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another bridge is open – Port Lands again

Posted: June 17, 2024 in construction, locations, public art, transportation, waterfront
Tags: beach, bridges, Cherry Street, Commissioners Street, construction, Leslie Lookout Park, Munition Street, parks, photography, Port Lands, Port of Toronto, redevelopment, Ship Channel, Toronto Harbour, Toronto skyline, Vid Ingelevics, waterfront

Welcome back! Bienvenuti! A colourful sign to welcome you and visitors to Toronto. I’m not sure how many visitors get to see this banner!

The Port of Toronto has almost become an obscure corner of the city. It’s certainly not where most tourists arrive in the city! Nor is it a place where residents venture.

below: Once there was a ferry between Toronto and Rochester that docked here but it didn’t last long. Now there are a few cruise ships that stop here. The building would be almost deserted if Netflix hadn’t taken over some of the space.

below: The fragments of railway track are reminders of the industrial past.

below: There are bits of track scattered all over the Port Lands

below: The Port is much quieter but there is still activity. These long metal bars that are neatly stacked on shore were probably recently offloaded.

below: Boats in the Ship Channel. The redevelopment plan for the Port Lands has always included the retention of the Ship Channel. The sand and salt for Toronto’s roads is delivered here.

below: At the east end of the Ship Channel, a new park is being developed – Leslie Lookout Park. The concrete cylindrical structure is a lookout tower so there will be views over a man-made beach (that appears white in the photo). The beach is larger in real life than it looks like in the photo.

below: Can you see the little sliver of blue water? That is the Ship Channel.

below: Looking south on Munitions Street

below: Toronto Firehall, Station 30, built in 1928 still stands. It is a heritage building and if the plans are followed, it will be repurposed.

below: The redevelopment of the Port Lands has involved a lot of infrastructure changes. Roads have been changed, rivers have been diverted, bike lanes and better sidewalks have been created. At times it has been confusing to navigate through.

below: The new Commissioners Street bridge is in, and there is water running under it. There is now a river on land that was once industrial. On the north side of the bridge there is a bike lane and a wide sidewalk.

below: The bridge offers new vistas of the city. Many new trees have been planted.

below: Lakeshore Blvd crosses the Don River on a very low bridge (like before) while the ramps between the Gardiner and the DVP curve above it.

below: Just be careful because there is no sidewalk on the south side (why not?? for the sake of saving money on 4 extra feet??)

below: The same sleek curvy design seen in the previous bridges is repeated here.

below: Another series of photographs of the work being done here, by Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker

below: One photograph is mounted on the roll-up door of one of the ESSROC cement plant silos

below: Like the previous series of images, most of the photographs are displayed down the center of what remains of Villiers Street, on top of the remains of the old railway line.

below: One more photograph on what remains of Villiers Street – and in the background, what remains of the eastern end of the Gardiner Expressway.

below: Southeast corner of Villiers and Cherry

below: One original bridge remains, the one with the long name – Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge.

below: The first of the new bridges that was actually operational is the south Cherry Street bridge, the yellow one.

below: The second new bridge on Cherry Street is now in use. For months we’ve been able to take pictures of the side of it as we stood on the old Cherry Street bridge. (see The New Cherry Street Bridge from Nov 2020). Maybe one day in the future there will be a streetcar on the east part of the bridge. As you can see, the rain came and we bailed. Better pictures of the bridge will have to wait for a future post!

below: The old Cherry Street bridge is gone and the road has been rerouted. The old jog in Cherry at Lakeshore is gone.

below: Misdirection.

below: Trying to see the new bridge from the site of the old bridge but there seems to be a construction site in the way.

below: Continuing north on the now straight Cherry Street. Any ideas what that white structure is ahead? It runs parallel to the railway line at track level and crosses Cherry Street just south of the railway underpass.

We now exit the Port Lands and finish today’s explorations…. with the exception of one quick note…. I noticed that the old Canary Diner on Cherry is now painted a reddish orange colour. It looks like it is being renovated. A story for another day!

of king and queen and in between

Posted: June 11, 2024 in construction, galleries, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, public art, windows and walls
Tags: Alex Bacon, Churchill statue, city hall, concrete, development, Dogman, Eaton Centre, facades, Gillie and Marc, Moses Znaimer Way, mural, Myla Borden, Nadya Kwandibens, photography, quilts, Rabbitwoman, Red Chair Sessions, redevelopment, reflections, sharks, signs, Susan Lawrence, Textile Museum, textiles

Also could be called, “Of bricks and stones and a lot of glass.”

I was recently telling a relative that one of the best ways to explore Toronto, especially downtown, is just to get off at a subway station or streetcar stop and start walking. There is always something to see. This walk is the result of taking my own advice and just getting off at Queen station and seeing where my feet took me. First stop was the Eaton Centre where Michael Snow’s birds still fly. “Flightstop”.

below: Interior, Eaton Centre where all the benches have been removed. Sadistic? Gone are the days when you could take pictures of the men sitting outside Victorias Secret.

below: As I walk around the city, I see more and more of this – the glass wall. This view is south on James Street as I walk between the Eaton Centre and Old City Hall.

below: Approaching City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square from the east you now encounter a conundrum. Did people hit their heads on the low ramps? Or were people camping out here? A poor, and I hope temporary, solution.

below: A few images from “The Red Chair Sessions”, photography by Nadya Kwandibens A series of 9 large photos is on display in the ground floor windows of City Hall (viewed from outside). On the right, Sage Paul, designer and artist, originally from English River; on the left, Mushkegowuk Iskwew from Peetabeck (Fort Albany Ontario).

below: Portrait of Ogimaa Kwe Bnes (aka Chief Lady Bird, her Spirit name) from Mnjikaning and Aura from Onyota’a:ka, posing under a mural that the two of them painted at Underpass Park.

below: The backside of Sir Winston Churchill as he walks away from City Hall – something to think about? The new court house is in the background.

below: New court house from the corner of Chestnut and Armoury.

below: Reflections in the glass of the new court house

below: Across Chestnut from the court house is an old hotel that is now part of U of T. Its older brick and concrete facade contrasts with the glass and steel of the newer building.

below: More concrete, the back of City Hall (completed 1965). This is not a view that is typically shown but I find it fascinating that there are no windows at all on the outer sides. As it turns out the back walls are made from 18 inches of reinforced concrete that allow for cantilevered floors which in turn make it possible to have an inner structure with few structural elements.

below: Also on Centre Ave is the Textile Museum. At the moment one of their exhibits is about quilts, “The Secret Codes: African Nova Scotian Quilts. Some of the quilts are older ones like this pair by Susan Lawrence (1931-2008) which is a variation of “square in square” pattern.

below: Other quilts are more contemporary such as these three by Myla Borden from New Glasgow NS

I first read about these quilts on a blog, junkboattravels.blogspot.com She has a more thorough description of the exhibit along with some pictures. I will add a few more of my photos at the bottom of this post, but if you are interested in seeing others, I recommend checking out the link above (and then scroll down a bit).

below: Looking north on Centre Ave to Dundas and beyond. The facade of the old brick building on the northwest corner is being saved. It was built in 1928 as an extension to McLean Hunter which was on University Ave. This Beaux-Arts style building has five storeys of offices and four storeys for a printing plant.

below: A closer look at the facade.

below: Also Centre and Dundas, but the eastside of Centre, a colourful spot… and a trendy way to liven the street appeal of a parking garage.

below: “The world is a little bitter. I want to give you a little sweet.” written on the inside. Tiles in a marvelous tessellation by the front door.

below: Reflections in the glass at the northwest corner of University and Dundas.

below: Crossing University Ave. while looking west on Dundas. There’s a curvy new building underway.

below: The old court house, or Toronto Courthouse, which was built in 1966 is on University Ave just north of Osgoode Hall. It is a 20th Century Modern building clad in Queenston limestone, a stone that you can also see on many other Toronto civic buildings such as the ROM and the . It is quarried in Queenston, near Niagara Falls, and at one point was the largest quarry operation in Ontario. You’d easily mistake it for concrete.

below: Cannons and yellow umbrellas

below: Behind the yellow umbrellas

below: A narrow passageway between buildings.

below: Old City Hall clock tower

below: The CN Tower sneaks into the photo. At Osgoode, Metrolinx has taken over part of University Avenue for construction of the Ontario Line across Queen Street.

below: Even Campbell House is behind scaffolding.

below: Just another Toronto street corner.

below: Another facade saved. This one is at Queen and Simcoe where a bank once stood.

below: The wide open mouth of the green monster reaches upward as it tries to grasp the red balcony between its jaws.

below: This is the bank in question, The Canadian Bank of Commerce, built in 1930 just after the beginning of the Depression. The photo was taken in 1931. Take a close look at the other buildings in the picture, the stores to the right. The structure with the Coleman Oil Burners billboard is gone but take a look at the next couple photos which are of this stretch of Queen West today.

below: Queen West struggles to maintain its character. The store in the middle is definitely in sad shape. It looks like it would collapse if the others weren’t there to support it.

below: There’s a little white “ceremonial” street sign, just below the blue and white Queen St. West sign, that let’s you know that this stretch of road was also named Moses Znaimer Way. Znaimer had a long career in the entertainment industry in Toronto including co-founding CITY-TV, MuchMusic, and more. In Toronto, a ceremonial street name is secondary to the legal name. I am not sure how many there are in the city and I haven’t gone down that rabbit hole to find out. Interesting idea though.

below: Queen and McCaul, looking west

below: Gelber Brothers ghost sign on Richmond Street.

below: The CN Tower… again! and Hooters (do they still exist?)

below: Murals in a parking lot. Both were painted by Alex Bacon.

below: Blue marine life, sharks circling. An ominous hook. This one of many Pangea Seed Foundation sponsored murals in the city. Some of the others appear in a much earlier blog post, “love letters in paint” (2016). Pangea Seed’s original mission was to use science, art and creativity to “inspire positive change around pressing ocean environmental issues”. This campaign has now branched out to increase awareness of the issues involving out fresh water lakes and rivers as well.

below: Restaurants on John Street.

below: A vacant building longing to be another restaurant. In the meantime it’s been painted black… and as I type those words I am reminded of the Rolling Stones song, “Paint it Black”. The song is a bit depressing and negative but then again, so is a blackened building.

older three storey building with mansour roof and upper gable windows, painted black, vacant, ad posters on it

The last stanza is “I wanna see it painted Painted black
Black as night
Black as coal
I wanna see the sun Blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted,
painted Painted black, yeah

below: “We See You” shout out to the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals that worked throughout Covid. “Thank you”. Painted by Elicser Elliott.

below: Variety on Adelaide. Bricks and stone and a lot of glass.

below: Looking east along Adelaide (a one way street with bike lanes and newly rebuilt streetcar tracks).

below: Looking down the middle of the glass and metal sculpture in Grasett Park. If you were to step back a bit, the sculpture takes on the shape of sails of a ship.

below: Looking through the netting/glass, same sculpture as above. The park is named after Dr. George Robert Grasett, a medical doctor (1814-1847). The park stands on the site of the Emigrant Hospital built in 1847 to treat “ship fever” (typhoid) and other sicknesses in the Irish immigrants who started arriving in greater numbers that year. Many died on the journey and many more were sick when they arrived. Dr. Grasett was appointed as Medical Superintendent of the hospital but he died of typhoid fever about a month afterwards. His name, as well as the names of the other doctors, nurses, and orderlies, (and one priest) are engraved on the benches in the park.

below: Designs in the pavement – etched into the granite is an 1842 map of Toronto.

below: Widmer Street, where a row of old houses has been preserved, but are dwarfed by the developments around them.

below: King Street, looking east from John Street.

below: It’s always there! The CN Tower again.

below: Southeast corner of King and John. Another glass wall.

below: Another row of preserved brick facades. This time on King West.

below: Rising above the Royal Alex Theatre

below: This is “The Poet, The Fever Hospital” (1992) by Bernie Miller in David Pecaut Square

below: Nearby is a new sculpture by Gillie and Marc and it has a very long title: “He was on a Wild Ride to a Safer Place with Rabbitwoman and a Dogman” (not the Dogman from the childrens books!). There is an empty seat at the back of the bike and it’s waiting for you to join them on their wild ride!

This post has grown. It’s longer than I had envisioned it when I started putting ideas together a few days ago. I am not sure whether to thank you or to congratulate you for getting this far! Maybe both. Anyhow, I hope that you’ve seen a few new things, or interesting bits, as you’ve scrolled through this post. Perhaps the pictures have brought back some memories? In the meantime…..

As promised earlier, more quilts to end the post.

quilt in a museum with a poem on it as well as black and white photos

“Sing poets of this beauty
Sing choirs of this inviolate pride
Make these moments precious to history
Let these scenes live in every eye”

a bridge to nowhere

Posted: June 2, 2024 in construction, locations, nature
Tags: Bermondsey, bridges, DOn River, East Don Trail, electricity, flowers, paths, railway tracks, the Meadoway, transmission towers

Another gorgeous May morning, another coffee shop. This time it was Circles and Squares Bakery on Bartley Drive where the butter tarts are amazing (well, what isn’t amazing there?).

Most of you are now asking, “Where is Bartley Drive?” Answer – close to the Bermondsey Transfer Station as pictured below. That’s where the garbage trucks go. It is also where you can drop off your hazardous waste or renovation waste, things that aren’t allowed in the trash you leave at the front of your house (or throw down the chute in your building). That large grey building is for yard waste. And yes, there is a lingering odor.

It is also close to the Bermondsey Hydro One Transmission Station.

below: Warning sign. “Property and copper marked for police identification.”

below: The transmission station is on the Hydro Corridor that cuts a swath through Toronto. There is a plan to turn most of it into “The Meadoway”, a bike and walking path that runs through a restored meadow. The paths are more developed in Scarborough, see blog post “the Meadoway” from November 2021.

At the moment this section of meadow has limited access. There is a dirt road that runs through the Hydro Corridor, west towards the Don River.

… but the bridge over the river is not quite complete. Once it is finished, it will connect The Meadoway and the East Don Trail.

Crossing the tracks anyhow.

below: Immediately after the newest bridge over the railway tracks, there is another bridge. This one crosses the Don River. This is now part of the East Don Trail. There is a section of the East Don Trail north of Eglinton (by the Rainbow Tunnel) but at the present time, they don’t connect. It’s an ongoing project. The large poles beside the path are the makings of a large net.

below: The nets are because Flemingdon Golf Club is right here. I suspect no one wants to get hit by a flying golf ball.

below: Looking back towards the newest bridge

below: White flowers on a Cranberry Viburnum plant.

below: Don River

It’s a quiet spot. But obviously some people make use of the space! Stonr’s hot box clubhouse.

Google maps shows the East Don Trail continuing south at least as far as where the Don River passes under the Don Valley Parkway. Unfortunately, the next time the path encounters the tracks, it ends. I forgot to take a picture but the tracks form a wall at the end of the road. There is a dirt path that runs uphill through the woods (away from the tracks) that probably leads to the Spanbridge Road neighbourhood. Instead of exploring further we retraced our steps back to Circles and Squares.

With thanks to the Wednesday morning walking group!

“Liquid, Gold” and other matters

Posted: May 27, 2024 in galleries, locations
Tags: Alex McLeod, art, digital art, embassies, Harboourfront Centre, Liquid Gold, Morgan Possberg Denne, Nada Al-Obaidi, Ontario Square, paintings, power plant, Power Plant Contemporary Art, salmon skins, stone, Witness

Back down to the waterfront, Ontario Square and Harbourfront to be more precise.

below: Three large pieces by Alex McLeod, “Liquid, Gold” are on display on the walls of the underground parking entrance structure in the middle of Ontario Square.

From the words on the wall: “Liquid, Gold” envisions oases where fragments of coral, flora, gems, and precious metal formations emerge. Delicate structures are weaving a narrative of resilience and adaptation. The crystal-clear waters, reflecting the azure skies above, beckon viewers to immerse themselves in the tranquil embrace of nature’s bounty. Each ripple in the water is a testament to the fluidity of existence, whispering tales of renewal and transformation.”

below: There are more large images from this series on the walls in the hallway of Harbourfront Centre. McLeods artwork is on display through to December.

below: Another exhibition now on at Harbourfront Centre is “Future Matters”. Matters is a play on words here as it means both ‘materials’ and ‘is important’. One matter, or material, is stone. It is represented here in this large collage of photos of quarry walls by Nada Al-Obaidi.

below: Another material, and one that most of you wouldn’t think of, is dried salmon skins. Here, Morgan Possberg Denne has used 74 skins to fashion two lampshades.

There are other exhibits that don’t photograph all that well (or that I curated out) such as crumpled bits of paper on tables, fabric made of milkweed, and paints sourced from a vacant lot – using crushed snail shells, and sumac flowers for example.

Also at Ontario Square is the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. There are two exhibitions on there at the moment. First, a retrospective of the work of June Clark and second, a look at the research by Terence Gowan on architecture in some of the embassies around the world.

below: Gowan has extensively studied the architecture of American embassies in Baghdad, Havana, Ho Chi Minh City, and Ottawa (the last one is unbuilt), including how different materials are used. Over time, the materials and methods have become more sophisticated and complex as governments demand more safety and more secrecy from their embassies. From a sociological perspective, or as a look at the history of international relations, it is a fascinating exhibit.

But does this work translate well to an art gallery setting?

below: The most eye-catching of the June Clark art installations is “Harlem Quilt” (1997).

Each light is mounted with a piece of fabric on which a photo of a person has been printed. In many cases the light obscures the face of that person. I am not sure if this was intentional or not.

below: The installation has a room of its own and the effect that it produces is quite ethereal.

below: Another exhibit that is part of Clark’s “Witness” is a circle of chairs made of washboards titled “Keepers”. Like most of her other work here, it features people in her life. Each chair is decorated with items that evoke the memory of a person that mattered in her life.

below: One of 10 pieces from “Homage”. Again, a tribute to other people in Clark’s life.

below: And last, the one part of Clark’s work that is about her is “44 Thursdays in New York” where each piece has a photo of herself plus a copy of her journal from that day, for 44 consecutive Thursdays in 2004 when she was living in New York City. I’d love to be able to read the words as well!

to Bloor and west on Bathurst

Posted: May 18, 2024 in construction, intersections, locations
Tags: Alternative Thinking, bathurst, Bloor, construction, dragon, hot dogs, houses, infill housing, Iran freedom mural, Korean restaurants, Koreatown, lilacs, Markham Street, Mirvish village, murals, redevelopment, residential, spring, workmen

below: Medallion embedded in the sidewalk outside Bathurst subway station entrance showing the way – South to Bloor and west to Bathurst is first on list for today. … Or maybe round and round in circles?

below: Looking south on Bathurst towards Bloor. The southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst is now a solid block of condos.

below: Same collection of buildings but from a slightly different angle. Giant concrete pillars in front of ground level glass wall. Argh. Unoriginal Toronto architecture.

below: Working at heights. It looks like road access from Bathurst towards Markham Street. More concrete pillars!

below: Alternative Thinking and its neighbour directly to the south remained the holdouts and are now completely surrounded by new development.

below: Around the corner on Bloor near Markham. The sidewalk in this stretch has been widened with benches and planters added.

below: Honest Eds is long gone.

below: Work continues on the re-making of Markham Street.

below: Ed’s Mercantile Store & Studio. Vintage and Handmade Goods – it’s not exactly Honest Ed’s but it was at least worth a smile and a chuckle (and a photo!)

below: Stop. Stop building.

below: From Palmerston, the new condos rise up behind.

below: Spring! Lilacs in abundance in front of an old brick house with fabulous balcony space.

below: One block south of Bloor is Lennox

below: There is a lane that runs north from Lennox that ends behind the stores on Bloor. The old buildings are dwarfed by the newer condos.

below: Same alley, new infill housing

below: This isn’t the exact view from that lovely infill house, but it’s close.

below: Still in the alley trying to get a good view of what’s happening on the site… Some of the old houses on Markham have been kept (or at least their facades).

below: Bloor Street from Markham Street west to just beyond Christie is part of the Koreatown BIA which suggests a preponderance of Korean businesses.

below: Businesses like Seoul Hot Dog, Mummy Korean Restaurant, and Mapo Korean BBQ.

below: Korean Village Restaurant

below: Imagine Your Korea mural (in 2 photos)

below: A green dragon breathes fire outside Chung Chun Rice Hot Dog in a mural by Allan Render, John Norbrega, and Stacey Kinder (Blinc Studios), 2019.

below: But in typical Toronto style, many other ethnic groups are represented here – Ave Maria Latin Cafe

below: Pour Boys keeping an eye on Bloor.

below: … Tibetan Paper Store… and more.

below: “If you are reading this, Iran is not free”

looking for north Ontario

Posted: May 6, 2024 in construction, locations, transportation
Tags: clear cut, community gardens, construction, DVP, hydro poles, indicator post, McAvity, Metrolinx, Millwood bridge, North Toronto Wastewater treatment, Ontario line, Overlea, raccoon, ravines, stumps, Thorncliffe, trees, workmen

… the northern end of the Ontario line that is. It was a foggy, overcast day when I went searching so I have many grey low contrast pictures with the occasion sunny image when the clouds parted for a few minutes. As construction progresses there will be lots of opportunities for better photography! It may be many years yet.

The plans on the Metrolinx website show the Ontario Line ending at the Science Centre station at Eglinton and Don Mills. From the Science Centre, an elevated line runs south to a Flemingdon Park station near Gateway Blvd and Don Mills Road. The map suggests that the line runs over or parallel to Don Mills Road.

below: Northeast corner of Don Mills and Gateway Blvd. Grey on grey I’m afraid.

below: Map, screenshot from Metrolinx website. Pink sections of the line are elevated and blue sections are underground.

It is difficult to determine from the map the exact route the line will follow along Don Mills Road. At the moment, the east side is largely undeveloped between the Science Centre just south of of Eglinton to the school at Overlea. The west side of Don Mills Road is already home to a number of tall office and residential buildings as well as stores and restaurants. Whatever the route, traffic on Don Mills is about to get ugly again (having just returned to normal after the Eglinton LRT construction).

below: West side of Don Mills Road, looking north towards Eglinton from hydro right of way.

South of Flemingdon, and before Overlea Blvd, the line swings west and crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the section of land that has been clear cut recently. It is on the northern edge of a Hydro right of way that crosses the city.

below: Photo taken from the same place as the one above, but looking more north. It was a bit foggy but what you are looking at is E.T. Seton Park and the archery range there. A tiny bit of the Science Centre can be seen near the top right. The black bridge is the railway bridge just south of Eglinton near the foot of Leslie Street.

below: A spot of colour, spring blossoms on an old and gnarly crab apple tree.

below: More grey concrete. A wall of Valley Park Middle School at the northwest corner of Overlea Blvd and Don Mills Road.

When the Ontario line swings west of Don Mills Road, it will run parallel to Overlea Blvd as it crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the plaque on the bridge, the Charles Hiiscott Bridge apparently (does anyone call it that?). It was named after the mayor of Leaside at the time (1960). I’m willing to bet that everyone just calls it the Overlea bridge. Whatever you call it, it’s 62 1/2 feet long and rises 115 feet above the valley floor.

below: Looking north from the bridge over the West Don River and the Seton Park trail. There is a clear cut hill on near the top left corner of the photo where the Ontario Line will pass. I have tried to find any drawing or plans that Metrolinx has that might illustrate what this section would look like beyond the fact that it will be elevated. Some sort of bridge over the Don is needed but the details seem to be up in the air as well.

After crossing the West Don, the tracks will (probably) run behind the buildings on the north side of Overlea. until Thorncliffe where a station is planned at the intersection of Thorncliffe and Overlea.

below: The Greek Orthodox church has a large presence in this stretch of Overlea.

below: There is a large community garden there now.

below: This is still on the Hydro right of way.

below: That’s the back of Costco just peaking into the photo.

below: Road closures and empty buildings.

below: A “trash panda” raccoon checks out the old metal bin behind Costco

below: On the west side of Costco there is a row of apple trees now in blossom

below: But on the other side of the apple trees is a very large, now vacant, plot of land surrounded by hoardings. This is Metrolinx. This is where the Ontario Line turns to join Overlea at Thorncliffe Park.

below: Much of Overlea to the west of Thorncliffe is either empty or about to be. The exception is the Salvation Army headquarters at the corner of Overlea and Millwood – the blue and white striped building in this photo.

below: Part of the plan for the neighbourhood is this new Islamic Centre that replaces an older building that will be demolished to make way for the Ontario Line.

below: A discovery – hiding in the bushes. This looks like an old fire hydrant.

below: It’s actually a “fire main indicator post” made by the McAvity Company. It marks an underground valve that controls the water supply. Thomas McAvity started in business in 1834 in St. John New Brunswick; he was followed by most of his 6 sons and together they built a large, thriving company with foundries that produced plumbing parts, among other things. They started making fire hydrants in 1903 but sold the company in 1960.

below: Digging holes on one side of the street

below: And laying orange conduit for future cable on the other side

below: Sidewalk hieroglyphics, speaking a language most of us don’t understand.

below: Looking east on Overlea approaching Millwood. The new Islamic Centre is the building with the turquoise upper level. Somewhere in here, sometime in the future, an elevated train will run. At least that’s the plan.

From Thorncliffe Park station at the intersection of Thorncliffe Park and Overlea Blvd., a train running towards downtown will now need to cross Millwood, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: I had more luck with finding possible ideas for this second bridge. On a page on the Metrolinx website there is a rendering of the bridge that will cross both the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP). This view is from the northwest. It shows the new bridge running parallel to the Millwood bridge (shown here as the shorter straighter bridge).

A pretty picture. But what does in mean? What are the implications?

A hint….

below: Another section of Toronto ravine lands cleared of trees. This is immediately west of the Millwood Overlea intersection. The Millwood bridge is in the background.

below: The clearing has made the North Toronto Wastewater Treatment facility much more visible. There is a lot of upgrade work going on there too! Twenty five million dollars worth of upgrades in fact, yes $25,000,000. (source: Bennett Construction Group)

below: “The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto” in stone and embedded in the concrete of the Millwood bridge. In the center is the “Arms” of the municipality created in 1991. Because the internet is the source of amazing trivia, this is the description that I found on the Governor General of Canada’s website, “Argent on a chevron Gules between two open books Argent edged Or bound Gules in chief and a caduceus Or fimbriated Gules in base a representation of the Royal Crown Or on a chief Azure a cogwheel winged Or;” One questions leads to many more, right? Well, “gules” = red, “fimbriated” = has a narrow border,

below: Under the Millwood Bridge. The fence has been repaired so access to the structural underparts is restricted. Back in 2015 it was easy to get underneath – Under the Millwood Bridge.

Scarborough Contact

Posted: May 1, 2024 in events, galleries, locations
Tags: CONTACT, Contact photography festival, Next Generation Arts, photography, photos, Scarborough, tulips

It’s May 1st, the start of May and the start of CONTACT Photography Festival. It’s a chance to see what other people are doing with photography besides what is posted online on sites like flickr or Instagram. Some of the work will be great and you may get inspired. I am sure that there will also be images that you dislike. But that’s art. That’s why create.

Events like CONTACT that are spread all over the city also give you the excuse to try someplace new as well. For instance, today I was back in Scarborough.

below: Bellamy Road, looking north from just above Ellesmere

below: Hiding in the back of a multi-unit building was the home of Next Generation Arts.

The front looked abandoned. But look for the unexpected.

below: Ghost sign on window. “Denture”? an arrow pointing left, and a phone number?

With apologies for the less than stellar quality of the photos…. The show in their gallery features work that was produced as a result of their ‘PS Scarborough’ program for youth and seniors.

below: Something has caught their attention…..

below: I am afraid that I have inserted myself into the image. Sigh. The downside of glass in front of photos. It is an interesting photo of a woman on the subway, looking through windows with reflections.

below: Now an historic photo! An evening shot of the Scarborough RT, no longer with us, with more reflections.

Have fun exploring! You never know what will catch your eye! Seen behind the building with the gallery as I wandered around. Lost? Thrown away? Stolen and abandoned?

And enjoy all that May has to offer.

Artists whose work is shown at the gallery:

Ruby Chan
Nithursan Elamuhilan
Leeza Gheerawo
Patricia Guyader
Noor Hamadi
Anudev Kumarri
Samantha Lu
Casey Lun
Anne Ng
Dhiviya Prabaharan
Shammah Salwa
Michelle Tan

Laird and more

Posted: April 28, 2024 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: Brentcliffe, Coco paving, construction, Edwin A Boyd, Eglinton East, heritage buildings, Laird, Leaside, Olde Yorke, Osmonds Restaurant, redevelopment, residential, snow, Upper East Village, vacant land

These photos were taken on one of those rare days when there was snow on the ground, i.e. not within the past couple of weeks. As usual, I am a bit behind but I thought that I should finish this page before posting snowy pictures is too weird. Anyhow, let’s head to Leaside and walk up Laird Drive …

below: Condo building on the west side of Laird. Like many neighbourhoods in Toronto, it’s an area in flux, full of changes.

below: More facades, more condos. This might be a new word for you but this is facadism; the facade of an old building gets incorporated into a new development. It has become the most common form of heritage preservation in Toronto. In 1921 this building was home to the Canadian branch of Durant Motors Inc. They made cars.

below: This is an example of the cars produced by Durant Motors. With thanks to Wikipedia, this is a 1923 Durant touring car.

1923 Durant Motors touring car, image from wikipedia, red car,

1923 Durant A-22 touring car 9th Annual Saturday Night Cruise-In, June 28, 2014, Hastings, Minnesota, photo by Greg Gjerdingen

below: The lion and crown on the lintel over the window (once a door) is the crest of the Imperial Bank of Canada for whom this structure was built in 1941. No facadism here. The whole building is now a restaurant/pub. When I was researching to find out if this building has heritage status (it doesn’t), I discovered that this bank was robbed by the Boyd Gang in 1951. It was the biggest bank robbery in Toronto at the time. Edwin Alonzo Boyd and his various gangs committed eleven bank robberies between 1949 and 1952. He even escaped from Kingston Penitentiary in 1951 before getting caught again in 1952.

below: Olde Yorke fishe and chipe restaurante at the corner of Laird and Lea. This too is a heritage site for its cultural value. It was historically known as Osmond’s Restaurant and was constructed as a red brick building as early as 1923. John Osmond owned the property and it was his family’s home as well as a restaurant. In fact, it has always been a restaurant. It was known as CNR Restaurant in 1926 because of it’s association with the Leaside railway station. It was also used as a lunch room or cafeteria for the workers in the local factories and industries.

below: A sign of the times, a cannabis shop.

below: Sales office for The Leaside Residences, open by appointment only. Not just luxury condos, but luxury boutique condos. Apparently there will be two buildings of 8 storeys each and they will include studios to some 3 bedroom townhouses. Studios start at $600,000.

below: Large shopping area on east side of Laird, just south of Wicksteed. A big parking lot surround by big box stores.

below: Another vacant lot, Laird and Parkhurst, just south of Eglinton.

below: Closed to traffic but there was nothing to stop me from walking down that road. Looking north to the back of Canadian Tire that is on Eglinton. The back of the hoardings along Vanderhoof can also be seen. Under that snow is a hole full of water.

below: Still looking north but a more east.

below: Laird and Eglinton and a sad sight (or site, your choice) – an unopened Laird subway station on the southwest corner.

below: The original plan was to walk Laird but we’re so easily called away and Eglinton beckoned. Looking west…

below: Four storey apartment buildings on the north side of Eglinton.

below: Lots of this type of residential buildings on Eglinton. Walking east.

below: Just east of Laird is Brentcliffe where there is now a large new development on the southwest corner.

below: From the back (taken on Brentcliffe)

below: There is a skyway between two buildings in this development which seems to be called Upper East Village. From their website – An 1160 sq foot, 2 bedroom apt on the 9th floor is available for $1.4 million. Also available, a 1750 sq ft., 2+1 bedroom on the 18th floor, for a mere $2.5 million; It’s a corner suite if that helps.

below: The view from Brentcliffe, looking northeast back towards Eglinton. Those new buildings are probably the ones being built at Don Mills and Eglinton (where IBM once stood).

below: More on Brentcliffe

below: A patchwork of worn plywood make the hoardings along the south side of this redevelopment site on Wicksteed. (Wicksteed runs parallel to Eglinton)

below: One of thousands of these blue and white signs that can be seen around the city. The surprise here is that the proposal is for a commercial development – a shopping complex for SmartCentres REIT. The plan dates from 2021 but the hoardings pre-date that. This site has a long history that goes back to at least 2011 but I haven’t tried to figure it all out! Rumour says that part of the issue is that previous commercial developments on the other side of Wicksteed turned out to be so ugly AND it was thought to be a Walmart that was going to be built.

below: Wicksteed approaching Laird with an older white structure, a remnant of Leaside’s past. Back in the day, the Leaside Aerodrome was nearby. It was built in 1917 to train Commonwealth pilots for the last days of WW1.

below: Not the type of building that you would usually associate with an auto shop. Also, remember the very first picture in this post? It included a street sign for Commercial Road. Well, this building is nearby, but on Industrial Road.

This part of Leaside used to have much more light industry than it has today. There are still industries there today but they are closer to the train tracks that cut through the area – running northeast from the from the south end of Laird (where it meets Millwood).

below: For instance, I saw this interesting piece of equipment. I am not sure what this large machine does but the sign on the fence says Coco Paving.

The area may also be impacted in the near future by Metrolinx and the Ontario Line. Somewhere in the Leaside, Wicksteed area is going to be the new home of a large maintenance and storage facility. Has an actual site been selected? A story to look into….

I will leave with one last photo – it’s not a complete summary of what Laird is, but it’s a start. It’s the view from the Home Depot parking lot looking west towards the construction of new condos on Laird.

Just what the doctor ordered?

Posted: April 23, 2024 in construction, locations, public art, reflections
Tags: Coach Terminal, concrete, construction, mars, Mt Sinai Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, public art, Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, sculpture, Sick Kids Hospital, Sorel Etrog, TGH, Toronto General Hospital, University Ave.

below: I’d heard that the old Coach Terminal was no longer in use (since mid 2021) but I hadn’t heard anything about its present status. Now I know: Empty. Abandoned.

below: Apparently the land is owned by the city. There is talk of redevelopment that includes affordable housing, office space, etc. I am not sure where the plans are at (does anyone?) at the moment.

below: Concrete. Just a concrete wall… But an interesting use of concrete.

below: The sign says “weather” and the weather this day is miserable. Wet. Grey. Luckily I had a rainy day plan….

I was meeting friends at Starbucks at Sick Kids.

below: This is when I learned that Sick Kids Hospital is in two buildings that are across Elizabeth Street from each other. Only one has a Starbucks!

below: Inside the bridge with its zigzagging light

below: A white goose

below: One side of the atrium, 8 storeys high, in the older building on the west side of Elizabeth

below: On the east side of Elizabeth Street is the new Sick Kids’ Patient Support Centre – we didn’t venture too far past the main entrance and bridge to the other building, but there was a lot to see just in this space!

below: Swirly squiggly LED lights turn an ordinary ceiling into something more.

below: Gerrard Street entrance to Toronto General Hospital (TGH)

below: Part of a conference room door.

$fractal like design on door to conference room in hospital$

below: There aren’t as many photos from TGH for a couple of reasons. First, regrettably (in hindsight) we didn’t explore much of it and second, although hospitals are generally public spaces they are also places where people expect privacy. So you’ll have to settle for some empty chairs and artwork in a waiting area. I suspect that a wander around all of TGH would provide ample material for its own blog post, just not today.

below: After TGH we entered MaRS – they call themselves “North America’s largest urban innovation hub”. A modern building that incorporated part of an older stone structure that was built in 1913 as the original home of Toronto General Hospital. Ooops, it’s not a building, it’s a “Discovery District”.

below: 1923 view of Toronto General Hospital with College Street in the immediate foreground and University Avenue on the right. There weren’t many tall buildings 100 years ago!

1923 colour postcard of Toronto General Hospital, a brick building on College Street

photo credit: Photo found on Wikimedia Commons, image is in the public domain.

As it turns out, MaRS doesn’t like cameras. It was the only building that morning where security approached us. Apparently you can take all the photos you want if you use your phone but cameras are not allowed. Snuck in a few before we got told off.

below: Here’s the tunnel leading to Queens Park subway station. Brightly lit but with the minimum of planning and imagination.

below: Back at ground level it’s a bit more interesting.

below: In front of MaRS is a sculpture of two men talking.

below: Dr. James Till (left) and Dr. Ernest McCulloch (right) having a discussion in the rain (with an onlooker). There are lots of seats available so if you are passing by you can join the conversation. The two men were involved in stem cell research at the Ontario Cancer Institute and at Princess Margaret Hospital in the 1960s. They were pioneers in the field.

below: Dr. McCulloch needed some help keeping dry!

below: Pardon the raindrop – across College Street from MaRS is (the first phase of?) the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus (part of the University of Toronto).

below: When I saw it, my first reaction was, “This looks familiar” … i.e. the recessed glass withing the window frame is reminiscent some concrete buildings used back in the 1960s such as the Clarke Institute just down the street (built in 1964). There is also a similar “modernist” building from the same era at Yonge & Roehampton (just north of Eglinton). I thought that it was interesting to see an older architectural “detail” show up in a modern building. It’s a nice change.

below: Walking on University Ave… which is a mess on the southbound side between College and Queen Street West because of infrastructure upgrades. Apparently the water mains here were 150 years old.

below: Campbell Family Building, part of the front facade and doorway. This building was constructed in 1935 for the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario (later Ontario Hydro). In the 1990s it became part of Princess Margaret Hospital. Audrey Campbell was the daughter of Roy Thomson and it is her family that the building was named for (because of donations obviously).

below: Across the street from Princess Margaret Hospital, part of TGH.

below: South on University Ave

below: Digging up the street in front of Mt Sinai Hospital

below: In a small space between two buildings on University Ave are a few small sculptures. The building on the left is Mount Sinai Hospital where there is now an art gallery. The building on the right is Princess Margaret Hospital.

below: This is a small part of the interior of the Hennick Family Wellness Gallery at Mount Sinai Hospital. All of the pieces are the work of Sorel Etrog (1933-2014, Canadian).

There is a plaque in Mt. Sinai that tells the story of The Ezras Noshem Society (Ladies Aid in Yiddish) led by four Jewish women who started raising money in 1913 for a new hospital. By 1922 they had raised $12,000 and in 1923 the Hebrew Maternity and Convalescent Hospital was opened at 100 Yorkville. They seem to be known only as Mrs. Cohn, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Spiegel, and Mrs. Adler (and others). They also opened a Jewish Old Folks’ Home in 1917.
Contrast that to the “Hall of Chairs” – a hallway with the portraits of all the past “Chairs” of the hospital, all men.

below: Large mural on the side of the parking garage behind Mount Sinai Hospital

below: Love Locks

It would have been nice to get a break in the weather but the rain just kept coming.

So a warm, dry place with coffee – with a shout out to Carbonic Coffee on Baldwin as well as thanks to Jeff, Paul and Perry who walked with me today.

continuing from Dundas West

Posted: April 19, 2024 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, locations, people, reflections
Tags: alley, catchoo, Dundas West, feelings boi, garages, giraffe building, glass of milk, graffiti, Hindu temple, houses, infill housing, Land Back, lanes, MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art, people, railway, residential, Roncesvalles, Sterling Ave., street art, walking

Ready to roll again?!

The last blog post ended at Dundas West Station where the Giraffe Building sits on the northwest corner of Bloor and Dundas …. so let’s picked it up from there…..

If you go north on Dundas from here you’ll find yourself in the Junction.

below: A quick peak north on Dundas West at Edna (first block north of Bloor).

But not today. Today we’re heading south on Dundas until it meets up with Roncesvalles. Then we’ll walk generally north and east until we cross Dundas at Sorauren. A brief stroll north on Sterling will bring us back to Bloor. That’s the plan!

below: Crossing Bloor at Dundas

below: Waiting by Jimmys Coffee

below: Walking their bikes

below: Jac’s Milk on Roncesvalles still has a mural depicting the 504 King streetcar. The boys at the table were selling eye protectors for watching the solar eclipse (that dates this walk!)

below: White Corner Variety

below: Outclass reflections

below: Jogging on Roncesvalles

below: Totally gutted

below: Also under renovations is the Hindu Prarthana Samaj Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Toronto. Prior to being demolished, this was an old church building dating from 1886. First it was Ruth Street Presbyterian Mission and then later it became Fern Avenue Church of Christ until the Prarthana Samaj congregation bought the building in 1979. Soon it will look more like a Hindu temple!

below: Flowers on the side of a garage in an alley

below: New infill in an alley

below: With another one under construction nearby. Construction of these laneway homes was allowed beginning in the summer of 2018. Since then, their popularity has blossomed.

below: Wilson’s Variety & Grocery on a corner in a residential area.

below: No payment entertainment and BE BETTER where Sorauren meets Dundas West.

below: Same corner, southwest side. Pink door beside Timmy’s Variety.

below: The West Toronto Railpath runs up the east side of the railway tracks.

below: You can tell by the sweet chocolatey smell in the air that Nestle is still making chocolate bars and other candy here.

below: You are greater than everything

below: Halfway up Sterling Ave, around the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), there has been a flurry of development activity.

below: Development on the north side of MOCA.

below: A pair of anser eyes

below: Land Back, Turtle Island style.

below: Catchoo paste-up, catching a hand grenade

below: One wet fish dripping on Feelings Boi. The fish is probably the work of Rowan McCulloch.

below: More houses….

below: A row of bay and gable houses.

below: And that brings us back to Bloor …. Bloor Gift and Smoke Shop across the street from the north end of Sterling Ave

below: Looking west on Bloor from Perth. The southwest corner remains vacant. Old concrete steps go nowhere now, and haven’t for many years. The old tires are a more recent addition to the landscape. Unfortunately this one of the many sites in the city where development is in limbo. As early as 2010 there was a 12 storey building proposed on this site (1439 Bloor West plus 80 Perth). At the moment, there seems to plans in the works for a 14 storey building but the plans seem rather fluid (i.e. they keep changing).

below: Back in 2014 or 2015, the concrete walls of this underpass were painted with murals. Now almost all of it is tagged over or scrawled on. It’s a mess.

below: UP Express train stopped at Bloor West station on its way to Pearson Airport. The UP Express was in the news this past week because Metrolinx decided to change the scheduling such that half the trains no longer stop at the Bloor and Dundas stations. Cue the now-normal Doug Ford flip flop when there was a lot of very verbal backlash from the commuters that use these stations. The regular schedule has resumed.

From here it is a hop, step and a jump back to Dundas West station.

In case you are interested – Ten years ago, the building that houses MOCA stood alone. Its life as part of Tower Automotive had ended and its new life as a gallery hadn’t yet begun. Previous posts:

Tower Automotive 2013
Tower Automotive 2014
First visit to the new MOCA 2018

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