Archive for the ‘graffiti and street art’ Category

Dew Lang Lane and area

Posted: May 18, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Back in 2012, the city approved the naming of an alley… Dew Lang Lane.  You can find this lane just north of the Danforth near Donlands.  Prior to the legal change,  “Dew Lang” had been used as the unofficial name by local residents.  The name comes from parts of the two streets Dewhurst (Dew) and Langford (Lang) that the lane runs between.

a man walks through an alley, and parking lot

below: Omen514’s fist bump

mural of a fist bump on a garage, with a basketball hoop above it, alley,

below: “Turn the lights off and look to the sky”  by Jerry Rugg (aka Birdo) & Wales.

mural in alley,woman wearing sunglasses, text that says

alley scene, 2 murals, a wood fence, and the back of a brick house

below: Spud1 left his mark here along with the advice, “Live, Love, Paint”.

spud mural on a garage in an alley, with text, live, love, paint,

below: Signs of spring that can’t be held back

lilac bush over the top of a wood fence in a lane, full of pink blossoms, peak bloom

ivy covered pole and wires, no parking sign partially covered with vines too

truck parked in a lane, unloading from the back, lane has very tall tree, some fences and garages too,

below: In a very tight spot but bursting out.

a mature tree with large tree trunk wedged between the sides of two garages

below:  One of the latest trends in urban living is the laneway house.   They are popping up all over the place and this area is no exception.

black box shaped house, new infill housing in an alley

below: Another trend, this one in home renovations, is building upwards.  Adding a third floor or a rooftop deck is now common (and is often more noticeable from the back).

newly renovated house as seen from the alley behind, big new windows, and a new upper level

below: The repurposing of church buildings is another trend (albeit a bit older than the above two).  In this case, Temple Baptist Church, opened 1925, is now residential.   A small plaque in one corner of the building serves as a reminder of its original function.  From the application for heritage status for the building:  “Temple Baptist Church is a fine example of a revival of the Georgian Classical Style adapted for Post-Reformation churches in 18th century England.”  Not many Toronto churches were built in this style.

Temple Baptist Church, now condos

below: The central window with its leaded coloured glass and Credit Valley stone trim around the windows.

central window, with leaded coloured glass, of the old Temple Baptist Church, now condos, brick building from 1925.

old brick wall in alley, covered with graffiti in bright colours, yellow, blue and green

mural of a man bending down, lower part has been covered with a tag
two garage doors with urban art, on right is a strange looking woman with her tongue partially stuck out
mural in an alley, girl with pearl necklace and white wings

below: A beckoning summer scene, Muskoka chairs on the dock.  Have a seat and watch the sunlight play on the water.

mural of two muskoka chairs on a dock by the lake

below: Old black line drawings on old white garage.

black line drawings on old white garage
close up of black line drawing graffiti on white garage, with green vine growing over it

looking through chainlink fence to vacant lot with remains of construction site on it

looking through chainlink fence to construction site with wheelbarrow as well as black and orange cones, orange plastic rolled up

below: The new west entrance to Donlands subway station opens onto Dewhurst.

entrance to Donlands subway station, low brown building with glass front and sides

below: Inside

interior of new west entrance to Donlands subway station, white walls, wood accents, a window

interior of new west entrance to Donlands station, from landing in stairwell between street level and subway level, two women walking

sticker graffiti on a pole, a faded blue robot and a pink pigeon head

below: A second pigeon…. this one wear a cheerful bright red cap as he struts around

sticker graffiti on rusted metal, a pigeon wearing a bright red cap, standing,

stylized orange flower petals on a red wall, mural, around a window,

back to Ossington

Posted: May 8, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Ossington Avenue is an interesting street to walk with it’s numerous stores, restaurants and coffee shops.  But there is another fascinating world hiding behind the main street in the numerous lanes and alleys in the area.  A few weeks ago I presented some images from these alleys (Behind Ossington, 15 April),  but I barely scratched the surface of what is there.

on Ossington Ave., older buildings that are now stores. one is painted olive green, another is white, and third is red brick. at the end, is a building with large yellow and blue vertical stripes, a bench is on the sidewalk

For this blog post, I have assembled more of the photographs that I have taken around Ossington since January of this year.  It gets a bit long because I decided not to chop it into smaller pieces, so grab a seat and let’s get started!

a bench beside a green wall in a snow covered parking lot, door beside bench has love U! written on it

below: A whimsical Uber5000 painting on a garage door.

uber 5000 mural, green biplane with 3 yellow birdies, including one standing on a bomb. dog standing on one of the airplane wings

below: Hearts on fire, burning love, and the fireman that is trying to extinguish the flames – in a mural created by D. Terra Stencils.

stencil,ural by D. Terra stencils, a crouching fireman holds a hose and shoots water upward towards a big red heart

below: One of the cutest raccoons that I have ever seen, also painted by D.Terra Stencils.

mural by D. Terra stencils, of a young raccoon, green leafy background

below: Some more cute raccoons of a different sort go camping in a mural by Emily May Rose

Emily May Rose raccoons go camping, with a grey and orange trailer, a yellow umbrella, and a folding chair too

two grey Emily May Rose raccoons play in a pile of dirt, while drinking canned drinks

below: … and some more raccoons!

Emily May Rose raccoons in a painting on a fence in an alley

below: …. and even more!

in an allley, wall and door, raccoons by Emily May Rose and text graffiti too
toronto alley near ossington with street art on fences and garages

below: Smaller black stencil graffiti on a white garage door – an iconic image of Marilyn Monroe as well as a Kung fu Panda.  The other woman gets a splash of bright red.

black stencil graffiti on a white garage door, portrait of Marilyn Monroe, and kung fu panda image, as well as another woman's head and face

below: A trumpet player and a gun fight.

black stencil graffiti on a white garage door, a man playing a trumpet, also two men in a gun fight with one standing over the other who is lying on the ground.

below: Bikes on the stairs with a colourful bird keeping a watchful eye.

in an alley, exterior stairs to a small balcony, bike parked on stairs, mural of a bird painted on wall beside the stairs

below: A tribute mural celebrating Canadian Black designers.

mural in an ossington alley, black background, text that says Designers of Canada, with three portraits, on the lower level of a three storey red brick building

below: An old square brick building, garages and fences with graffiti, old trees, and a row of houses at the end of the lane – this captures the look of a typical Toronto lane.

looking down an alley, garages with graffiti on the right, fence on the left, at the end, a semi divided house that is different on either side, also at end of alley, on right, a larger red brick building (old)

below: Home patio, outdoor living urban style.

exterior of building, concrete block painted a dark yellow,, white door, and black window, with 2 small chairs and a table, and a stool, immediately outside the building

below: “Stop and enjoy”.  I like how the poster below the stop sign says “mediocrity” which makes the overall message, “Stop and enjoy mediocrity”.  A bit snarky.

stop sign on a pole in an alley, beside a garage door with street art on it. text graffiti on the stop sign so that it says stop and enjoy

in a laneway with street art murals on all the garage doors

part of a larger mural, a face in the sun, eyes closed, some vines are growing over the face

older drawing on garage, man's face, coconut tree with palm leaves,

below: The tail end of a fishy mural.

a small alley near Ossington, cars parked in alley, one side has building with mural on it, the other is a house with grey siding cladding

below: This aquatic themed mural dates from 2016 when a group of artists painted many murals in the area, all with the Great Lakes as their theme. They were part of Pangeaseed Foundation’s Seawalls for Oceans project. Some artworks have survived better than others. Love letters in paint is a post from 2016 that show most of them in their original form.

fish mural by shalak attack

below: The Swiss army knife was also a Pangeaseed mural

street art mural with a big red swiss army knife in the center

below: Where possible, Jimmy’s Coffee shops have exterior walls painted with images of famous Jimmys including the one on Ossington. Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson Gonzo and Elmo

images of famous Jimmys on the side of Jimmys coffee shop on Ossington, Jimmy Carter, James Dean, the guitar of Jimmy Hendrix and two muppets representing Jim Henson gonzo and elmo

black and white image of Jimmy Hendrix singing and playing guitar, pink background, mural

below: A Jimmy of a different kind, a fantastic cacaphony of colours and shapes in a mural by Jimmy Chiale

mural of abstract shapes and colours by j. chiale

below: Close up of part of a mural, a young man wearing a black mask over his eyes.

close up of a street art painting, a young man in a black mask over his eyes

photo taken in a snowy parking lot, of the backs of some houses, fences, backyards,

below: Rowell Soller

rowell soller mural on a garage door

below: Two paintings on two different garages that look like they were done by the same artist.  The signature appears to be Soul R. and the top painting is from 2017.

mural of a turtle swimming in the water, in light shades of brown, blue garage

mural of a turtle swimming in the water, in a wall in an alley, with a pile of empty boxes and containers on the ground in front of it

below: 2022 Christina Mazzulla, for the Golden Turtle Restaurant.

mural, pink flowers, a fish, and a sea turtle

on the side wall of a house in an alley, mural, pink flowers, a fish, and a sea turtle

below: “You are stroger than you think”

a house being renovated, plywood over downstairs window with graffiti on it

below: Nick Sweetman has used shades of blue and purple to create this wonderful northern scene with a bear and moose combo.

a large bear and a moose, in a mural on a garage door in an alley, painted by bruno smoky or shalak attack

below: Totally blue.   The other colours have faded?  Or were never there in the first place?

gate in alley, double wide, at the end of a driveway, all in blue

below: More garage doors painted by D.Terra Stencils

alley near Ossington with lots of garage doors covered with murals, street art, urban art

below: On a bright yellow background, an image of Jean Michel Basquiat, one of the original creators present-day street art.

garage door painted yellow, then a portrait of Jean Michel Basquiat often considered the founder of street art

below: .. and beside Basquiat, a levitating woman

mural on an alley garage door by D.TErra stencils, a levitating woman, lying on her back up in the air, long hair hanging down.

below: Written in Portuguese is “Nem às paredes confesso” which translates to “I don’t even confess to the walls”.

mural on red background, musicians, one singer and one instrument player

below: Portuguese words, and nearby a Portuguese flag

street art painting of the Portuguese (Portugal) flag

mural, portrait of a man on a purple background

below: Boxers – Muhammad Ali and an opponent

boxing mural

below: The last D. Terra Stencils is this rendition of Ren and Stimpy

ren and stimpy from Nickelodeon TV in the 1990s, in a mural

trimming trees in an alley, man in lift above the lane, truck, some garages with graffiti and street art

little bits of metal on a wood utility pole

exterior door in an alley, covered with street art

part of a larger painting, a small character peaks its head out from the middle of a puffy orange letter O

below: The next four images are of the same mural in a snowy laneway parking lot…  starting with DAM DOG ketchup bottle

parking lot, in winter, box with street art on it beside a wall with more painting

parrt of a mural, smiling skull with a chain through one eye socket, and slightly yellow bottom teeth,

below: Parking for Animals

from a larger mural, young man in multi colour sunglasses, with a can of spray paint in his hand

close up of part of a mural, finger on the top of a spray paint can

below: These little ceramic animals have been walking in this alley for at least ten years.

little flat ceramic animal shapes, a turtle a small dinosaur, glued to a wall in an alley, beige with green and pink dots,

below: T-bonez stands alone, maybe waiting for the light to turn green?

t bonex sticker on a yellow box (for crossing signal). urban ninja squadron, visual noise,

T bonez sticker from visual noise and urban ninja squadron

close up of an old turquoise section of street art on wood fence, with red spray paint circle and double cross

on a wall painted very deep but bright red, outside in an alley, torn bits of paper remain where posters have been partially torn off

box on a wall, covered with stickers that are mostly in black and white, with red spray paint tag on top of it all.

below: And what’s this? Even more raccoons?! Toronto’s “beloved” trash pandas are everywhere!

raccoons in an alley mural, one sitting on a trash can, drinking, raccoons are trash pandas

part of a mural, painted by Emily May Rose, of a greenish grey raccoon, or trash panda, sitting of the top of a metal garbage can, holding a bottle with an XXX label.

between Wellesley and Gloucester

Posted: May 2, 2025 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores
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Like many good walks, this one starts from a subway station. This time it is Wellesley station

from in front of Wellesley TTC subway station, looking west on Wellesley, past Chechalk Lane to Yonge Street

below: Standing on the northeast corner of Yonge & Wellesley

on the northeast corner of Wellesley and Yonge, looking southwest

Not Just Noodles in old brick building, northwest corner of Yonge and Wellesley

Walking north on Yonge and taking advantage of the fact that there wasn’t much traffic. Some (all?) of these buildings may have appeared in prior blog posts. At some point I should pull together all the Yonge street photos that I have taken over the years. It might be interesting to see what has changed and how much. In the meantime, here are a few scenes from the two blocks from Wellesley north to Gloucester (past Dundonald St.)

below: Looking north.

looking north up Yonge towards Bloor

below: Large abstract red metal sculpture by Albert Paley.

red metal sculpture on the corner of Yonge & Gloucester

old brick buildings with mansour roofs, on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, Kung Fu Tea, a chicken restaurant with bricks painted pink,

old brick buildings with flat roofs, on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, Life Med quick fix, a vapes store, tattoo parlor, Molly Teas, and Ana Nails,

old brick buildings on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, san coiffure,

old brick buildings on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, flat roof. Bloom clinic, a spa, an empty store with brown paper covering the window,

upper storeys of old brick buildings on Yonge Street

below: Yonge Street has long been a dividing line down the middle of the city. There are some east-west streets that now run uninterrupted across Yonge but many don’t. For example, Dundonald Street ends at Yonge (runs east only) but after a slight jog to the north, you can continue on St. Joseph Street.

looking west along St. Joseph St., north side, from Yonge

below: Like St. Joseph St. is the continuation of Dundonald, Irwin Ave is the continuation of Gloucester.

from Irwin Ave looking east to Yonge and then to Gloucester, red sculpture by Paley, new glass and steel condo tower

Ethiopian restaurant on Irwin Ave

below: Shown here is one of the numerous alleys, that crisscross downtown Toronto – Cottage Lane runs north from Irwin Ave for a short distance.  Murals have been painted by B.C. Johnson on both sides.

Alley, with red brick buildings on each side, both with murals across the bottom part, painted by B. C Johnson, downtown, highrises in the background

below: Nearby, St. Nicholas Street south of Irwin becomes a narrow lane.

alley running north from Irwin Ave., just west of Yonge

Back to Gloucester (because we can never walk in a straight line!)…..

below: James Canning Gardens

James Canning Gardens, public space downtown

James Canning Gardens, public space downtown

below: An row of three old red brick houses with a heritage plaque outside – 7 to 11 Gloucester, built 1887.  Also known as the Hugh Matheson houses.  They have been incorporated into a condo development.

large 2 storey red brick house with a heritage plaque in the front

…”In September 1885, physician and tailor Hugh Matheson received a permit to build a row of homes on this site, located at the rear of his Yonge Street property at a cost of about $15,000 (about $500,000 in 2024). Matheson trained to become a doctor in Toronto and Connecticut but instead chose to be a men’s clothing retailer, running a successful store at 16 King Street East. His large home was just west of here at the corner of Yonge and Gloucester Streets. Matheson was planning to return to medicine when he died during the construction of the homes….. The first people to live at 7, 9, and 11 were James N. Peer, commercial merchant, George E. Challes, paper company manager, and Margaret J. Pringle, a widow… In 1950, five of the houses were demolished for construction of the subway…”

The next series of photographs are all taken in Gloucester Place, an alley that runs behind Yonge Street on the east side.  Artist B.C. Johnson has also painted most of the walls and doors in the one block stretch north of Gloucester Street.

below: Looking north up Gloucester Place towards Isabella, with tall glass and steel boxes at Yonge and Bloor towering above.

looking north

palm trees on the beach, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

water, stream, nature scene, beside a door painted like bright blue boards, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

lake scene, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

glittery green striped iguana on a tree trunk looking at a yellow butterfly, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

alley walls and doors painted by B C Johnson, scenes of nature

orange butterfly among branches of a tree, blue sky background, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

price list sign above painting of a white heron or egret standing beside a small creek, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

white chicken on the roof of an old red truck, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

5 large sunflowers in a field of sunflowers, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

alley walls and doors painted by B C Johnson, scenes of nature

2 different scenes painted beside each other, one is palm trees, the other a yellowish building, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson

a white rabbit nibbles on the grass beside a wood crate full of red apples, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson

a no parking sign on a chain across an archway leading to a farm scene, along with a Canada goose and a chicken

three tigers in the bushes, in the corner of an alcove,

below: The south end of Gloucester Lane, at Gloucester Street.  The old house was preserved and there is a coffee shop on the lower level at the moment.

exterior, neo coffee, tree in front, on Gloucester near park

Gloucester street, looking west towards Yonge street

interior, neo coffee,two people sitting and working

below: She looks rather perplexed and I am inclined to agree with her!

graffiti stickers on a canada post box

below: A little black catchoo heart

black catchoo heart graffiti sticker on a yellow bollard

One last quick circle back, this time to the beginning to include one last bit –

below: Chechalk Lane, from Wellesley towards Dundonald.  This lane was named for Chechalk, an Anishnawbe Chief who was one of the signatories to the 1805 Toronto Purchase. He also signed the Mississauga Treaty of 1805 (aka Treaty 13). The name/word means crane or big bird.

looking down a laneway, tall buildings on both sides, with reflections of buildings in the glass of the building at the end of the lane.

The story of the Toronto Purchase of 1805 is described on the website of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. (MCFN).  I am not going to copy and paste the whole thing; instead three points:

1. Original purchase price was 10 shillings (plus other items).
2. Renegotiations began in 1998 leading to a settlement for more money in 2010.
3.  The cities of Etobicoke, Toronto, North York, York and Vaughan are located within the boundaries of the Toronto Purchase Treaty lands.

If you want to read the whole story, link: MCFN Treaty 13.

behind Ossington

Posted: April 13, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Moooo…. Hey there good looking!…  Here’s looking at you!  This was painted by Poser.  Usually he does bunny rabbits but I think that he’s pretty good at painting cows too!

street art mural of a black and white cow looking at you, on a garage

For a number of years now, there has been a lot of street art and graffiti in an alley that runs behind the east side of Ossington starting at Queen Street and ending one block north at Humbert. Some of it is interesting; some is not. A few garages and walls look the same as they did 12 or 13 years ago so some of these photos may look similar to older photos used in this blog.

building in an alley, northeast corner of queen west and ossington, street art and graffiti on the walls

below: In the background, an untitled piece by Caratoes.  It was one of 5 murals painted in Toronto in 2016 for the “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans” series.  In total, there were over 500 murals in 20 countries in this series.

graffiti on a wall in many colours, with a large grey tones mural in the background.

below: Six lit matches ready to go.  This crazy cat is up to something no good…

mural on a fence, a grey cat with matches in his mouth, playing with a bottle

below: An early Birdo piece, although the scroll names or street artists too.  The first street art in the alley dates from 2012 when a group of artists painted some of the garages here.

older mural by birdo, two creatures standing together on a rusty garage door in an alley

below: A pink rose between two women.

pink rose sprayed painted on green wood, beside a figure dressed in white paste up

below: Another oldie – this purple guy has been blowing a gust of wind for many years.

old graffiti on a wall

below: Vintage Spud bombs, some cheerful and some menacing.

spud bombs street art, little grey bombs with cheery faces, on a wall in an alley behind ossington avenue

below: A funny looking green creature with big white eyes and lots of skinny legs.

street art mural

below: A couple, together in the stream, in a mural by Elicser Elliott with the title “Swim”

street art mural by elicser elliott of two people, man and woman, in purple stream, title is swim

below: Geometric shapes with a touch of rainbow colour, by Peru

on a garage in an alley, painting by artist called peru,

part of a street art mural, man that looks ancient greek or roman sitting, holding a large pot, wearing a toga and sandals

below: Large pink and white swirls and curls cover a wall. Any time that you see swirls like these, think Flips because that’s sure to be the artist that painted them.

pink and white swirls and curls, mural in alley

below: Only a small portion of this moose painting by Aaron Li-Hill remains.  I don’t usually show the original works but I am going to make an exception here.  See next image.

old street art painting of a moose partially covered with pywood

below: This is what it looked like back in 2012 or 2013.

old street art mural by aaron li-hill of a moose with full antler rack, open mouth,

below: A newer Catchoo sticker.

little daisy sticker by catchoo on a metal pipe in an alley

below: A couple of faces taken from many faces around a garage.

below: Part of a Troy Lovegates mural (as are the next three images)

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington, two merged heads with necks that come out of the same hole in the red and blue sweater that they are wearing. One face is yellow and the other face is half grey and half purple

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto. In the middle is a framed recessed box in the wall with 3 egg shapes in it

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington Avenue in Toronto

part of a Troy Lovegates mural in an alley behind Ossington

below: Looking south. The closest garage on the right has a mural painted by Spud.

alley, with garages on one side, mural on the wall of a building on the left

below: Durothethird paints peanut butter & (probably) chocolate

street art on a garage door in an alley, peanut butter,

below: Horus, “Well and good”

street art on a garage door in an alley by horus

garages covered with street art and graffiti, in alley on west side of ossington avenue in toronto, just north of queen street west

street art on a garage door in an alley pink polka dots on red

below: At the north end of the alley

buildings in alley covered with graffiti and street art

small part of a larger painting, street art, on side of garage in an alley, three fuzzy balls, each with one eye. Balls are yellow, and a red, and one blue.

weathered street art and graffiti on a wood garage in an alley

purple line drawing in spray paint of a man, with yellow wings, graffiti added to it, alley

below: Writing on black and purple

white line drawing on black line drawing of a man with glasses and a beard, mural in an alley

below: Portrait of George Sully, Canadian designer

portrait of a young black man, with a triangle behind his head, in a mural in an alley

below: Love yourself, over and over again, and in many different colours!

on a black wall in an alley, in cursive writing, the words love yourself written in many colours, many times

below: An old stikman in a frame, weathered but still there.

weathered street art paint on wood, with a tiny wood frame, inside frame is an old stikman graffiti piece

below: And lastly…  Too extraterrestrial, which someone seems to love

black wall, with graffiti, hand drawn character with words too extra terrestrial,

below: Looking north

alley behind ossington, on the west side, garages covered in street art and graffiti

garage in alley covered with paintings of bright flowers

between West Lodge and Lansdowne

Posted: April 12, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Running west off of West Lodge Ave., there is an alley behind Queen Street West on the north side.  The upper part of this long, low building was painted blue a number of years ago.  Since then it has been tagged and used as a place to put graffiti.

alley, long low building on right hand side, painted blue, with windows,

below: T-bonez from Urban Ninja Squadron practises yoga positions.

below: A bright red door that has unfortunately been scrawled on.  Beside it is a black figure that seems to be diving backwards while holding a bunch of colourful balloons.

below: Once it was a pink cat with green whiskers

below: Holding tight to that red rose.

stencil on a wall in an alley, a fist holding a red rose

Continuing west towards Lansdowne ….

below: Faces in the alley, with a bit too much gold

below: Chubby cheeks and big fat lips…. and how many eyes?

below: Faces, many faces with their eyes closed and their hair swirling around.  Mural painted by Carol Ann Apilado

below: “Tell me its all going to be okay?  Not sure if I can do that buddy…..

graffiti on a black garage, white drawing of a person with fingers in peace sign, with text Tell me it's all going to be okay?

below: Patterns and shapes on fence, by Hello Kirsten

murals on a fence in an alley including one by hello kirsten, design patterns, also a woman in purple,

murals in an alley, a garage painted all orange, paintings on fence, face and cacti painted in side a car port under an apartment

motorcycle parked in front of blue fence, beside a garage in a lane, near Queen Street West and Lansdowne

mini cooper car parked in an alley beside a garage with street art and graffiti on it

green spray paint and black drippy paint graffiti on red brick wall

alley views

below: Enough!  Although once upon a time it said more than that…..

close up of painting on a wood fence, abstract shapes and colours, with texture

This post also appears on my street art blog, Eyes on the Streets.

intersections – King and Queen

Posted: March 15, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, memorials, old buildings, stores, transportation
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… and Roncesvalles and Queensway.

King Street merges with Queen Street twice, once in the east at River Street and once in the west when King turns north and joins Roncesvalles.  At this point Queen becomes the Queensway.

below: Queen streetcar traveling westbound (center of picture) while a King car makes the turn north into the intersection (right side).

intersection of Queen, King, Roncesvalles and Queensway, looking east

If that King car continues north, it travel up Roncesvalles to Dundas West station.

looking north on Roncesvalles from Queen, sidewalk planter decorated with fancy lettering says Roncesvalles village

below: Looking west on the Queensway with all the overhead streetcar wires because….

looking west along Queensway from Roncesvalles, lots of overhead streetcar wires

below: … the TTC Roncesvalles Carhouse is right there.  It is 28 streetcar tracks wide and is used for storage and maintenance of part of the TTC’s streetcar fleet.

Queensway TTC streetcar yard

below:The Queensway also runs parallel to (and within sight of) Lakeshore Blvd, the Gardiner Expressway, and Lake Ontario.

view from pedestrian bridge over lakeshore blvd and gardiner expressway, traffic on the roads, etobicoke and mississauga in the distance, lake ontario

below:  There is access to the waterfront is by a pedestrian bridge.

pedestrian bridge over the lakeshore and gardiner expressway, towards lake ontario, street art and graffiti on the lower concrete parts of the railing, lamp lights along the way, blue sky day, no people

below: Also at this intersection is a memorial to all the Polish citizens who died at the hands of the Soviets during WWII.

monument in a park, large stone with a plaque on it,

Plaque reads: “1940-2000, In Memoriam … Lest we forget… May the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of Polish citizens in Soviet forced-labour camps, political prisons and execution sites, always remind the world that freedom is bought with great sacrifice.
Dedicated to the memory of over one million seven hundred thousand Polish soldiers and civilians arrested in EAstern Poland by the Soviet secret service (NKVD) in 1940-1941, for the only reason that they were Polish citizens and were deported to the far reaches of the Soviet Union (siberia), where many were executed or died of hunger, cold, disease, and exhaustion during World War II.
[words in Polish]”
Alliance of the Polish Eastern Provinces in Toronto, February 10, 2000.

The rest of this post are images of some of the sights along Queen West and in the alleys behind.  Some of them may look like photos that have appeared in prior blog posts….  Many things have changed over the years and yet many things remain the same.

below: North side of Queen West, looking towards Roncesvalles.

queen street west, north side, looking west towards roncesvalles

below: South side of Queen West, looking towards Roncesvalles

brick buildings, low rise apartments, on south side of queen, near roncesvalles

Some of the old architecture remains – Volumes could probably be written about all the old architectural features that can still be seen out Queen West and King West.  Many of which date from when Parkdale was an affluent suburb of Toronto.

three storey house on king street

man standing in front of an older brick apartment building three storey brick buildings on queen west, stores at street level, windows with little turrets on the top floor

below: An old Royal Bank of Canada building (now used for other purposes).

old royal bank of canada building, red brick, with stone dorway, including arch over door

below: An old Second Empire type of building, that is now home to the Easy Restaurant as well as Rosa’s restaurant.

below:Back of the building – King Street side.

back of easy restaurant with black and white mural, old red brick building,

below: The original mural with its yellow convertible once seen on the back of the building is still there, it’s just hidden by a more recently built structure to store garbage bins and other stuff in.

old Easy restaurant mural, now covered over by storage shed for garbage containers

below: If you have passed by this intersection, you may have noticed the yellow motorcycle rider on the King Street side of the building.

yellow painting of a man on a motorcycle, on wall outside Easy Restaurant, King street side

below: Dancing in the window

figurines or sclpture in a store window, thai dancers in traditional costume, head dresses on, gold accessories and highlights

below: A doggie in the window!

neon light art in a store window, a white dog with blue glasses riding on a blue skateboard

below: Ford among the light fixtures.  Who is the dimmest bulb?

inside a store window, light fixtures, shades, and other bits and pieces, along with some campaign literature from Doug Fords recent provincial election

old paint by number paintings of boats, two of them, in frames, on display in a shop window on Queen West

below: An anchor, many stickers, and a red skull and crossbones

a door to a tattoo parlour, part of it is covered with stickers, as well as blue anchor and red skull and cross bones

bright red door with glass panel, number 1635, junk store, vintage store, antiques, all cluttered in windows of the store

signs on a store door, glass door, one says closed, another says parkdale shop local and last, proudly parkdale

collage, graffiti, on a wall on queen west, man's face made up of 6 pieces of paper

below: Potato sack racers in a mural by Jim Bravo.  The sacks all say “Eva’s Fine Deli” on them so perhaps this was once the wall of said deli?  Now it is the Dosa restaurant on Roncesvalles.

mural by Jim Bravo in a lane off Roncesvalles, close to Queen, children in a greenfield, running potato sack race, hopping,

looking west towards roncesvalles in an alley behind queen west on the north side, brick buildings, some street art,

below: Dreamer

alley view, back of building, with door and windows, one mural of a bird with the word dreamer, one abstract blobby street art

below: Birdo paintings that have faded and weathered.  Check out an earlier post if you want to see what they once were like (Animals and Birdo Birds) This post was from March 2015, ten years ago!

 

birdo street art painting in an alley, bird with blue and white body

birdo street art painting in an alley, koala head, old man with white beard in profile

pink tags on garage in lane

exterior stairs leading to basement level door, door has street art painting of a blond woman's portrait, wearing a red hat

below: Still Alive! It’s always marvelous to encounter Lovebot the Robot in the wild.

a very big lovebot the robot street art, on a black building, white lines, faded red heart, on legs the words still alive are written

concrete steps up a small hill in front of a highrise apartment building, houses in the background

Parkdale mural on mini mart, beside house, with highrise apartments in the background

Parkdale mural on the side of Parkdale mini mart convenience store

below: More alley backyard views…. another house with a rooftop terrace or deck. I have mentioned before in other posts with other alleys, that this type of renovation/expansion has become very common throughout the city.

laneway view, back of houses, one red brick, the other blue cladding, garages, with tagged and graffiti covered garage doors, red truck,

large painting of a rabbit, street art mural, in alley behind queen street west

street art painting on garage door in alley

 

Rocco Mandalfino Lane

Posted: March 12, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Looking north up Rocco Mandalfino Lane towards Dundas Street.

looking north up Rocco Mandalfino Lane, streetcar passing by the north end of the alley, wood fences, large trees, winter, graffiti on the garages, brick houses

garages with graffiti and street art on the doors, in a lane,

wood fences, and backs of brick houses, alley views, large trees, one small wall with street art in red and blue

throw up tag street art for g h crew, with one cartoon like character with black cap, lightning eyes, also text that says blood on your hands

Looking south

fence with graffiti and street art, lane in toronto, beside red brick house with yellow brick details, looking south in rocco mandalfino lane

small black and white painting or drawing on a wood utility pole, dogs walking,

large capital G and H in reds and purples, slanted backwards, mural

in an alley, a wood fence with upper level of houses seen above it

fences and red brick buildings in alley, with graffiti and street art on them, blue man's head, fence with white curly lines,

throw up tag calligraphy street art, light blue and light purple letters on purple and green background

close up of street art on asphalt shingles, spray paint in reds and blues, texture

graffiti street art mural,

pink panther street art in alley

street art on side of wood garage

garages with street art, rocco mandalfino lane

red angular text calligraphy type street art

blue and white city of toronto street sign for rocco mandalfino lane, with large brick houses behind

Scarborough Mediah

Posted: February 21, 2025 in graffiti and street art
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Seen on Warden Avenue…  A building with a mural by Mediah (aka Evond Blake) on the upper level, and decorated blocks spelling ‘Scarborough’ in the front.  Each letter looks to be an animal-like character.

mural, drift appendar, by mediah alias Evond Blake, on the side of a two storey building in Scarbourgh. in front of the building is the word scarborough, each letter make with animal like character in the shape of that letter.

Same building, another side.  A windowless canvas for “Drift Appendar”

two storey bulding in scarborough, with large mural by mediah, iah digital, on it

Same site (building with Mediah mural is just behind the container).

metal container box by sidewalk, that is covered with bright colourful mural,

Feed Scarborough (part of the Scarborough Food Security Initiative, an organization that runs community gardens, food banks and many other programs).

painting on end of container showing part of the mural that covers the whole container, blue sky, yellow and orange sun, blue water, and words that say Feed Scarborough

behind Dundas, near Dufferin

Posted: February 5, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art
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below: View from a lane that runs behind the north side of Dundas West, walking west of Dufferin.   The alley also runs east of Dufferin but that will have to wait for another day.  The large brick building on Dufferin is St. Annes parish hall.  St. Annes church is behind, facing Gladstone Ave.  The vacant lot on left was a parking lot not long ago but now it is now a construction site.

man on bicycle, snow covered alley, vacant lot on left, backs of buildings on right, church at end of alley, St. Annes parish hall, workman arts

below: It looks like changes are coming on the Dundas West side of the lane as well.  A concrete wall/fence has been partially demolished and there are construction fences behind some of the buildings.  According to the Urban Toronto website, two 8 storey developments have been proposed – one fronting on Dundas and the other on Dufferin, with the alley remaining between them.

partial concrete wall, in an alley, with a row of buildings behind it, construction fence, snow,

below: Behind Dundas West… but not for much longer.

backs of two storey brown brick buildings, metal exterior stairs, doors, snow covered backyards,

below: Artwork by Cuban artist Supermalo5, aka Fabian Lopez  who always includes a little question mark in his work along with the incorrect equation 2 + 2 = 5

metal construction fence across the backyards of old brown brick buildings on Dundas West

construction site on Dufferin, just north of Dundas

construction site on Dufferin, just north of Dundas

fence around vacant lot, now construction site at lane and Dufferin, also at Boland Lane

alley view, back of old brick building with three doors on upper level, garage doors and single doors on lower covered in street art,

below: Two big round black eyes

behind 1512 Dundas West, a little mushroom shapred creature with two big black eyes, outlined in pink

below: Street art painting, abstract, by Mony Zakhour

street art mural by Mony Zakhour in alley behind Dundas West on garage door

close up of part of abstract mural by Mony Zakhour

street art mural by Mony Zakhour in alley behind Dundas West on green and yellow door

below: Screenshot from Google street view, captured in 2019.  The houses on the left are now gone – you can see the blue and white development notice sign in front of them.  They are now part of the vacant lot/construction site pictured above.  You can also see that the lane here is Boland Lane.  It runs perpendicular to Dundas West.

 

blue door with faded paint and a metal grille in front of it, beside a garage door with graffiti on it including the words Idle no more. Upper storey has an exterior door that goes nowhere

below: A quick look at what else is in Boland Lane

boland lane, looking towards back of dundas west, snow covered graffiti on walls of building on the left

below: “Embrace what makes you unique even if it makes others uncomfortable”

text graffiti that says embrace what makes you unique even if it makes others uncomfortable

below: “Perfection is the enemy of greatness”

text graffiti that says perfection is the enemy of greatness

graffiti on a grey wall, two images, one a woman in purple with blond hair and yellow t shirt and one more abstract, blue naked woman from waist up

old grey wood door in a grey building, with one rusty step, snow on step, graffiti on door and building

Continuing behind Dundas….

below: Layers, old and new as well as  wood, brick, and glass.

graffiti sticker, man's portrait in blue, on a black wall with red face graffiti behind

below: Rooftop decks and terraces above and street art covered garages below including a flaming hot kitty painted by Christina Mazzulla.

garage in laneway with street art murals on side as well as on garage door.

below:  A trio of grey masked foxes (wolves? dogs?) covering two doors.  This painting goes back to at least 2017 and possibly 2015 and before.

black and white mural on a garage door of at least three wolf-like creatures

below: The lane meets Awde Street, with a teal colored garage door.  Awde is only a block long, and is not the original Awde Street.  Apparently what is now Croatia Street was once Awde (1908) and there is a plaque to prove it.

end of alley, at Awde street, backs of two storey brick single family homes, with garages. snow, some cars,

below: That brownish wall in above picture (where there is now a stack of firewood), was once covered with a painting.  This is it in 2015.

garage door with a picture on it titled Casa Nostra, a picture of a man playing a large guitar and a woman standing beside an outdoor table with food on it.

below: Awde Street, streetview from 2019.

At this point, the lane makes a 90 degree turn towards Dundas – and lo and behold, there is even more artwork to see ( also by Mony Zakhour?)

bright mural in alley

below: On the north side of Dundas West, there is a large mural titled, “Three Sisters” painted by Paula Tikay and Aner Urra.  I discussed it in a blog post from 2019 (Three Sisters, Tikay and Aner)

man in laneway walking past a large mural, Three Sisters,

… and that’s the end of the alley!

Small bit of trivia:  I once found my great-great-grandfather, John Marshall, and his family in a Toronto phone book from about 1910 (I can’t remember the exact year).  They were on Gladstone Ave.  When I went to see if I could find the house, I discovered that the number corresponded with a vacant lot (parking lot?) adjacent to St. Annes church.

Federal Street

Posted: January 31, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Federal Street is a short narrow street near Dundas and Dufferin.  Like a few other Toronto streets, it is more a lane than a street.

garage at 1 federal street, with mural on it, woman's portrait, gate beside garage, dead end street, other garages on the right side

below: Dundas Street West at Federal

on dundas west, south side, looking at entrance to federal street

below: No Exit, a dead end street

yellow no exit sign, sticker graffiti on the pole beside, mural in the background, feelings boi sticker,

federal street, south end, houses on left side, backyards of parallel street on the right, garages in front of fences

below: Wires in all directions – standing tall like a tree in winter.

utility pole in lane, with many wires going in different directions, like branches of a tree

alley view, back of houses, one with no fence, showing snow covered backyard and driveway, row houses, one green with no window and the other white with upper storey window

very south end of federal street

below: Another lane, another time.  There is another lane that runs perpendicular to Federal that looks like it might be interesting to explore but it will have to wait until another day.

snowy lane, in winter, many garages,

below: Maximum width, 2 metres.

lane, sign saying maximum width is 2 metres, garages, snow,

below: A winter cyclist.

behind a white building, exterior stairs to upper level, a parked bike, a concrete wall with graffiti, snow on ground,

below: Looking north, back to Dundas

looking northward on federal towards dundas, snowy day , mural by the half decent,

below: This mural was painted at least 10 years ago – but the tagging across the bottom by The Half Decent is more recent.

mural that has been tagged by the half decent, on federal street by dundas west
below: This is what it looked like in August 2015.

large colourful mural on the side of building, two stylized musicians, a drummer and a guitar player as well as two people dancing.

Photo Source: As I Walk Toronto blog, 15 Aug 2015

pedestrian with orange backpack walks on snow covered sidewalk on Dundas West

side of a building, including door and window, covered by large mural, now with bottom part tagged over

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