There is a railway bridge over Lawrence Avenue East just to the east of Weston Road (close to Weston UP Station). The walls beside the sidewalk on both sides of the underpass have been painted with street art designs of flowers, birds and animals. The murals are the result of a collaboration between Que Rock and Alex Bacon.
Another Weston mural – Out and About
Another recent Weston blog post – A little piece of Weston
below: Northeast corner of Spadina and Queen West
below: Mannequins on orange
below: Queen Street westbound approaching Bathurst
below: It’s always nice to see that there’s at least one Lovebot still hanging out in Graffiti Alley.
below: On the door, a jumblefacefoto collage
below: Reach out and touch someone
below: Open your eyes
below: Are you smiling? Are you happy?
below: Southeast corner, Queen & Niagara
below: Same intersection slightly later in the morning and from a slightly different angle
below: Windigo Army piece
below: A little orange character pasted to a pole; the work of kode_dipz aka Kyara Cabrera Fong
below: Because of the construction of a new condo at Richmond and Augusta there has been scaffolding in a section of Graffiti Alley. The other day some of it was being dismantled. This woman is more visible now but some of the bars remain.
below: Life©️ one eyed red daisy supersized
below: Part of UBER5000’s Toronto mural.
below: By luvs – a woman and her dog, with duplicate vision
below: A properly worn mask…..
What is creepier? Dolls or mannequins?
below: Poetaia wants to know what you’re up to, wink, wink.
below: Peeling paper makes the gold words difficult to read
below: There’s a yellow eye and possibly a blue one too?
below: Palace Arms hotel on King Street West at Strachan
below: Southeast corner of Strachan and Wellington
below: She’s looking in the window
below: Harry Rogers worked for the city of Toronto in various capacities between 1921 and 1971. He was Commissioner of City Properties in the 1960s. Has this sign been here since then?
below: Part of Garrison Crossing pedestrian bridge
below: Yellow wild flowers growing in the field between the two sections of Garrison Crossing bridge. Looking east to downtown Toronto.
below: There are more than wild flowers between the bridges!
below: Sun bathing at Garrison Common, just outside Fort York
below: On the fence between Fort York and the Bentway there is a series of images that I happened upon the day I walked this route. This is GradEX 106, the work of graduating students in OCADU’s Graphic Design and Illustration program. My apologies to the few students whose work I inadvertently missed.
below: Michael Hu, Shahrzad Soroosh, Lydia Lam, and Dan Waites
below: Aidan Wilkins, Merryn Connelly-Miller, Vincy Lam, and Rebecca Michie
below: Leann Mei Foon, Tina Shan, Ivan Nikitin, and Emmily Fay Fin
below: Valerie Poon, Radha Joshi Raulgaonkar, Alan Zhang, and Sid Sharp
below: Joy Kim, Victoria Tao, Mia Debbas, and Emily Dakin
below: Lucy Hong, Thamara Perera, Tianshu Kuai, Jenny Lynne Castillo, Reyhaneh Mohammadi, and Caroline Icardo
below: Fence on west side of Fort York
below: More of the OCADU exhibit on the fence between Fort York and the Bentway
below: Caitlin Todd, Alizah Hashemy, Lina Wu, and Lisanne Van Der Oort,
below: Jon Owen, Joanne Lee, Kyle Miron, Vuoni, Selina Serok Park, Sarah McIntosh,
below: Liam Marks, Daniel Mendez, Daniel Melnyk, Haojun Gong, Jingyi Dong, and Mika Parial
Also at the Bentway is an art installation called ‘Playing in Public‘. This is part of ArtworxTO, Toronto’s year of public art 2021-2022. Three of the installations are shown below – they will remain at the Bentway until 26th September 2021.
below: ‘Nil:Nil’ by Studio F Minus
below: ‘Double Dribble’ by Esmaa Mohamoud
below: ‘Big Red’ by Assemble
The 3D Toronto sign in Nathan Phillips Square has been replaced by a newer, hardier version. Same same but different.
LEFT:
“The original TORONTO Sign was installed on Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall in July 2015 for the Toronto Pan American and Parapan American Games. Although it was only intended to last a few weeks, in response to the sign’s popularity, the City of Toronto extended its presence on the Square and it became a Toronto landmark.
The Medicine Wheel was added on June 18, 2018 in honour of Indigenous Peoples and to increase awareness of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.
The Medicine Wheel symbol was chosen, in consultation with Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, as it is an emblem of North American Indigenous cultural values, tradition and spirituality. Its four directions (East, South, West and North) symbolize completeness, wholeness, connectedness and strength.
A maple leaf was added to the TORONTO Sign in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th birthday.
The TORONTO Sign has become symbolic of Toronto. According to a Destination Toronto visitor survey, the TORONTO sign was one of the top three most visited attractions in the city and it is consistently ranked as one of the most Instagram-worthy spots.
In September 2020, a more durable replica of the original TORONTO Sign was installed”.RIGHT:
“The artwork design on the TORONTO Sign uses vibrant African fabric patterns as a backdrop to represent the diverse community of people of African descent in Toronto and globally.
Woven into the colourful patterns are African cultural symbols like the Adinkra Sankofa bird, which represents the importance of moving forward through recalling the past.
The inclusion of portraits of Canadians of African descent is an important statement in recognition that people of African descent are here, beautiful, bold and proud, holding Toronto accountable for justice and equity.
The City of Toronto recognizes the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African descent (2015 to 2024).Danilo Deluxo McCallum is a Toronto based visual artist. He works professionally as a painter, videographer, illustrator, graphic designer, muralist and art mentor. A product of the city, the characters depicted in McCallum’s work reflect a diverse landscape of people.”
It’s easy to view railway tracks from bridges, in this case from a bridge on Finch Avenue East between Markham Road and McCowan. The is CPR Toronto Yard.
It is a marshaling yard, also known as a classification yard, which is where railway cars are separated onto one of several tracks and joined with other cars with the same destination.
Sitting on over 400 acres, CPR’s yard in Scarborough is one of the largest in Canada. There are 311 switches and about 140km of track on which freight cars are shunted between tracks. The site was opened in 1964.
…but getting to track level can be more of a challenge.
below: It sometimes involves getting lost and having a chat with a security guard or two (but not until after you have a few good wall & shadow pictures)
below: In other places, access is simple.
below: I’ve never thought too much about graffiti on trains until today – How many miles has this little guy traveled? Where did he come from and who painted him when? How many people have seen him as he shuttles back and forth across the country (or perhaps farther than that?)?
below: Looking right back at you!
below: A westbound train leaves the yard at McCowan Road.
below: Back in 1964 the community of Browns Corners was at the corner of Finch Avenue East and Markham Road(not to be confused with the other Browns Corners on Woodbine Ave and Hwy 7). There are no more traces of the community or the farms that surrounded it.
I only walked around part of the yard and I didn`t take very many pictures of the buildings that are there – seniors residence, medical clinic, a few offices, etc.
I would like to end this blog post with one building that I saw that was different.
below: The Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre is nearby. I think that I have it right – the Sathya Sai Organization is not a religion but a “universal approach to life” whose teacher and spiritual leader is Sathya Sai Baba. Each of the five petals in the flower contain a word or phrase: truth, right conduct, peace, non violence, and love.
below: There was a column-like structure near the door topped with a large lotus flower. The base was square and on each were printed words. “Offer all bitterness in the sacred Fire and emerge grand, great and Godly.”
below: “Remember the wheel of Cause and Consequence of Deed and Destiny and the Wheel of Dharma that rights them all”. I assume that the other two sides also had inscriptions but I couldn’t see them because of a fence with a locked gate.
Back on McCowan and back home… (still no TTC in my life)
This is another “walk about” post; in fact, it is the product of two nearly identical walks a few months apart.
below: Standing at the corner of King and Spadina while TTC workmen clear the streetcar tracks of excess dirt and sand.
below: Looking east along King Street. The LCBO on the corner is now closed.
below: Spadina, south of King.
below: Looking through a parking lot on Wellington.
below: Looking south on Draper Street
below: The CN Tower from Draper Street
below: Construction continues on the old Globe and Mail site south of Wellington and north of Front.
below: A pink pig still celebrating Valentines Day.
below: Looking east along the tracks from Portland Street. In November when I walked here, there were many movie trucks parked along Front Street.
below: The new condos on the north side of Front Street that face the railway tracks.
below: Crossing the Puente de Luz, Toronto’s yellow pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.
below: On the south side of the railway – the green building is the Library District condo.
below: Bathurst Street at Fort York Blvd., with the overhang from the library which is on that corner.
below: Bathurst streetcar southbound.
below: The grassy green mound that separates Fort York from the city…. with the city creeping up behind it.
below: Orange bars across the eyes, graffiti
below: The Bentway, under the Gardiner Expressway (a previous post on the Bentway)
Garrison Crossing is actually two stainless steel bridges, both over railway tracks. Both have spans of close to 50m. In the middle is a peninsula of land that is in the process of being developed into condos and a park. Almost 20 years ago there was a proposal to build a bridge here – to be opened in 2012 for the anniversary of the War of 1812. Mayor Rob Ford was opposed to it (too much money) and the plans were shelved. A change of mayor (and some help from developers) and a change of plan again. Construction began in 2016. It provides a much needed link between the two sides of the railway lands.
below: Southern span – walking north from Fort York
below: City view from the new park in the middle, train tracks (difficult to see in this picture) on two sides of the triangle.
below: Yellow construction fences still line the edge of the path through the middle section between the bridges.
below: People crossing the northern portion of Garrison Crossing (looking south).
below: Looking northwest from the second span of Garrison Crossing towards Strachan Avenue and beyond.
below: Garrison Crossing ends at Wellington Street close to Stanley Park
below: Found – one city snowplow parking lot, between the railway tracks and Wellington Street (at the end of Walnut Ave).
below: Immediately to the east of the snowplows is the old brick building. It has its own access road from Wellington including a bridge with three arches. The road is overgrown and blocked by a fence. There is no sign by the road.
below: It took some time on google but I finally found the answer to the building above. Here it is in 1925, the year that it was built – the Wellington Destructor. It was used until the 1970s when burning garbage was banned; it has been a heritage building since 2005. I found the photo online on a CBC News webpage where there a great description of the building and its history, along with some pictures of the interior.
below: And that brings us back to the Bathurst Street bridge over the railway tracks on the south side of Front Street. Did you know that it’s officially called the Sir Isaac Brock Bridge? It spent most of its life as the Bathurst Street Bridge until 2007 when it was renamed.
below: It is a steel truss bridge that was built in 1903 (one of the oldest bridges in the city). It’s first life was a railway bridge over the Humber Bridge but in 1916 it was disassembled, moved to Bathurst, and reassembled.
below: Bathurst bridge, 1919, from the west (Lake Ontario is on the right hand side).
The view from the Municipal Abbatoir Building, looking southeast. The building with the water tower on top is the Matthews Blackwell meat packing company. On the left, you can see part of the cylindrical tower belonging to Consumers Gas Company
below: Someone has given this rusty guy some eyes! He too is watching out for interesting stories. He’s also thankful that you made it this far! At least he can’t roll his eyes!
November came in with a gust of grey and dampness. So when the sun breaks through for a while it’s time to grab a coat and a camera and get walking even if it wasn’t you planned to do that day.
below: The cube house at the bottom of Sumach Street is still with us. It was for sale early in 2017. At that time, March 2017, BlogTO published an article about this building that starts with this description: “Based on Dutch architect Piet Blom’s complex of Cubic Houses in Rotterdam, the UniTri structure dates back to 1996”. It was sold in May 2018 for almost three million dollars.
below: No idea is original. Seen under Richmond/Adelaide Streets.
below: This guy holding his hands in front of him and wearing a red wizard cap still adorns the corner of the Magic Building on Sumach. He’s just one of a number of wizards you’ll find there.
below: This was the scene of a large fire back in April 2018. Three buildings were damaged with the one in the middle being beyond repair. It is now gone. It’s been a long, slow recovery.
below: Another building gone. This one by choice.
below: Colourful porch details.
below: A photo to document this part of Queen Street East because whether it’s in 2 years or 20, there will be changes.
below: A row of old brick houses at 79 through 85 Shuter Street where a fire has recently destroyed some of the the upper levels and roofs.
below: The buildings are empty and boarded up. This is the southeast corner of Shuter & Mutual.
below: There is a development proposal notice on the buildings. The proposed plan saves the old houses and shows a tall glass building built behind and above them.
below: That’s a big drill!
below: Shuter Street at Church.
below: Looking north on Church Street towards the new buildings that are part of Ryerson University’s expansion.
below: Steeple, St. Michaels Cathedral
below: Looking west on Dundas towards Victoria Street and Yonge Dundas Square. The cylinder structure is part of the CityTV building. The outer layer is wire mesh.
Work on the Port Land redevelopment continues. The area is changing fast enough that I thought another visit would be a good idea.
below: Cherry Lifeguard Station, calm and peaceful in the early morning. On a weekday in September all is quiet here.
below: A new red lifeguard chair sits on a freshly raked beach. In the distance, a tug pushes a barge out of the harbour and onto Lake Ontario.
below: A family of Canada geese rest on the embankment of the Keating Channel. The white concrete supports of the Gardiner Expressway are reflected in the water.
below: Looking west along the Keating Channel. The Don River empties to the bottom right, just out of the picture. At the moment, the Keating Channel is the only route to Lake Ontario but this is about to change.
below: The Cherry Street bridge, a lift bridge, was broken in the open position for about a month at the end of the summer. It was fixed in time for Labour Day weekend so it is down now (can it go back up? It will soon be demolished so maybe that doesn’t matter)
below: From above, the Keating Channel is in the foreground and it is here that construction on a new Cherry Street bridge is just beginning. This is west of the present bridge because Cherry Street is going to be straightened as it passes under the Gardiner. There is another small channel behind the Keating Channel but it ends at the T&T store… for now. Cherry Beach and Lake Ontario are in the background.
below: Reflections of the T&T sign. Soon this store will be gone. The path of one of the new waterways for the Don River goes right through the middle of their property to join with the channel that is already there (picture above).
below: Villiers Street, looking west from the Don Roadway. The new path of the Don River is going to make an island of this part of the Port Lands as it runs parallel to, and immediately west of, the Don Roadway.
below: Villiers Street is actually two streets running parallel, both of which have two-way traffic. This is left over from the days when the railway ran down the middle of the street.
below: Remaining fragments of railway track can be found all over the Port Lands. This is Villiers Street at the Don Roadway. The Gardiner Expressway is in the background.
below: Old gas pump on Villiers.
below: The northwest corner of Commissioners and the Don Roadway. The green mound is the beginnings of the flood protection work there. Flood protection means work on the re-routing of the mouth of the Don River.
below: Looking west on Commissioners Street from east of the Don Roadway (at the traffic lights). This is one of several large hydro structures that run from the Portlands Energy Centre (a natural gas burning electrical plant). Hydro infrastructure changes are part of the Port Lands redevelopment.
below: Work on the south side of Commissioners.
Soon Commissioners Street will be closed between the Don Roadway and Cherry Street. All of the buildings there will be demolished. At the moment, most of them are empty.
below: Old abandoned buildings on Commissioners
below: United Rentals on Commissioners Street, now empty. Soon gone.
below: Chained and locked.
below: North side of Commissioners, east of the Don Roadway. You can see the Gardiner Expressway and the old Lever Brothers factory.
below: South end of the Don Roadway.
below: Looking west towards downtown from the Don Roadway
below: Back in July the demolition of the GFL (Green For life) buildings was well underway.
below: This is the GFL recycling transfer station during the demolition process. At the same time, the shoreline was being reconfigured and “naturalized”. The trees in the water in the foreground have since died but this is part of the plan – they are to become part of a new fish and wildlife habitat.
below: Access to the northwestern part of the Port Lands has been very limited. Cherry Street and the T&T parking lot are as far as you can go … if you obey all the signs. (photo from July)
below: September
below: The sea gulls have the parking lot to themselves, between Lafarge and the lake at the west end of the Port Lands. There are no plans (that I can find) to remove or relocate Lafarge.
below: If you stand looking at the view above, and then turn around, you get the image below. Polson Pier view of the Toronto skyline.
below: Map of the area. As you can see, I have only covered a small part of the Port Lands. There is so much more to explore!
…along with coloured doors, very big aliens, and a photography exhibit, all outside at the Distillery District.
below: “What’s That?” by Parer Studios. One of three ginormous inflatable aliens that have taken over the Distillery District but apparently they come with messages of peace, love, and creativity. Together they form the “fantastic Planet” series.
below: “Over”. At night they are illuminated from within.
In the recent past, all of the doors in the Distillery were dark green (like most of the door and window frames still are). A while ago, they were transformed with colour. Many different colours in fact, and perhaps you could say a rainbow of doors.
below: One of many photographs that adorn the brick walls of the Distillery District that showcase the works of photographers from around the world. Collectively they are, “Pride at the Distillery, More than Just Rainbows”.
below: I am not sure of the title of this one. What I do know is that the alien’s hand is the perfect height to pat people on the head as they take selfies. Check instagram for examples? I noticed on instagram that there were photos of the aliens without the barricades. My timing was wrong?
below: Yellow doors (at least on the outside)
below: “Gay Pride Parade Participant in Costume, 1983”, New York City. Available on Getty Images, where the large resolution image will set you back $575 (at least it’s in Canadian dollars). All the Pride theme photos on display at the Distillery were purchased through Getty Images.
I will fudge it a bit and claim that this is a “Thursday Door” blog post. It’s Thursday and there are a few doors included, right? If you’ve been following this blog, you might know that I am but one of many bloggers who share door photos and stories. For more door posts, see Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors (with more door posts linked in his comments section).
below: After the rain the leaves lie stuck to the path and tangled up in the grass.
below: Or stuck in the fence
below: You can’t escape the cranes…..
below: … or the hoardings.
below: Magnus and Angel are missing…. Is this a coincidence?
below: Pink flowers and a purple door.
below: Built in 1892, this building was once the Church of the Messiah Rectory. The church is the next building to the right (with the slightly yellow stones)
below: Faded flower of a different kind
below: Building behind the Rosedale Diner, as seen from Crown Lane
below: Locked door
below: Graffiti on private property.
below: The limestone Summerhill LCBO store which was originally the North Toronto Canadian Pacific train station. The clock tower is 43m high.
below: From a different angle, the station when it was first built in 1916. The tracks are still there but only freight trains pass by these days. It only lasted as a passenger station until September 1930. Back in the day if you wanted to take a train to Lindsay or Bobcaygeon, this is where you’d go although you could also get a train to Ottawa (via Peterborough & Smith’s Falls) or Montreal.
below: No stop ahead
below: “Help negro and white people mass (?) produce painted stones and hide them” plus a lot of other lines and shapes that might be letters or words.
below: I also came across this box yesterday – Sam the Chinese Food Man and other signs.
below: I have vague memories of such a Sam’s restaurant so I went online to find out more about it. What I found is this image in a “Lost Toronto” blogpost. It is Yonge Street just south of Gerrard (the Rio Theatre was 373 Yonge Street). Did you know that Toronto once had a wax museum?
Photo source: ‘Lost Toronto’ blog, post titled ‘When Yonge St Was Fun‘
… and it ended with a trip down memory lane.
as I walk Toronto 