old buildings | as I walk Toronto

Archive for the ‘old buildings’ Category

early morning Parkdale

Posted: January 11, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art, history, old buildings, windows and walls
Tags: alley, architecture, buildings, changes, Christina Mazzulla, Christmas, demolition, development, gables, globe, graffiti, Heather & Little, Jim Bravo, Jimmy Chiale, lanes, Lula Lumaj, mural, murals, Peter Dykhuis, Queen St. West, sculpture, stickers, storefronts, street scene, T-bonez, tibetan, Tsampa, urban ninja squadron, World Peace Monument

below: Pink faced, orange leopard spotted blast of colour…. A mural by Christina Mazzulla.

Settlement in what is now Parkdale began before 1850. In 1879 it was incorporated as a village and ten years later it became part of the city of Toronto.

below: Mural by Jim Bravo and Lula Lumaj from 2015, celebrating the history of Sunnyside Park. In the early years, part of the attraction of living in Parkdale was its proximity to Lake Ontario and such features as Sunnyside Beach and Sunnyside Amusement Park.

below: Christmas wreath on the globe outside Parkdale Library. This is the World Peace Monument, a globe surrounding a fountain. It was designed by Peter Dykhuis and fabricated in copper and bronze by Heather & Little in 2005. The metal sculpture has aged well but as we should all know by now, the city does not do water features well (i.e. I’ve never seen a fountain there; have you?)

In July 2022, City council adopted the Parkdale Main Street Historic District Plan. It covers Queen Street from Dufferin west to Jameson/Macdonell including this block of three buildings. It hopes to preserve many of the two and three storey brick buildings that line Queen Street and in turn, the character of the area.

below: Map of proposed Parkdale Main Street HDP. This map was found on a City website where you can also find other information about the project if you want.

below: Southeast corner of Queen and Dunn

below: A happy black and white bear to greet you

below: And a cow in a tea cup

below: Looking south on Lansdowne. Note the car blocking the bus stop.

below: Someone’s happy this morning

below: Looking south on Noble towards Queen

below: Northeast corner of Brock and Queen

below: “No Justice No Development” in the window of this former store.

below: Row houses. Each house shares a gable, or a peak, with one beside. Gables were very common in Toronto architecture, especially in the Victorian era, but in those houses each had its own gable. As people have decorated their houses, the resulting mix of colours, materials, and textures forms its own picture. This is not unique to this street – there are many other places in Toronto where homes with shared gables (both semis and rows) have been renovated such that the two halves look very different.

below: Bay and gable houses

below: Parkdale has always had a mix of many different building styles, both commercial and residential. The Tsampa Tibetan restaurant has an octagonal turret.

below: From rows of two storey houses to walls of glass and steel (on the other side of Dufferin, and the other side of the railway corridor).

below: Until a few years ago, this was Designer Fabrics store. The block of buildings was built in 1881 by J.C. Mussen, a Parkdale businessman. It was originally six storefronts. In 2020 there was a plan to build a nine storey condo on this site.

below: Like the building beside it, this grey building at 1354-356 Queen West may be demolished to make way for a condo development. There has been a long line of retail businesses in this space, from John Wanless’s hardware store in 1881 to Designer Fabrics (1950s to 2018). For more information about the building, see the website of Architectural Conservancy Ontario.

looking across Queen Street West, small tree and bus shelter on the south side, older buildings on the north side including a two storey brick building with front windows papered over

below: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure…. I had to double check just to make sure that it wasn’t real!

below: The bottom right section of a black and white mural by Jimmy Chiale.

below: “Danger – Restricted Area” says the sign

below: Nothing changes

below:Another demolition – this one is on Noble, immediately north of Queen Street West. An 8 storey condo has been proposed for this site.

below: Another building, another blue and white sign, another condo. As it turns out, this is immediately behind 1354-13656 Queen West (that grey building a few images above) which means that the 9 storey condo here will front on three streets: Queen St, Brock Ave, and Abbs St..

below: The struggle against colonialism continues

below: After a while there are just too many of these. It can get a bit disheartening. This sign sits in front of 1488 Queen Street West which is already empty and looking derelict at street level. The snails pace of development doesn’t help – neglected properties are a liability. They look horrid and contribute nothing to the neighbourhood.

below: Scan for nonsense

With thanks to @designwallah for helping to identify the artists of some of the murals in this post.

a December morning walk

Posted: December 9, 2022 in locations, old buildings, people, public art, windows and walls
Tags: Bay Adelaide Centre, Christmas ornaments, Christmas trees, decorations, East Centre, Gingerbread Lane, Linda Martinello, mannequins, Mappemonde, Nicolas Baier, rainy, red planters, reflections, Royal York hotel, Starbucks, Toronto Club, wet, Yonge Dundas Square, Yonge St.

Ahhhh December, that time of year when the mornings are dark, and even darker when it’s raining. But that’s no reason to stay at home!

below: The northwest corner of Yonge and Queen is still behind hoardings.

below: Even on a dark and foggy morning, Dundas Square is radiant. The colours that it casts on Yonge Street are dependent on the electronic billboards that dominate the space. A constantly changing light show.

below: Old style, simple, sidewalk to subway access.

below: The Christmas tree arrives at Yonge Dundas Square

below: When a damp December day gets wetter it’s time to go inside!

below: Snowpeople frolicking among the Christmas lights. December of course means Christmas and you know that the stores have been decorated for weeks already! Lots of Christmas stuff on display….

below: Multicoloured shiny balls on this Christmas tree

below: Hockey and rainbows

below: Another typical tree scene

below: Many trees in gold and silver in this Christmas dream (nightmare) bedroom scene. Jokes about Santa and naughty or nice are running through my head now!

below: Are those meant to be trees? An anti Christmas statement? Someone thinks this is being edgy or radical – a wink at climate change? The Christmas budget was slashed to smithereens and this was all that was left?

below: Come on in! I’ve been waiting for you (no trees here!)

below: Christmas shopping 2022.

below: A very tall tree stands on its own in a quiet corner behind the elevators.

below: A marble wall with a bas-relief artwork by Nicolas Baier with the title, “Mappemonde”It was made by cutting way pieces of the marble, leaving a tree-like network that could be roots and branches or it could be more technical man-made communication infrastructure….

below: Watching the World Cup 2002 from Qatar. As of this morning (9 Dec), eight teams remain – Brazil, Croatia, Argentina, Netherlands, Morocco, Portugal, England, and France,

below: Not a tree; instead it’s a collection of red, gold, and silver shiny balls in an metal inverted cone shaped frame.

below: Twin highly decorated, very brightly lit, Christmas trees at the St. Regis hotel.

below: A trend is starting to emerge… ye olde typical office building lobby tree. Tall, perfectly shaped, and classically dressed.

below: A new curved glass ceiling structure on Wellington Street beside the old red brick Toronto Club building.

below: On an interior wall there is a plaque describing the history of the Toronto Club building at 107 Wellington West. It was built in 1889 and inside you’ll find “a billiards room, reading rooms, and dining rooms finished with wood paneling and carving, stone and marble fireplaces, and plaster ceilings.”

below: Access to the Toronto Club may be difficult but this little area seems like a quiet oasis for anyone that knows of its existence. I didn’t try sitting down so I am not sure how security would react! Some buildings are more welcoming than others.

below: The pictures on the wall feature the rivers of Toronto – Humber, Don, and Rouge as well as the shore of Lake Ontario. They were painted by Canadian artist Linda Martinello (oil and graphite on drafting film).

below: The cows are lazing on the grass… perhaps they are waiting for someone to decorate the Christmas trees!

below: Gingerbread Lane at the Royal York Hotel

below: Up on the mezzanine level of the Royal York lobby there is a display of old black and white photos such as this one of the building of the hotel (about 1928). The pictures illustrate the early days of the hotel. There are also photos of famous people who stayed here. The lighting is terrible but the images are interesting.

below: The bar at the Royal York. Not a bad place to end a blog post!

Osgoode trees

Posted: December 1, 2022 in construction, nature, old buildings, transportation
Tags: Canada Trust, conservation, controversy, development, downtown, historic, Ontario line, Osgoode, station, subway, transit, transportation, trees, TTC, University Ave.

Welcome to Osgoode subway station.

It’s not the busiest station on the University Line but changes are in the works. It is going to become one of the transfer stations with the new Ontario Line. This line will cross downtown underground with stations at: Corktown, Moss Park, Queen, Osgoode, Queen/Spadina, and King/Bathurst.

When the University Line was built in 1966, Osgoode station was yellow with greenish accents.

Like other University Line station, it is nondescript and built with the minimum of fuss.

One could say the bare minimum

One of the only extras that have been added to the station recently is direct access to the Four Seasons Centre on the southeast corner.

The other three corners of the University and Queen West intersection have stairwells on the sidewalks that connect to Osgoode station. But…. I didn’t really mean to dwell on the station itself….

below: Canada Trust building on University Avenue

I came here to document the intersection as it is now, pre-Ontario Line construction (and years of disruption!)

below: Looking north up University Avenue from Queen, east side of University (including the present subway entrance on the sidewalk – close to where the pedestrians are in the photo).

Behind the black wrought iron fence is the former Osgoode Law School (for which the subway is named). There is public access to the grounds and it is an oasis of green and shade in the summer time. Green ribbons have been tied around the large trees.

… and at least one tree has been tagged as an historic tree.

Metrolinx wants to build another subway entrance here. Apparently a third-party independent review of alternative station designs is in the process but hasn’t been completed yet. Metrolinx decided that in the meantime they’d cut down the trees on the 5th of December (this coming week) anyhow. If you want to see one of the ideas for the plan, there are artist’s renderings on their website: The Ontario Line – Neighbourhood Updates – Downtown – Osgoode Station. As usual, what is pictured now is never guaranteed to be the end product!

The Law Society of Ontario is the custodian of this greenspace and they have formally objected to Metrolinx trying to short-circuit the process.

Yet another location to keep an eye on!

intersections – Bathurst and Lawrence

Posted: November 28, 2022 in graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, old buildings
Tags: apartments, bathurst st., bus shelter, Celebration Presbyterian church, empty buildings, Haymishe bakery, Kirk Sutherland, Lawrence Ave West, New York bagel, redevelopment, residential, retail, stores, street scene, Winners

below: Bathurst at Lawrence on a snowy November day. (looking east)

below: Standing in the same spot but turning slightly, Lawrence West, north side, west of Bathurst

below: Southwest corner of Bathurst and Lawrence

below: Seniors Safety Zone. How effective can a sign like this be on a busy four lane road? If you want cars to slow down why not just reduce the speed limit? But yes, there are a lot of seniors living in the area.

below: There are many apartment buildings from the 1960s and 1970s in the area. They are old enough that the trees have grown up around them.

below: There are signs of redevelopment

below: Some are of an age that it is more convenient to tear them down – for better or worse. Long gone are the days when curved arches like this were popular with builders.

below: Many of the residences on Lawrence are four or six plexes but here too, there are signs of changes afoot. Here the proposed new building is 4 storeys high and has 10 apartments.

below: Alley behind Lawrence Ave

below: Last season’s left overs.

below: Celebration Presbyterian Church, built in 1951.

below: Looking north on Bathurst towards Lawrence Avenue

below: Many languages – English, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, French, and Tagalog

below: Dell Park Variety – just above the sidewalk to the right of the variety store is a mosaic mural, “Almonds and Wine”. More photos of it are in the previous blog post.

below: South on Bathurst approaching Glencairn.

below: Hoardings on the southwest corner of Bathurst and Glencairn. The artwork is “Ayurveda” by Kirk Sutherland.

below: Old tilework, little tiles, on an exterior wall – remnants of an earlier age.

a little bit of Adelaide

Posted: October 30, 2022 in history, intersections, locations, old buildings, public art
Tags: Adelaide Courtyard, art deco, cleaning, Concourse building, Dreaming, first post office, Frederick St., Inges Idee, Jarvis St., Jaume Plensa, JEH Macdonald, mosaics, redevelopment, Sherbourne St., St. James cathedral, Stacey Spiegel, Synthetic Eden, Thoreau Macdonald, York Mechanics Institute, York Wilson

Eastward from Bay with a diversion or two.

These photos were taken on two different walks and you will have no trouble figuring out which images belong to which day! The first walk was on a damp morning back in September; the second walk was on a pleasantly warm and sunny October afternoon.

below: Looking up Bay Street to Old City Hall and its clock tower.

below: New public art “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa made of polyester resin and marble dust. Brilliantly white.

Hidden by scaffolding … par for the course that no matter where you walk there will be construction.

Even though there have been a lot of changes on Adelaide, there are some old details that have been preserved such as these mosaics that are temporarily behind scaffolding. They are above the entrance to the Bell Canada Building at 76 Adelaide West. Five panels, each twenty feet tall and five feet wide, of glass mosaic tile are embedded in the cement of the building. They were designed by York Wilson and installed in 1965 when the building was constructed. The theme of the piece is communication and each panel represents a different form of communication – writing, drawing, music, voice, and satellites.

At 100 Adelaide West is the remains of the Concourse Building. When the area was redeveloped recently, only the front and east facade of the original Art Deco 1928 building were preserved. The original entrance way on Adelaide remains; they feature mosaics created by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald and his son Thoreau.

Art Deco stonework

The remains of a metal fence or railing.

below: Looking east, at Sheppard Street.

below: It looks like a splash of paint – like someone threw a can of paint at the building.

below: The octagonal entrance to 1 Adelaide East (at Yonge) with its stained glass roof is being renovated.

below: Distraction! Film crew on King Street (looking down Victoria St).

below: Film trucks line both sides of Toronto Street

below: Toronto hieroglyphics

below: A short, tidy alley off Adelaide near Victoria

below: Fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard. Collectively, the work is “Synthetic Eden” and it was created by Stacey Spiegel back in 1991. The fountain with the metal mesh covering it – the mesh is supposedly the head of Adam.

below: The snake lurks over the garden. The entrance to Adelaide Courtyard is beyond the etched glass panels.

below: St. James Cathedral from the corner of Church and Adelaide.

below: Slight diversion north on Church where there is now a large vacant lot at Lombard. How many cranes?

below: Church Street, north from Adelaide. A vacant lot on one side, a partial development on the other.

people walking past the ontario heritage plaque for the York Mechanics Institute at the corner of Adelaide and Church, now a patio for Tim Hortons

“The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in Britain and soon spread to North America. Its aim was to teach workers the applied technology behind new methods of manufacture and craftsmanship introduced during the Industrial Revolution. The first Institute in Ontario was established at York (Toronto) in 1830. It sponsored lectures, held classes and operated a lending library. It moved from rented quarters into its own new building on this site in 1861. After passage of the Free Libraries Act in 1882, the Institute transferred its assets to the municipal government. Its book collections formed the foundation of the Toronto Public Library, which opened in the former Institute building in 1884.”

below: Circa 1900, the music room of the York Mechanics Institute as a newspaper reading room

old black and white picture of the interior of the York Mechanics Institute that became a public library, newspaper reading room

photo credit: Photographer unknown, image from digital archives of the Toronto Public Library.

below: “Brickman” by Inges Idee stands outside a residential building at Jarvis and Adelaide. He stands 10m tall and is actually made from precast concrete, not brick.

below: Looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

below: Old Post Office. This building was opened in 1832, before Toronto became a city. According to Wikipedia “It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the British Royal Mail and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys’ school” until 1913. It was used for various things (offices, cold storage, etc) until 1971 when it was closed up and left vacant. When it was (re)discovered to be the old post office, it was designated as an Ontario Heritage Site as well as a National Historic Site. Since 1982 it has been a museum as well as a functional post office.

below: Future chefs, George Brown College

below: Looking west from Frederick Street. At this point we are in the old town of York, laid out by John Graves Simcoe in 1793. At that time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street, after the Duke of York. Richmond Street, one block north was Duchess Street for his wife. The Duke of York at that time was the second son of King George III, Prince Frederick.

below: Looking west from Sherbourne. This was originally Caroline Street, named after Caroline of Brunswick who was the wife of Prince George in 1793 (and later George IV). When she became too unpopular, the street name was changed to Sherbourne, after the town in England with the same name but a different spelling, Sherborne.

I stopped to take a picture of an old car (remember when diesel cars were going to take over the world?) and I found an old shoe. Keep walking and keep your eyes open because you never what you’re going to find along the way!

a little bit of Yonge

Posted: September 28, 2022 in history, locations, old buildings, people
Tags: ads, billboards, Dineen Coffee, Eaton Centre, history, people, rain, reflections, stores, streetcar, Temperance St., tourist, TTC, umbrellas, Yonge Dundas Square, Yonge St.

Walking up Yonge Street on a grey damp September day – from Adelaide to Dundas

below: Southeast corner of Adelaide & Yonge: the (sort of) dome shaped entrance way with the stained glass roof is under renovation.

below: Walking his bike up Yonge Street

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Richmond

below: Looking west on Temperance Street towards a wall of glass

below: Dineen Coffee on the ground floor the old building on the northwest corner of Yonge and Temperance streets. The coffee company took its name from the building – the Dineen Building, once home to furriers W. and D. Dineen Co. (until the 1930s). The building was built in 1897 and was added to the City of Toronto Heritage list in 1973. Ceilings in it were made of bronze and aluminum plates; this was the first time that aluminum was used as a building material in Canada.

below: Dineen Building, 1927. The 2012 restoration was very faithful to the original facade.

vintage 1927 black and white photo of the Dineen Building in Toronto, source, TPL, Toronto Public Library

Source: Online, Toronto Public Library Archives. Unknown photographer for the Toronto Star newspaper.

below: Streetcars on Queen West under the redesigned pedestrian walkway.

below: Looking north from Shuter Street. Since the late 1970s, the west side of this block has been dominated by the Eaton Centre. When the mall was first completed, it destroyed any street scene that had existed there. Subsequent alterations have improved this block at street level a bit.

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Queen back at a time when the new Eatons store at the north end of the Eaton Centre was built (at Dundas, completed 1977) but the old stores on the west side of Yonge hadn’t been completely demolished. This photo was found online on blogTO – here’s the link to their site if you are interested in the history of the Eaton Centre construction.

below: Massey Hall, Shuter Street

below: Reflections in the windows as you approach Dundas. I’m not sure what the relevance of “drunk elephant” is!

below: Tourists in the city; cameras out at Yonge Dundas Square.

There are more rainy day photos of people at Yonge and Dundas in the next blog post.

in transit

Posted: August 1, 2022 in old buildings, people, transportation
Tags: architecture, bus, College St., downtown, Dundas St., Filmores Hotel, mural, people, redevelopment, Ryerson, Ryerson School of Management, streetcar, TMU, Toronto Metropolitan University, transit, TTC

Yesterday, Sunday of the long August weekend, I was sitting on a streetcar after walking around downtown. I was in no rush; I was enjoying the scenery and the people watching. The streetcar detoured off route so I didn’t end up where I expected to. But no problem, I had my camera with me.

These photos are glimpses of life in the city as seen through a streetcar window as it passes by. Most of them were taken through glass… and often the streetcar was moving… so please don’t expect technically perfect shots!

below: Northeast corner of Spadina and College streets.

below: “The Best in Town”for banana boats! cones! sundaes! shakes!

below: Dundas at Bay. Ryerson School of Management, Best Buy, and Canadian Tire.

below: Reflections on Dundas

below: Surfacing from Dundas subway station

below: The newest mural near Dundas and Victoria.

below: University buildings at Dundas and Church – and the rebranding of Ryerson as TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University).

below: Ran out of gas, northeast corner of Dundas and Church

below: Dundas and Mutual. An old building put to a modern use.

below: The sign says it all. Every time I pass Filmores I am surprised to still see it standing. I thought that it was supposed to be torn down months (years?) ago. I was also surprised to see Filmores on sites like Expedia, Hotel.com and Booking.com. You can’t actually book one of their “straight forward rooms” on these sites, you have to call or email the hotel directly. If you want to know more than that, you’ll have to do your own research!

below: You might be able to stay at Filmores, but you can’t eat at The Love Cafe anymore.

below: Christmas wreaths on the doors of Dunhill Electric Co.

below: Dundas and Ontario Streets, Royal Oak Inn

below: Dundas and Parliament, north side

Happy trails!

Another circular route

Posted: May 15, 2022 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, intersections, old buildings
Tags: 33wallflower33, Broadview, construction, Don Valley parkway, DVP, Eastern Ave., foundry, Garfield, graffiti, heritage, hoardings, paste up, sketchrat, underpass park, urban ninja squadron, visual noise, water tower

From the West Don Lands, across Eastern, north on Broadview and then back west on Queen Street East to Parliament and the Distillery District.

below: Saved! Demolition of the old foundry building near the Distillery District. More on this story in a previous post from almost exactly a year ago. Also a paste up by 33wallflower33 of a well dressed woman throwing out Doug Ford’s head and paraphernalia such as beer can with “buck a beer” in it.

below: Signs of celebration on the fence around what ostensibly will be Eastern Avenue Affordable Housing (i.e. We’ll wait and see…)

bottom right: “Here’s why people are rallying to protect this Toronto heritage site from demolition. The provincial government has paused demolition of the Foundry site in the West Don Lands after an outcry in Toronto” From Toronto NOW.
bottom left: “Province starts demolition of heritage buildings in West Don Lands despite community backlash. Tearing buildings down ‘outrageous’ councillor says.” CBC News

below: A simple statement; a red paper heart tied to a tree.

below: Not all of it was saved… but at least they didn’t tear the whole thing down as originally planned…..

below: Ukraine symbol on a boarded up window

below: Smack! Urban Ninja Squadron paste-up along with a musical sketchrat.

below: The house with the two green cubes is still standing. Truth at the base.

below: A painted pillar in Underpass Park, with the pedestrian ramp up to Eastern Ave in background

below: A row of large rocks

below: The underside of the roof over the entrance to the condo is very reflective. It ‘mirrors’ the reflective ceiling of Underpass Park next door to it.

below: View from, looking east over Corktown Common, the south end of the Don River, as well as the ramp from the Gardiner Expressway to the Don Valley Parkway.

below: Eastern Ave and the DVP. Looking east.

below: Garfield the Cat just lying around

below: Northeast corner of Broadview and Eastern.

below: A row of old houses on Broadview still stand empty. It’s been years now since anyone has lived in them.

below: Just a bit north, at Queen Street East, another boarded up building. But this one is now in the middle of an active construction site.

below: In an alley behind Queen Street East.

below: A new view of Queen Street East has been opened up with the demolition of some of the buildings on the south side.

below: Northeast corner of Broadview and Queen East, once the home of Dangerous Dan’s.

below: Danger due to hole. On Queen East. The pyramid shaped roof is part of the Broadview Hotel at Queen and Broadview.

below: More danger…. watch out for spooky skeletons!

below: Riverside Common, a new public space on Queen Street East.

below: Looking back across the Don River from the bridge at Queen Street East.

below: Passing southbound under Queen Street East.

below: Looking north up Lower Bayview from Queen Street East

below: From almost the same vantage point as the photo above, but looking more west than north.

below: An Uber5000 yellow birdie on the wall of the Toronto Humane Society at Queen and River.

below: Painting of two fencers where the red wine seems to be winning.

below: Where Eastern Avenue meets Front Street, looking west towards downtown. The old brick building is now Toronto Police Services Division 51 headquaters. In a previous phase of its life it was Consumers Gas Station A, designed by Bond & Smith and built in 1898. Beyond Parliament Street and in the background is the blue Globe and Mail building.

below: The Porsche dealership on the northwest corner of Front and Parliament is now empty.

below: The southwest corner of Front and Parliament is entirely surrounded by plywood hoardings.

below: Another 33wallflower33 paste-up. This time she’s pinning Putin’s head to the ground.

below: And back to the Distillery District – and the new construction that is taking place at Front and Trinity, just north of the historic buildings.

UTSC – Scarborough Campus ‘tour’

Posted: February 6, 2022 in history, locations, old buildings, public art
Tags: buildings, Ebti Nabag, Highland Creek, Highland Hall, John Andrews, Louis Archambault, mars, Miller Lash, neptune, path, ravine, Scarborough, solar walk, U of T, UTSC

In 1913, businessman Miller Lash bought a piece of land at what is now Old Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue where the Highland Creek flows. He built a house for his family by the creek and a coach house for his collection of cars nearby. They were made of poured concrete faced with river rocks that had been collected from the creek. The two buildings remain on they site but now they are owned by the University of Toronto Scarborough campus and have been repurposed.

below: Lace curtain in a window of the Miller Lash house.

The University of Toronto acquired the land in the 1960s. Toronto architect John Andrews designed the initial two buildings, the Humanities Wing and the Science Wing, which opened for students in January 1966. Both were built at the top of the ravine.

Last week when I walked around the campus it was very quiet; very few students were present. Most of the people I saw were like me, taking pictures of the buildings, or they were out for a walk through the woods. In class learning for UTSC’s almost 13,000 students resumes tomorrow, February 7th.

below: “Tall Couple” (or “Un Grand Couple”) by Louis Archambault (1915-2003) stands beside one of Andrew’s buildings, the Humanities Wing. This metal sculpture was first on display at Expo ’67 in Montreal.

The newest building on the campus is Highland Hall located by the main entrance to the campus on Military Trail. It features large pillars, red accents, and a glass facade.

below: The west side, main entrance side, above the pillars is a large glass feature that shows a satellite image of Scarborough.

below: East side of Highland Hall. The upper level on this side features an aerial image of Scarborough in the mid 1960s when the college first opened.

below: From CONTACT Photography 2021 (on view until March 2022), is “I’m Listening” by Ebti Nabag.

below: From the Solar Walk around the campus, information about Mars.

below: … and also Neptune. The Solar Walk was supported by the Canada 150 Fund that celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The position of the planets on the walk represent to position that they were in on 1 July 1867.

below: The Highland Creek still runs through the campus. There is a new walkway that winds its way down the side of the ravine from the main part of campus to the tennis courts, athletic fields, creek trails, and park. Here the new path curves in front of the Science Wing.

below: Signs of human activity beside the trail.

below: Construction crew working on the banks of the Highland Creek.

below: Koa Hall, side view

below: The modern equivalent of the smoking lounge?

Find your uncharted territory and explore!

below: Unchartered

Queen West track work

Posted: December 11, 2021 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: brick, chickens, construction, graffiti, historic, old buildings, Queen St. West, Queen West, shoes, stores, streetcar tracks, toys

The recent closure of Queen Street West for streetcar track work provided an opportunity to take a few photos without traffic or parked cars in the way. Straight documentation and not much more. But that way, when you next walk Queen West and it’s wall to wall new condo development you can check back here and say, “I remember when”….