level, on tiles

below: Taking the escalator up inside the dome at street level.

on escalator up to surface level, dupont subway station, looking towards glass dome roof of station entrance

looking through glass doors of dupont station entrance, a woman is coming in, stores across the street

below: There is a Nick Sweetman mural of birds that wraps around the curve of a bench.

mural by Nick Sweetman, above a curved bench at Dupont station, a blue jay, nuthatch, evening grosbeck, and more

below: The curve matches that of the domed entrance to the station on the southeast corner of Dupont and Spadina.

bikes parked outside Dupont subway station, beside glass dome over entrance, beside bench with Nick Sweetman mural

elevator structure at dupont subway station

below: Casa Loma in the distance, on the hill beyond the tracks. This is the view on Spadina north of Dupont.

railway underpass on Spadina, with casa loma on a hill in the background

looking through railway underpass, traffic including school bus is stopped at a red light at dupont

below: Northeast corner of Dupont and Spadina

stores on northeast corner of spadina and dupont, pedestrians people waiting to cross at traffic light, D and D gift shop, country style, and XC Art Restoration, Subway restaurant

below: Big rounded arches, rooftop terraces in the back, and two turrets, all at the corner of St. George Street and Dupont.

large multi unti old brick residence, three storeys, two turrets

below: Looking north on St. George, towards Dupont, 1904.  Working on the street.  The house with the two turrets is already there.  The duplex on Dupont at the top of the street still exists too.

old black and white photo from 1904 of St. George street looking north to Dupont.

below: The duplex (176-178 Dupont) is difficult to see because like so many other older residences on main streets, an addition has been added to the front to facilitate a store or a restaurant.   At the moment,  176 Dupont is a Mexican restaurant, even though the says Pastrami (close enough!).

the first a in pastrami is missing, in a sign above a restaurant.

vines growing on concrete wall that has street art painting on it, side of railway underpass supports

below: Bruno Men’s Hairsylist and his quaint little sign.

Bruno mens hairstylist sign on building on spadina

below: On Dupont, east of Spadina is this mural by Catherine Cachia

mural on the side of a residential building on Dupont, big circular flowers, by Catherine Cachia

below: Cozy and euphoric.

cozy coffee and euphoria stores

below: Bete Suk, Ethiopian Coffee shop

front window of Bete Suk, Ethiopian store and coffee shop on Dupont

below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Spadina, and another domed subway entrance.

bus shelter and dome of dupont subay station entrance on northwest corner of spadina and dupont,

below: Looking west on Dupont

looking west on dupont from in front of dupont subway station, red and white TTC sign.

below: Another, much clearer, example of the transition of houses to businesses by building additions in front, are these two – Krispy Kreme and the faded Modern Laundry & Dry Cleaners.

peaks of original houses can be seen over the top of the boxy additions to the structure to make space for stores, krispy kreme donuts on one side, a dry cleaners on the other

below: West of Dupont, there are still some garages covered in street art.

 

white car parked beside a garage with a street art on the side of it.

below: This is 390 Dupont Street, part of which is now a coffee shop/vintage clothing store.  I am not sure what the history of the building is but when I tried to research it, I discovered that there is a condo development being proposed for the site.

commercial building, coffee shop on ground level

below: This is the neighbouring property, 388 Dupont.   Two years ago when I walked this stretch, there was a blue and white development notice sign in front of the building (Dupont Street Scenes).   When the application for redevelopment was first filed (2020), it was for an 11 storey building involving 374 to 388 Dupont.  By 2023 the plan had evolved to 12 storeys and now included 390 Dupont as well.  Because the site is adjacent to the CP Railway corridor, a train safety derailment wall along the entire back wall is part of the plan.

old car wash on dupont street

below:  Although there is no posted notice of planning applications for this building, it appears to be empty.  The front door is boarded up and there is a No Trespassing sign in the window.

two storey older brick building, boarded up front door, seems to be empty

below: Two years ago this building was in the early stages of construction.

new condo under construction, balconies are white, with curved ends
below: Another theme that occurs over and over again on the streets of Toronto – the jumble of different eras. Very old brick houses and new glass and steel towers mixed together along with ages in between.   The smaller older structures dwarfed by the newer ones that tower over them.

old grey house, old brick building painted bright red, new condo development, in a line along dupont street

below: The Troy Lovegates mural of 10 faces on Howland & Dupont is still there and still looking vibrant.  If you are interested, there are more images of this mural elsewhere in this blog. 

mural by Troy Lovegates at the corner of Howland and Dupont, 10 faces cover the exterior wall of Fat Pasta restaurant

 below: Running parallel to the railway tracks, and just north of them.

parking lot with tall hydro transmission tower and lines running through it

empty parking lot, with row of condos in the background

below:  The north side of the CP Railway corridor shows signs of its more industrial past.   This building with its curved glass sidelights and other small Art Deco finishes, sits empty.   Previously it was home to a plumbing company but they have moved to new quarters elsewhere in the city.

curved glass sidelights around a metal frame door, brick building, number 316, now empty

 below: Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott

Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott
Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott

below: There is also this mural, just around the corner on Albany, “You are not alone”. It was painted by Julia Prajza and Bareket (bkez).  ‘You Are Not Alone Murals’ is a public mural project with over 100 murals completed.  Their goal is to “inspire artists to create murals in their communities–sparking hope, connection, and conversations about mental health.” (quote taken from their website, youarenotalonemurals.com).

mural on the front of a building, wrapped around the front door, in cursive, text says You are not alone

below: An intriguing series of photos in the windows… but I couldn’t get a closer look at them.

private property, no trespassing sign on chain link gate, in front of driveway, beside building with old pictures displayed in boarded up windows

below: A large red heart and an even larger blue spruce tree.

large blue spruce tree growing in the front yard of a house with table and chairs in the front yard, also a bench with a large red heart on it

older house with trees growing in front, front door and enclosed porch have been tagged;

in magenta, stencil graffiti that says you grow girl

below:  The paintings along the concrete wall on the west side of Bathurst have all been defaced.

front end of a white truck in view, driving past a mural painting of an orange car, mural has been tagged in large fat green and white letters

below: Another touch of Art Deco in the neighbourhood

stairs and entrance to an art deco style brick apartment building with curved corners

below: Bathurst Street houses

2 single family homes on Bathurst street

below: Playing in the playground

autumn foilage on tree at edge of playground

below: Store fronts on Bathurst

store fronts on Bathurst

Green Farms store on the corner, Bathurst Street

store fronts on Bathurst, one is empty and for lease, another is knit o matic

below: Looking north up Bathurst where Vaughan Road exits left. Vaughan Road was built in the 1920’s along an older trail that follows a now underground creek.  From here, it runs more or less diagonally north and west to its northern end at Dufferin and Eglinton.

looking north up Bathurst to where Vaughan Road veers left

below: Choice laundry in the old brick building, on Vaughan Road.

Choice coin laundry and dry cleaning, , with a young man sitting outside

below: Also on Vaughan Road, Zoomiez Doggie Daycare and Vaughan Road Pharmacy.

vaughan road pharmacy, brick building on vaughan road, beside newer building with is home to zoomiez doggie daycare

a face has been added to a hydro pole, plastic face parts nailed to the wood

below: We met a couple of strangers.  They weren’t very talkative though so we kept walking….

two life sized skeletons sitting outside with drinks in their hands

vacant lot behind black chain link fence

large apartment building in background, top of a porta potty in the foreground,

hole in the ground for condo construction, crane,

piles of supplies for construction, building materials, behind an old house

below: The gateposts on Strathearn Road mark the entrance to the former village of Forest Hill.  Forest Hill was incorporated as a village in 1923 and then annexed by the City of Toronto in 1967.

two large stone gate posts for a gate in a boulevard between two lanes of traffic

two large trees in front of a single family home, 2 storeys, both trees full of red leaves for autumn

bungalow single family home, white garage door, brickwork is checkerboard light and dark brown,

older stone house with brown wood addition, ivy covers on of the walls, stone chimney, large blue spruce tree growing beside the house

below: There is a metal plaque at each end of the Glen Cedar pedestrian bridge over the Cedarvale Ravine.  This is the one at the south end.  The text is taken from the lyrics of “Anthem”, a song by Leonard Cohen.  The first bridge here was built by Henry Pellatt (the same man responsible for Casa Loma) in 1912. It became a pedestrian bridge when it was modernized in 1989.

brass plaque embedded in the concrete of a bridge railing

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your prefect offering.
  There is a crack,
a crack in everything
it’s how the light get’s in
[and yes, the plaque has an apostrophe in gets]

glen cedar pedestrian bridge in late october when the trees were in their autumn foilage

red, range, and yelow oak leaves, autumn colours, from Glen Cedar bridge

below:  Home is where our story begins.

graffiti words on dark grey metal railing of bridge, background is path and trees below the bridge, words say "home is where our story begins"

graffiti, black drawing on white, signed, also words toxic city on drawing

large gnarly old tree beside a two storey brick house

path through a ravine with some sunlight coming down through the large trees that are on both sides of the trail,

below: At Bathurst and St. Clair – Da Best Pilipino Bakery and Deli

on Toronto education workers building, a green sign that says Da Best Pilapino Bakery and Deli

cracked concrete sidewalk, metal drain cover

below: Waiting to cross Bathurst Street

looking east on the north side of St. Clair on Bathurst

below: Looking east on the north side of St. Clair, from Bathurst.  St. Clair West subway station is just a few meters away.

looking east on the north side of St. Clair on Bathurst,, fence around a construction site

below: There was once a gas station on the northeast corner of Bathurst and St. Clair West.  Now it is a vacant lot with a few alien creatures like this one lurking about.

large digger on construction site, with glass and steel condos in the background

passenger in a white truck, window down, elbow out, as it drives around a corner

plastic halloween decorations, a flying orange ghostly creature with a black witch's hat on

below: Happy Hallowe’en pumpkins!  The frog’s not so certain though.

two jack o lantern pumpkins for halloween decorations, on a front porch

 

With thanks to Nancy who walked with me that day.