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the smaller stuff too

Posted: January 16, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: April Showers Art, broke canvas, Cartoon Car slaps, catchoo, Cecil Tian, Clem Crevetz, Colin Green, D7606, Frances Sousa, graffiti, Graffiti Alley, heart, painting, paste ups, poser, rat, rat race, rider waitress, sentient cookie, slaps, spray paint, stickers, stikman, street art, T-bonez, Tamm Shinzo, trp613, urban art, urban ninja squardon, visual noise

…in Graffiti Alley

My previous post was also about a walk down a section of Graffiti Alley (Spadina to Portland). This post is from the same walk – because there were so many images that I wanted to share, I decided to divide the fun into two parts. This second part takes a closer look at some of the smaller pieces.

below: Peeling paper hands…. A 33wallflower33 group of three women in their dashing outfits … and a charming man with devil’s horns and red glasses.

below: Although it’s getting more difficult to see, there’s a Poser rabbit by the door. The door is disappearing behind a layer or two of paper and paint.

below: There is a little pink stikman on the light above the door.

below: Once upon a time this skinny little guy was pink but ooops, a layer of paint and now he’s prematurely grey.

below: In her face – another stikman

below: Last stikman for today… sometimes you find them tucked away in hard to see places.

below: Party line? Four hands phone.

below: A bleeding heart, a pansy flower, and a woman with a red hat and big ear rings.

below: Polly wants a cracker before she takes over the world, or at least that’s what she told me.

below: A young woman with blue lipstick and jagged pink make up on her cheeks. A spiked collar is around her neck. Make of it what you will.

below: Another young woman, this time she’s a little softer (at least in appearance) – drawn by Catchoo.

below: Multiple Sailor dudes (trp613) in two varieties hanging out with a happy little catchoo critter and its smiley daisy balloon.

below: “Save me”!

below: It looks like catchoo has been busy.

below: More of that wall.

below: Darth Vader makes an appearance too. Who’s that man peeking through the hole?

below: One flower sprouts a bald person while the other produces a sunny orb. That black octopus doesn’t look very happy – perhaps in this winter weather it needs more than just a woolly toque.

below: There are those women again!

below: Dogma slaps standing tall in his puffy jacket and bright red mitts.

below: Riding a D7606 crayon – T-bonez always finds new adventures.

below: A collaboration between Tamm Shinzo and April Showers Art produced this little round piece – sitting on top of the clouds with the moon shining over her shoulder.

below: Cryptid Supremacy – a rat with a very long tail

below: More rats, this time “the rat race is rigged”. Also another skull (skulls are very popular!), this time by Broke Canvas (aka Colin Green) on yellow. And third, is it a rainbow or a very sad face? – slap by Rider Waitress (aka Frances Sousa)

below: While we’re dealing with rats – Squee! They are all fleeing from an NYC trash can. Don’t litter!

below: Another small collection – Catchoo shows up on a soy sauce bottle while a Sentient Cookie (aka Cecil Tian) character gets taped to the wall… remember that banana?! And last, in the top left corner, a Cartoon Car Slaps.

below: Juice box time. By Clem Crevetz

Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Posted: January 13, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: big teeth, blue face, bluebird, Bunso, Dewucme, dogs, doors, faces, Graffiti Alley, Kalaruno, Kelcy Timmins Chan, Mixt Paints, murals, paint, people, portraits, skateboards, snowman, spray paint, tiger, words, Zelensky

This blog post is a quick look some of the “art” that can be seen in Graffiti Alley at the moment. There is lot on display even though I only walked between Spadina and Portland so this post focuses on the murals and larger paintings that I saw. The smaller stickers and paste ups will be in a subsequent post (sooner rather than later I hope!).

below: Blue birds and big ugly black dogs.

below: A portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours.

below: Daisy, in rabbit ears

below: On one of the corners, there is a long grey mural with bits of red….

below: “A lone samurai known as Ghost stands on watch”. A story and a mural by Dewucme

below: Portraits painted on skateboards – there has been a collection of such portraits hanging here for at least a year. I am not sure if these three are newer, or if I just forgot them last time. (Link to blog post of skateboards from 2025). I have updated the 2025 post to include a few photos that I took last week of other skateboard portraits that I didn’t see a year ago.

below: Portrait by Bunso

below: Other part of the above mural, but painted by a different artist (I think)

below: In memory of Andre Campbell

below: Behind the Queen Street stores

below: Painting on hoardings as downtown redevelopment (and subway construction) slowly encroaches on the Queen and Spadina neighbourhood.

below: “Find peace in your chaos” Plus, it seems to be wearing shirt and tie but it’s also drooling and looking just a little unhinged!

below: Monstrous television screen head with bloody gums and matching tie.

below: “Who you gonna call?” Ghostbusters green slimey thing!

below: He’s got one big eye and a scowl on his face. There’s a burning cigarette in his mouth and the Ace of hearts is tucked into his hat band. Quite the character.

below: Not all cats are cute?

below: A woman with her purple hair tied up with little glowing (but ghostly) lanterns in a mural by MonkYi

below: Climbing green onions (scallions?)? An upside down blue goose? … And in the middle, yellow siu mai (Chinese open-topped steamed dumplings, a dim sum favorite), all images from the imagination of Mixt Paints aka Kelcy Timmins Chan

below: There’s that snowman again, but on a different wall and surrounded by graffiti

below: Ninos Libres, by Kalaruno

below: Another Kalaruno painting

below: At least it’s a step up from tagging…..

below: A green finger on the trigger.

below: Blue. And strange looking. He’s hanging out in the doorway.

below: An introspective dragon

below: And last, many thanks to the usual Wednesday Gang!

Edna and more

Posted: January 9, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
Tags: 33wallflower33, alley, alywyz murals, autumn, cassette tape, catchoo, chairs, chill, Edna Ave., Flips, garages, Glenlake, graffiti, houses, lane, Mel Coleman, raccoons, residential

It had been a grey and slightly damp morning when I was out walking. As I headed to the subway to go home, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. So I kept walking north of Dundas West station. Edna Avenue is the street that runs parallel to Bloor immediately north of the station.

below: Edna Avenue, looking east towards Dundas Street West.

below: Edna seems to have a Guardian watching over her.

below: There is an alley that runs north from Edna and the sunshine beckoned.

below: T-shirt sale at the One Stop Shop!

below: The sun sets and rises eternally, apparently.

below: A little Catchoo daisy sticker caught my eye.

below: There was also a 33wallflower33 paste-up with a few little catchoo stickers on her gorgeous white outfit.

below: Faded bricks like faded jeans. They are a little rough around the edges too.

below: Chairs, backyard chairs.

below: Backyard picnic tables too.

below: Raccoons on the roof! Mural by Mel Coleman.

below: More backyards – or at least, backs of houses

below: Another chair

below: Cassette tape (remember those?!) and supersized pencil. If you had tapes, you always had a pencil handy, just in case! Back in 2020, this mural was fairly new. You can check out “faceless in an alley” if you want to see the whole mural before the one wall was defaced.

below: Another ghost from the past – a ghetto blaster proudly carried on his shoulder

below: The mural is an Ex-Vandals piece, or at least references them. On the left in this image are the words Dino Nod – he was one of the founding members of the Ex-Vandal crew (formed in 1971 in Brooklyn NY).

below: Red and green men too.

below: A couple of blocks north of Edna is Glenlake, and here we are looking east towards Dundas.

below: Glenlake and Dundas. When I was double checking Google maps for the names of these streets, I discovered that this used to be a store that sold flowers and other things. Where there is no grass beside the building, was once a fenced in area with plants for sale.

below: Just north of the Glenlake/Dundas intersection is the large bridge over the railway tracks that connects Dundas to the West Toronto Railpath.

below: The concrete supports for the bridge were painted with nature scenes many years ago. The weeds have grown up and the artwork has faded.

below: Blobs, curls (by Flips), stars, and Spy vs Spy

below: Looking up the stairs (but not walking up – I’ll leave that for another day).

below: Instead I turn around. This is a big part of the view that you see as you walk down the stairs – a large, striking, mural by Kizmet32 .

below: I now know that these metal utility poles can be used to make “music”. All you need is a big stick or two.

below: Walking back to Dundas West station to finish for the day.

below: Slightly off on a tangent – for those of you who follow such things, the Giraffe Building on the northeast corner of Dundas West and Bloor is still there, and still empty.

behind Alhambra

Posted: November 29, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, camo, cats, construction, cruz1, dogs, faceless few, garages, graffiti, Herbs, kizmet, laneway, murals, paintings, radcliffe, spray, sunflowers, windows

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

below: Renovations to expand up and out.

below: Cats, dogs, and little yellow clouds.

below: He walked into my picture.

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

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

below: Ready to play.

below: Two Kizmet Radcliffes, the crazy raccoon.

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

below: Herbs vegan snacks

below: The Faceless Few in orange and blue.

below: Can you see it?

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

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

below: Small scrawls

from Dupont to St. Clair West

Posted: November 12, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, transportation
Tags: Bareket, birds, bkez, Catherine Cachia, decorations, Dupont, Dupont subway station, Elicser Elliott, halloween, James Sutherland, Julia Prajza, murals, Nick Sweetman, pumpkins, signs, Spadina, stores, Troy Lovegates

Enter if you Dare!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

below: Northeast corner of Dupont and Spadina

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

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.

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!).

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

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

below: Cozy and euphoric.

below: Bete Suk, Ethiopian Coffee shop

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

below: Looking west on Dupont

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

below: 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.

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

;

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

below: Another touch of Art Deco in the neighbourhood

below: Bathurst Street houses

below: Playing in the playground

below: Store fronts on Bathurst

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

below: Home is where our story begins.

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

below: Waiting to cross Bathurst Street

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

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.

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

With thanks to Nancy who walked with me that day.

Captain Hawley and others

Posted: September 12, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, stores
Tags: alley, backyards, Candace Bell, Captain Hawley Lane, cars, Duke Tavern, Eastern Ave., Elicser Elliott, garages, houses, lanes, Leslie St., Leslieville, Memory Lane, Nigel Smith, peeling paint, Queen St. East, residential, streetcar

below: This lane was recently named for William Hawley, a retired Toronto firefighter and Leslieville resident.

Captain Hawley lane runs north from Eastern towards Queen St East. It is west of Leslie Street. There are a few other little alleys in the vicinity all of which seem to be unnamed. This blog post shows some of the things seen in these alleys as well as on the major streets around them, Queen, Leslie, and Eastern.

below: Elicser Elliott’s Leslieville mural still looks great at Queen & Jones.

below: “Community” by Candace Bell on Queen East

below: Who is the photographer?

below: Stores on Queen East.

below: Northeast corner of Larchmount and Queen East.

below: Photo taken on a day when gas was $1.43 a litre, albeit full service which you don’t find everywhere these days.

below: An afternoon break on a patio.

below: Waiting to get into the Duke, Men’s Entrance

below: Leslie and Queen East south side,

below: Construction on the east side of Leslie – one of countless large holes in the ground.

below: Houses on Leslie, south of Memory Lane.

below: A house with a bright turquoise front door and another that is now taller and skinnier.

below: 27 Leslie Street

below: Non-believers on top – “No Truth to it!” over “Jesus saith unto him…. “.

below: On Eastern, the AMCO gas station is now closed because of a recent fire.

below: “Navalny” and “Text” by Nigel Smith

below: There is still a large vacant lot on the south side of Eastern Avenue (with views towards the Port Lands)

… and now the laneway scenes …..

below: Starting with the now ubiquitous laneway garden suite

below: These houses with the square-ish shapes at the back are disappearing as more and more home owners renovate and/or expand upwards. Brick is no longer the cladding of choice (and hasn’t been for a long time).

a little bit of Sherbourne in the sun

Posted: September 3, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: anser, artsbyabe, Church Wellesley village, construction, Garden of Lost Boys, houses, housing, Howard St., Ishkozi Park, Jarvis St., King St., Leader Lane, Maple Leaf Gardens, Michael Snow, O'Gradys, P.J. O'Briens, redevelopment, Rogers, Sarah Klawiter, St. James Town, Upper Jarvis

a little bit of Church Street, on the run…..

And of course, a lot of in-between too. A bit of a random walk south from Bloor on Sherbourne, Jarvis, and Church. A zigzagging walk through four neighbourhoods.

But first, coffee! De Mello Coffee on Bloor has mirrors under their counter and it makes for some strange scenes.

below: In the lobby of Postmedia Place on Bloor Street there is this sculpture – three people reading newspapers.

below: I found not one, but two, anser faces of unknown vintage in an alley just west of Sherbourne

below: Upper Jarvis was neighbourhood number one that day. The north end of Jarvis Street is at Charles Street; here Jarvis splits into Ted Rogers Way (old Jarvis Street) and Mt. Pleasant.

below: Looking south along Mt. Pleasant immediately south of Bloor. If you can see the covered pedestrian walkway over the street in this picture, that is where Mt. Pleasant turns slightly left and becomes Jarvis Street.

below: Ishkozi Park is a small green space on Huntley (actually on the grounds of Rogers Toronto headquarters). The benches have been recently painted, but the large sculpture in the center has been there a while. The walking lady in the sculpture may look familiar and you may be thinking to yourself, “Where have I seen her before?”. The stainless steel sculpture is a giant tree and is titled ‘Red, Orange and Green’ and it was created by artist Michael Snow. …. Have you figured out why she looks familiar? … She was first spotted back in the early 1960s…..

The neighbourhoods along Sherbourne and south of Bloor are other rapidly changing areas of the city. On the west, many older homes still exist but they are empty and obviously waiting demolition (or inclusion into a large condo development?).

below: Once they were a few family homes, now they are a number of smaller apartments. Interesting brickwork.

below: Another ubiquitous development notice sign – this time to inform us of a very large two tower development that involves three streets, Huntley, Linden, and Selby. Portions of some of the older houses would be kept and the towers would be behind them. I did not do a complete research on the planning application (21 227527 STE 13 OZ) but it seems like city council didn’t like many parts of the initial proposal back in 2021/2022. I do not know what it’s status is now.

below: On the east side of Sherbourne, it is Howard Street that is torn up. This is the west side of St. James Town.

below: A cheeseburger with a sesame seed bun!

below: Someone’s heart is in heaven, but Lisa and Jerry 4-Ever!

below: Jarvis & Gloucester/Earl northwest corner. Some black, some white, and lots of grey.

below: Fancy brick work, rounded windows, and a turret!

below: Church Wellesley village, neighbourhood number two.

below: Once upon a time it was Maple Leaf Gardens, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team (1931-1999). Now it houses a Loblaws grocery store and TMU athletic facilities (Mattamy Athletic Centre). Northwest corner of Church and Carlton

below: Lots of pink on Maitland Street.

below: Garden of Lost Boys – dedicated to the memory of friends and neighbours lost to the AIDS epidemic.

below: Hot tub macrame!! Finally, a use for those plant hangers that you (or your mother) might have – that you probably made back in the 1980s. If you don’t have such a thing, you can find this one in a store on Church Street.

below (also above): Tribute to Sarah Hegazi, written in 2020. “To my siblings: I tried to survive and failed, forgive me. To my friends: the experience was harsh & I was too weak to resist it, forgive me. To the world: you were cruel to a great extent, but I forgive.” Hegazi was an Egyptian writer and LGBTQ activist who was arrested and tortured in Cairo for waving a rainbow banner. She found asylum in Canada in 2018 but died by suicide in Toronto two years later.

below: Patchwork teddy bear graffiti sticker by artsbyabe

below: At the end of the rainbow you will find O’Gradys – in on of the few half houses that exist in the city.

below: On a school wall – a door with rainbow stripes and hearts along with Honesty (Gwekwaadziwin) and Wisdom (Newaakaawin)

below: Gerrard Street East and the Garden District,… now we are at number three.

below: … but wait, Gerrard Street East in McGill Granby Village? The difference of course is that one is on the west side of Church and the other is on the east. Neighbourhood number four.

below: By the time we get to Queen Street, we are in Old Town Toronto, Historic Queen Street and Neighbourhood number 5.

below: The round turret of that yellow building still remains. The green scaffolding keeps the facade stable while new development occurs around it. Some of you may be old enough to remember it as a Thriftys Sports Shop. The last business to occupy the space before demolition was Shawarma’s King.

below: Church street just north of King. Fenced off and closed to traffic.

below: The intersection of Church and King, looking towards the southeast corner.

below: Still King and Church but a slightly different angle

below: … Also King Street

below: Leader Lane runs between King and Wellington. After many years of “discussion” and planning, the part of Leader Lane that is south of Colborne just might get pedestrianized. This picture show the north half of Leader Lane and yes, that section has just been completely redeveloped around the older white building.

below: P.J. O’Brien’s has been on the corner of Colborne and Leader Lane since 1966.

A quick look back at Front and Sherbourne – this is the northeast corner of that intersection. A lot of new development here!

Phew! Time for a rest!

With thanks to all the friends that I walked with that day…. shown here doing what we all do best, play in our favorite photo places (in this case, Leader Lane, side of P.J. O’Briens)

Royal York to Kipling

Posted: July 11, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
Tags: Alfio Bartoletti, Bloor st. west, construction, fountain, graffiti, history, islington, Kingsway, Mimico Creek, Moises Frank, murals, Nate Galbraith, new buildings, parks, reflections, residential, sketchnate, street art, subway, TTC, workmen

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.

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

below: There are more yarn decorations around the metal frame protecting this tree 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.

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

below: Bloor West glass towers

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

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

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

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.

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)

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Are cars always getting in the way of public transit?

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.

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.

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.

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

below: A very big hole in the ground.

below: Kipling Street bridge over the railway tracks

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

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.

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

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)

below: Eastbound out of Kipling station. The older Line 2 subway trains still have a window that you can look out.

behind Shaw Street

Posted: June 4, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, birdo, Brian Porter, bricks, doll face one, dragon, emily may rose, flowers, garages, graffiti, Jerry Rugg, lane, laneway, murals, paint, raccoons, rainbow, robot, squirrel, street art, sun, unicorns, walls

Like an illustration in a book with no words, the story is in the picture and its interpretation is up to you. Raccoons in masks and red capes performing (dancing?) while other raccoons sit in trash cans watching? A whimsical mural by Emily May Rose – if you follow this blog, or if you are familiar with Toronto street artists, you will recognize this immediately as one of hers. These cute little raccoons appear in many places around the city. How many have you spotted? This particular mural is in an alley behind Shaw Street (east side) and north of Queen.

Some other street art seen in the alley…

below: A legless robot effortlessly glides around although it also looks like he might be aimlessly floating through space. He was painted by Brian Porter

below: Monotone and angular, a very large squirrel is watching you (another Brian Porter piece).

below: A woman entwined with a creature with a bird head (but scaly legs?) lying on the ground? flying in the air? swimming in the water? The mural was painted by Birdo, aka Jerry Rugg.

below: Flowers basking in the rays of sunshine on a summer day

below: Lots of purple flowers!

below; Pikachu seems happy enough, but that cup… I look at that and I think of Mr. Bill. Mr. Bill had dark round eyes and a big round red mouth. For those of you young ones who are wondering what I’m talking about, Mr. Bill was a little figure made of clay who appeared on SNL starting waaaay back in 1976. Oh Nooooo!!

below: Rainbow unicorns, just in time for Pride month.

below: Home is where the heart is. It also seems to be where the sun shines and the flowers grow profusely.

below: Marshmallows with stick arms and army boots!

below: Some dragons breathe fire so I’ve been told. This purple dragon seems to have a different trick!

below: A little blue bear with a happy face balloon, a sticker by doll face one.

below: Graffiti stickers on a TTC No Dumping sign.

below: And last, street art of a slightly different, but very similar, sort…. Someone’s little gallery

Queen West-ish

Posted: June 3, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, public art
Tags: #spud1, Alanna Fields, Alex Garant, birdo, Christina Mazzulla, CONTACT, Contact photography festival, Cosmo, Daniel Bombardier, Denial, doktor karayom, electric coffin, faces, Flips, gardens. flowers, graffiti, Jerry Rugg, lovebot, Queen West, slaps, snake, St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, stickers, swan, Ted Hamer, urban ninja squadron, visual noise, white squirrel

A Lovebot! What a great way to start a day. These two “live” at Nadege Bakery on Queen West. The one on the left looks a little like mint ice cream with chocolate chips! Or else the poor guy has some wickedly strange skin condition.

below: Washing the window makes for more reflections!

below: The Ordinary

below: And the not so ordinary

This is a “walk with friends” post. Last Wednesday I walked with the Wednesday Walking Gang, most of whom I have known and walked with for years. Our “route” took us around the neighbourhoods to the west and south of Trinity Bellwoods Park. We walked on streets such as Walnut, Stafford, and Shaw.

We saw houses, lots of houses… some new…..

… some old …

…. and many in a row

… and even one with a pirate flag

below: It’s great walking in May when spring gardens are in full bloom. There were lots of front yards with interesting plants to look at.

below: Purple irises

below: White clematis flowers

below: Geraniums in the window.

below: There’s something in the window – and it doesn’t look like flowers!

below: Ready for summer?

below: Utility pole replacement in progress – wow! are those poles tall!

below: Three hoppers (funnels?), remnants of an industrial past.

below: Queen Street, looking east from Shaw.

below: Queen West at Walnut Ave where 7-Eleven gas is on the southeast corner (and gas is 135.9/litre). St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church is the large red brick building on the north side of Queen West.

below: The north end of Toronto’s Stanley Park (not quite as big as the one in Vancouver!)

There were two billboards, back to back, near King and Strachan that were part of the CONTACT Photography Festival. They both had large images from Alanna Field’s “Unveiling” series.

There were other portraits seen along the way….

below: An orange painting on a white garage door, by doktor karayom. Here little people seem to be emerging from this poor person’s head. A little foot in one ear and an exploring hand reaching into the other. Two cheeky little faces too. I can’t imagine that that would be comfortable!

below: A bit more realistic, but still with a touch of macabre – young person with four hazel eyes painted by Alex Garant.

below: Normal eyes, blue eyes, on this woman with the long brown hair. Painted by Spud1

below: There was also the face of a queen, a portrait of Queen Victoria, in a Queen West (no, not Queen Wet!) mural near Trinity Bellwoods Park by Electric Coffin and Denial (aka Daniel Bombardier).

below: Four goofy faces in all the wrong colours – great whimsical silliness

below: There are no human faces here in this Birdo (aka Jerry Rugg) mural but there is an alligator (crocodile?) with red eyes and big teeth as well as a shark lurking at the bottom.

below: Owl in the night sky, a painting by Christina Mazzulla

below: For many years there has been a white albino squirrel that lives in or near Trinity Bellwoods park. Here, Ted Hamer has painted it on a Bell box by the sidewalk on Shaw.