Archive for the ‘locations’ Category

surrounded by the colours of Kensington

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, people
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On a warm sunny Saturday in April.
People out and about in Kensington enjoying the day.

Two women are posing in front of a mural in a Kensington lane while a man takes a picture and another man watches.

In a dead end Kensington lane with a car parked at the end of the lane. There is street art on both sides of the alley. One man is leaning against the wall on one side, taking a photo of a man who is leaning against the other wall.

Reflections of people walking on the sidewalk, reflected in the side windows of a red vehicle.

A couple is posing for engagement photos. She is sitting on the hood of a red and white Mini Cooper. He is leaning against the front of the car. The car has big eyelashes over the front headlights. The car is parked on a street in Kensington.

A couple is sitting on the sidealk outside a row of boarded up houses. The houses are brick and are painted in bright yellow, orange and red.

A couple is sitting by a window inside a restaurant. The exterior wall of the building is covered in a mural of brightly coloured little monsters. A woman is standing outside by the window as she checks her phone.

Niagara Street peeps

Posted: April 8, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Street art and murals
close to the intersection of Niagara Street and Graffiti Alley.

below:  A mural on the side of a house on Niagara Street.
Some of the paint is starting to peel but otherwise it is in good shape.

The side of a brick house is covered with a mural showing a woman's upper body and she has yellow and green hair. Also, there is a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her. There are lots of flowers including red roses and white lilies in the picture. The mural is signed by Robert (Reber?) Rian Cruz.

Signature at the top right seems to be Robert Rian Cruz.  Other names are written on the bottom left: doz, nose, cora, anto, wizwon, flur, and markis

Mural painting of a large woman's face. She has yellow and green hair. There are white and pink lilies in the picture too.

Part of a street art painting of a woman on a bike with a Toronto scene behind her including the CN Tower and a TTC subway car below her.

below: Make It by Aaron Li-Hill
In Graffiti Alley but visible from Queen St. West at Niagara.

mural of a fencer with sword drawn and ready. The words are "Make it". It is slightly abstracted and painted to look like there is motion in the picture.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal. Also in the picture is a heatpaste black and white picture of a woman riding a bicycle away from the viewer. She is wearing polka dot shorts. Someone has also painted yellow and black bee like creatures with faces (black masks) and brown hats.

Wheatpaste and paper graffiti on a white concrete block wall. A pair of yip yaps beside a person with an owl head and one wing instead of an arm. The second arm is normal.

Square wheatpaste graffiti of a man on a bicycle on a city street. Two large pineapples have been painted on the wall too, one above the bicycle man and one to the right. The pineapples are bright colours, one is orange and yellow and the other is blue and purple.

Close up of picture of woman riding away on a bicycle. An I love Toronto CN TOwer personification sticker is also in the picture

Cyril Lane

Posted: April 7, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Graffiti and street art murals seen in Cyril Lane recently.

large white skull with yellow teeth, and mouth partially open painted on a wall by a metal exterior staircase. The skull is talking black symbols all jumbled up in a blue speech bubble. There is a bike parked in front of the stairs. Perhaps the skull is about to eat the bike?

street art in a lane, view looking down the lane.

Mural of cartoon-like people

below: Rear entrance to Kaisar Guesthouse and Spic & Span Laundry

Graffiti and mural on the back of a coin laundry, spic and span laundry, and back entrance to Kaisar Guesthouse. Yellow and red tag with a picture of a guy wearing a red and white striped shirt.

below: Annie doesn’t look very pleased to be behind bars!

A white cat head, wearing a crown. Sad face on the cat. Large letters spelling "annie" written beside the cat. She is behind a locked metal bar gate.

below:  Lee Matasi, aka Avers, was an artist and skateboarder from Vancouver.
In 2005, just before his 24th birthday, he was murdered in downtown Vancouver.

Picture of an orange pop can being crushed by a white hand. There are drops of red liquid (blood?) coming out of the straw that is in the top of the can. The words "Lee Avers Matasi" are written in block letters above the picture.
pink and pale orange graffiti tag painted on a brick wall in a Toronto alley

another Kensington alley

Posted: March 30, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Borden Street becomes an alley south of College Street.  It runs along the east side of Kensington Community School, then makes a turn and runs part way along the south side of the school.  All of the garage doors have been painted with pictures and murals.

below:  The most northerly garage door has a sign that indicates that the murals were a gift to the children of Kensington Community School from the Kensington Market Action Committee.  They were painted by a number of different artists.

A large green and black beetle (or a similar insect) painted on a garage door along with words

longer view of part of an alley showing the street art covered garage doors.

Street art piece of a tag in the middle and a face on either top corner.

Graffiti on a garage door. A face is in the top right corner and she is looking down towards the ground. Stylized.

Graffiti painting of a hand holding a can of spray paint.

Garage door with a very large round fat yellow mother hen with two little chicks following behind her.

Graffiti painting on a garage door of the words "Hi Def" in rounded fat letters with colours in pinks greens and black squares.

A mural on a garage door, a wispy picture of a man, an owl and a pair of eyes

close up of a man

north end of an alley with garage doors on the right, white chain link fence on the left. The garage doors are covered with street art and graffiti.

North end of the alley, looking towards College Street.

 

below:  Hey and Hello, by J. Stanton

 A mural on a garage door, all yellow and black, stylized figures a fish, a bone, a wedge of cheese with a face, two cherries made into little figures with eyes, mouth and legs, a large sandwich with a face on the bun as well as arms and legs, also a lemon with eyes, arms and legs. personified food,,

below: A painting by lexr in 2012, Hey Markusiel.
The sign on the gate refers to the Yinka Dene Alliance, a coalition of six First Nations groups from northern British Columbia who organized to stop the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline being built through their territory.

Wooden garage door with a painting of a boy with a baseball cap on his head and a breathing mask around his neck and nose.

below: Street art piece by Cam Novak

Purple and blue abstract street art on a garage door.

below: Max and the Wild Things by ACS Murals (Annex Creative Services Murals)

Mural on a garage door of Max and the Wild Things, characters from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" . They are swinging from tree branches.

Close up of a Mural on a garage door of Max and the Wild Things, characters from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" . Two of the wild things are are swinging from tree branches.

below: Another ACS mural

mural on a garage door in an alley of a marine scene. A large grey and white shark is swimming along with a yellow and black angel fish. There is a pink starfish and some coral as well.

Graffiti tag on a garage door in an alley, green tag on blue and orange background. The tag, or word, says "sighto" or something like that.

Blue graffiti tag on pale orange background on a laneway garage door. The word 'Suniti' is written in small letters in the top left corner.

below: The next four pictures are from a mural that covers a couple of garages.  From left to right.

colourful graffiti of two bulls

multicoloured street art on a garage door of a boy reaching forward, his hand is foreshortened and is clasest to the viewer.

street art painting on a garage door in a laneway, a woman with open mouth under a row of eyes

colourful graffiti painting of a man's face surrounded by a lot of abstract shapes

The Place

Posted: March 28, 2015 in locations, old buildings
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The Place, believe it or not, is here,
where Howard Park Ave and Lynd Ave meet Dundas West.

The new next to the old… the old square top, two storey brick stores built in rows that are still common in Toronto even though many are being replaced.

 

A row of two storey brick stores on Dundas West. A convenience store, a laundromat, a cafe, and a boarded up store. On the exterior walls of the convenience store are the words "Believe it or not, this is the place"

 

Sanko wall

Posted: March 20, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Mural on the wall of the Sanko Trading Company
(a Japanese Canadian business, since 1968),
corner of Claremont and Queen St. West,

Looking across a city intersection to a store on the corner that has a large mural painted on the side of it. Many Japanese motifs, many colours too.
There are many Japanese motifs in the mural including sushi.

sushi street art, part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

A robot is at the door.

Street art, part of Japanese-Canadian mural, of a robot looking down at the door.

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. left part of the mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. Arched bridge over a stream with a fish jumping out of the water, Japanese maple tree beside the water, street art, large mural

part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs. A girls face. Her hair is pink and blue and she has big green eyes.

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looking up the side of a two storey building to the underside of the overhang above. part of a mural on the side of a store on a corner lot that has a number of Japanese motifs.

Painted by Ken Galloway, Timothy Fukakusa, Mitsuo Kimura, Takashi Iwasaki, Darcy Obokata, and Shogo Okada in the winter of 2013-2014

More on the Japantown Mural

animals and birdo birds in Roncey

Posted: March 18, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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On Queen St. West, just before it meets Roncesvalles Ave., is the Corona Restaurant and Nightclub.  Along the wall of this building are a number of pieces of street art.   Only a small section is visible from the street.

Two pieces of street art along the upper floor of a brick building. In front, closest to the street is a young woman's head. The other is a colourful stylized bird by the street artist Birdo. The words "Birdo Wales" are written in white letter between the two pieces. The Corona Restaurant with a yellow awning is on the right and James Dys Antiques and Collectibles is on the left. is on the left.

Close up of Two pieces of street art along the upper floor of a brick building. In front, closest to the street is a young woman's head. The other is a colourful stylized bird by the street artist Birdo. The words "Birdo Wales" are written in white letter between the two pieces.

If you follow the alley that runs behind Queen St., you will find more street art alongside the same building.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural,
The back part is a mural entitled ‘Destination Mammal Cabana’ by Birdo, Spudbomb and SKE1.  It was painted in 2012.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, middle part, large baboon wearing a party hat, a giraffe, a crazy looking zebra and a green turtle, street art on a wall.

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, purple ostrich, screaming baboon and a giraffe,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, hairy creature with mouth wide open and wearing suglasses and a rhino by a beach umbrella, street art, graffiti,

Destination Mammals Cabana mural, upright yellow tiger, antelope wearing yellow and green stripe beach wear and some other hairy creature with sunglasses on.

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On the north wall of the same building…..

metal stairs to a small landing outside a door on the second storey of a concrete brick building. The walls of the bottom floor are covered with graffiti. Immediately behind the stairs is a large blue letter Z.

If you look closely at the above picture, on the right hand side metal pole supporting the landing, is a sticker.  Below, that sticker up close.

A small yellow bird on a small sticker. It is an Uber 5000 bird, wearing glasses and holding a red book. He's on a metal pole.
three murals on alley walls

mural by birdo, red background, a man's head and an creature with an animal face and a body that looks like a blue checked sweater

a mural by birdo, a small black and grey bird that is holding a geometric shape in blue and white diamond shaped sections.

Looking west along the alley towards Roncesvalles Ave.

looking west along an alley in late winter. Street art on the walls on the left, garage doors on the right. Buildings on Roncesvalles can be seen at the end of the alley which is about a block long.

but if you walk slightly west, away from Roncesvalles, you will encounter two more pieces by Birdo.  The ‘Dreamer’ is on the same building as the Destination Mammal Cabana that is pictured above.

A street art piece painted in a small stairwell, down from alley level. The door way is the head of a woman and her arms extend over part of the stairwell walls. She is dressed in red and blue including a birdo hat.

A birdo mural on a dirty light grey wall of a stylized bird and the word "dreamer" written in large black letters.

on the corners of Yonge and Sheppard

Posted: March 17, 2015 in history, locations
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In the early 1900’s brothers George and William Dempsey bought a store on the northwest corner of Yonge and Shepard from the Sheppard family.  It became known as Dempsey Brothers.

 below: The store in the 1960s

An old black and white photo of Dempseys store which was on the NW corner of Yonge & Sheppard. It was a large 2 storey brick building with a porch across the front of the building. You can see Yonge St. in this photo and some of the old cars that were stopped at the intersection.

In 1989 the property was sold to developers but the store remained on that corner until 1996.  At that time it was moved a few blocks north to a site on Beecroft Ave; the site is now known as Dempsey Park.  The building was renovated and became the home of the North York Archives, an arrangement that didn’t last long.  In 1998 Mike Harris and the provincial Conservative government of the day amalgamated the old city boroughs into one City of Toronto.  North York ceased to exist and their archives merged with those of the new city.  Instead, the old Demspey Brothers store is home to Beecroft Learning Centre.

old Dempsey store, restored and now in a park setting. Two storey brick house with some yellow brick trim, porch that wraps around the front of the building. Surrounded by trees, winter time so no leaves and there is snow on the ground.

The restored Dempsey Brothers store, now at 250 Beecroft Avenue.

 

Where Dempsey’s once stood, there is now this….

Northwest corner of Yonge and Sheppard in March of 2015, low rise building angled across the corner with McDonalds and 7 11 stores. Tall apartment building behind. The intersection is of two 6 lane roads so it is big and wide.

… a 7 Eleven and a McDonalds. I doubt that anyone thinks “nice corner” when they look at it.

 

below: Looking southeast from the front of Dempsey Brothers store many years ago.

An old black and white photo from 1955 showing the intersection of Yonge and Sheppard. Not much development, an old car is waiting at a street light.

The billboard is an ad for Simpsons, a department store that is long gone.

 

For a long time, a grocery store stood where the billboard is in the above photo.  But now that corner is changing again.

 

below:  An attempt to replicate the location and angle of the above photo

Looking diagonally across an intersection towards two tall buildings with a midsize building with a curved front in between them.
below:  Looking south across Sheppard Ave. East at the north side new Hullmark Centre including the new subway entrance. 

looking at glass buildings where there is a lot of reflections. An entrance to Sheppard subway station is part of the building.

below:  Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Sheppard Avenue.
The new Whole Foods store is the first building on the right.

view looking north on Yonge St. from just south of Sheppard Ave.
The southwest corner is also undergoing major changes.

below: The greenish coloured Emerald development is almost complete.  And yes, the tops of the buildings are meant to curve that way!

Two tall condos under construction beside a tall bluish colour commercial building. The condos are a greenish colour and they are curve outwards a bit at the top.

Regent Park hoardings

Posted: March 13, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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Located at the northwest corner of Regent Park Blvd and St. David St.,
(which is south of Dundas East and east of Sackville)
painted on the wood hoardings around a construction site.

 This wall was painted as part of The Patch Project
PATCH = “Public Art Through Construction Hoarding”

Unfortunately, one photo that is missing is one of the section of the wall that is a large section that says “Conquer Adversity with Diversity”, the title of this work.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Scenes of people and faces, kids on bikes, activities. The word Welcome is written in red cursive. Two apartment buildings are in thebackground.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. The words Regent Park are written in large blue & purple cursive writing. An entrance to the construction site is between the two words.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A woman's head and three men's faces in profile. They are all under the same pink head covering.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. A large woman in head scarf with her eyes closed, people on bikes riding on a path

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site.Young man in blue baseball cap

graffiti people. One of whom has there hands over their mouth.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Six stylized hands in a row, on blue background. Highrise apartment building is in the background.

Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Large blue boy's face with a large bird taking flight beside him

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Street art of six stylized hands on a blue background.
Colourful graffiti on hoardings around a construction site. Two men punching, one is punching while the other stands beside him with fists clenched

Street art painting of two guys on a wall around a construction site. There are words in the picture. The first word ends with e n c h I think. The other words are Generation Rising Still

More information on The Patch Project

watching it come down

Posted: March 9, 2015 in history, locations
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Along with many other people, I have been watching the demolition on the southeast corner of Dundas & Sumach streets, part of the Regent Park redevelopment.  This 14 storey apartment building was designed by Peter Dickinson; it was built in the late 1950s.

 

January 31st, 2015

I first saw this building being demolished on a grey day at the end of January.
I’m not sure when the demolition actually started.

A large 14 storey brick clad apartment building in the initial stages of being demolished.

Looking north up Sumach Street.

 

View of the interior of some of the apartments that were exposed when the exterior brick was removed. Some of the rooms are painted in bright colours, purples, pinks and greens.

The colours of past lives.

 

 3 February

A workman dressed in orange coveralls works on the street in front of a building being demolished

It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.

 

Part of a 14 stprey apartment building that is being demolished. The exterior walls have been removed and some of the interior walls are buckling.

In the midst of demolition.

 

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10 February

Two very large cranes are being used to demolish a large apartment building on the corner of Dundas and Sumach streets. Some men in bright yellow vests are directing traffic as some of the debris is falling towards Sumach street.

Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.

 

A purple and yellow sign against a metal fence that says Regent Park Revitalization Phase 3 has started. Demolition of an apartment in the background.

A view from the south.

 

Hydraulic crane and truck and other machinery used in the demolition of the building.

Looking west from River Street.

 

Vacant lot in the forground with demolition of a building in the middle. In the background are the new buildings that have been built in that area

Another view from River Street.

 

12 February

Two large cranes are demolishing an apartment building.

 

17 February

A lot of rubble, concrete, metal and brick, from the demolition of a building lies in front of the partially demolished building.

Looking into the remains of a partially demolished building. The pipes that used to run between the walls vertically are now exposed.

 

23 February

Machinery is being used to sift through the debris and rubble from a building demolition

27 February

A man is taking a picture of a demolition in progress of an apartment building.

There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.

 

As part of the upper stories of an apartment are brought down, a cloud of dust forms as the debris hits the ground.

dust storm in the sunlight

 

28 February

vacant lot, truck, and remains of a building being demolished

… after 5 weeks, 6 March

A large hole in the ground where a building once stood, vacant land is around it. A street of houses in the distance, machinery to one side.

Just another hole in the ground.

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