Archive for the ‘general Toronto’ Category

Cowboys and Indians

Posted: May 26, 2023 in events, general Toronto, public art
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below: At 460 King West (at intersection with Spadina) there is a mural on the wall and a poster in the Pattison advertising space. Both are part of the CONTACT Photography Festival.

view from parking lot on Spadina, large image on wall of adjacent building

a contact photography festival image, as a large mural, by Jake Kimble showing the artist as a young boy dressed up as a cowboy with large text added to photo that says I was told that the peace was mine to keep

Jake Kimble is a Chipewyan (Dëne Sųłıné) from Treaty 8 Territory in the Northwest Territories. The original photograph is of Kimble at age 6 or 7 and it was taken by his mother. In it he is wearing a cowboy at and apparently he was on his way to the Calgary Stampede.

“I was told that peace was mine to keep.” On the CONTACT webpage that describes this installation, this text is “the statement of a promise unfulfilled or a burden to bear. The phrase implies both that peace was his, and its opposite—that he was to be the peacekeeper”.

embracing peculiarities

Posted: December 10, 2021 in general Toronto
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… and the little quirks

street art mural on the side of a garage that says embrace peculiarities

below: Love on the street…

graffiti, black words written on a painted white wall say I love you still

below: And love in the bedroom.

blue lights in a store window in the shape of letters and words that say I only love my bed and my mama, I'm sorry! also reflections of street scene in the window including TTC streetcar and intersection

below: Doggie portrait in a mountain ash tree

a picture of a dog wearing glasses hanging from a mountain ash tree tree in Trinity Bellwoods park in late autumn so no leaves on the trees, just orange berries, in the background are two people sitting at a picnic table, leaves on the ground,

below: This white squirrel has found a permanent home in Trinity Bellwoods Park with a great view of the CN Tower.

white metal cut out of a squirrel hanging upside down from a branch on a tree in Trinity Bellwoods witn CN tower in the distance, houses on Gore Vale Ave facing the park in the middle distance

below: Stick figures pulling with full force

signs on a restaurant door that say pull with all your force and another sign that says pull harder. also covid signs like masks required and public health posters

exterior wall of a convenience variety store, paintings of soda pop cans with faces, arms and legs, walking,

below: Wanted – customers! No experience necessary…..

sign on sidewalk that says wanted, customers

below: Printed sideways on the wall in an alley is a portion of “Still I Rise”, a poem by Maya Angelou.

words stencilled sideways on a wall beside a garage door in an alley

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

large sign that only says fate on a black door

below: A tight squeeze

very narrow passageway between two red brick buildings with a bench at the end

below: Someone’s middle name is Style

an elderly man with long gray hair wearing a backpack with Minnie Mouse and words that say style is my middle name

below: 188 squashed in the middle

a semi detached house with one side having a peaked roof in the middle but the other side has been renovated with second storey

a man drives a fancy blue motorcycle with a woman passenger on the back

back of a house being renovated with the new door high above the ground, no stairs made yet

words on a fence between two buildings that say goda love. the word white written on the sidewalk in front of the fence along with a white heart

below: More love – Show Love in TO in Kensington

red heart made of a web of metal with white T and O in the top right corner, show love T O

a line of Tims cups on a window ledge inside a store being renovated

Davenport, Dupont, and vicinity

Posted: July 13, 2021 in general Toronto
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Another walk with a friend. Back in June when I asked Lucie if there was a coffee shop near her house where we could meet, her answer was “my house”. Since we were both double vaxxed, I felt safe going. So nice! We started near Avenue Road and Dupont and generally walked northwest before looping back. Here is some of what we saw (in no particular order).

below: Dupont near Madison

Dupont and Madison

below: North side of Dupont at Spadina with the rounded structure of the subway entrance on the northwest corner.

north side of Dupont, Spadina through the middle of the picture, round structure of Dupont subway station, billboard over the building on the northeast corner

below: South side of Dupont at Spadina

Dupont southside at Spadina, rounded top of south Dupont subway station

Two women stand talking outside the entrance to Dupont TTC subway station

a man crosses Dupont near the intersection with St. George Street, Gabys Groceries is in the background with its green Trident gum advertisement sign

below: Casa Loma peaks over the railway tracks that run parallel to Dupont.

the towers and turret of Casa Loma in the background behind a railway overpass just north of Dupont.

below: Murals on the underpass.

sidewalk, railway underpass, mural on wall

below: Boarded up houses waiting for redevelopment at Huron and Dupont.

a row of three storey brick houses at Huron and Dupont with hoardings surrounding the front of the buildings.

below: Gutted but preserved.

an older house with the insides gutted as part of a renovation

below: It was for sale – for 9.5 million it could be yours! But I’ll bet it’s already been snapped up.

large white house

below: … and you can park your McLaren on the street.

below: I have mentioned the Republic of Rathnelly in a previous post, back in 2017. From that post , “Back in 1967 the residents of the officially seceded from the rest of Canada, originally as a form of protest against the proposed Spadina Expressway that would have physically divided the community. The founders named their republic after Rathnelly Avenue which runs parallel to Avenue, one street to the west. “

Republic of Rathnelly sign on a front lawn, protesting development in the area

below: Forest Hill village

Spadina and Montclair Ave., Forest Hill village shops and business district. Construction signs, cars and traffic

below: I want you to have better coffee AND wear a mask!

poster of a man, parody of uncle sam poster, top hat and pointing, words say I want you to like better coffee. On the exterior of a door to a coffee shop, with covid mask notice in front of it

below: Not all nature in the park is people friendly! Best just to leave them alone!

wasps making a nest on the upper edge of a light on a trail in a Toronto park

below: Condo development beside the park. It’s everywhere

new condo being built at the edge of a park, seen through the trees

below: The hoardings are up on another redevelopment site at 77 Clarendon.

construction hoardings in front of a low rise apartment building at 77 Clarendon

below: This building has been boarded up for a long time. It’s a three story apartment building with 17 units. It sold as a vacant building in October 2020.

man sitting on a bench in a park with back to camera, looking across street to old boarded up brick apartment building

below: And last, the start of another. The blue and white notice stands in the front yard of an older house.

a blue and white redevlopment notice in the front yard of an older home with lots of trees in the front yard

below: There are now coyote warning signs in Toronto parks as some coyotes have been spotted around the city. This one has had a “Let kids play” sticker which was a campaign during COVID lockdown to keep the playgrounds open.

a city notice about being aware of coyotes in the park, a sticker that says Let kids play has been stuck on top.

below: Stephen Harper lingers on.

graffiti stick with ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper's face on it

below: Davenport Road and its Anishinaabe translation, Gete-Onigaming

Toronto street sign for Davenport, with it's indigenous name also, Gete-Onigaming

below: Still surviving, the green ‘The Annex’ decoration on this Bedford Road street sign.

Bedford Rd street sign with it's green Annex top

below: Part of an old mural on Avenue Road (painted 1996)

part of a mural on a concrete wall, a girl sitting on the grass and reading a book

below: Ghost sign, Buckingham Cigarettes on the brick exterior of a building on Davenport Road

below: Remnants of bygone days in an alley

metal communication tower

below: Spadina Road bridge over Nordheimer Ravine with dog park on the east side – view from Winston Churchill Park which sits on top of the St. Clair Reservoir.

below: St. Clair Reservoir entrances. The reservoir was built in 1931 on lands that were donated as part of the Eaton estate. The reservoir is made up of two basins which hold a total of 254 million litres – enough to last the city 3 weeks of average use. The park was closed for a long time while the reservoir was modernized but it is now open again.

below: From the City of Toronto Archives, a 1930 photograph of the interior of the reservoir’s east basin

old black and white photo from City of Toronto archives of east basin of St. Clair Water Reservoir when its empty

below: Down beside the dog park, looking at the Spadina Road bridge and taller buildings on St. Clair.

The next blog post, Nordheimer ravine – paint and paper, shows some of the graffiti and street art found under Spadina Road bridge

a red rose and 4 rose buds on a rose bush

With thanks to Lucie for being my tour guide!

a woman is using her phone to take pictures of irises, peonies, and other flowers and plants

Carlaw surfers

Posted: June 4, 2021 in general Toronto
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Near Carlaw and Dundas there is a two part Uber5000 mural of some of his characters having fun surfing. Of course there are yellow birds, three yellow birdies in fact, and one is wearing a black wet suit. Hawaiian shirts, baseball caps, and googles can also be seen as they all ride the same large wave.

A mural by Uber 5000 in 2 parts. on the left is a tabby cat holding a surf board. on the right are some characters surfing, 3 yellow birdies, on in a wet suit, and three dogs.
surfing mural by Uber 5000, yellow birdie in a black wet suit, a dog in a green Hawaiian shirt, a dog with goggles
Uber 5000 mural, surfers, dog with large grey and black striped tail and green Hawaiian shirt on surf board

metal screwed to wood

Posted: April 10, 2021 in general Toronto
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First, a quick Latin translation lesson
1. Ad perniciem solet agi sinceritas is Latin for “Honesty is often goaded to ruin”, a quote from Phaedrus
2. Bibere venenum in auro, another Latin phrase and it means “drink poison from a gold cup”.
3. Fortuna caeca est translates to “Fortune is blind.” from Cicero (died 43 BC, he was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher who wrote extensively).
4. Pulvis et umbraa sumus equals “We are dust and shadow” from Horace (died 8 B.C., a Roman poet)
5. Graviora manent – greater dangers await, or the worst is yet to come

These Latin words, and more, were all found here:

a long narrow, vertical, engraved metal graffiti on a wood pole. Latin words are written around a fish like creature shape with designs inside
below: A closer view
Leaf like designs in an oval shape with Latin words written around the outside

All of the following were on the same utility pole surrounded by a lot of old staples and tacks.

below: A crown with 12 + 1 + 1/2 = 13 1/2 fastened with an 8 point, or double square, screw.

below: Another 13 1/2, this time with with PJD and a fountain at the top of a building

round metal engraving on a small circle, screwed to a wood utility pole. Design is like a fountain on the top of a building 13 1/2

below: Similar architecture is repeated in the next piece, but now it is a taller building with more than a fountain on top – it looks like a pineapple, or a grenade with fireworks.

brown metal engraved with a portrait of Dudley George who was killed by Opp at Ipperwash in September 1995

below: In memory of Dudley George who died at Ipperwash, shot by the OPP. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the screws resemble bullet holes.

below: The domed building appears to be upside down. The rain drops are “falling” the wrong way. Is that symbolic? Or because only one screw is holding it in place and it slipped?

very small engraving of a domed building with clouds and rain drops, graffiti or street art on a pole

below: It’s difficult to see, but there are a lot of words on the light metal piece too, but not in Latin. There is also a bird whose feathers are made from Us and Vs.

some metal pieces that are graffiti on a pole

below: “I loved you” is written on the side of the piece of metal. You’ll have to take my word for it, but the other side of the metal says “Too little too late”.

below: And last, just a plain X.  Unfortunately, it’s like someone who signs their name by making an X as I have no idea whose artwork this is.  Do you know?

metal in the shape of an X screwed onto a wood utility pole

And let’s hope that the worst is not yet to come!

circling Don Mills

Posted: January 29, 2021 in general Toronto
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This post grew out of the last walk that I took with my mother.  It fit the criteria of being close to her house, had a route where we didn’t double back, and was somewhere that neither of us had walked recently.   Our route was The Donway, the circular road that encompasses the intersection of Don Mills Road & Lawrence Ave.  We drive through it or past it frequently but as you know, the world looks different when you get out of your car.

Painted sign tht says Don Mills, in front of Don Mills Sceondary school. Each letter is a different colour with decorations on them (pictures) painted by students

Developed between 1952 and 1965, the suburb of Don Mills was very much a “planned community”. The history of its development is online so I am not going to dwell on that aspect.  I was more interested in what it looks like now – what changes are happening there?  What looks just like it did 60 years ago?

We started at the library.  [As an aside, this where I had my first job.  I was 15; I hated it; I lasted two months.  My apologies to all librarians. ]

below: Don Mills Library.  In 1956 the land was purchased at Lawrence and Donway West for a new library.  It was opened in 1961 and renovated in 1994.  A few years later it was added to the inventory of North York’s Modernist Architecture.  You can download the brochure that lists, with pictures, the more than 200 buildings on this inventory from an ERA Architects website(but be patient!)

part of Don Mills library, built in the late 1950s

below: The old and the new.

Donway West, older low rise apartments on the right, taller and newer condos on the left

below: A new playground in front of construction where the Don Mills Arena once stood.

playground in the front, construction behind that, and Scarborough skyline in the distance

The original Don Mills plan called for higher density inside the Donway Circle with lower density & single family homes outside the circle.  These condos are withing the circle, adjacent to the “Shops at Don Mills”.

construction site

orange construction cone beside a fence with a green construction cloth covering over it

below: The old post office (postal station) building is gone too.

now vacant lot beside Shops of Don Mills where old post office building was demolished

three storey red brick apartment building on the corner of Don Mills and the Donway with traffic light

low rise apartment building with trees and grassy space beside it

front of apartment building

1960s Don Mills residences, red brick

 These new townhouses sit outside the north east quadrant of the circle.

new grey townhouses being built on the Donway in Don Mills

I don’t think that anyone is going to claim that the original architecture in the area was “pretty” but these grey things are unsightly if not stupendously ugly.

new townhouses being built in Don Mills

below: Each of the quadrants of The Donway has a church.  In the NE is Donway Baptist Church (also in the inventory of NY Modernist Architeture).   The new townhouses seem to dwarf the church.

Donway Baptist church, built in the late 1960s, brick building

below: Don Mills Covenant United Church in the NW portion of The Donway.

front of Don Mills United Church

below: The front of Don Mills Secondary school where many small trees have been planted.  There’s at least one apple tree and one cherry tree .

front of Don Mills Secondary School, many new trees have been planted in front of the school

a few locks, rusted, on the chainlink fence around Don Mills Secondary school, playing fields and basketball hoops in the background

below:  This style of bungalow must have been very popular as tens of thousands of them were built, not just in Toronto, but in other towns and cities as well.

Don Mills bungalow with stairs up to center entrance

below: The car port, another Don Mills feature that helped make housing affordable at the time.

A-line roof bungalow with car port

below: A family of raccoons has found a home in Don Mills too!

a tree trunk, about 6 feet high, with a section carved out and a raccoon family painted on it.

a white (dry) bird bath or fountain with a statue of a girl and fairy, girl is holding a Canadian flag.

My apologies if the greyness of the photos makes you think that Don Mills is a grey kind of place.  Blame the weather – there hasn’t been a lot of sun this January.

September downtown

Posted: October 15, 2020 in general Toronto, locations
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“Social norms has been reset to factory settings”

words written on a wall

I’m not sure what the above words mean or imply but I do know that we’ve all been impacted by Covid in one way or another.  The city seems to be moving along albeit more slowly than usual.  Sections of the city have fared better than others.  In fact, it would be very easy to portray segments of Toronto as being in trouble.

an old man walks up Yonge street past empty shops and a man sleeping in a doorway

Here the road is closed to vehicles for Open Streets (the last Sunday of September).

empty stores on yonge street, with a now leasing sign in the window

a woman walks past an empty store on Yonge street

We are missing events.  All those things that I like to take pictures at and blog about – the parades, the street festivals, and even the protests.  With more people staying at home, no tourists on the streets, and events going virtual, it’s a much quieter city.

below: This was the last weekend of TIFF and you wouldn’t know anything was happening.

a man with earbuds on walks past the TIFF lightbox theatre where a woman in a beige long coat and a black mask is standing by the door

below: In past years, King Street closes for TIFF activities.  This year there was none of that – no crowds jostling for a look at a celebrity or two, no booths selling things.

a round yellow circle around a bench on King Street, part of decorations for Tiff

below: These little “patios” have been carved out of some downtown streets to help restaurants stay open during these COVID days.  It’s a great idea for the warmer months.  Although the city now allows propane heaters on the street, I am not sure how many people are going to want to have dinner outside in December.

sitting on temporary patios on King Street

painting in front of Hey Lucy restaurant on King Street, woman sitting at a table with zebra print top, with a bottle and glass of wine

below: The Royal Alex Theatre is still set up for “Come From Away”

blue Royal Alex theatre on King street, with signs for Come From Away, line of multi coloured Muskoka chairs along the street

below: A nearby restaurant still has its St. Patricks Day green on display.

Happy St. Patricks Day sign in the window of a restaurant

below: Roy Thomson Hall in the foreground with downtown buildings in the background, as seen from Metro Hall.

Roy THomson Hall and downtown buildings as seen from Metro Hall

below: New public art on Adelaide… this is “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa.   She’s three storeys high and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is dreaming of the days when we didn’t need masks.  How long until someone gives her a mask?

large three storey high white sculpture of a woman's face with her eyes closed, title is Dreaming and the artist is Jaume Plensa

below: Reflections with security guard

reflections of Jaume Plensa's Dreaming in a glass building

below: The steeple of St. Andrews Presbyterian church

steeple of St. Andrews Presbyterian church with trees in the foreground and condos in the background . Corner of Simcoe and King streets

below: Mother and daughter cycling together

mother and daughter in orange jackets on bicycles, stopped at a red light

a group of young people sitting at a table outside an A & W restaurant

a Jewish man stands outside a TIm Hortons talking to a woman who is sitting on the sidewalk pan handling. downtown Toronto

below: The cows are still in their pasture, unfazed by the changes around them.

 

cows, public art sculptures, lying on the grass with tall black office tower behind

below: The next two photos were taken while I was standing in among the tall black towers of the Toronto Dominion Centre.  The first view is to the southwest towards the CN Tower.

CN Tower seen between two black towers of TD bank

below: The second view is to the northeast.

below: The Canada Permanent building on Bay street is getting a cleaning.

scaffolding at the front, cleaned up stone facade of the Canada Permanent Building on Bay street

cleaned up stone facade of the Canada Permanent Building on Bay street

below: This is one of the Bank of Montreal buildings, also on Bay Street.

Canada Permanent Building on Bay street, with reflections of the building across the street in its large windows at street level

below: Window washers

window washers and reflections, looking through a glass building from back to ftont, escalators down, high ceiling,

below: Pearl Street, looking east.  Old brick buildings in the foreground with their modern counterparts shining in the background.

pearl street in downtown Toronto

below: The west end of Pearl Street.

old red brick building being preserved in downtown Toronto, with newer taller buildings surrounding it

below: I found a person!

a person is sitting on the steps of the staue on University Ave

below: Looking north up University Avenue

University Ave, looking northwest towards the Canada Life building and other tall buildings farther north on that street, trees still with leaves on the boulevard between the lanes of traffic

below: The Shangri-La hotel and Momofuko restaurant with it’s weird sculpture “Rising” by Zhang Huan at street level (also University Ave).  Masses of “peace pigeons” cover the surface.

Shangri La Hotel on University Ave as seen from across the street

in a rooftop garden, with glass building beside and reflections in those windows

below: Looking the other way on University Ave, south past Richmond to Adelaide and beyond.

intersection of King and University Ave in downtown Toronto

below: Preservation of a large brick facade on Adelaide.

construction site, preservation of large brick facade held up by rust coloured metal beams and scaffolding

blue construction fence around a hole at a work site, row of storefronts across the street in the next level and a tall apartment building behind that

construction site in downtown Toronto

below: Waiting for the lights to change

a man in a blue jacket stands in front of a large video screen at Queen and Bay, video of a man in an orange and white kayak is playing

below: Under the heading of “somethings never change”, there are always photoshoots in front of Osgoode Hall.   Presumably this photo or one similar can be found somewhere on instagram?

instagram photoshoot at Osgoode Hall

below: Arranging the veil.

photographer setting up a wedding photshoot at Osgoode Hall

below: With a the pigeon by the Eaton Centre.

windows of H & M store at yonge and Dundas, with femaile mannequins, sitting on the sidewalk in front of them is a man feeding pigeons, another man sits nearby

people walking on Gould Street, past a small yellow building

a folding chair and a small round table set up under a back porch behind a stone building, dark

reflections of a man in the window of a mens clothing store, two suits on display, one gray and one blue.

in the window of the Ryerson bookstore, mannequin wearing yellow Ryerson sweatshirt, dirty window, someone has drawn the picture of a man's face in the dirt

below: Mr. Ryerson keeps changing colour.  Apparently he was more red not that long ago.  Rather than remove the red paint, he was “cleaned up” by painting him this shade of green.  He probably doesn’t realize it but he’s become a controversial figure.  He may have been one of the first to establish public schools but he also played a role in the creation of residential schools for the indigenous population. Because of the latter, there has been some people advocating for the removal of this statue.

statue of Egerton Ryerson at Ryerson University on Gould Street, painted green, with some red paint graffiti as well as red hands

This statue was unveiled in 1889. It stands in front of an ivy covered building that started its life as Toronto’s first teacher’s college (1847).

below: Queen Street West

open sign in red and blue lights in the window of an adult store, beside white mannequin with very small black bikini bottoms and mesh top

below: This yellow birdie, at least in sticker form, may be on the verge of extinction.  An Uber5000 creation that can also be found on several of his murals around the city.

traffic signs on a metal pole along with a yellow uber 5000 birdie sticker
As I write this, the number of Covid cases in Toronto (and all of Ontario) have gone back up.  Although we were hopeful that we were wrong, was there ever any question that things would get worse before they got better?  Are we more complacent?  Maybe.  But let’s hope that we are also wiser this time around.

a man walks through a glass revolving door, reflections,

three masks on display in a store window. One has a soccer ball pattern, another is pink with little strawberries. The one in the middle is covered with a jumble of letters of the alphabet

in lieu of this year’s Pride parade

Posted: June 22, 2020 in general Toronto
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Since the parades associated with Pride are all cancelled in Toronto this year, I have uploaded a video created from photos from past Pride parades.

A Rainbow of Colours is on youtube.  https://youtu.be/OY8K5BqVk1w

an older man in a yellow fedora sprays people with a very large green and yellow super soaker

I do not have permission to use Cyndi Lauper’s song, True Colours, so youtube might not allow the video to remain.  If it gets taken down, I’ll re-edit it with different music.

a woman with orange hair, but one side of head shaved has arms in air as she walks in parade

nearing the end of autumn

Posted: November 1, 2019 in general Toronto, nature
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Yikes!  Preparations are already underway in the Distillery District for their annual Christmas market.

men on a blue lift crane at the distillery district, old brick building

At least their sign that counts down the number of days until Christmas is not hung yet.  I am not ready to think about Christmas yet!

 

leaning against the side of a building, on its side on the ground, the sign at the distillery district that says how many days left until Christmas

I was hoping for some sun as I walked the other day but October seems to have ended with clouds and rain.  November is here and it is notorious for being grey and depressing.   The clouds on these hoardings seemed appropriate.  They are around a construction site on Lower Sherbourne street, at the southeast corner of Lower Sherbourne and Front.

a woman walks past hoardings on Sherbourne street that are shiny and have pictures of clouds on them

below: This is the hole behind the hoardings.

construction site at Sherbourne and Front

That intersection, (LS & F), has construction sites at both the southeast and northwest corners.  At a third corner, the northeast, there is a development notice sign.

an Esso gas station at the northeast corner of Front and Sherbourne, also a Tim Hortons and a convenience store

Yet another developer wants to build yet another 37 storey building here.  At least one person has voiced their displeasure.

blue and white city of Toronto development notice on the northeast corner of Front and Sherbourne, now an Esso gas station, but developers want to put a 37 storey building there

And other signs of discontent nearby….

in blue marker, graffiti that says Doug Ford kills

time and space condo hoardings where someone has written the word no in front of space, so you have time and no space condos

below: Looking west on King Street East at Jarvis.

King street east,, looking west from Jarvis Street towards steeple of St. James Cathedral and the trees in front of it in autumn colours

below: St. James Park gets new walkways

chainlink fence around parts of St. James park as new walkways are constructed

below: In the Sculpture Garden across the street from St. James Cathedral is a collection of wood poles with small speakers attached to the top of them.  This is an art installation by Lou Sheppard called Dawn Chorus/Evensong 2019.  It is part of the Toronto Biennial of Art that is on now (until late in December).  It “interrupts the denaturalized landscape with music created through the transposition of spectrograms of birdsong…”

in a garden, on flat space, grass, wood poles with small speakers attached to the top of them

below: ‘Haunted City’.  One of a few Halloween decorations along Queen West.

a skeleton wrapped in black hood and cape in a window, with reflections of stores and street on Queen West

below: While walking up Spadina this bike caught my attention because

bike decorated with many used tea bags parked beside a tree on Spadina

below: … it’s decorated with many, many used tea bags. On closer inspection, there seem to be quite a few different brands. My guess is that this is one of a kind…. or at least I hope so!

close up of bike decorated with many used tea bags

a black and red motorbike is parked by a mural in Chinatown of a person carrying babies in baskets.

below: I’m not sure just what these added words mean.  Is now real?  Can we be sure?

orange fence around a tree, tree protection area, someone has written on the sign: Now is the only thing real

below: A few remaining campaign signs from the federal election back in October.  The Liberals won every Toronto seat.

side of a building in Chinatown, stores and restaurant, bike parked there, also three large Adam Vaughan election signs.

looking across Spadina to a store in Chinatown

two women standing on a sidewalk, talking to each other,

skeleton graffiti on a metal street box

below: Discarded and left in a pile in an alley, JFK and Bobby Kennedy rugs.  Not one but four? or five?

small blue carpets in a pile on the ground, about 4 of them, with pictures of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, a brown eagle, and some words

below: Uber5000 birdies riding in tandem, along with an old banana seat bike affixed to the wall.

an UBer5000 mural of two yellow birdies on a tandem bike. An old bike is affixed to the wall beside the mural

below: A grumpy sign?  Or just a sign with fangs?

at the entrance to an alley, a red and white do not enter sign has been altered, a face has been drawn it in black sharpie

part of a tuquoise painted house beside an alley with fall foilage, a truck and man in the distance

below: Van Gogh can still be found on Huron Street

a portrait of Vincent Van Gogh on an exterior wall, street art mural

below: This is part of the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) building at College & Huron Streets.  There might be a certain charm in the concrete buildings of this era… when it comes time to renovate them or tear them down, will there be an effort made to save them?

tree with a few remaining yellow leaves in front of a concrete building with long vertical recessed windows

below: Nearby, this “artwork” on the exterior of 215 Huron Street, is from the same time period.

a black metal bench, outside, sits in front of a wall with an artwork on it made from different colours of concrete and pebbles

below: Reflections in a window on the University of Toronto campus.

reflections in a set of windows

below: U of T playing fields on Hoskin Ave with the black/darker brick Trinity College behind.

University of Toronto playing fields, from the south, with Trinity College behind and then city buildings behind that

A few more “campus in autumn” photos

large tree in autumn colours on University of Toronto campus

orange plastic fence, orange and black cone, and autumn trees in a corner of U of T campus

yellow and orange leaves in front of a grey stone building

below: There were still lots of leaves on the trees at Queens Park too.

autumn trees in Queens Park

below: Some of the oak trees had multicoloured leaves.

oak leaves in greens, yellows, reds, and oranges

autumn trees in Queens Park including some pinkish coloured leaves

below: End.  Yes, this is the end.

large black letters make the word end on a red brick wall

Albert Jackson Lane

Posted: September 16, 2019 in general Toronto
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Albert Jackson Lane is a small alley that runs south from Harbord Street.

upper storey door with metal stair case and its shadows. White door. Red flower box on railing outside door.

below: What is happening to Harbord Fish & Chips? (Albert Jackson Lane is on the right).

small brick building painted white was Harbord Fish and Chips, sign is gone and the building is being renovated

below: Looking down the alley, the first impression is that it is rather nondescript but a few bits of colour suggest that walking down the lane might be worth the effort.

looking down a short alley, Albert Jackson Lane, with garages lining both sides, the backs of houses at the end including one that is being renovated

below: A purple and teal fish by birdo, aka Jerry Rugg

birdo mural on a garage door, orange background, fish swimming behind a stone, fish is teal and tail is purple and teal striped

below: Part of “Secret Garden” by Emily Kouri

mural by emily kouri from 2012 on a garage door, in pinks and blues with yellow circles with butterflies in the circles

below: An older mural that completely covers the garage and the fence on both sides.  I am not sure who the artist is.

older mural on garage and fence on both sides, covers the whole thing, in oranges, browns, and greys,

below: This character is well known – a poser bunny.

poser bunny and text, pink bunny, pink text, on light blue background, text is on garage door, bunny is on wall beside door

below: The Toronto skyline and its reflection in Lake Ontario in a mural by Mel Coleman.

a mural of Toronto skyline reflected in Lake Ontario, stylized, by Mel Coleman in Albert Jackson Lane, painted on a garage door

below: A talking head, a square head on TV.  I love the bunny ears on the TV – who has those anymore!

on a beige garage door, a white rectangle painted and on that, black drawing of a man with with a square head on TV, a lamp is beside the television

below: At the end of the alley, a house with major renovations in progress.

row of backs of houses from lane, house in middle has windows removed and hole in the walls being enlarged

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