locations | as I walk Toronto

Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

the new Cherry Street bridge

Posted: November 13, 2020 in construction, locations, public art
Tags: bridge, Cherry Street bridge, Commissioners Street, construction, CONTACT, demolition, dirt, ESSROC, Framework, photography, Port Lands, Ryan Walker, silos, soil, spike, tbonez, urban ninja squadron, Vid Ingelevis

The latest attraction is the new Cherry Street bridge pictured here just after its arrival by barge from Nova Scotia where it was manufactured by Cherubini Group. It’s a shiny white steel bridge with a red racing stripe. It is 57 metres long and wide enough to carry LRT tracks and a pedestrian walkway. Another identical bridge to go beside it for road traffic comes later.

below: Digging up the city. Sometimes it seems like we are living in one big construction zone.

The bridge is not the only “sight” at the Port Lands. There is also a photography exhibit of pictures taken of the buildings before they were demolished. ‘Framework’ by Vid Ingelevis and Ryan Walker. This is part of the CONTACT Photography Festival that was originally scheduled for May.

below: Interior, 130 Commissioners Street (Coopers Iron and Metal, an old metal recycling facility). The photograph is mounted on the roll-up door of one of the ESSROC cement plant silos – now a heritage site.

below: Cleaning the streets. The ESSROC silos dominate the streetscape here on Cherry Street (looking north towards the condos in the Distillery District).

below: The back of one of the few remaining buildings as seen from Cherry Street. It fronts onto Munitions Street.

below: Cherry Street bascule bridge in the upright position. Most of the Framework exhibit is down the center of Villiers Street on top of the remains of the old railway line. There are five panels like this one, each with a picture on both sides.

below: Most of the Port Lands redevelopment is occurring behind fences.

below: A very large spike!

below: 130 Commissioners Street, September 2019

below: Abandoned gas station with its rusting gas pump.

below: 99 Commissioners Street, July 2019

below: 97 Commissioners Street, August 2019

below: Commissioners Street closed to traffic.

below: Control room, Cherry Street bridge, July 2019

below: 130 Commissioners Street, September 2019

below: An old Urban ninja squadron sticker on a TTC bus stop sign

below: Dump truck on Villiers Street

Later: Just before sunset, the new bridge in the Keating Channel. It has since been rotated ninety degrees into the proper alignment for the new segment of Cherry Street. This job was made it easy by the fact that the bridge was mounted on a large turntable on the barge. It now has to be welded into place. The old bastule (lift) bridge now in place is slated for demolition in late 2021.

‘Framework’ will be on display until August 2021.

north on Keele, south on the railpath

Posted: November 11, 2020 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations
Tags: @kizmet32, Andrew Mutton, bike, bodh.io, Borat, buh bye, cyclist, dribble dribble, drible-drible, feelings boi, Francis Pratt, front line workers, graffiti, keele, kizmet, mural, poster, statue, stencil, tbonez, the Junction, The Neighbourhood Watch, tricycle, trike, urban ninja squadron

Zoom zoom! Hop on and come along for a ride!

below: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. What direction should we go today? Where will your feet take you next? Thinking interesting thoughts as we explore. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”. What have you created today? What should we create next?

Rather lofty words and ideas when all we’re doing is walking up Keele Street… where just looking at the stairs makes me tired.

below: It was good fun to see an altered Neighbourhood Watch sign – great to know that some still exist. Five years ago (yikes!) I posted a collection of “good guys” that I had found around the city. I don’t know if Andrew Mutton, the man responsible, is still making them but I haven’t seen any new ones for a long time.

This November has started with wonderful walking weather. In fact, the whole autumn has been a delight for those of us who like to be busy outside. The colours of the trees, shrubs, and vines seem to be more vibrant this year and I don’t think that it’s wrong to say that the colours have lasted longer than usual.

below: Keele and Annette

By the time you get to Keele and Dundas you are definitely in “The Junction” named for its proximity to the junction of a number of different railway lines. In 1884 this area became the village of West Toronto Junction.

below: Looking north up Keele to Dundas. Dundas is a long street that winds its way across the city. Here in the west end, it runs north south as it crosses Bloor West. Moving north from Bloor, Dundas parallels the GO tracks for a half kilometre or so and then bends almost ninety degrees to run parallel to the Canadian Pacific railway line. The junction of these two railway lines is a short distance away (to the northeast)

below: Walking on Dundas

below: CP tracks

below: Back by the tracks

below: The remains of a vegetable garden. Are these brussell sprout plants where the sprouts part have already been removed?

From Keele, it’s a short walk east to the West Toronto Railpath which is on the east side of the GO tracks. The northern most entrance to the path is off of Cariboo Ave which is a tiny one block street north of Dupont. The southern end, although near College and Lansdowne, is actually where the GO tracks cross Dundas…. which is very confusing. If you look at it on a map, it makes a lot more sense!

below: The mural, “Strength in Numbers” is still on the underpass walls at Dupont and can be seen from the railpath. You can find more photos of it if you follow the link.

below: From the same bridge, looking east on Dupont. The twin steeples belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Andrew the Apostle

below: Street art on the glass wall separating the path from the railway tracks.

below: Hoardings. Paintings. In the middle is a section that has been painted with these words: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace, and a soul generated by love.: C.S.K. [Coretta Scott King]

below: Black Lives Matter, Run for Ahmaud, mural by kizmet32 and Francis Pratt. Tribute to Ahmaud Arbery who was out for a run when he was murdered by two white men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis

below: Kizmet street art on a Henderson Brewery truck on Sterling Ave.

below: The West Toronto Railpath crosses Bloor Street.

below: The giraffe building at Dundas and Bloor is still there.

below: That corner is getting a new mural, a thank you to front line workers during Covid. Borat has snuck into the photo too – but then his poster does say “Wear Mask, Save Live”. You can’t see all the words here…

below: But they are more visible here….

below: Street art in a parking lot. The one on the right is kizmet.

below: The building makes a wedge. On the right is the wall in the photo above.

below: Smash, crash, gambit

below: A skinless smoker with a third eye by bodh.io

below: Drible-drible with many noodles (?) and on a more political note, someone wants Doug Ford to resign.

below: A trio – More feelings boi, a collaboration between him and tbonez., and a tribute to jazz musician John Coltrane.

… and that’s all for now!

There are older posts with photos from the Junction and/or the West Toronto Railpath. I’ve been walking and blogging long enough now that there is bound to be repetition! If you are interested in more pictures, you can always search all posts in this this blog for “Junction”… or for whatever you want for that matter!

at the back

Posted: November 8, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: alley, backyards, chair, Elicser, Elicser Elliot, graffiti, houses, lane, laneway, murals, stickers, subway, tracks, uber5000

This blog post is a result of a walk down the alley behind Bloor Street West between Dundas West and Keele where the lane runs between the back of the stores and buildings on Bloor and the subway tracks. Some of the street art in this lane can be seen from the subway and some of it I have shown in the past. Whether it’s because of Covid or because I was lucky that day, there were very few cars parked in the lane.

below: I can see you, reflected back

below: Another part of the Uber5000 mural. Everybody is a winner!!

below: An old elicser mural

below: Float away in the 416

below: Mary prays in a small garden at the end of a backyard along the subway tracks.

Finch and Morningside

Posted: November 7, 2020 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations
Tags: bear, bridge, bus, Canadian Pacific, engine, Finch Ave., Interoh Gale, kids, Lacey and Layla, Lacey Jane, Layla Folkmann, Malvern, Malvern Family Resource Centre, maple leaf, Mediah, MFRC, Morningside Heights, mural, mural routes, Scarborough, skate board, train, TTC, underpass

I heard that there was a new mural near Finch and Morningside which of course means that I have to try and find it. In doing so, I found three murals. This is their story.

This is Morningside Heights at the far eastern side of Scarborough. The Rouge River, the border between Scarborough and Pickering, is not far away. The Toronto Zoo is also nearby.

below: Bus 133, Neilson Road, waits at a stop on Finch just west of Morningside. The houses that you see in the background are on Morningside.

The Canadian Pacific railway tracks run on a diagonal at this intersection. They cross Morningside south of Finch and they also cross Finch just west of Morningside. The bridges, and underpasses, are very close to each other. In this photo, the train is on the bridge over Finch. Do people often stand outside the front of a train?

In the above picture, the wall of the underpass on the left is unpainted. The wall on the right, the one that you can’t see has a mural by Mediah.

It is called “Interoh Gale” and Mural Routes was a partner in its development last year.

below: west end

below: east end

below: Construction has begun on the southwest corner of this intersection. The site plan, approved last year, shows a Shell gas station with retail on three sides of it. Leases are available! (you’ll have to google it).

below: There is a pond with a walking trail around it almost directly across Morningside from the above construction site.

below: Two people, after being on the trail around the pond, walk south on Morningside via an underpass that has murals on both sides. This is mural on the east side. It is older than the others but it is in reasonably good shape.

below: A boy on a skate board and a girl doing what? The two green signs say Love and Malvern. I don’t know Scarborough well enough to know if the buildings in the mural represent real ones. Malvern is just to the west.

below: MFRC is Malvern Family Resource Centre and there is a picture on their website of the unveiling of this mural in September 2015.

below: This is the newest mural. It is called “Colour Outside the Lines” and it is the work of Lacey and Layla Art (aka Lacey Jane and Layla Folkmann)

below: Looking north on Morningside from Finch.

On the northwest corner of this intersection, there is a large piece of vacant land. The railway tracks run along the west side of it. I can’t find any information about it online. There isn’t the usual blue and white Notice of Development sign. The website on the billboard shows some of the houses that they have built/remodeled but there is nothing about this particular project.

Once it was fenced in by the looks of it. Not much of the black cloth remains. It looks a bit creepy, as nature undoes man’s work.

But now it’s for sale maybe? LOL. A cliff hanger ending for this post!

from Broadview eastward

Posted: November 4, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, nature, stores
Tags: #whatsvictorupto, Abyssinia Restaurant, alley, autumn, butterfly murals, Caitlin Taguibao, church, Cinnaholic, covid, Felstead Park, food, gewn, graffiti, Greek flag, Greektown, grocery store, houses, lanes, mad dog wrecking crew, mannequin, masks, mr. Toon, painting, religious art, renovation, sidewalk, skull, snaill, stores, street art, trees, unicorns, vines, wig, windows

My walk the other day started with a coffee and a croissant from Broadview Espresso, just north of the Danforth. It was a bit chilly and damp to be eating & drinking outside but that’s the way of the world at the moment, at least in Toronto. At least walking helps keep you warm! Anyhow, just outside the coffee shop was a sidewalk unicorn painted by whatsvictorupto. There was one on each of the 4 corners of the intersection of Broadview and Pretoria. Here are two of them.

whether you’re walking

upper part of a mural on the Danforth of a man walking on a map of the area, around two windows of the building on which it is painted.

Part of a mural by Monica on the Moon

or on a bike

there’s always something to see along the Danforth or behind in its alleys.

There are windows to look in

below: A great assortment of Covid masks

below: Multilingual covid signs on the window of the Greek grocery – where shelves with oregano, tomato paste, pasta, coffee beans, grape juice, eggplant, and candy are all display.

There is more street art and graffiti to find, sometimes at your feet

below: Grounded Together, A painting by Caitlin Taguibao on the sidewalk

and sometimes closer to eye level.

below: Skull and sticker

Posters with social/political messages can also be found.

below: End White supremacy above, and now a poster re stats in Toronto “Black people in Toronto are 20 times more likely to be shot and killed by the police”. Source: from the Human Rights Commission, 2018.

In this case, wake up and see the climate crisis. A faded bee on pink juxtaposed with the black, red, and white butterfly painted on the street box.

below: I get the no peeing part. I suspect that those aren’t eggs and this is a warning? or a threat?

And then there is artwork of a different kind – on the front of St. Irene Chrisovalantoy Greek Orthodox Church built in 1974

stained glass over the front entrance, from the inside

Even on a grey day there are colours to be found, not just in the artwork and stained glass windows, but in the nature around us.

below: Some sunshine in bloom

below: autumn vines with a street art background

below: This tree dominates with its abundance of red leaves. You may have also spotted the murals in the background.

below: These are the murals in the second Butterfly Laneway project (2018). Check this link (metamorphosis in the lane) to see all the murals.

below: One of the murals is carefully put aside while work is done on the back of this house.

below: More renovations. Apparently, people staying home because of covid = a boom in home renovations. Both Home Depot and Lowes reported increases in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, both were more than expected.

below: The unusual roofline and trim on these two houses caught my eye. I also love the fact that they are attached yet have a distinct character of their own. Brick vs stone, little peaked roof over the door vs. green and white metal awning, rectangular window vs bay window. Like identical twins trying to be their own person.

Danforth subway line, Donlands station. Ten years ago, it was decided that Donlands station needed a second exit and that it would be on the corner of Strathmore and Donlands, One building, 17 and 19 Dewhurst would have to be torn down to make way for the new exit. 19 Dewhurst was sold to the city in 2018 and just last year the property at 17 Dewhurst was expropriated.

Across the street at 14 Dewhurst, the old Temple Baptist Church (1925) is being redeveloped as condos, the Sunday School Lofts.

The home remodeling business may be doing well but the restaurants are hurting. As of the end of October, indoor dining in Toronto was prohibited.

below: Abyssinia restaurant. One of the many different ethnic restaurants along the Danforth. Although it is still referred to as Greektown, and the Greek influence is still strong, you can eat a wide range of foods from different cultures. As you move east along the Danforth, there is a strong African (especially Ethiopian) presence.

below: Did you know that gourmet cinnamon rolls was a thing? Did I run across the street to buy one? (Almost!!).

below: The northwest corner of Danforth and Donlands. You can choose between halal chicken and pizza, or dim sum.

Other little graffiti stickers, posters, and paste-ups:

below: Another flying bicycle

below: Mad Dog Wrecking Crew

below: A very sad man

below: Checkerboard sneaker and a big tooth-ed skull by mr. Toon.

below: The paper is torn but it is: “She clasped my face in her bones and kissed silence into my mouth” a quote by Amiri Bakara (I saw one exactly the same in Kensington last summer).

below: With a car parked in its mouth

below: Does the blue haired woman know whats lurking behind her?

Happy November – let’s keep walking and see what we can see along the way…. and in case you need help…!

Ashbridges wallnoize wall

Posted: October 31, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: 3tr_t, @kizmet32, Adrian Hayles, Andre Castro, Andrea Cataro, Andrea Rodriguez, Ashbridge water treatment plant, Avril Wu, Bareket, big_doz261, blazeworks, Bomi, Branislav Dordevic, broguymanz, bubz, Burner, car, cedar eve, Cesar Ar, clean water, clewin, construction, cranes, crocodile, cruz1, Dakota Brant, Danielle Hyde, dat_dude_stu, David Baron, Desire Betty, dudeman, eels, fish, flip, fongikikid, forge fury, Francis Pratt, getso, Ghazaleh, gosiakomorski, gutter_crew_guru, horus, invader.zima, Jieun June Kim, Julia Antohi, Julii McMillan, Katrina Canendo, Keitha Keeshig Tobias, kerz, Kreecha, Lukas Byra, luvs, mistersoy, monicavcao, Monique Aura, mr. Water, mr_tensoe2, Natalie Very B, nibi manitous, Nick Sweetman, octopus, onerzeus, Oriah Scott, Poonam Sharma, poser, Radliff the raccoon, Red Urban Nation, reflections, Ren Lonechild, rise up, Rowell Soller, Sadar, Shawna Howe, siezswift, silestyle161, SKAM, skulls, spud, spudbomb, spyone, still_hungry, tenneshaskyers, text, throw-up, tongbokes, Trevor Goodwin, Trina Moyan., tuffytats, Victoria Daay, wallnoize, water spirit horse, waves, wildstyle, xyz, Yasaman Mehrsa

There is a large construction project underway adjacent to the Ashbridges Bay water treatment facility between Lakeshore Blvd and Eastern Ave. The whole site is surrounded by plywood hoardings. In mid-September, Wallnoize 2020 took over the area and painted water themed murals on a large portion of the hoardings. More than ninety artists participated in this project, all coordinated by Cruz1.

Let’s take a walk around the site, starting by walking east on Eastern Avenue towards Coxwell, south across the park, and then back along Lakeshore. I suggest that you’re sitting down since I tried to cover all the murals and it might take a while!

below: Painted by Danielle Hyde

below: Trina Moyan‘s horse has a mane like many brightly coloured feathers. “‘Water Spirit Horse’ – Nehiyaw Mistatim (Plains Cree horse).“

below: Portrait of a street artist in pink and white by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

below: by Siezswift

below: ‘Nibi Manitous’ by Cedareve. The water spirits are are shapeshifting between human and animal.

below: “You are Loved” in a heart dripping with water in the center of a mural that is the product of the combined efforts of Shawna Howe and Monique Aura. Rainbows and dancing stars.

below: A head in the water by Shina

below: Bird and flowers by Jennifer, her first solo piece

below: This picture of a bald man snorkeling was painted by still_hungry

below: He looks like he’s made of water and he looks like he’s on a skateboard. Painted by 3tr_t

below: Floating away, floating with the fish in a pink bathing suit. Painted by Ghazaleh

below: by Francis Pratt, the poolboy cares apparently

below: Branislav Dordevic‘s mural suggests keeping an eye on the water and ice, warm and cold.

below: Water being poured into three tall clear glasses because we’re all thirsty for clean water, a mural by Julia Antohi

below: A green god with his trident – either Neptune the Roman god of the sea or Poseidon his Greek counterpart, by tongbokes

below: After the green god, is a more somber toned mural with the words, 1752, Mi’kmaq Nation, Take care of the water.

below: A mermaid in a jar by Yasaman Mehrsa. Has she been captured? Is she in a protective bubble? Do mermaids live in glass houses?

below: Surfer dude by broguymanz and a green throw-up on purple by Lukas Byra

below: “Be Like Water” by Adrian Hayles and what could be blue sea serpent, or a blue Chinese dragon, by Avril Wu

below: A mermaid of another sort, with skulls and burning candles, brought to life by Oriah Scott.

below: Bomi (aka bomitosangrantes) painted the lines and white dots that cover this corner

below: It’s not that easy to see, but the grey letters that look like stones in water along a rocky shore were painted by Getso. In the foreground is what looks like a mountain of flowing water (by bareket)

below: This pink striped octopus with stars in its eyes is the work of Jieun June Kim. Did you know that October 8th was World Octopus Day?

below: Like the words say, Kizmet the original Toronto raccoon, Radcliff is his name. I don’t think he’s going after the cranes even though that’s what it looks like. Swimming away from Radcliff is a Sedna, a curving woman by Angela Aulia.

below: A KERZ throw-up to the left of the BUBZ wildstyle with the tam-wearing duck with a bottle of water on top

below: A “Clew” throw-up by Clewin77

below: Three colourful fish swimming in the waves by Poonam Sharma

below: Blackbird flying along with the moon in different phases is the work of Natalie Very B. On the right, the wildstyle text-based mural was painted by spud1

below: A watery wildstyle by Trevor Goodwin (aka Horus)

below: The white eyes are a bit disconcerting – awake? asleep?- but otherwise she’s colourful. Kizmet32 again.

below: Burner on the left and Poser on the right

below: The happy grinning lobster with a fish on each arm is Gentle Giant aka big_doz261. The other mural is by onerzeus

below: A little fish nears the blue head at the end of the CRUZ tag in this Cruz1 mural.

below: by Rusty (aka gutter_crew_guru), If anyone would like to attempt an interpretation, I’d love to hear from you. There’s a lot of detail in the mural that is fascinating yet creepy. Happy Halloween!

below: A collaborative effort between Rowell Soller and @tenneshaskyers

below: A very realistic looking creature in the water painted by Cesar Ar.

below: Mural by Julie Amlin

below: The work of invader.zima

below: Horizontal stripes of fish and water in a basket, or woven onto fabric, by Dakota Brant beside a Octo-Godess-Sea-Witch Lady by Katrina Canendo

below: A vintage scuba diver among the weeds, by silestyle161

below: Two whales swimming in the ocean, an orca on the left by Ren Lonechild of Red Urban Nation. The whale on the right was painted by Camila Wong and she describes it on instagram as “Inspired from the Great Hokusai artwork, expressive waves with colourful brushstrokes and whale represent overcoming challenges in your life“.

below: Three Nick Sweetman green moray eels looking at SADAR‘s (aka blazeworks) mechanical octopus.

below: Two murals made with text. FATHOM on the left and the creative efforts of RUN (Red Urban Nation) Artist Collective

below: Ashbridges water treatment facility with the wall.

below: Looking in the other direction.

below: Calligraphy by Kreecha (right) and a painting by Art Child (left)

below: Two figures nose to nose with their reflections in the moonlight, by Julii McMillan. The nail polish matches the blues of the water.

below: Victoria Day painted the very pink woman with grey hair who is surrounded by lily pads and little green dinosaurs? eels? To the right is Clean Water text by SKAM

below: A lovely orange octopus by Spyone beside a man partially submerged in the water, Rise Up by James (aka mistersoy)

A white boat with many portholes sails past, while on the right, by Andrea Rodriguez (aka Andrea Cataro) a pink dolphin and a grey walrus swimming underwater.

below: Abstract and sort of geometric, in teal and purple, by David Baron

below: A wonderful woman with turquoise dreadlocks in a turquoise sea under a pink octopus wearing a tophat. This mural was painted by Désiré Betty

below: A blue, purple, and white sea monster by Andre Castro looks towards red and purple text by mr_tensoe2

below: By dat_dude_stu

below: Something other-worldly by fongkikid

below: By mr. Water

below: Swirls by Flip surround a slightly greenish woman with hair that merge into the waves. The woman’s face was painted by @gosiakomorski One Love – Don’t let hate win.

below: Luvs crocodile with crocs floating in the water to the right of a small elfin(?) woman with long pink hair by @monicavcao

below: At the end of the painted section of the hoardings is this old green car, “little deuce coupe” surrounded by skulls, a dudeman ‘trademark’ of sorts.

elicser on the Danforth

Posted: October 28, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: artist, black lives matter, Breona Taylor, Destination Dandorth, Donlands, East End Arts, Elicser, Elicser Elliott, flip, Flips, head scarf, laptop, Maysr, mural, Nick Sweetman, people, police, reading, sari, Smokestack Lightning, spyone, SrteetARToronto, swirlgod, the Danforth, writing

One of three murals newly painted on the Danforth is one by Elicser Elliott on the southeast corner of Danforth & Donlands (once a 7-Eleven store). Four other artists were involved in this mural which is part of ‘Destination Danforth’, a pilot project that involved a number of infrastructure improvements such as bike lanes and patios as well as creative elements such as these murals.

On the front and sides of the old 7-Eleven is this mural:

below: The swirls were painted by Flips (Swirlgod and BSC – Blurred Sight Clreared)

On the back of the building along the alley, is a mural in black, white, and shades of grey. “Enemy of Justice is Ignorance Allied with Power”

below: “No justice for Breonna Taylor” plays on the TV while a policeman in 2020 vintage riot gear stands by the door.

below: The year 1955 references the day that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery Alabama, 1 December 1955. It was the year that saw the birth of the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the USA. Police uniforms sure have changed!

This project was also a collaboration with the local BIA’s, StreetARToronto, and East End Arts.

Three other artists contributed to these murals: Spyone, Nick Sweetman, Smokestack Lightning, and Maysr

September downtown

Posted: October 15, 2020 in general Toronto, locations
Tags: banks, buildings, Canada Permanent, construction, covid, Dreaming, graffiti, Jaume Plensa, King Street, masks, people, photoshoot, reflections, Rising, Roy Thomson Hall, Ryerson, sculpture, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, TIFF, uber5000, University Ave., Yonge Street, Zhang Huan

“Social norms has been reset to factory settings”

I’m not sure what the above words mean or imply but I do know that we’ve all been impacted by Covid in one way or another. The city seems to be moving along albeit more slowly than usual. Sections of the city have fared better than others. In fact, it would be very easy to portray segments of Toronto as being in trouble.

Here the road is closed to vehicles for Open Streets (the last Sunday of September).

We are missing events. All those things that I like to take pictures at and blog about – the parades, the street festivals, and even the protests. With more people staying at home, no tourists on the streets, and events going virtual, it’s a much quieter city.

below: This was the last weekend of TIFF and you wouldn’t know anything was happening.

below: In past years, King Street closes for TIFF activities. This year there was none of that – no crowds jostling for a look at a celebrity or two, no booths selling things.

below: These little “patios” have been carved out of some downtown streets to help restaurants stay open during these COVID days. It’s a great idea for the warmer months. Although the city now allows propane heaters on the street, I am not sure how many people are going to want to have dinner outside in December.

below: The Royal Alex Theatre is still set up for “Come From Away”

below: A nearby restaurant still has its St. Patricks Day green on display.

below: Roy Thomson Hall in the foreground with downtown buildings in the background, as seen from Metro Hall.

below: New public art on Adelaide… this is “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa. She’s three storeys high and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is dreaming of the days when we didn’t need masks. How long until someone gives her a mask?

below: Reflections with security guard

below: The steeple of St. Andrews Presbyterian church

below: Mother and daughter cycling together

below: The cows are still in their pasture, unfazed by the changes around them.

below: The next two photos were taken while I was standing in among the tall black towers of the Toronto Dominion Centre. The first view is to the southwest towards the CN Tower.

below: The second view is to the northeast.

below: The Canada Permanent building on Bay street is getting a cleaning.

below: This is one of the Bank of Montreal buildings, also on Bay Street.

below: Window washers

below: Pearl Street, looking east. Old brick buildings in the foreground with their modern counterparts shining in the background.

below: The west end of Pearl Street.

below: I found a person!

below: Looking north up University Avenue

below: The Shangri-La hotel and Momofuko restaurant with it’s weird sculpture “Rising” by Zhang Huan at street level (also University Ave). Masses of “peace pigeons” cover the surface.

below: Looking the other way on University Ave, south past Richmond to Adelaide and beyond.

below: Preservation of a large brick facade on Adelaide.

below: Waiting for the lights to change

below: Under the heading of “somethings never change”, there are always photoshoots in front of Osgoode Hall. Presumably this photo or one similar can be found somewhere on instagram?

below: Arranging the veil.

below: With a the pigeon by the Eaton Centre.

below: Mr. Ryerson keeps changing colour. Apparently he was more red not that long ago. Rather than remove the red paint, he was “cleaned up” by painting him this shade of green. He probably doesn’t realize it but he’s become a controversial figure. He may have been one of the first to establish public schools but he also played a role in the creation of residential schools for the indigenous population. Because of the latter, there has been some people advocating for the removal of this statue.

statue of Egerton Ryerson at Ryerson University on Gould Street, painted green, with some red paint graffiti as well as red hands

This statue was unveiled in 1889. It stands in front of an ivy covered building that started its life as Toronto’s first teacher’s college (1847).

below: Queen Street West

below: This yellow birdie, at least in sticker form, may be on the verge of extinction. An Uber5000 creation that can also be found on several of his murals around the city.

As I write this, the number of Covid cases in Toronto (and all of Ontario) have gone back up. Although we were hopeful that we were wrong, was there ever any question that things would get worse before they got better? Are we more complacent? Maybe. But let’s hope that we are also wiser this time around.

resting side by side

Posted: October 4, 2020 in locations, people
Tags: cemtery, Chinese, coyote, decorations, flowers, Greek, monuments, names, Pinehills cemetery, Scarborough, tombstones, trees

I have been looking for places to find autumn colours and one idea I had last week was to visit Pinehills cemetery in Scarborough. I didn’t find many colourful leaves but I did find a few things. The most noticeable was the mix of names on the stones – Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and more, all mixed in together. In Toronto we often live side by side and it seems that we are also buried side by side – as in the three people below: Baffa, Rajamohan, and Gutierrez.

below: Black stones with crosses on the top seem to be the prefered headstone for those in the Greek community who are buried here. Sometimes the name is in English, and sometimes in Greek.

below: Cemeteries are fascinating in that they give us a glimpses into cultures and traditions. The decorating of grave sites with flowers and figurines adds a bit of joy to an otherwise somber setting. You know that these people are remembered and their lives celebrated.

below: A large shamrock. Beneath it, a Miss Kitty doll in purple and a pair of boxing gloves with the Irish flag. Doesn’t it make you wonder why? Was Frank Murphy a boxer? What will my descendants leave by my grave?

below: I assume that the red tape covers an inscription that is already on the headstone for the spouse of the departed? Perhaps a name and birthdate? Written vertically in Mandarin…. and I wish that I could read some of them. Is there something written about the deceased? Is there an epitaph? I’ll have to be content to look at the lotus flower, bamboo, and dragons that decorate the stones.

below: As I was leaving, this coyote came sauntering across the grass. It wasn’t the least bit afraid of me (in my car).

history in pieces of stone

Posted: October 1, 2020 in history, locations, nature, old buildings
Tags: autumn, berries, cliff, colours, columns, crab apple, crabapple, Dr. Healey Willan, flowers, garden, Guild Inn, history, Jacobine Jones, Lake Ontario, leaves, marble, monuments, mountain ash, Musidora, park, peacock, people, plants, sculpture, Sir Ernest MacMillan, statue, stone, Thomas Bowie

Another path through the woods. This time there was a hint of yellow in the leaves because it was late September and even in 2020, some things are the same as ever.

The path led me uphill to the newly renovated Guild Inn. It’s been five years since I have wandered around their gardens and surrounding park. In that time, the building has been renovated and expanded. I didn’t take very many pictures the other day because I knew that I had a lot from my previous visit. I was going to link to the blog post from that time but I discovered that I never actually got around to posting anything! So, I have found the old photos and have included some of them here.

below: For instance, this is the front of the inn in July 2015 with its windows covered.

below: And the back, five years ago.

below: Five years later – the back of the Guild Inn with the path leading to the gardens.

below: A statue of Saint Francis Assisi with a wolf, carved by Thomas Bowie (b.1905)

below: A stone wall with statues and carvings provides a backdrop for a garden full of black-eyed susans. Because of the efforts of a few people to salvage some of Toronto’s architectural and creative history, the gardens of the Guild Inn have become the final resting place of a number of pieces of older buildings that have been demolished to make way for modern skyscrapers.

below: Stone wall with features from the Bank of Nova Scotia building (1903)

below: The bird nest is long gone. … but it would have been a nice quiet spot to raise a family.

below: From the Royal Conservatory of Music. There are two bas-relief bronzes of men associated with the Royal Conservatory. On the right is Sir Ernest MacMillan (1893-1973), an organist, composer, and conductor who was knighted in 1935 by King George V. On the left is Dr. Healey Willan (1880-1968) another organist and composer who was associated with the Toronto Conservatory for 30 years (1920-1950).

below: Looking through one stone arch to another, the square arch from the Imperial Bank of Canada Building (1928) and underneath sits Musidora. Many artists have lent their interpretations of this woman (in sculpture and paint), the subject of a poem titled “Summer” by Scottish poet James Thomson written in 1727. The beautiful Musidora strips naked to cool down by bathing in the stream, not knowing that she is being watched by Damon. Damon is torn between watching and turning away but chooses the latter.

In 1887, a Bank of Montreal building was built at the northwest corner of King and Bay; a site now occupied by First Canadian Place. The building featured a series of sculptures representing the Canadian provinces that were created by a number of artists. When the building was demolished in 1968, these panels were brought to the Guild Inn. Not all of them are on view today possibly because some were not in good shape (held together with metal straps). Maybe they are being fixed up?

below: This is the Alberta panel in 2015; the artist was Jacobine Jones (1897-1976)

below: It has since been cleaned up.

below: One of two stone angel panels from the North American Life Assurance Company Building (1932).

below: The brick and stone entranceway from the Granite Club (1926)

below: This cabin was named for William Osterhout, a United Empire Loyalist who in 1805 was given the first Crown land grant from King George III as reward for his service with the Butler’s Rangers. Although Osterhoust briefly owned the property, he never settled in Scarborough Township. The structure was more likely built around 1850 to 1860…. that may be a contentious “fact” as some believe that it is at least 50 years older than that.