Archive for the ‘history’ Category

Moving Toronto

Posted: May 12, 2023 in history, public art, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

…for 100 years.  At the moment there is a selection of old TTC photos on display at Pape subway station in celebration of 100 years of Toronto Transit.

below: Already  lining the walls at Pape Station are images of Pape station itself and the surrounding neighbourhood. This is ‘Sources/Derivations’ by Allan Harding MacKay.   You can see the reflections of one of the old TTC photos in this section of MacKay’s artwork.

reflections of pape station sign, from the artwork on the walls of that station

The TTC posters are at platform level between the westbound and eastbound trains so you can look at them while waiting for a train.

below: First Pride bus, 2008

photo on display at pape subway station, from 2008, first Pride bus at Pride parade in Toronto, a woman in colourful clothes is walking in front of the bus

below: People waiting for the North Yonge bus at Eglinton station, 1950s

old photos of the TTC on display at Pape subway station, black and white photo old North Yonge bus at Eglinton station 1950s with people waiting to get on the bus. A stopped TTC subway car is behind the poster, a man in red is standing by the window

below: Waiting for the subway. “Line 1 customers ride the higher capacity Toronto Rocket (TR) subway train on its 2011 launch. By 2017, Line 1 had grown by 8.6 km.”

A subway train is stopped behind a poster at the station. on the poster is the back of a woman in a black parka with fur lined hood as she in turn is standing by a ttc subway train

below: Two posters, two eras. On the left: “A chartered TTC bus circles outside Rosedale station in 1961 as it awaits passengers.  Only one other station, Davisville, from the original 12 was a surface station.”  On the right: “Rushing to catch a Peter Witt streetcar along its Yonge Street route on a summer day in 1930.

people waiting on the platform of pape station, with posters of history of ttc on display

below: “A TTC car picks up scholars with disabilities outside their school in the 1920s.”  A couple with their COVID masks on sit in front of more images from ‘Sources/Derivations’ by artist Allan Harding MacKay.

an older Asian couple in covid masks sit on a bench at pape station platform, waiting for a train, posters of black and white old ttc photos on display between the tracks

below: “On a warm day in 1994, customers eagerly wait to board an Articulated Light Rail Vehicle streetcar along Queen Street at University Avenue.

platform level of pape subway station, woman on phone, artwork on walls by MacKay, poster of old TTC streetcar

reflections of building on Danforth ear Pape, tower with green domed roof, from the artwork on the walls of that station

a little piece of Weston

Posted: February 5, 2023 in graffiti and street art, history, locations, old buildings, public art, stores
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

This blog post is the result of a walk around the vicinity of Lawrence Avenue East and Weston Road.  The latter was once Main Street in the village of Weston.

mural on a wall, I red heart weston

below: Approach to the Weston pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.  The Grand Trunk Railway was built here in 1856 (now Canadian National Railway, CNR).

western approach to pedestrian bridge over train tracks, with display of cyclists over the decades painted by elicser elliott

below: Elicser Elliott’s paintings of cyclists over the years line the ramp to the bridge.

paintings by Elicser elliott of people on bicycles, displayed outside, winter,

below: Looking back to the west

weston pedestrian bridge over railway, looking back over bridge from east to west

below: Looking south towards Weston UP station (Union Pearson Express) at Lawrence Ave.

view from weston pedestrian bridge over train tracks, looking south

below: A young girl outside on a sunny day in a bright and cheerful painting on a lone house.   Next door is an Islamic Association and Masjid. Like so many other places in the city now, a larger and taller building fills the background.

house with mural on the side, also a sign that says Mike Sullivan constituency office, beside it is , behind is a large apartment building

below: Street scene and evolution – The oldest buildings are in the row of two storey commercial establishments that line Weston Road (by the traffic lights).  Behind them are apartments that are a few decade old. Last, the most recent development is in the immediate foreground, right hand side.

street scene with apartment building, shops, and a parking lot

below: Jerk Hut, Desserts, Juices, and Candy Cakes all squeezed into a little building beside (behind?) CashWay.   And while you’re there, you can get your palm read upstairs.

Weston Road businesses, Cashway money and Western Union office, very small building for Jerk Hut - desserts

below: Southeast corner of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue East.

Southwest corner of Lawrence Ave East and Weston Road

below: For all your vegan leather and faux fur needs – Honeyy dripp (I had to look it up!)

stores on Weston Road, honeyy dripp with a large window with reflections, restaurant across the street

below: There is a series of pictures on these windows that was painted by Bryan Bermudez, Jim Bravo, Niel Yee, and Rowena Kizito in 2014.  It depicts young people from three different eras.

three images, murals, in a series, history

below: ‘Weston Streetscape circa 1900’ by Mario Noviello, 1997-1998. Original concept by Eric Lee.  A streetcar passes in front of Weston City Hall.  On the right is the Central Hotel with the brick steeple of Central United Church just visible behind it.

On side of 2 storey brick building, a large historic mural by Mario Noviello, Weston Streetscape circa 1900, streetcar, Weston City Hall, Central Hotel, and a church

part of Weston Streetscape mural showing old streetcar and Weston City Hall,

painted metal sidewalk box, purple on one side and blue on the other, white people doing things painted on the purple and blue background

below: Another bike

sidewalk box painted with image of old fashioned bicycle

a woman walks down the sidewalk pushing a cart, walking past stores

below: I think that someone is a Maple Leaf fan!

entrance to Peter's Barber Shop, with Toronto Maple Laf theme, in winter, range cones in front of door, planters in red, white, and blue stripes

below: Peter’s Barber Shop is now on Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.  In fact, the street was named after Peter back in 2012, just after the 50th anniversary of the shop opening (which was in 1961).

Toronto street sign for John St in Weston, also called Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.

below: And nearby is Johnny Bower Blvd.  Bower (1924-2017) was a Toronto Maple Leaf goalie in the 1960s, a great decade for the Leafs as they won the Stanley Cup four times…. 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.   Bower and his family lived on this street at the time.

Toronto street sign, blue and white, Patika Avenue, also called Johnny Bower Blvd., in Weston,

a street of bungalows in winter, lots of trees,

side entry to a house, small green and yellow awning over the door, decorated for Christmas

I also saw many wonderful older brick houses, the kind that we aren’t building any more.  Some of the styles were common to Toronto while some were more unique.

appliance store in red brick building in residential neighbourhood

single family houses, winter scene, large trees, Weston

large square brick house, winter

below: All decorated for Valentines Day.

entrance to house, front door, decorated for valentines day, red hearts, love words

house by a level railway crossing

old house in weston

two storey brick house, green shutters

houses with big front porches and balconies, snow, big tree

winter residential street scene, older brick house, snow, trees, blue sky

old brick house, with lowrise apartment building behind it

older brick house with slate roof, trim is painted a dark pink colour

two storey single family house, winter

houses on a residential street, one has a white turret in the front,

two people standing in a bus shelter facing each other, another man is standing outside

painting by elicser elliott of a man with beard and moustache and wearing shorts, standing by his bike

The next blog post, ‘Out and About in Weston’, features a mural in Weston that was painted by Christiano De Araujo.

And after that is, Que Rock and Bacon in Weston, with even more murals on Lawrence Avenue East

early morning Parkdale

Posted: January 11, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art, history, old buildings, windows and walls
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

below: Pink faced, orange leopard spotted blast of colour…. A mural by Christina Mazzulla.

mural of a woman dressed like a pink and orange cat, large, covers side of garage

Settlement in what is now Parkdale began before 1850.  In 1879 it was incorporated as a village and ten years later it became part of the city of Toronto.

below: Mural by Jim Bravo and Lula Lumaj from 2015, celebrating the history of Sunnyside Park.  In the early years, part of the attraction of living in Parkdale was its proximity to Lake Ontario and such features as Sunnyside Beach and Sunnyside Amusement Park.

Jim Bravo mural in Parkdale, beach scene, celebrating 100 years, Sunnyside Beach

close up of part of Jim Bravo mural in Parkdale, beach scene, celebrating 100 years, Sunnyside Beach

sign for Lees convenience store, milk jug shape in white with red letters that say open 7 days a week

below: Christmas wreath on the globe outside Parkdale Library.  This is the World Peace Monument, a globe surrounding a fountain.  It was designed by Peter Dykhuis and fabricated in copper and bronze by Heather & Little in 2005.  The metal sculpture has aged well but as we should all know by now, the city does not do water features well (i.e. I’ve never seen a fountain there; have you?)

sculpture outside Parkdale Library, a metal globe, with a Christmas wreath on it

In July 2022, City council adopted the Parkdale Main Street Historic District Plan.   It covers Queen Street  from Dufferin west to Jameson/Macdonell including this block of three buildings.  It hopes to preserve many of the two and three storey brick buildings that line Queen Street and in turn, the character of the area.

old brick buildings on Queen St West in Parkdale including home hardware store

below: Map of proposed Parkdale Main Street HDP. This map was found on a City website where you can also find other information about the project if you want.

below: Southeast corner of Queen and Dunn

 

old brick building at the corner of Dunn and Queen, with newer highrise behind

below: A happy black and white bear to greet you

painted doorway on Queen West, a black and white bear, smiling, sitting

below: And a cow in a tea cup

street scene, Parkdale, including Rustic Cosmos cafe and its sign showing a cow in a black tophat sitting in a tea cup

sign outside store, kodak image check system, best image, digital 1hour photo

sign beside a store window that says support your local farmers, with a picture of an old fashioned truck

below: Looking south on Lansdowne.  Note the car blocking the bus stop.

Lansdowne looking south to Queen, yellow building, Tiny Cafe, on the right, people getting on a TTC bus on the left side

below: Someone’s happy this morning

a store front with white metal bars, yellow door, and a large cutout of a white drink cup with domed top and a happy face on the side

below: Looking south on Noble towards Queen

vacant lot behind brick building on the northwest corner of Noble and Queen West

below: Northeast corner of Brock and Queen

large three storey brick building on the northeast corner of Brock Ave and Queen Street West, stores at street level, traffic lights at the intersection

coloured flags flying over Queen Street West

brick building storefronts on Queen West, Hanoi Restaurant, Vietnamese, beside Hamza Mosque

below: “No Justice No Development” in the window of this former store.

large square house on corner with large window, covered in white but with pink letters on window that say no justice

below: Row houses. Each house shares a gable, or a peak, with one beside.  Gables were very common in Toronto architecture, especially in the Victorian era, but in those houses each had its own gable.   As people have decorated their houses, the resulting mix of colours, materials, and textures forms its own picture. This is not unique to this street – there are many other places in Toronto where homes with shared gables (both semis and rows) have been renovated such that the two halves look very different.

line of row houses on Noble Street, all two storey, all with gables,

below: Bay and gable houses

bay and gable houses in Parkdale, some with added porch and balcony,

below: Parkdale has always had a mix of many different building styles, both commercial and residential. The Tsampa Tibetan restaurant has an octagonal turret.

Tsampa Tibetan restaurant with a turret on its roof, on the corner of Queen Street West, a pedestrian walking past

below: From rows of two storey houses to walls of glass and steel (on the other side of Dufferin, and the other side of the railway corridor).

Noble Street street scene, back of a red brick building, fence for railway corridor, and high rises on the other side of the tracks in the background.

below: Until a few years ago, this was Designer Fabrics store.  The block of buildings was built in 1881 by J.C. Mussen, a Parkdale businessman.  It was originally six storefronts.   In 2020 there was a plan to build a nine storey condo on this site.

empty building at 1360 Queen West, old brick building, retail at ground level with papered over windows,

below: Like the building beside it, this grey building at 1354-356 Queen West may be demolished to make way for a condo development.  There has been a long line of retail businesses in this space, from John Wanless’s hardware store in 1881 to Designer Fabrics (1950s to 2018).  For more information about the building, see the website of Architectural Conservancy Ontario.

looking across Queen Street West, small tree and bus shelter on the south side, older buildings on the north side including a two storey brick building with front windows papered over

small tree in front of a parkdale mural

alley with old garages behind Queen Street West, trees, winter scene but no snow

below: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure…. I had to double check just to make sure that it wasn’t real!

overflowing household trash bin with a fake arm in it, look very real

garage in alley behind Queen West, painted in shades of green with a tag throw up piece on one wall

below: The bottom right section of a black and white mural by Jimmy Chiale.

part of a mural that is black and white stylized abstract shapes

fence in an alley, part chainlink, with old wood, and old metal leaning against it

below: “Danger – Restricted Area” says the sign

orange car parked in a short alley or driveway, by a pole with a sign that says danger restricted area, backs of buildings, muddy

stencil graffiti on a reddish brown brick wall, yellow paintbrush with top in flames, with words above that say you just read this

graffiti stickers on utility pole, one is an urban ninja squadron t bonez character

sticker graffiti on a pole, all text, says very clever statement that makes you question your miserable life

below: Nothing changes

large metal door or shutters covering storefront window painted orange with words nothing changes, large graffiti tag covering the lower part

below:Another demolition – this one is on Noble, immediately north of Queen Street West.  An 8 storey condo has been proposed for this site.

danger due to demolition sign on a fence at a construction site. partially demolished building on the site along with muddy land

view of part of a demolition site, concrete half wall with decorated top, looks like carved dancing people

below: Another building, another blue and white sign, another condo. As it turns out, this is immediately behind 1354-13656 Queen West (that grey building a few images above) which means that the 9 storey condo here will front on three streets: Queen St, Brock Ave, and Abbs St..

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign on a wood fence

below: The struggle against colonialism continues

below: After a while there are just too many of these.  It can get a bit disheartening.  This sign sits in front of 1488 Queen Street West which is already empty and looking derelict at street level.  The snails pace of development doesn’t help – neglected properties are a liability.  They look horrid and contribute nothing to the neighbourhood.

blue and white development notice sign for 1488 queen west, with graffiti land back written on it

below: Scan for nonsense

paper on a wood utility pole, scan for nonsense, graffiti

With thanks to @designwallah for helping to identify the artists of some of the murals in this post.

from Highland Creek Village to West Hill

Posted: November 20, 2022 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Going east to Scarborough again….   You can find Highland Creek village at the east end of Old Kingston Road while the West Hill neighbourhood is at the other end of Old Kingston Road.  This short stretch of road winds down to the Highland Creek and then back up the hill on the other side.  It was bypassed when a new wider and higher bridge was built over the river.

scarborough blue and white street sign for old kingston road, highland creek

Although this area was one of the first parts of the city that was settled, there are still lots of signs of the rural nature of the area.

split cedar rail fence between autumn leaf covered sidewalk and trees

There are plenty of signs of changes too…. but there are no glass and steel highrise condos being built out here (in Highland Creek) where the developments are just as likely to be single family homes.

development imagining of housing in large picture beside a new development, large single family homes with large trees, with real trees and grass surrounding the picture

There is a mural on the side of one of the stores, it also happens to be beside the cemetery. This is Mural 8 in the Heritage Trail by Mural Routes. “Community Spirit in Early Highland Creek, Winter 1867” the building of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.   It was painted in the summer of 1994 by John Hood, Alexandra Hood, and Zeb Salmaniw.  For more information, see a previous blog post from 2017 Heritage Trail, mural 8

The tombstone in front of the mural is for Nelson Hawkins and his wife Susan Cornell who were married in 1877. Nelson was a farmer and he and Susan raised 6 children in the area (not all lived to adulthood).

part of a mural routes mural on the side of a building, beside a cemetery. some old tombstones, autumn scenery,

old small tombstone in a cemetery with a wall behind it, mural on wall of a woman sitting by grave stones in a cemetery

Also in the cemetery is a plaque to commemorate the life of Cpl. Michael William Simpson (1948-1974) who died in Syria while on a UN peacekeeping mission – all nine Canadians on UN Flight 51 died that day.

blue plaque in Highand Creek cemetery for cpl Michael William Simpson

below: Deer by the creek in “Creekside” designed by Emily Harrison and painted by a group of youth and local volunteers in 2014.

vehicles parked in front of a large mural of a forest scene with deer, a creek,

The Scarborough Historical Society website tells the story of William Knowles who purchased land in Highland Creek in October 1802 and moved his family from New Jersey. …  “Knowles was a blacksmith and built the Township’s first smithy, making the nails for the first frame barn in Scarborough and planting one of the first orchards. His son, Daniel, kept the first store in Highland Creek, was a Commissioner for the straightening of Kingston Road in 1837 and was a prominent member of the Scarborough, Markham and Pickering Wharf Company which did an excellent business in shipping grain, timber and cord wood from Port Union to Oswego, New York and other Lake Ontario ports.”

below: Shadows on the door of St. Josephs Church.   This Roman Catholic church first served the influx of Irish immigrants who started arriving at the time of potato famine in 1847.  It was the first RC community in Scarborough.

shadow of a large tree on the wall of a church, pattern of crosses in the brickwork, steps up to the door

front of St. Josephs Roman Catholic church, including steeple

The early history of these communities is dominated by families with roots in England, Scotland, and Ireland but like the rest of Toronto, it has become much more multicultural.

below: On a quiet corner in Highland Creek, Baitul Afiyat Mosque

Mosque in Highland Creek village

below: And another mosque under construction in West Hill

behind a black wrought iron gate, construction of a new mosque

below: A short walk through St. Margarets (Anglican) cemetery reveals a more multi-cultural side of the neighbourhood.   This is just a small sample of the diversity of surnames found there.

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter, two with veerasingham surname, a zimmerman, and a de nobrega

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter with surnames quail, thoss, and nikolic

a row of old cars and trucks parked beside a road
two old red trucks

below: Another Highland Creek mural.

part of a mural, a couple walking their dog beside a creek, with trees

mural in Highland Creek, painted grey brick wall, the front of a vintage red truck has come through the wall, pile of bricks beside, a young boy in blue cap and brown overalls sits with his dog in another hole in the wall

part of a mural, a parent raccoon and a young one peer out from a hole in a stone wall

part of a mural, a young girl in blue top and blue shorts, arms upraised, like she is asking to be picked up

below: Centennial Community Scarborough consists of the southeast corner of Scarborough and includes both Port Union and Highland Creek Village neighbourhoods.

stop sign at all way stop with a toronto road sign for Ivan Road, with top part that says Centennial Community

below: This is the intersection of Kingston Road with Military Trail and Morrish Road, looking southwest towards a wide bridge over the Highland Creek.  There is an entrance to Colonel Danforth Park on the other side of Kingston Road (off the left side of the photo) but getting there is very difficult.  In the background, right side of photo, are hoardings.   Construction has begun on two 8 storey buildings, Highland Commons.

intersection of Kingston Rd., Military Trail, and Morrish Rd, large wide roads, one sign, low traffic levels, sidewalks, no people

Military Trail is a remnant of Scarborough’s first “highway built in Scarborough in 1799 by American Colonel Asa Danforth Jr.  It was a highway to connect the new town of York (i.e. Toronto) to Kingston.  The story is that the finished road was considered substandard and Danforth didn’t get fully paid.   Or maybe it was a backlash against American entrepreneurs trying to make a quick profit in Upper Canada.  Whatever the truth was, Danforth returned to the USA shortly after.

Kingston Road became Hwy 2 and was the main route to Kingston until the 401 was completed in the 1960s.

below: High And Plaza.   Strip malls or strip plazas are still plentiful.  There is talk of an Eglinton East LRT and many TTC express buses serve the area but cars still rule.

sign in a strip mall in Highland Creek, listing and advertising the businesses there such as CIBC, Scarborough Bitcoin, a pharmacy, By the Lake Dental, The Kilt Pub,

below: Proposal for a 9 storey building with 143 residential units plus retail at street level.  City infill on major routes…. and no Greenbelt is affected.
blue and white development notice in front of a strip mall on Lawrence Ave East in West Hill

below: Sign in the window: “This store is operated by Sovereign People on Sovereign Land.  We are exercising our constitutional and inherent rights.”

iroquois cannabis store in a strip mall plaza in west hill

below: Wine and yoga! Note the poster in the window about Metrolinx LRT plans on Ellesmere (just to the north).

looking in the window of In the Spirit a yoga studio and wine lounge with the motto wellness meets wicked in joyful harmony
exterior, strip mall, outside Creek Coffee Company on a sunny day

below: Morningside Ave with its red bus lanes. Looking north towards Ellesmere

Morningside Ave., looking north, from north of Lawrence to Centennial College, and U of T Scarborough. The red lanes are for buses.

below: Another stretch of Morningside, closer to Kingston Road.  Certainly not designed with pedestrians in mind. It’s scene like this that give credence to Scarborough’s nickname Scarberia.

morningside avenue, north from kingston road, some apartment buildings and trees, 4 lanes of traffic

below: Looking northeast at Galloway Road and Lawrence

2 rows of townhouses at Galloway road and lawrence in West Hill, intersection of two major streets, lots of lanes of traffic

below: Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road.  It was built in 1852.

Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road, red brick building with black and white steeple, on a hill, winter time, snow,

below: Very few traces of old West Hill remain.  The village got its own post office in 1879 (prior to that it was part of Highland Creek).

old two storey brick house on a hill surrounded by large trees, in the snow

below: West Hill suburbia.  There must be thousands of houses like these 1960s bungalows in Toronto and the GTA.  This street could be in Richmond Hill, Willowdale, or Rexdale.  West Hill must have had a major growth spurt in the 1960s and 1970s.

suburban street in winter, single car garages and 1970s bungalows, some trees, one car parked on the street, driveways,

tall horizontal murals on the sides of apartment buildings at Overture Blvd, on Lawrence

below:  On the southeast corner of Morningside and Lawrence is a mural painted in 2018 by BEHIND the Lines in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough.

mural at the corner of two walls, a person is peeling back a white curtain to reveal a planet and a phoenix with other things in the mural too, in front of an apartment building in Scarborough

mural in front of an apartment building at Morningside and Lawrence

below: Northwest corner of Morningside and Lawrence

intersection of Morningside and Lawrence, northwest corner, no frills grocery store, part of Morningsde commons retail

large deciduous tree with autumn gold and orange leaves towering over a fence with a street art throw up tag on it

below: garbage overflowing.  In the recent municipal elections there was a lot of talk about how something as simple as garbage collection was messed up in the city.  Although it is outsourced, it has always been problematic.  Bins get broken and never repaired.  Bins get filled and never emptied.  Now when I walk around I see how much of an issue this is.

overflowing city garbage container between sidewalk and street

below: Mayday SOS alert for a love emergency. Whoever scrawled this message probably had a more personal reason but I will use this image as my little prayer to the city. Do better. We can be more. The potential is there if we are willing to reach for it.

on a metal pole, a small painted white heart and three letters, S O and S.

a little bit of Adelaide

Posted: October 30, 2022 in history, intersections, locations, old buildings, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Eastward from Bay with a diversion or two.

These photos were taken on two different walks and you will have no trouble figuring out which images belong to which day! The first walk was on a damp morning back in September; the second walk was on a pleasantly warm and sunny October afternoon.

below: Looking up Bay Street to Old City Hall and its clock tower.

looking up Bay street from Adelaide including old city hall tower

below: New public art  “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa made of polyester resin and marble dust.  Brilliantly white.

large white head public art on Adelaide, side view

large white head public art on Adelaide

Hidden by scaffolding …   par for the course that no matter where you walk there will be construction.

construction on Adelaide, front of building covered with scaffolding

Even though there have been a lot of changes on Adelaide, there are some old details that have been preserved such as these mosaics that are temporarily behind scaffolding. They are above the entrance to the Bell Canada Building at 76 Adelaide West. Five panels, each twenty feet tall and five feet wide, of glass mosaic tile are embedded in the cement of the building. They were designed by York Wilson and installed in 1965 when the building was constructed. The theme of the piece is communication and each panel represents a different form of communication – writing, drawing, music, voice, and satellites.

mosaic tile decorations on exterior of building, behind scaffolding

At 100 Adelaide West is the remains of the Concourse Building. When the area was redeveloped recently, only the front and east facade of the original Art Deco 1928 building were preserved. The original entrance way on Adelaide remains; they feature mosaics created by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald and his son Thoreau.

art deco doorway - tile mosaics, carved stonework, and metal decorations on window and door,

Art Deco stonework

art deco details carved in stone on exterior of building

The remains of a metal fence or railing.

old metal railing outside entrance of a building

below: Looking east, at Sheppard Street.

street scene

pressure cleaning, with water, outside a building downtown

below: It looks like a splash of paint – like someone threw a can of paint at the building.

exterior of Deloitte building at Adelaide and Yonge, glass exterior has new artwork that looks like a large splash of water

below: The octagonal entrance to 1 Adelaide East (at Yonge) with its stained glass roof is being renovated.

below: Distraction!  Film crew on King Street (looking down Victoria St).

street scene to film crew working

below: Film trucks line both sides of Toronto Street

film trucks parked on both sides of Toronto street

below: Toronto hieroglyphics

yellow hydrant on sidewalk, with pink lines spray painted beside it

below: A short, tidy alley off Adelaide near Victoria

short tidy alley between two older stone and brick buildings

below: Fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard.  Collectively, the work is “Synthetic Eden” and it was created by Stacey Spiegel back in 1991.   The fountain with the metal mesh covering it – the mesh is supposedly the head of Adam.

fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard

below: The snake lurks over the garden.  The entrance to Adelaide Courtyard is beyond the etched glass panels.

Adelaide Courtyard

below: St. James Cathedral from the corner of Church and Adelaide.

St James Cathedral seen from the intersection of Church and Adelaide

below: Slight diversion north on Church where there is now a large vacant lot at Lombard.  How many cranes?

Church and Lombard vacant lot

below: Church Street, north from Adelaide.  A vacant lot on one side, a partial development on the other.

street scene with TTC street car

people walking past the ontario heritage plaque for the York Mechanics Institute at the corner of Adelaide and Church, now a patio for Tim Hortons

“The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in Britain and soon spread to North America. Its aim was to teach workers the applied technology behind new methods of manufacture and craftsmanship introduced during the Industrial Revolution. The first Institute in Ontario was established at York (Toronto) in 1830. It sponsored lectures, held classes and operated a lending library. It moved from rented quarters into its own new building on this site in 1861. After passage of the Free Libraries Act in 1882, the Institute transferred its assets to the municipal government. Its book collections formed the foundation of the Toronto Public Library, which opened in the former Institute building in 1884.”

below: Circa 1900, the music room of the York Mechanics Institute as a newspaper reading room

old black and white picture of the interior of the York Mechanics Institute that became a public library, newspaper reading room

photo credit: Photographer unknown, image from digital archives of the Toronto Public Library.

.

below: “Brickman” by Inges Idee stands outside a residential building at Jarvis and Adelaide.  He stands 10m tall and is actually made from precast concrete, not brick.

 

very tall brick sculpture of a man shape, called Brickman, outside a brick building

below: Looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking through the glass windows of a gelato and coffee shop on a corner, two women walking past, chairs inside, sunny day, park across the street

below: Old Post Office.  This building was opened in 1832, before Toronto became a city.  According to Wikipedia “It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the British Royal Mail and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys’ school” until 1913.  It was used for various things (offices, cold storage, etc) until 1971 when it was closed up and left vacant.  When it was (re)discovered to be the old post office, it was designated as an Ontario Heritage Site as well as a National Historic Site.  Since 1982 it has been a museum as well as a functional post office.

Torontos first post office on adealide street, 3 storey brick building with Canadian flags flying on either side of the entrance

below: Future chefs, George Brown College

looking in the windows on the 2nd storey of George Brown College into the kitchen of the cooking school. students in chef outfits, white, with hats, standing around a class

below: Looking west from Frederick Street.  At this point we are in the old town of York, laid out by John Graves Simcoe in 1793.  At that time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street, after the Duke of York.  Richmond Street, one block north was Duchess Street for his wife.  The Duke of York at that time was the second son of King George III, Prince Frederick.

Adelaide East, looking west towards downtown

below: Looking west from Sherbourne.  This was originally Caroline Street, named after  Caroline of Brunswick who was the wife of Prince George in 1793 (and later George IV).  When she became too unpopular, the street name was changed to Sherbourne, after the town in England with the same name but a different spelling, Sherborne.

people crossing Adelaide at Sherbourne, looking west on Adelaide towards downtown

I stopped to take a picture of an old car (remember when diesel cars were going to take over the world?) and I found an old shoe.  Keep walking and keep your eyes open because you never what you’re going to find along the way!

an old beige diesel mercedes parked on the side of a street, a single abandoned shoe on the pavement behind it

a little bit of Yonge

Posted: September 28, 2022 in history, locations, old buildings, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Walking up Yonge Street on a grey damp September day – from Adelaide to Dundas

below:  Southeast corner of Adelaide & Yonge: the (sort of) dome shaped entrance way with the stained glass roof is under renovation.

a couple walks on the sidewalk, along Adelaide, near northeast corner of Yonge, construction on the southeast corner, renovation of entranceway to office building

below: Walking his bike up Yonge Street

a man walks his bike on the sidewalk, northbound on Yonge street, east side, north of Adelaide

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Richmond

looking north up Yonge street from Richmond

below: Looking west on Temperance Street towards a wall of glass

lookingwest on Temperance Street from Yonge street, a young man is crossing the street, a wall of glass condos rises in the west

below: Dineen Coffee on the ground floor the old building on the northwest corner of Yonge and Temperance streets. The coffee company took its name from the building – the Dineen Building, once home to furriers W. and D. Dineen Co. (until the 1930s). The building was built in 1897 and was added to the City of Toronto Heritage list in 1973. Ceilings in it were made of bronze and aluminum plates; this was the first time that aluminum was used as a building material in Canada.

Dineen coffee, an old building on the northwest corner of Yonge and Temperance streets.

below: Dineen Building, 1927.  The 2012 restoration was very faithful to the original facade.

vintage 1927 black and white photo of the Dineen Building in Toronto, source, TPL, Toronto Public Library

Source: Online,  Toronto Public Library Archives. Unknown photographer for the Toronto Star newspaper.

.

Yonge street on a rainy day, two people with black umbrellas walk past mado, an empty storefront

below: Streetcars on Queen West under the redesigned pedestrian walkway.

TTC streetcar on Queen Street at Yonge, outside Eaton Centre

below: Looking north from Shuter Street.  Since the late 1970s, the west side of this block has been dominated by the Eaton Centre.  When the mall was first completed, it destroyed any street scene that had existed there.  Subsequent alterations have improved this block at street level a bit.

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Queen back at a time when the new Eatons store at the north end of the Eaton Centre was built (at Dundas, completed 1977) but the old stores on the west side of Yonge hadn’t been completely demolished. This photo was found online on blogTO – here’s the link to their site if you are interested in the history of the Eaton Centre construction.

1970s faded colour photo of Eaton centre development, found on blogTO website, original photo from Toronto Archives, people crossing Yonge street in front of construction, one tall building in the background, as well as new Eatons building at north end of Eaton Centre

hand written sign on ground leaning against an information and map stand on Yonge Street, poster says Iran needs help

a young man walks south on Yonge, over a metal grid in the sidewalk that is an air vent for the subway that runs underneath, picnic benches for a patio beside the sidewalk, traffic, construction signs on the street including a large arrow directing traffic into the righthand lane

store signs on Yonge Street, Burger King, a tailor shop, vans, and Ed Mirvish theatre

below: Massey Hall, Shuter Street

a man is eating as he walks past ads for a bank and financial security, Massey Hall sign in the background

below: Reflections in the windows as you approach Dundas. I’m not sure what the relevance of “drunk elephant” is!

a man walking towards the camera, beside a large store front window with reflections, including the words drunk elephants

below: Tourists in the city; cameras out at Yonge Dundas Square.

people standing on the upper level of a double decker bus, hop on hop off tour bus in Toronto that is covered with Harry Potter ad, at Dundas Square with large billboards in the background with ads for Disney - the rebellion begins, poker stars casinos epic games, and Andor

looking towards Yonge Dundas Square on the southeast corner of Yonge and Dundas

people walking with umbrellas on wet sidewalk on Yonge, at Edward, going south towards Dundas

There are more rainy day photos of people at Yonge and Dundas in the next blog post.

way up Yonge Street

Posted: April 14, 2022 in construction, history, intersections, locations, stores
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

between Steeles and Drewry/Cummer.

Once it was the hinterland but now it feels like the city just goes on and on and on….

below: In 1955 this was the view looking south on Yonge from just north of Cummer/Drewry. This was the center of the community of Newtonbrook, named after the Newton Brook Wesleyan Church founded in 1857.  A general store and post office were opened here in 1863 on the northeast corner of Yonge & Drewry (possibly the buildings on the right side of this photo).

black and white photo of yonge street looking south from Cummer

photo credit: James Victor Salmon, found on Toronto Public Library website (public domain).

below: It’s not taken from exactly the same viewpoint (traffic!) but this is what you see looking south on Yonge Street now.

yonge street, looking south from drewry and cummer, large new condo development with 3 cranes, some traffic,

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Cummer/Drewry.  The large house is on the southeast corner of Cummer and Yonge.

old black and white photo of yonge street,

photo credit: Tim Chirnside, found on Toronto Public Library website (public domain)

below: The intersection of Yonge and Cummer (to the east) and Drewry (to the west) today.   The large house in the black and white photo above would be on the far right of this picture.

northeast corner of cummer and yonge, large red brick apartment building, small strip malls

below: Yonge Street is also Provincial Highway 11.

toronto street signs, cummer ave., yonge street, as well as provincial highway 11 sign for yonge street

below: It is a major transportation/transit route.

GO bus stop and Viva bus stop markers on yonge street

below: Happy Nowruz! or in other words, Happy New Year!  It is the Iranian New Year; the beginning of spring; a new day!  The banners were by sponsored by Tirgan, an organization that “promotes cross-cultural dialogue between Iranian-Canadians and the global community at large.”

red banner on utility pole on yonge street that says happy nowruz

below: There are many other cultures that are well represented in this part of the city.

signs for stores, restaurants and businesses on yonge street, popeyes louisiana kitchn, legal services, accountant, mary's cosmetic clinic, etc

small hand written sign that says big parking lot

cleaning up in front of a new building on yonge street

below: Like so many parts of Toronto, there is a lot of redevelopment taking place. Blue and white development notice signs are everywhere.

blue and white development notice sign on vacant lot on yonge street, houses, and newer highrises in the background, residential area, Newtonbrook

crooked metal fence around a vacantlot that has been paved over, yonge street, about to be redeveloped

man adjusting signs on hoardings around a construction site

view southward on yonge street, behind chainlink fence

below: To be (possibly) replaced by 25 storeys, 347 residences and a daycare.

sign print shop storefront with development notice sign in front

below: Seoul Plaza with it’s Korean BBQ restaurant and other businesses (not all Korean) – also with a development notice sign in front.  I’m not sure of the size of the development but it looks like your average  20ish storeys on podium condo.

Seoul Plaza on Yonge street, restaurant and businesss, with blue and white development notice sign in front

strip mall on Yonge street with cars parked in front, Arzon Super Market, Papa Cafe, nanaz Salon, plus other businesses

billboard that says bigger and better, on yonge street, pedestrians on sidewalk

below: Looking south from Moore Park Ave

looking south on the west side of yonge from Moore Park Ave., people walking on sidewalk, stores and restaurants

below: Looking north to the intersection of Yonge and Steeles.  Steeles Ave has been the northern boundary of the City of Toronto since 1953.  All of the tall buildings in this picture are north of Steeles and are in Thornhill (York Region).

looking north up yonge street to the intersection of yonge and steeles with many highrises north of steeles

looking down a short alley to a pale grey side of a house, same grey as building on north side of alley

below: Pro Ukraine stencil graffiti.

spray paint stencil graffiti, black trident on blue and yellow map of ukraine

below: I’m not sure what the spring will do but someone has been putting up a lot of posters for the Communist Party.

graffiti text sprayed on map and wall of bus shelter says the spring will (illegible), partially removed posters below that for communist party

communist party posters on a grey metal street boxcommunist party posters on a red box on the sidewalk

old Christmas decorations and empty buckets behind a restaurant

man sitting in a bus shelter, brick apartment building behind him

graffiti of a cartoon like young man with a big red nose

the air above, the memories within

Posted: March 8, 2022 in galleries, history
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Shona Illingworth at The Power Plant

This blog post looks at a portion of one of the exhibits now on at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. “Topologies of Air” by Shona Illingworth was commissioned by The Power Plant; it involves some video pieces that I have not included here. “Amnesia Museum” is a series of small works exploring how memory and forgetting intermingle. A sample (with apologies for the poor quality of the image):

two pieces of artwork on a green wall. by Shona Illingworth, part of her amnesia museum series

below: Paintings from “Topologies of Air”

Three images by Shona Illingworth at Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

an image by Shona Illingworth in an art gallery from her Topologies of Air series

below: The full title is “The Right to Live Without Physical or Psychological Threat from Above” and it fills a wall.  Across the top the images are related to satellites and the solar system.  Images of people and human activity are on the bottom.  The words fill the air gap between the two.

part of a full wall covered with words and black and grey images, on psychology of air space and the struggle for human rights to have no interference from above - such as military, drones, etc

Some of the text:
“Airspace also encompasses shared radio frequencies, our electromagnetic commons. Each drone is operated by a team of a dozen or hundreds who watch video and audio-track cell phones. Companies operate powerful algorithms in military command centers half a world away to decide who is a combatant and is not. But never forget that these are almost indistinguishable from the algorithms that are used by Facebook and Twitter to categorize us and profit from us. There algorithms are often staggeringly inaccurate. The margins of error built into these powerful databases are huge. ” and
“Humans need protecting. We’ve got an air gap. We’ve always lived with an air gap, which is simply the unconnected world. The ability to conduct your activities of any kind, in any way you want, without any form of connectivity, surveillance or control.”

We can argue as to whether or not this wall is art;  we can argue as to the validity of some of the statements.  But as I stood looking at the wall, it was thoughts of Ukraine that went through my head.  The idea that air supremacy over that country was being fought over at that moment and that the Russians would love to control those skies.  Not for the first time. Countries have used air power throughout recent history, from the time of the invention of the zeppelin and the airplane through to the introduction of drones into the modern arsenal.

We can also argue over the merits of living in a connected world but I’ve already ventured far from the focus of this blog. I’ll just end with three short notes. First, without a connected world, you wouldn’t be reading this. And second, how do you separate the good uses from the bad? Lastly, is this art’s role?

The Airspace Tribunal website

Power Plant Contemporary Art website

UTSC – Scarborough Campus ‘tour’

Posted: February 6, 2022 in history, locations, old buildings, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

In 1913, businessman Miller Lash bought a piece of land at what is now Old Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue where the Highland Creek flows. He built a house for his family by the creek and a coach house for his collection of cars nearby. They were made of poured concrete faced with river rocks that had been collected from the creek. The two buildings remain on they site but now they are owned by the University of Toronto Scarborough campus and have been repurposed.

below: Lace curtain in a window of the Miller Lash house.

window with lace curtain from the outside. building is made of river rock and is covered with vines with purple berries

The University of Toronto acquired the land in the 1960s. Toronto architect John Andrews designed the initial two buildings, the Humanities Wing and the Science Wing, which opened for students in January 1966.  Both were built at the top of the ravine.

Last week when I walked around the campus it was very quiet; very few students were present.  Most of the people I saw were like me, taking pictures of the buildings, or they were out for a walk through the woods. In class learning for UTSC’s almost 13,000 students resumes tomorrow, February 7th.

benches covered in snow, in front of brown tall grasses and a shiny facade of a building

below: “Tall Couple” (or “Un Grand Couple”) by Louis Archambault (1915-2003) stands beside one of Andrew’s buildings, the Humanities Wing. This metal sculpture was first on display at Expo ’67 in Montreal.

The Tall Couple, or Un Grand Couple, a metal sculpture by Louis Archambault on the campus of Scarborough College (U of T), in the snow

The newest building on the campus is Highland Hall located by the main entrance to the campus on Military Trail. It features large pillars, red accents, and a glass facade.

below: The west side, main entrance side, above the pillars is a large glass feature that shows a satellite image of Scarborough.

a couple taking photos at utsc, including Highland Hall west side, new building, large amounts of glass with reflections as well

below: East side of Highland Hall. The upper level on this side features an aerial image of Scarborough in the mid 1960s when the college first opened.

the east side of Highland Hall, a new building on the Scarborough campus of University of Toronto, with a large glass facade on the upper level.

a chair and desk inside a building but facing out, close to the window

below: From CONTACT Photography 2021 (on view until March 2022), is “I’m Listening” by Ebti Nabag.

more than lifesized black and white pictures of two women on exterior concrete wall

below: From the Solar Walk around the campus, information about Mars.

from the solar walk at utsc, Mars, a picture of the planet plus a plaque with information about mars

below: … and also Neptune. The Solar Walk was supported by the Canada 150 Fund that celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The position of the planets on the walk represent to position that they were in on 1 July 1867.

plaque with picture and information about the planet neptune on a solar walk on the scarborough campus of the university of toronto.

below: The Highland Creek still runs through the campus. There is a new walkway that winds its way down the side of the ravine from the main part of campus to the tennis courts, athletic fields, creek trails, and park.  Here the new path curves in front of the Science Wing.

curved walkway down the side of a ravine beside Scarborough campus concrete buildings built in the 1960s, winter

below: Signs of human activity beside the trail.

a group of three tree trunks with initials and other symbols cut into the bark, winter

below: Construction crew working on the banks of the Highland Creek.

construction crew reinforcing the banks of the Highland creek with large rocks, winter,

buildings at U of T Scarborough in the winter

below: Koa Hall, side view

Koa Hall, side view, University of Toronto Scarborough campus, in winter, with tall trees

utsc buildings including home of The Underground, the student newspaper

bike parked, almost totally covered by a snow bank

below: The modern equivalent of the smoking lounge?

a man wearing parka and toque sits outside smoking, sitting on a chair in a small clearing in the snow

Find your uncharted territory and explore!

below: Unchartered

banner on light standard at University of Toronto Scarbourgh Campus that says the uncharted is an invitation to explore

Parc Downsview Park

Posted: November 29, 2021 in history, locations, memorials, nature, public art
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

 

mural, blue letters on yellow, XOXO Downsview

below: Ulysses Curtis mural by Danilo Deluxo McCallum.  Curtis (1926-2013) played for the Toronto Argonauts football team in the 1950s.  He was considered to be the first black player on the team.

mural, black man with helmet and shoulder harness straps

The Downsview area and airplanes have been linked since the late 1920s when land here was being used for airfields—Barker Field, the Canadian Express Airport and the Toronto Flying Club.  In 1929 de Havilland Aircraft of Canada purchased 70 acres of farmland along Sheppard Avenue West.  In the mid-1950s de Havilland moved its operations to newly constructed modern facilities to the southeast.  De Havilland Canada was sold to Boeing in 1988 and then to Bombardier in 1992.

below: Bombardier facility and GO tracks on the east side of the park.   Downsview Park station at the north end of the park connects the GO system with the TTC’s Line 1.

Bombardier facility beside GO tracks in Downsview

In 2017, the Sesquicentennial Trail was developed on part of the site.  Sesquicentennial means 150 years, as in Canada was 150 years old in 2017.

below: The North Plaza of the trail features a semi-circular wall of rusted steel with cutout silhouettes of real historical photographs showing various people, buildings, and airplanes that was designed by John Dickson.

rusted metal art installation with sections of wall with cutout pictures, airplane windsock in front

part of an art installation, rusted metal with cut out pictures, cut out words that say danger low flying aircraft stop until clear

two pictures cutout of rusted metal

Small models of four of the aircraft built by DeHaviland ‘fly’ over the trail – the DH.60 Gipsy Moth, the Dash 8, the DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Mosquito.   They cover years of both DeHaviland and aircraft history from the bi-winged Moth in the mid-1920’s to the turboprop Dash8. The later was developed in the early 1980s and is still in production today.

plaque describing 4 of the types of aircraft once produced in Downsview, DH.60 Gipsy Moth, the Dash 8, the DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Mosquito

two model airplanes on pillars, look like they are flying above a pond, park, and new apartments under construction

below: High overhead, a DHC-Beaver, a bush plane developed in 1947 here at Downsview.

large metal flat silhouette of beaver airplane on tall metal poles as public art in a park

Grounded! But still great for child’s play.

playground at Downsview Park, yellow wood airplane on ground with pretend control tower

Hundreds, and probably thousands, of trees have been planted on the site.

two red muskoka chairs near the top of a hill, overlooking the trees in the valley below

below: Tulip tree

autumn colours on a tulip tree

below: Other areas have been set aside for native grasses and wildflowers such as milkweed, purple coneflower, and wild lupine.

plaque at donswview park describing tallgrass prairie and three of the plants that grow there

below: There is a large hill in the park and this is the view to the southwest from there.

Downsview view from hill in the park, looking southwest over a path, some apartment buildings, and rest of Toronto skyline

below: At the top of the hill stands an installation of blue flags along with two of the many red muskoka chairs scattered around the park.   This is “Wind Rose” by Future Simple Studio. This picture doesn’t show it very well but at the northwest corner, two of the flags are not blue – one is black and the other white (black for west and white for north).  These two flags, “The Turtle and the Traveller,” were designed by Mi’kmaq artists Chris and Greg Mitchell.   They are best seen when the wind is blowing!

blue flags hanging from poles, art installation at Downsview Park

maple leaves in autumn

small bird feeder on a tree, with a blue roof with red flower painted on the roof

Downsview has also been associated with the military.  In 1937, the Royal Canadian Air Forces expropriated portions of the site to establish the RCAF Station Downsview.  The site once had two residential areas with barracks – one for the enlisted soldiers and their families and another for the commissioned officers and their families.  Over the years the base expanded to include the original de Havilland lands.  In the 1960s, the military expropriated the lands adjacent to the Downsview Airport and closed 2.5 miles of Sheppard Avenue between Dufferin and Keele Streets.  That is why Sheppard Avenue swings north around what is now Downsview Park.

two small bird houses hanging against a tree, white round one with red conical shaped roof

In 1996 CFB Toronto officially closed.  Parc Downsview Park Inc. was established in 1999 to build and operate Downsview Park but administrative control over the land wasn’t transferred to the Park until 2006.

very red crimson maple leaves in fall

below: ArtworxTO Hub North with a mural by Mediah.  At the time, the site was being used by a film crew.

mediah mural at arthub at Downsview park

below: Another mural on the exterior of the ArtworxTO Hub building.  This one was painted by Kreecha.

mural at arthub at Downsview park

stickers on the back of a dark coloured car, robots shooting at stick figures, The Empire Doesn't Care about your stick figure family

Older Entries