Hanging out and Yonge and Dundas and trying to stay dry
Archive for the ‘people’ Category
rainy day people
Posted: September 26, 2022 in locations, peopleTags: Dundas, families, hoodies, people, puddles, rain, rain coats, splashing, streetcars, TTC, umbrellas, walking, wet, Yonge Dundas Square, Yonge St.
a summer day, a city meander
Posted: September 13, 2022 in construction, people, transportation, waterfrontTags: Alanna Cavanagh, Cherry St bridge, CN Tower, condos, Corkin Gallery, development, Gardiner Expressway, lake, Lake Ontario, Lakeshore Blvd., parliament st., peppers, Pioneer Tour boats, queens quay east, St. Lawrence market, sugar beach, sunflowers, vegetables, waterfront
Another day, another walk through the city starting at the Distillery District and heading west towards the waterfront and downtown Toronto.
below: Posing under the heart, Distillery District.
below: Posing with the LOVE locks.
below: Flowered Dress Madonna” by Ann Agee, 2021 as seen in the Corkin Gallery in the Distillery District.
below: Looking east on Front Street from Berkeley. Police Division is the old brick building. Both sides of Front are lined with black hoardings as redevelopment of those sites started recently.
below: Berkeley St., south of Front
below: Another hole in the wall; another vacant lot waiting for redevelopment on Parliament Street. More tall buildings coming to the Distillery District.
below: Looking south from the end of Parliament Street and across Lakeshore Blvd to the start of Queens Quay East. Many changes here!
below: The CN Tower peaks through the gap created by one of the onramps for the Gardiner Expressway.
below: No Parkin’, Victory Soya Mills in the background
below: Looking east towards the Port Lands redevelopment. The new Cherry Street bridge is in the background.
below: From the same spot on the waterfront as the above picture, but looking in the other direction.
below: Queens Quay East
below: Relaxing by the lake.
below: Sugar Beach, spectator section, in the shade.
below: On the rocks, Sugar Beach
below: I am not sure who this is or why he’s on the waterfront. He’s made of wood – someone constructed him and left him here.
below: Closed – ramp to the the eastbound Gardiner at Lower Jarvis.
below: Lower Jarvis
below: A bucket full of bright and cheerful sunflowers on the sidewalk by St. Lawrence Market.
below: Market Street closed to traffic at Esplanade.
below: Marvelous peppers and other veggies for sale at St. Lawrence Market
below: Someone’s looking a little distraught. Remember how your parents used to say that if you frowned too much, or you made too many weird faces, your face would freeze in that position? That is what this poor fellow reminded me of. “Frozen” in time on the side of St. Lawrence Hall.
below: In a window. The title of the painting is “Alone” so perhaps she is alone in the city albeit surrounded by flowers. Unfortunately, they are yellow and blue flowers so I suspect that there is Ukrainian symbolism at play here and that ‘alone’ has a much deeper significance.
below: Leader Lane ends at Wellington.
below: Mama elephant and her two little ones are still walking through the courtyard behind Commerce Court. They haven’t reached the pool yet (but at least there’s water in the pool now).
below: This is one of the five Big City Blooms murals found around the city (west side of Commerce Court). The big bold and cheerful flowers in reds and pinks are the work of Alanna Cavanagh.
below: Same Commerce Court building as the above picture but from a slightly different angle.
below: Narrow city alley views, framing the gorgeous stone and brick work on the older building with its arched windows.
below: There appears to be a forest path in the middle of Brookfield Place. It is actually a photograph that is part of an exhibit called, “Take Your Seat With the Group of Seven, Nature the Inspires Us”. (now gone from Brookfield Place).

below: In this exhibit, locations used by the Group of Seven in their paintings were revisited. Photos were taken using a red director’s chair, placing the chair in the artist’s position. In this set of images, two small paintings from Coldwell Harbour are paired with a large photo of present day Coldwell Harbour – the chair is small but you should be able to see it on the rocky outcropping. The harbour is on Lake Superior near the town of Marathon.
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An afternoon at the Ex
Posted: August 29, 2022 in events, peopleTags: ball toss, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, corndogs, families, games, kids, midway, people, pickle lemonade, prizes, rides, ring toss, slushy bear, stuffies, The Ex
The Ex is back (whether or not you think Covid is over!)
More 2022 CNE photos on a previous post (around and around we go).
around and around we go….
Posted: August 29, 2022 in events, peopleTags: Alpine crossing, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, ferris wheel, fun, midway, people, rides, ring of fire, roller coaster, smiles, spinning, The Ex, tornado
…. and up and down, and back and forth….
Riding fun at the CNE midway!
Other CNE posts
1. The end of summer (2024)
2. Into the night (2014)
3. Afternoon at the Ex (2022)
4. CNE (2013)
in transit
Posted: August 1, 2022 in old buildings, people, transportationTags: 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!
‘Seeing Evergreen’
Posted: May 2, 2022 in people, public artTags: Dvid Crombie Park, interviews, Jamii, people, photography, portraits, Seeing Evergreen, THe Esplanade
“To know a forest you start with the roots”
“Seeing Evergreen” is an exhibit presented by Jamii Twelve older residents of the area were paired with local youth to share their stories. The results of these conversations, along with portraits of the participants, are on display in David Crombie Park on The Esplanade.
below: All the posters have a large portrait on one side
below: On the other side is a small picture as well as the words written. Posters with portraits and stories of four – Victoria, Naomi, Stella, and Carol-Anne
below: Nancy and Chet, their pictures and stories.
below: Posters with the Toronto skyline behind.
pillow fight 2022
Posted: April 3, 2022 in events, peopleTags: fighting, fun, laughing, nathan phillips square, people, pillow fight, pillows
go for the photography, stay for the love
Posted: August 1, 2021 in events, locations, people, public artTags: alley, Christ Donovan, Curtiss Randolph, Dunstin Brons, emily may rose, graffiti, hearts, Jesus, Maximum Exposure 26, New Generations, photography, Quran, reflections, RIC, Ryerson Image Centre, Ryerson University, statue, William McElcheran, Yonge Dundas Square
Yonge and Dundas and thereabouts
below: Part of a large relief sculpture on the wall of the northwest entrance to Dundas subway station of life sized figures on their way – Terra cotta artwork by William McElcheran from 2015.
below: Ryerson Image Centre,
There is a photography exhibit outside the Ryerson Image Centre showcasing three winners of the New Generation Photography Award, Chris Donovan, Dustin Bron, and Curtiss Randolph.
below: ‘Boy in the Window’ by Chris Donovan
below: A second, “Objects in Mirror” also by Chris Donovan
below: ‘AC 2019’ by Dustin Brons
below: ‘Horizon 2017’ by Curtiss Randolph. First in a short series involving a staged drama at this intersection.
below: The statue of Egerton Ryerson is gone. There is graffiti on the walls where the statue once stood.
below: On the Bond Street side of the Ryerson building is another photography exhibit. This is Maximum Exposure 26, an annual exhibit of pictures by Ryerson’s School of Image Arts students. There are 28 very diverse photos included here.
below: Food Pantry. Take what you need; Donate what you can.
below: In the alley behind the Lutheran church and Ryerson.
below: Peace, hearts and respect written on the green bike.
below: The old white building on the northeast corner of Victoria and Dundas is still there and the mural by Emily May Rose with its cute raccoons survives. If only the real raccoons were as lovable!
below: Looking east on Dundas. There is talk of renaming Dundas Street.
below: Yonge Dundas Square is now filled with hearts. There are pink heart shaped seats to sit on and pink hearts on the ground too. Each heart on the pavement has something about Toronto to love – street art, endless streets to explore, the Jays, great architecture, always changing, and more.
below: Keep looking up!

below: Another part of a large relief sculpture on the wall of Dundas subway station























































































































































































































































