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from oranges to little yellow birdies

Posted: May 29, 2026 in construction, galleries, graffiti and street art, history, old buildings, transportation
Tags: Bettys, Black Canary coffee, Bruno Smoky, construction, Crow Bar Cafe, Drug Trading Company, Duke Mews, graffiti, hamster, Jamaal, King St., Metrolinx, Old Town, Ontario line, Patrician grill, Power St., redevelopment, Rowell Soller, Sackville St., Shalak Attack, Sherbourne St., streetcars, TTC, uber5000, yellow birdie

subtitle: A little wander down King Street East (and area) with a look at both the past and present .

…Starting with a cup of coffee and a CONTACT exhibit – photos by Jamaal Owusu-Ansah titled “Hints of Orange” at the Black Canary coffee shop on Sherbourne Street just north of King, showing until 5th June (but coffee and goodies still available after that!)

“I don’t care what the weather says anymore, It’s iced coffee season”

below: Looking west on King from Jarvis with the steeple of St. James Cathedral rising above.

below: King Street has been a vital part of Toronto since the beginning. It was one of the original roads laid out in the late 1790s in the Town of York (which became Toronto in 1834). At that time it ended at Berkeley Street.

below: south side of King street, looking west from Sherbourne

below: The southwest corner of King and Sherbourne streets.

below: More views of the King and Sherbourne intersection – this time the northeast corner with the newer condos rising above. The old bank building became part of those condos.

below: In 1972 when this photo was taken, 230 King Street East was a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). It was built in 1908.

1972 black and white photo of CIBC (bank of commerce) building at king and Sherbourne

Photo from City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 2032, Series 841,

Betty’s (once the Betty Ford Clinic – or just the Betty Ford? – until the original Betty Ford issued a cease and desist order) has moved to Queen St East. The King location closed in 2022 after 30 years on the premises. The building, and its neighbour, 234 and 236 King Street East, are listed as city heritage sites. In 1888, the red brick building was constructed as a warehouse for a bedding manufacturer, Chaney and Co Bedding. And yes, they are empty because a developer plans to build a condo tower here.

below: Duke Mews is a short lane running west from Princess, back towards Sherbourne. It is just north of King Street, between King and Adelaide. Once upon a time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street.

below: West end

“You are the love of my life”

below: Looking east towards Ontario Street at a view that won’t be available for much longer. The buildings that were once here have been demolished and the site is awaiting redevelopment.

below: This is the brick facade that was retained when the Drug Trading Building was redeveloped (into offices and workspaces, not condos). It was originally built in 1942 (and expanded in 1946). The Art Deco elements on the entrance were also saved. This was the administration building for the company -factories were on the other side of Ontario Street. In 2022 this was the Sun TV building even though the transition to a taller repurposed building was already underway . The Drug Trading Company had been founded in 1896 to supply independent pharmacies with medications and other products.

below: Looking northeast from Duke Mews – past the empty lot and the edge of The Shift to farther along Adelaide Street.

below: Now looking southeast from Duke Mews towards King Street. A small sliver of that property along King will become a park.

below: The facade of the three storey red brick building at Princess and King is being saved.

below: Once upon a time, the Crow Bar restaurant was on the corner of Adelaide and Princess. It closed in 2016 and in more recent years, the corner was a parking lot.

black and white photo of the Crow Bar restaurant on the corner of Adelaide and Princess street, black and white photo

This 1972 photo is from the City of Toronto Archives, fonds 2032, series 841, file 38, item 7. Fonds 2032 is from the Toronto Planning Board and series 841 is a large collection of photos taken of intersections around the downtown core in 1972.

below: Another restaurant of the same vintage nearby on King Street, the Patrician Grill, just closed

below: Interior of the Patrician Grill, at the same location since 1953.

below: Looking southeast at King and Berkeley. Metrolinx has cleared the whole block between Berkeley and Parliament for Ontario line subway construction.

below: Looking southwest at King and Parliament at the hoardings around the block that Metrolinx has taken over.

below: Brick buildings on the northwest corner of King and Power Streets. They are actually the back of 93 Parliament Street – built in 1908 for the Aluminum and Crown Stopper Company as factory and warehouse. They manufactured supplies for bottlers.

below: King and Power 1972 with a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on the corner.

City of Toronto Archives, fonds 2032, series 841

below: Also King and Power, but in January of 1937 when there were houses on Power Street. This photo is from a large collection of photographs taken in 1936 and 1937 of housing in this area. A large number of the houses are in awful condition, poorly built, and condemned by the city.

below: If you then turn around and face east, this is the view that you get. It’s in black and white and I bet that it could pass as a vintage photo even though I took it a few days ago (except the modern cars might give it away).

below: Another City Archives fonds 2032, series 841 photo from 1972. It’s not a direct match to the photo above, but the building on the corner of King and Power (356 King East) is the same one. It wasn’t looking too healthy in 1972! It is nice to see something that has improved with age (and some TLC). This photo happens to show the row of buildings on the north side of King adjacent to number 356.

below: There are four leaf clovers hiding in the greenery in this Rowell Soller mural beside Sackville Park

below: If you have ever walked or driven this section of King Street East, you may have noticed the bright pink exterior of Cam’s Muffler/Thruway Muffler!

below: Repairs and updates are in progress on the ramps between the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway that cross over King Street. The concrete supports were painted by Shalak Attack and Bruno Smoky a few years ago.

In 1901 King Street was extended as far east as the Don River. Because of the curvature of Lake Ontario, King Street swings north and merges with Queen just before the river.

I’ll end this blog post with three bits of cuteness, all are sections of the large Uber5000 mural on the Queen Street wall of the Toronto Humane Society, one of the last buildings on Queen Street before the Don River. Uber5000’s little yellow birdie is such a happy fellow!

intersections – Dufferin & Queen

Posted: May 11, 2026 in construction, graffiti and street art, history, intersections, old buildings, transportation
Tags: catchoo, CN rail, construction, D7606, development, donuts, Dufferin St., feelings boi, geekypet, GO Transit, graffiti, Grow Up Art, history, Milky Way, murals, Queen Street West, raccoon, railway tracks, sentient cookie, sketchrat, stickers, The Turd Reich, trp613, TTC, urban ninja squadron, visual noise, vivvy, zonr

The intersection of Dufferin and Queen Street West is dominated by the CN railway & GO transit tracks. Large underpasses to the north and to the east define the character of the streets here.

Between 1881 and 1891, the population of Toronto more than doubled, from 86,415 in 1881 to over 181,125 ten years later (numbers are from census data). As the city expanded, infrastructure struggled to keep up as it usually does. It was decided that Queen Street needed an underpass instead of a level crossing. In 1896 the first bridge was built. At this time, Dufferin street ended at Queen to make room for the tracks. Dufferin was now divided into a north and south section.

below: This is a 1898 photo from the City of Toronto archives showing the new railway bridges over Queen Street West. The view is westward. Dufferin is difficult to see in this image but it ends under the railway bridge that is farthest away. Parkdale train station would have been just outside the picture on the left side. It was closed by 1970.

below: Still on Queen Street and still looking west but from farther back from the railway bridge which is now in the distance. The big square-ish building on the right is a Veterinary Surgeon’s office. The ad on the side of the building is for ‘The Sun’ where you could find the highest grade of bicycles, manufactured by G. T. Pendrith. The photo was taken in November 1896.

black and white photo from late 1890s, Queen street looking west towards railway tracks and Dufferin Street

source: There are many places to find this photo on the internet. This copy came from Wikimedia Commons.

below: Looking east along Queen from Noble Street, past Dufferin to the railway tracks, 1954. The Gladstone Hotel in the distance. There is a Shell gas station on the southwest corner, and although it’s difficult to see, a policeman is standing in the intersection directing traffic.

black and white photo from Toronto Public library digital archives

source: Toronto Public Library digital archives. Photographer – James V. Salmon

below: Southwest corner today …. that Shell station is long gone. A newer condo development fills that corner (built since 2010).

below: The stone wall along the east side of Dufferin looks very similar to that of 1954. The buses have been modernized though – we now have new shiny red hybrids.

The “Dufferin Jog” was fixed in 2010 when another railway bridge was built.

below: Looking north up Dufferin during the construction of the bridge, 2010. This is another image from the City of Toronto archives.

construction of the bridge for CN rail and GO transit, to eliminate the dufferin jog, 2010, from city of toronto archives

source: Fonds 601, Series 2860, File 4, Item 1 (City of Toronto archives)

below: North on Dufferin today (not exactly the same view as above). Bus lanes, or rather transit priority lanes, have recently been painted red. The red brick building on the east side of Dufferin still remains.

below: There are changes coming to the northwest corner of the intersection. This photo was taken from the corner of Noble and Queen and is generally north looking.

below: Hoardings on the north side of Queen

below: The view behind the hoardings

To the west of the tracks is the Parkdale neighbourhood with its colours and idiosyncrasies.

The Milky Way runs parallel to Queen on the south side. There has been lots of street here and I have blogged about it before, 5 times before as it turns out. The first time was back on 2015 (Walking the Milky Way) and the most recent was in 2023 (Aging on the Milky Way)

below: On the north side of the railway tracks, there is a pedestrian crossing and bike path. There is also a quiet corner with a couple of benches. The rest of the images in this post were taken on that pedestrian crossing.

below: The Turd Reich – a wonderful series of paste-ups of our “favourite” men in uniform. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, British MP Nigel Farage, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, JD Vance, and Vladimir Putin have been dressed up as World War II Nazi soldiers. This collection first appeared in London, England about a year ago. They are they creation of Grow Up Art.

below: A hole in the fence, with a well worn and muddy path!

below: Thing 1 and Thing 2, right out of the Cat in the Hat.

below: A little red X marks the spot

below: We are all connected

below: Every man needs a muse. Who is your Venus?

below: “Always remember you’re Heart & Soul, you are Loved 4 ever. Trust me.”

Graffiti by: Catchoo, D7606, Feellings Boi, Geekypet, Sentient Cookie, Sketchrat, TRP613, Urban Ninja Squadron, Visual Noise, Vivvy, Zonr (and others)

south from Liberty Village

Posted: October 26, 2025 in history, locations, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: Allan Lamport stadium, BMO Field, condos, construction, cranes, Dufferin Gate, E.B. Cox, Elford Bradley Cox, Exhibition Place, Gerald Glastone, GO trains, Greek gods, Lakeshore Blvd., Liberty Village, McGillivray Fountain, Mino Bimaadiziwin, Ontario Place, people, Scadding cabin, sculptures, Shrine Peace Memorial

Liberty Village is the neighbourhood that is south of King Street, west of Strachan, and east of Dufferin. It’s southern boundary is a combination of the Gardiner Expressway and the railway tracks (CN, VIA, and GO)

below: A temporary park has taken over a corner of the parking lot on Hanna.

below: The sign says Ontario Place straight ahead.

below: Dream Big

below: Allan Lamport stadium concrete

below: Looking north from the goalposts in the stadium.

below: Once it was a carpet factory – The Toronto Carpet Factory was spread over 8 brick buildings on a 4 acre site. It was built between 1899 and 1920. The company was established by F. Barry Hayes in 1891 and was originally at Jarvis and Esplanade. At the end of WW1, 1250 people were employed here. The factory remained in production until 1979, although the number of carpets that were made annually was greatly reduced by the end.

below: Streetcars waiting at Dufferin Loop, Dufferin south of King.

below: View from the bridge at the south end of Dufferin looking west along the Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga.

below: Eastern view

below: The arch marks the Dufferin Gate, the west entrance to the Exhibition Grounds.

Part way between Dufferin and Strachan is Exhibition GO station. The station has been designed to provide access from both sides of the tracks which in turn offers another walking route south from Liberty Village. The area north of the tracks is a bit of a mess as the new Ontario Line will terminate at Exhibition and the completion of that project is still a few years away.

below: The pedestrian tunnel under the tracks.

below: Looking north under the Gardiner – Liberty Village provides that background in this image.

below: More Ontario Line construction as seen from Platform 4 at Exhibition station

below: South end of BMO Field, looking east towards downtown and the CN Tower.

below: BMO Field is home to both the Toronto Argonauts (CFL, football) and the Toronto FC (MLS – Major League Soccer). It has just undergone upgrades (think $$$) to make it ready to host some of the FIFA World Cup soccer/football games in mid 2026.

below: Some of the lights seen at the Exhibition – with the CN Tower in the distance.

below: rooftops

below: One of the latest public art addition to the Exhibition Grounds is “Mino Bimaadiziwin”, an Anishinaabemowin phrase that translates to “Good Life”. The mural was developed in partnership with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation 50-meter-long artwork honors Indigenous history and culture and was unveiled in October 2024.
The installation is part of a plan to separate Exhibition Place from the Gardiner Expressway.

below: The McGillivray Fountain was designed by Canadian sculptor Gerald Gladstone and donated to Exhibition Place in 1968 by Gordon B. McGillivray in honor of his father, John A. McGillivray.

below: The Scadding cabin was originally built in 1794 by John Scadding on land that he owned east of the Don River. He owned more than 200 acres and his property stretched from Lake Ontario to what is now the Danforth. The next owner of the property used the cabin as an out-building. In 1879 it was donated to the York Pioneer and Historical Society who arranged to have it moved close to its present site to celebrate the opening of the Industrial Exhibition (now the CNE).

below: The title printed on this image is “Log Cabins of the York Pioneers,Exhibition Grounds Toronto 1880. Lithographed and printed at the Exhibition Building, Rolph, Smith & Co. Toronto”. The cabin on the left is labelled Simcoe 1794 (i.e. the Scadding cabin) and the other is labelled York Pioneers, Lorne 1879.

below: Shrine Peace Memorial

below: There is a collection of twenty small sculptures representing Gods, heroes, and monsters of Greek mythology in what is called the Garden of the Greek Gods. They were created by Elford Bradley Cox (1914-2003) in the 1960s.

below: Hercules is the tallest of the sculptures.

Immediately south of the Exhibition Grounds is/was Ontario Place. This pile of rubble is all that remains of what was on West Island – mostly the decaying amusement/theme park that hasn’t been in operation for years (death by neglect).

below: The round Cinesphere is still there but everything west of it is gone. Once it was the pride of Ontario – built in response to Montreal’s Expo ’67 – but slowly over the years many of its features have been altered or removed (Children’s Village, the Forum with its free concerts, and more). Having said that, other sections have been renovated – Trillium Park on the east end for example. I didn’t get that far on this walk but you can some of it in Ontario Place 2.0 from 2017.

What remains

Posted: July 12, 2025 in history, old buildings, transportation
Tags: concrete, construction, Ellesmere, Lawrence East, Mike Myers Dr., redevelopment, Scarborough, Scarborough Town Centre, SRT, subway, transportation, TTC

There is talk about what to do with the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line that runs from Kennedy station, north to Lawrence and Ellesmere, and then east to Scarborough Town Centre. The SRT was built in 1985 and then closed in July 2023. The concrete and glass infrastructure still remains. The tracks are gone. A few years ago, I went for a ride on the SRT (blog post is Are you going to Scarborough? ) but I never checked out the stations themselves. Since I am not sure how much longer they are going to exist, I thought I’d better take a look before it’s too late.

below: Lawrence East station nestles under the bridge where Lawrence passes over railway tracks between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.

below: Although the SRT tracks have been removed, other tracks remain. These tracks continue on to Agincourt GO station and points farther north.

below: Looking south

below: Signs for 54A and 954 Lawrence buses

below: If you wanted to cross the tracks, this was the fastest way…

below: Permanently closed

below: Mike Myers Drive with Lawrence East station in the background.

below: A short distance north of the Lawrence East station is the old Ellesmere station. It too is under a bridge (under Ellesmere of course!). It is smaller than the Lawrence East station

below: Ellesmere station also has the circular hole for the stairs leading to an underground passage. The station looks like a big glass tube.

below: Someone is missing their lock.

After Ellesmere station, the SRT turned east, diverging from the other set of tracks. Midland station was just after the turn – on Midland between Ellesmere and Progress. Sorry, no pictures (busier street, no parking). Although the architecture is similar (a glass tube), Midland station is built on top of a bridge, above the road instead of below it. From Midland the trains went directly east to Scarborough Town Centre. For most of thee eastern section, the tracks run behind industrial or light industrial land. I haven’t been able to find out if there is any access or if it is all fenced off.

below: East view of Scarborough Town Centre station with covered walkways from both the federal government building on the left, and the shopping center on the right.

below: No trains run here anymore, but the station is still used for buses with the elevated rails being used as a roof.

below: Pillars supporting the elevated tracks still run through the parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan.

below: McCowan station was the eastern end of the line.

below: McCowan station viewed from the east side. The tracks continued a short distance to the SRT yard where trains were housed and serviced.

below: At McCowan, Scarborough Transit Connect is partnered with Metrolinx to build the new Scarborough Extension subway from Kennedy station to a new terminus at Shepherd and McCowan. See a previous blog post, Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard for some photos from

below: Traffic on McCowan is impacted by the subway extension construction

below: One more view of the construction at McCowan station

below: And last, I found evidence on a pole in the parking lot at Scarborough Town Centre that indicates that I have missed the Rapture; they left without me. I guess that I am stuck here!

along the St. Lawrence

Posted: July 7, 2025 in galleries, history
Tags: 401 Richmond, albumen, Alexander Henderson, Artspace TMU, Dawson Cox, history, photographers, photography, photos

In 1869, Canadian photographer Alexander Henderson (1831-1913) was commissioned to take a series of photos along the route of the new Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto. These images were for a travel book, “All-round Route Guide” to sell to tourists and settlers along the route. This Montreal to Toronto section followed the north shore of the St. Lawrence for most of its route. The railway had opened in 1856 and more routes had been added (to Portland Maine! to Sarnia!) or were planned.

below: Lumberer’s Shanty, Lievre River, Quebec, before 1865

A recent exhibit at Artspace TMU (at 401 Richmond) showcased albumen prints of some of Henderson’s photos along with photos taken by Dawson Cox. All of Cox’s images were mounted on particle board. The exhibit was titled, “Like the Seams of a Coat”.

below: Camera store, corner of Clark and St Antoine, Montreal.

below: Victoria Square, Montreal, about 1872

below: Group shot

below: Group shot, 1870s style – G. Company of 78th Highlanders, taken by Alexander Henderson

Coat seams are usually hidden but they are essential to holding everything together. Important yet unseen.

below: Cox’s photo of torn graffiti on an old brick wall

below: Lake, Saint Bruno Mountain, Quebec, before 1865

old photo of a lake and st Bruno Mountain in Quebec, 1860s

photo of a stuffed fox, mounted standing on all fours and seeming to walk

below: L’Anse a l’Eau, Saguenay River, Quebec, 1868

old black and white photo, a lone scrawny pine tree on a rock overlooking the Saguenay River in Quebec, with village below, village of L'Anse a L'Eau

Old Finch and the Finch Meander

Posted: May 29, 2025 in history, nature
Tags: Bailey Bridge, dog strangling vine, ferns, Hillside Church, honeysuckle, leaves, mayapple, nature, Old Finch Ave., plants, rocks, Rouge River, trees, Vincetoxicum rossicum, water

Old Finch Avenue runs immediately north of the zoo way over in the northeast corner of the city. It also crosses the Rouge River close to what is called the Finch Meander. Because of its history and the surrounding geography, the eastern portion of Finch has to curve around the river and as a result, it doesn’t align properly with the western portion.

below: On Finch, traffic crosses a one lane bridge that spans the Rouge River.

below: Hurricane Hazel struck Toronto in October 1954. It damaged or washed away many bridges over the Rouge River including the one here. The replacement bridge is a “Bailey Bridge” built by the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment of the Canadian Military Engineers. Seventy years later it is the last one still in use.

below: Can you see the little orange alien? I think that it’s waving at you…..

And a few photos from walking around the Rouge River park in that area –

below: Down the steps and into the woods….

below: Measuring the water levels

below: Greater Celandine growing in the shadows.

below: Little pink honeysuckle flowers

below: Mayapple among the ferns

below: Keep an eye open for poison ivy!

below: Another silent threat that lurks here (but won’t give you a rash) is an invasive vine. “Dog strangling vine”, or Vincetoxicum rossicum, wraps itself around trees and other plants that it encounters. It is early in the growing season so most of the plants here were still short but there were masses of them. The lighter beige curved objects that run through the middle of this photo are the remains of last year’s vines.

Close by is the old Hillside church built in 1877.

historical society plaque in front of hillside church, white picket fence

Hillside Church – The church opened on Nov 16, 1877 as a branch of the Scarboro circuit of the Methodist Church of Canada to meet the religious needs of this rural community. The property was given by Mr. and Mrs. John Crawford to the “Trustees of the Mount Zion Congregation” – namely John Sewell, Peter Reesor, James Ormerod, George Pearse, James Pearse, Robert Stockdale and Thomas Barnard. Combining to form the Congregation were members of the Bible Christian Church … and the adherents of the former Wesleyan Methodist Church. Known from its opening as Hillside Church, it continued to serve the area until Church Union in 1925 when the congregation became part of Zion United Church, Markham. Both the exterior and the interior of the church remain essentially the same as they were in 1877.

below: Someone with surname Thomas once passed this way. Lived here. Played here. The small stone suggests that it was a child, maybe? Almost 150 years later this little stone, cracked and weathered as it is, still stands in memory of Thomas and the person who cared enough about him to have this stone made and erected in the churchyard. A few of us stop and linger long enough to think about him but at some point the words will become even more unreadable.

old, faded and cracked tombstone in a cemetery, can read the name Thomas and that he died 188?.

Stone possibly says, Leonard, infant son of ?? Thomas, died July 11 1888 (1889?)

With thanks to Wilfred who suggested checking out the Rouge River and Bailey Bridge! It was a few months ago now but I was waiting for a nice spring day.

Cliffcrest

Posted: January 28, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, history, locations, transportation
Tags: Americana Motel, Cliffcrest, Hav a Nap Motel, Henry's Motel, houses, Kingston Road, motels, mural, mural routes, radial railway, redevelopment, Scarborough, Scarborough Heritage Murals, signs, Stop 17, stores, T&YRR, winter

Cliffcrest is a neighbourhood in Scarborough that includes a section of Kingston Road between Brimley and Bellamy Roads. The southern boundary is Lake Ontario including the eastern portion of the Scarborough Bluffs.

below: At the corner of Kingston Road & St. Clair is one of the Scarborough Heritage Trail murals funded by Mural Routes. It is “In The Way of Progress” and shows a Kingston Road radial railway car at Stop 17 with Scarborough High School (later changed name to R.H. King Academy) in the background. It was painted in 1996 by Phil, Jennifer, and Jamie Richards.

below: 1922, Kingston Road looking west towards St. Clair with Scarborough High School near the intersection.

Source: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1488, series 1230, Item 2064

In 1893 the Toronto and Scarborough Electric Railway, Light and Power Company started running a one car train along Kingston Road. The tracks went as far east as West Hill. A couple of years later, this line became part of the Toronto and York Radial Railway (TYRR). The TYRR had four branches radiating from the city, one to the west, 2 northward, and this one east along Kingston Road. The stops on the Scarborough route were numbered, starting at Victoria Park Avenue. Stop 17 was at St. Clair East & Kingston Road.

below: This 1922 photo is actually from a bit farther west, at Victoria Park. What I wanted to show was how the railway tracks just ran between the road and the sidewalk. Very simple infrastructure! Not too feasible in a city, but in 1922 this neighbourhood was more rural than urban (and they still got transit!)

1922 photo of Kingston Road, looking west from Victoria Park

Source: City of Toronto Archives, Series 71, item 1607

below: You can’t see it in this photo but the mural above is on the wall of Stop 17 Variety (by the parking lot on the right).

below: From 1973, forty years ago – looking at the southeast corner of Brimley and Kingston Road. The bus is northbound on Brimley.

black and white photo by Richard Glaze taken in 1973 at the corner of Brimley and Kingston Road, found on Transit Toronto website

Photo Credit: Richard Glaze photo 1973, Transit Toronto website. If you are interested in anything to do with transit in Toronto, check out their website. They have an extensive collection of photographs, maps, and documents. They also feature all the latest news about slow downs, route changes, and service advisories (among other things).

The same motel is still on that corner of Kingston Rd and Brimley. I don’t have the exact replica photo but this is what the Hav a Nap Motel looks like now.

below: Moving slightly west, photo taken from approximately the corner of Brimley and Kingston Road.

Once upon a time, Kingston Road was a major east west route in and out of the city. There were many motels along here. Their heyday was the 1950s and the bigger, fancier ones are long gone, leaving behind some of the smaller ones.

below: As a shoutout to these motels and their stoy is this sidewalk box decorated with images of old motel signs. The Americana and the Roycroft signs can be seen on this side.

below: The Americana Motel still exists in the Cliffcrest neighbourhood (close to Brimley). The Roycroft is farther east, beyond McCowan.

below: Henry’s Motel

below: The sign of things to come.. and yes, it’s a condo with retail at street level.

below: The north side of Kingston Road, just east of Brimley – it looks like changes are happening here too.

Brimley Road is also the main access for Bluffers Park at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs.

below: Dairy Queen at Kingston Road and Harewood is closed for the winter

below: An alley runs behind the south side of Kingston Road

below: Mailbox with a porpoise (or two)

below: On the side of a Wild Wings restaurant.

below: Carusos Fruit Market, Groceries, Hardware & Gift Items

intersections – King & Bathurst

Posted: January 20, 2025 in construction, history
Tags: Bank of Montreal, Banknote Bar, bathurst st., clock tower, construction, facade, King St., Metrolinx, pianos, redevelopment, streetcars, TTC, Wheatsheaf Tavern

below: 504 King streetcar on a snowy January afternoon

As you all know, Toronto is being demolished and redeveloped. Almost every part of the city is affected by the construction of new condo buildings or the upgrading of public transit. It can be difficult to keep up documenting the changes! A few weeks ago I posted some pictures from Queen & Spadina where Metrolinx is building a new subway station for the Ontario Line. The next stop west from there is at King and Bathurst.

Infrastructure Ontario wants to build what they call a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) at King and Bathurst. The gist of the plan is that these sites will feature high density development around transit hubs. Some of the plans for condo and office may still be at the concept level but the new subway station work is well underway.

below: Looking south on Bathurst from King. On the southwest corner is the Wheatsheaf Tavern which has been here since 1849. The exterior of the building hasn’t changed much in 170 years! It remains untouched by today’s construction.

below: The Banknote Bar on the southeast corner is now gone, or at least most of it has been demolished. The north facade will be incorporated into the new station, the King-Bathurst station (Are they really going to call it that? So Dull. So Bland.).

This 4 storey brick building was previously a Bank of Montreal. It was built in 1901/02 for the Canadian Biscuit Company. It then had a series of tenants until 1923 when Bank of Montreal moved in.

Previously, a mixed use development rising above the old brick structure had been proposed for the site (prior to Metrolinx). Cancelled. At this point there is no other development on this corner.

below: Looking east on King

You can see that the corner (above picture) is now covered by a very big white temporary structure where construction of another station underway. What will be revealed? Plans suggest a mixed office/residential tower above with rebuilding of most portions of the TD bank that was on the corner, as well as the building directly east of it. No car parking spots, bikes only. Concept stage? Or further along? One day we might find out!

Last, the northeast corner –

below: Clock Tower lofts dominates the corner. There really are two clocks on the side of the building, both of which are difficult to see. But that doesn’t matter since they don’t work anyhow.

below: 1919 photo of the Clocktower Building. It was in bad shape in 1980 and was demolished. The Clock Tower Lofts (above) replaced it. In 1919 it was home to Otto Higel Piano Company. The church in the background is St. Marys Roman Catholic church at Bathurst and Adelaide.

1919 black and white photo of a brick building on northwest corner of king and bathurst. 4 storeys, with small clock tower on one corner, church in the background

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 3008

The building dates from 1895; it was built for the Toronto Lithographing Company who used it until 1901. Next, the Newell & Higel Co. Ltd take over the building where they manufacture piano actions, keys and hammers, and organ keys, reeds, and reedboards. By 1912 they employed 450 people. They developed a Player Piano that became famous around the world and business boomed. They expanded the building north to the corner of Adelaide Street West.

By the way, a Player Piano is one that plays itself. The 1920’s were their heyday but advances in technology, especially the introduction of radios and record players, helped kill the Player Piano. By the 1930s production ceased.

below: A 1970s view of the northwest corner.

1970s black and white photo of Otto Higel Piano Company, now a furniture factory

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 7, Item 5,

below: Looking out the window of the Wheatsheaf Tavern. How many people have sat here and looked out this window? What did they think about?

Dr. Adams was here

Posted: December 7, 2024 in graffiti and street art, history
Tags: 33wallflower33, Bay St., graffiti, paper, paste ups, plywood, posters, redevelopment, windows

Dr. John Gennings Curtis Adams left a small mark on the city just over a hundred years ago.

a Heritage Toronto plaque on the sidewalk outside an old three storey brick building that is boarded up and covered with graffiti. Plaque tells about Dr. Adams who was a dentist in the late 1800s.

Dr. John G.C. Adams (1839-1922) Dr. John G.C. Adams is regarded as the father of public health dentistry in Canada. His Methodist faith inspired him to become Canada’s first resident dental missionary. He funded and operated the first free dental hospital on the continent in 1872, primarily treating poverty-stricken children and their mothers. Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children opened three years later and, in 1883, Dr. Adams became its first dentist of record.
In the building here, Dr. Adams operated Christ’s Mission Hall and Dental Institute from 1897 until 1899 when the City closed it for non-payment of taxes. A champion of preventative health through education, Dr. Adams advocated for dental check-ups in public schools and dental treatment for underprivileged children. His recommendations were finally realized in 1911 with the beginning of dental check-ups in Toronto schools. Canada’s first publicly funded free dental clinic opened two years later.

Although Adams had a mission here, it was only for a few years and he lost possession because he didn’t pay his taxes. So I am not sure why the plaque is here (to bolster the heritage designation of the building?). It’s earlier history is just as interesting, if not more so. Before Adams, it had been a coffee shop run by The Toronto Coffee Association Coffee House – off on a tangent for a moment. the Coffee Houses of the 1880s and 1890s were in response to Prohibition laws and many were run by the Temperance League. I found a thorough, well-written history of these coffee houses as well as Bay Street at the time at Scenes from Toronto

If you have passed by the intersection of Bay and Elm (just north of Dundas), you may have noticed the building on the southwest corner. It’s been derelict for quite a few years now. It has become a small canvas for some graffiti artists; although it gets ‘cleaned up’ every once in awhile, traces remain. Dr. Adams wouldn’t recognize it… nor would he approve of it!

below: Two faced

below: Like a repeating pattern on wallpaper or fabric, columns of men with the same hair cut and facial features. An army of clones.

below: Mexican Jesus

below: 33wallflower33

This building, 55 Elm, is at the east end of a row of bay & gable houses from the late 1800s. All of them are empty and boarded up, awaiting the usual fate of such properties in this city. The image below is a screenshot of the row of houses that was included in the 2021 City of Toronto report (pdf) that designated the row as heritage properties. The study was prompted by the possible tear down of one of the houses in 2019. In other words, these have been empty for a long time.

These houses back onto a large parking lot. The last few photos are a quick look at remains behind.

searching for the end of the trail

Posted: December 5, 2024 in construction, history, locations, nature, transportation
Tags: autumn, bridge, condos, construction, Eglinton, Inn on the Park, leaves, Leslie St., LRT, redevelopment condos, Thorncliffe trestle, tracks, trails, Wilket Creek Park

… but finding many other things instead.

This is a follow-up to my last post about the Don Mills trail. Remember that I mentioned that it came to a dead end just north of Eglinton? I thought that surely someone somewhere in the city government would have looked into options re connecting the Don Mills trail to a street or another multi-use path. The dead end is just east of Leslie, so off I went to check it out (and I wasn’t going to walk all the way to a dead end just to turn around again) .

Hey look! There is a vacant lot at approximately where the trail ends.

Did I wander back there? Sadly not….. I didn’t have any lock cutters with me…. This was once a Sony Music building but it was demolished in 2016. There was no development notice sign at the site (9 acres).

below: This is the Sony Music (or CBS) building, built in 1959. They don’t make them like this any more – so spread out and only one storey high. Land must have been much cheaper back then!

older colour photo of sony music building on leslie street (demolished in 2016)

Photo credit: by Bob Krawczyk, found on ACO Toronto website (Architectural Conservancy Ontario)

When I was researching the Sony Music building online, I came across the Phoenix Centre. That’s the name of the planned private club being developed at the old Wrigleys site next door to the now vacant lot. If I had realized that when I was out walking, I would have taken more photos. As it is, this is the best I’ve got:

southwest corner of old Wrigleys building on Leslie street, now OTT, low rise modern building

This building, built 1962, was included in North York’s Modernist Architecture, first published in 1997. In addition, The former Wrigley property has cultural heritage value as it is historically associated with the 1950s planning and development of Don Mills by E. P. Taylor and Don Mills Developments Ltd. (if interested, more info at ACO website). The Phoenix Centre plan retains most of the office space architecture but completely remakes the factory space.

There is also talk of a bridge (pedestrian & bikes?) over the CPR tracks to the Crosstown developments. Makes sense to connect the Don Mills trail, Crosstown, and Leslie Street!

Part of the reason I didn’t take any photos of the old Wrigley building is that I had chose to walk south the day…. just south is a fire station as well as some condos.

And there is a well worn path that accesses the back of the properties.

This road doesn’t actually lead to those new condo towers. The CPR railway tracks are in the way. Those towers are part of the Crosstown development on the old IBM and Celestica property (access from both Eglinton & Don Mills)

The road didn’t lead to the end of the Don Mills trail either… but it did lead to the back of a parking garage. No dogs allowed and no trespassing. No luck here.

I got a better view of the neighbourhood though….

Black and white on a grey day.

As I walked back out the path, I noticed this sign. I took it to mean the property behind the blue fence, not the property the path is on… probably?

It stopped munching and stared at me, trying to decide to sit and watch or to run away…. it scampered away before I could get any closer (I don’t pretend to take good pictures of animals but it looked so cute, all puffed up to stay warm).

A very short walk farther south on Leslie brings us to the Inn on the Park site on the northeast corner of Leslie and Eglinton.

below: Inn on the Park as it once was (about 1969) I have ‘borrowed’ this photo from another website – Jamie Bradburn’s Tales of Toronto. Follow the link if you are interested in the story of the hotel – it’s an interesting read. Did you know that in 1962 North York had a ban on cocktail lounges?

below: The site today. It’s now a Toyota/Lexus dealership and home to a few new condos.

But there are more changes coming….. (surprised?)…. more glass and steel towers by the looks of it. The notice also states that parking is planned for 845 cars and 1860 bikes. Does Doug Ford approve?

below: A sad sight, Sunnybrook Park LRT station all ready to go but no trains running. One of the Toronto mysteries, when will the Eglinton LRT open?

Standing by the LRT tracks and looking south. Wilket Creek park and the Thorncliffe trestle railway bridge can be seen. I crossed the road because I had seen stairs down to the park….

A big new set of stairs!…. But. Not shown – the locked gate that blocked the entrance. There is still no entry to Wilket Creek/Sunnybrook Park from this side of Eglinton.

It’s getting to be crowded….

below: Crossing Eglinton and looking westward

New pedestrian and bike paths that provide access to the park from the north side of Eglinton have been built but they too are locked closed. It’s very frustrating to see this infrastructure built and then left unusable. The signs says construction danger but there doesn’t seem to be any construction happening…..

Just in case I have confused anyone, here is a map of the area that Google maps created. Near the top left it even says Don Valley Bike Trailhead… which is very wrong. No trailhead here of any kind as we’ve just learned. Also it was the Don Mills trail not the Don Valley trail (the latter is somewhere else!)

New benches! Wilket Creek Park is one section of the string of parks that parallel the branches of the Don River in Toronto’s ravine system. I’ll leave you with a few pictures that I took the other day while I was in the area…