Archive for the ‘public art’ Category

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
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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”.

interior of eaton centre shopping mall, south end by queen street exit, escalators and stairs, glass ceiling

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.

inter eaton centre shopping mall, people walking, others on walkway above,

interior of eaton centre shopping mall, large dream catcher shaped decoration hanging from the ceiling, with gold, silver, and white, ribbons, people on stairs beside it

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.

looking south on James street with old city hall on the right and eaton centre on the left, looking towards queen street with lots of glass towers in the background

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.

barricades under a ramp with two signs saying this way, with red arrows, pointing opposite directions from each other

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).

red chair photography at toronto city hall

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.

red chair photography at toronto city hall

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.

man standing beside backside of statue of winston churchill

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

new court house, tall glass and steel building

below: Reflections in the glass of the new court house

very blue sky with white puffy clouds, reflected in windows of new court house on armoury

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.

grey brick and concrete wall

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.

back side of toronto city hall, curved buildings, concrete

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.

two quilts by Nova Scotia resident Susan Lawrence, hanging in the textile museum

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

three quilts by Myla Borden on exhibit at textile museum, black line applique of daily scenes

quilt by Myla Borden on exhibit at textile museum, black line applique of daily scenes

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.

looking north on centre avenue towards dundas

below: A closer look at the facade.

dundas and centre, northwest corner, facade of old brick building is being saved during redevelopment

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.

east side of Centre and Dundas inersection with colourful abstract geometric mural on the corner of a parking garage, and turquoise upper level of Hong Shing restaurant

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.

looking in the window of a restaurant or coffee shop, with tiles in grey black and white pattern by the front door

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

glass building with lots of reflections, northwest corner of dundas and university

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

looking west along dundas from university

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.

old court house building, or Toronto Courthouse, 361 University Ave., 8 storeys, clad with Queenston limestone, Canadian flag flying beside.

below: Cannons and yellow umbrellas

two cannons behind a black wrought iron fence by a patio with yellow umbrellas

below: Behind the yellow umbrellas

below: A narrow passageway between buildings.

two people at the end of a narrow lane that has a tall black wall on the left. 4 lamp posts along the wall

below: Old City Hall clock tower

a woman on her phone walks north on university ave past the canada life building where a man is sitting on the steps

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.

a man walks south on university, past the entrance to osgoode subway station on the northwest corner of university and queen west

below: Even Campbell House is behind scaffolding.

below: Just another Toronto street corner.

workmen in orange safety clothing standing around and talking or watching others work, construction site at Queen and Simcoe

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

construction on Queen West and Simcoe

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.

old black and white photo of bank of commerce on southwest corner of queen and simcoe, black and white, taken 1931

Queen street west, new condo with red glass on balconies, older stores like Adrenaline Tattoo, a Barbershop, Hollywood Hi, south side of the street

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.

three stores on Queen West

two stores on Queen West

three stores on Queen West

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.

two people crossing the street by Queen West, with stores in the background, Civello, Stag Shop and another

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.

mural, blues, aquatic, marine animals, sharks swimming in the water

below: Restaurants on John Street.

restaurants in old brick houses on John street, with tall glass and steel condos rising above them

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.

mural by elicser elliott on the side of a Tim Hortons, small lane, with text that says we see you. it's a thank you mural to the healthcare professionals that worked throughout covid

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

older brick building, with sign Variety on Adelaide, in front of newer glass and steel condos

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

looking east along adelaide from john

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.

glass and metal sculpture in a park that looks like sails on 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.

looking through etched glass on a sculpture to street scene on other side of adelaide street

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

pavement designs in a small park, grasett park, dedicated to robert grasett and irish immigrants of the 1840s

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.

barriers on King Street that were initially part of King street pilot for streetcars but infrastructure never made permanent, King street looking east from JOhn

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.

preserved row of brick buildings on king street, with glass and steel condo rising above and behind

below: Rising above the Royal Alex Theatre

top part of Royal Alexandra Theatre building on King Street, with new glass condo towering above it

a couple standing on sidewalk and talking, a red and white crane in a construction site rises behind them, condo building in the background

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

Bernie Miller sculpture in David Pecaut Square, title of The Poet, The Fever Hospital

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!

sculpture in david pecaut square, a four seater bicycle with a large rhino in the front seat, then a dog and then a rabbit. the back seat is empty for photo ops, this is by Gillie and Mac and is called He was on a wild ride to a safer place
Rabbitwoman and Dogman from a Gillie and Mac sculpture

black door at number 122, with white words painted on door that say who taught you to love

black and white slap graffiti on a metal box on sidewalk

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

 

quilt in textile museum, the cotton pickers

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”

Serene update on the floral murals

Posted: May 22, 2024 in graffiti and street art, public art
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….  at Mt Pleasant and Manor Road.

Back in late 2019, before our lives got turned topsy turvy by that virus thing, I posted about new murals on Mt. Pleasant such as this one on the northeast corner of Mt. Pleasant and Manor Road.   Roses on a pale pink background by Alexander Bacon.

piano piano restaurant on northeast corner of manor raod and mount pleasant, painted pale pink, with very large roses, mural by alexander bacon

I recently learned (thanks to Larissa!) that there are now more murals at the same intersection.  Of course I had to check it out!  Both corners on the south side of Manor Road now have floral murals, also painted by Bacon.  The combined mural has the title “Serene Gate”.

below: Southwest corner

flower mural by alexander bacon, on two storey bick building that has a florist on the lower floor as well as a bulk food store. shelves of potted plants on the sidewalk for sale as well

rows of shelves of potted flowering plants for sale in front of a mural of flowers

shelf of potted flowering plants in front of a mural with a pink flower

below: Southeast corner

flower mural by alexander bacon on side of two storey red brick building

flower mural by alexander bacon on side of two storey red brick building

below: More flowers on the lamppost – a vine of morning glories growing skyward.

painting of purple morning glories on a lamp post

banner on a pole, Mount pleasant village, along with pink flowers

 

a man walking a dog on a sidewalk, back to camera, lines of potted flowering plants on both sides of the sidewalk

working on the windows

Posted: May 20, 2024 in graffiti and street art, old buildings, public art
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On the west wall of Revival Nightclub at Shaw and College is a series of paintings by John Nobrega that recall some of the history of the area.

single storey red brick building with arched windows that now have artwork in them, murals by John Norbrega in tribute to the workmen who built some of the infrastructure, such as bridges, in the area

John Nobrega mural, laborers working on a bridge, historic image

John Nobrega mural, laborers working historic images, man walking past on sidewalk, another man working on cable box beside the sidewalk

John Nobrega mural, laborers working on a bridge, historic image

below: The image at the bottom is the bridge over the Garrison Creek at Crawford Street, about 1915.  It has been since covered over (in the northwest part of Trinity Bellwoods Park).

2 paintings on wondow coverings on revival nightclub, red brick building, painted by John Nobrega

below: Trinity Bellwoods Park and wooden bridge in winter

mural, painting of a trinity bellwoods wooden bridge

below: The credits and descriptions:

window in a brick building covered with blue. White text on the blue describing the artwork elsewhere on the building.

“These mural represent our changing city and the structures that once existed in the neighbourhood. It is dedicated to the laborer, many of them immigrants, who helped build Toronto.”
1. Garrison Creek, late 19th century
2. Crawford bridge, under construction, 1915
3. Wooden bridge that stood in Trinity Bellwoods Park
4. Harbord Street Bridge
5. Trinity Bellwoods bridge in Winter
6. Crawford Bridge, on the current site of Metro
John Nobrega, 2021

 

Note: The Harbord Street Bridge mentioned above was also over the Garrison Creek.  It still survives today but only the top part is visible, between Montrose and Grace.  Bickford Park is to the north and Art Eggleton Park is to the south.  Both parks are where the Garrison Creek ran.

Tour de Lego

Posted: May 16, 2024 in public art
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Starting in January of this year a tower of Lego was built, piece by piece, until it almost covers a wooden street sign pole.

The “Tour de Lego” was the idea, and work, of Martin Reis. Some of the Lego was donated by friends and neighbours but Reis bought a lot of the Lego specifically for this project.  There are a couple of little extras like the buttons seen here.

Lego tower on Harbord, close up view of part of it,

Lego tower on Harbord, close up view of part of it,

lego tower on sidewalk, around a wood pole, men sitting on a bench beside it

Near the top are some Lego windows that open to reveal little pompoms stuffed inside.

lego tower on sidewalk, around a wood pole, bike parked beside it,

lego tower, looking up towards street sign on the top

Lego tower on Harbord, close up view of part of it, person looking at it and pointing to sections of it

stencil graffiti on the sidewalk, 3 white hearts on a black rectangle

Just what the doctor ordered?

Posted: April 23, 2024 in construction, locations, public art, reflections
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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.

old Toronto coach station, now empty with metal fence blocking entrances

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.

old Toronto coach station, now empty with metal fence blocking entrances, Elizabeth street view, newer high rises in the background

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

decorative concrete wall, with vertical geometric designs

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

plastic coated wire bundled up and inserted between brass plaque and wood pole, lots of staples and bits of old paper in pole, artwork scratched onto the brass, including the word weather

I was meeting friends at Starbucks at Sick Kids.

a woman enters through the large glass doors of Sick Kids newer building on east side of Elizabeth street

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!

Elizabeth street, bench on sidewalk, bridge over the street connecting two sick kids hospital buildings

below: Inside the bridge with its zigzagging light

interior of pedestrian bridge, glass walls, a zigzag shaped light in the ceiling, white floor,

below: A white goose

a white goose (not real) on a ledge by a fake orange door on a wall between real windows

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

large multi storey atrium of Sick kids hospital, with elevator and stairs and window to rooms on the sides

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!

coloured lights, glass walls, stairs, atrium of Sick kids

interior at Sick Kids, glass walls, painted murals on interior walls, chairs, coloured lights

blue stair case, hanging public art beside it,

a security guard sits in a chair by a door, a large mobile, or hanging public art installation with hundreds of metal bits floating in the space,

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

squiggly LED ceiling lights at Sick kids

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

Gerrard street entrance to Toronto General Hospital

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.

artwork on wood paneled wall and above three blue chairs

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”.

interior of mars tower, large escalator

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.

interior of mars building

a man sits at a wood table, in front of a room with red sofas and chairs, with a glass wall between them

inside atrium of MaRS discovery district, large multi storey space with glass ceiling

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

people walking through an all white tunnel connecting to the subway, well lit,

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

glass wall and large doors, university avenue entrance to mars building,

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

outside mars building on college street, two people are talking, also two bronze statues, buildings on college street

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.

Doctors Till and McCulloch, bronze statues

below: Dr. McCulloch needed some help keeping dry!

statue of a man, bronze, holding a real red umbrella

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.

closer look at cladding features, Schwartz Reisman building, new building on College St

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.

people walking in the rain on University ave where there is construction, yellow fence, Queens park building is in the background

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).

front door of Campbell Family Building, an old stone building with large decorative glass rectangle above the door, but behind yellow construction fence because of work being done on University Avenue

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

Toronto General Hospital on University Ave., Robert McEwen Atrium, glass,

below: South on University Ave

looking south along the west side of university avenuse, from princess margaret hospital, on a rainy april day

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

workman standing on sidewalk watching red digger dig up the street in front of him

a person stands under a small porch, beside stone columns, with Canadian flag behind

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.

bronze sculpture outside, human like figure walking upright, greenish tinges

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).

red sculpture in a gallery, human like shape made of two large screws

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

large colourful abstract mural on the side of parking garage behind Mount Sinai Hospital

below: Love Locks

large heart shape grid of metal wires with some filled with locks, in artwork called heart locks, on wall of parking garage

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

a group of people huddled together in a bus shelter on dundas, a cyclist going past them, other people on the sidewalk

a man runs along dundas, on the street, cars there too

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.

taking pictures of cups of flat white coffee in a coffee shop

three people walking in the rain, on dundas street, one man has a black and white striped umbrella with a red border

winter came back

Posted: March 27, 2024 in people, public art, waterfront
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Woodbine Beach &
Winter Stations

Woodbine beach in the winter, large trees, some snow,

faded orange wood snow fence in winter, at the beach

woman walking two dogs at the beach

below: “We Caught a UFO”.  Design Team: Xavier Madden and Katja Banović (Croatia and Australia)

public art, winter stations, on Woodbine beach, supposed to look like UFO that landed on the beach, covered with netting

young boy holding a stuffie as he sits inside an art installation at winter stations, netting a ufo

below: “Nova” designed by a team from Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science.

nova art installation, winter stations 2024, woodbine beach, white fabric over red triangles shapes made by metal bars

shadows on white fabric of a public art installation at the beach

looking past white fabric and red posts, part of an art installation, towards the lake Lake Ontario where a couple is walking a dog on a leash

two women dressed in winter layers, with two dogs, getting a dog to pose by icicles on a shrub by giving it treats

below: “Bobbin'”  Design Team: From University of Waterloo – Max Perry, Jason Cai, Kenneth Siu, Simon Peiris, Yoon Hur, Angeline Reyes, Oluwatobiloba Babalola, Yiqing Liu, Kenyo Musa, Ali Hasan

winter station called bobbin on woodbine beach, red wood fence around a teeter totter

a woman walking a small brown dog on the boardwalk at woodbine beach

three young people jogging on the boardwalk at woodbine beach

below: “Kaleidoscopic Odyssey” designed by Brander Architects Inc., Adam Brander, Nilesh P, Ingrid Garcia, and Maryam Emadzadeh

two girls wearing pink coats play inside art installation that has many reflective surfaces

man crouching inside a tube with reflective surfaces as he takes a picture

kaleidoscope art installation reflections

below: “Nimbus” designed by David Stein

woodbine beach by Lake Ontario on a sunny wintery march morning, with art installation, part of winter stations, nimbus, designed by david stein, people walking on beach, large tree

nimbus winter station art installation at wodbine beach, large white cloud with blue rope rain

below: Someone left their ammo behind.

a pile of snowballs left on a wood bench at the beach

a blustery winter day

Posted: January 23, 2024 in locations, public art, reflections, waterfront
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Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

below: A Porter flight approaches the island airport

porter airplane coming in for landing over Lake Ontario, with small dock in foreground

below: The Empire Sandy moored at the waterfront, with the Toronto fire boat in the distance.

the Empire Sandy, a three masted sailing ship moored at a dock at Toronto Harbour, in winter, foggy grey day

ice and reflections on the water, with ropes from a boat with snow and ice on them

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it’s rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today”

as sung by Winnie the Pooh

windows on a boat with snow on them, ropes,

below: A kraken is taking over the boat!

picture of an octopus painted on the side of a red and black boat that is tied up at the shore

below: A large photograph, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is  “These Times 2019” by Anique Jordan which has been on display since the CONTACT Photography Festival last spring.

large black and white photo displayed on exterior wall of art gallery, person lying down with back to the camera

below: “Kuumba”, Photography by Stephen Tayo is on display outside at Harbourfront

large photograph displayed outside, two Black men, one has his arm around the other

harbourfront parking pavilion and entrance building with two large photographs by Nigerian Stephen Tayo featuring black men, and black hair

large photo of two Black women with their hair in curved shapes made from braids, displayed outside in winter, Queens Quay, Ontario Square

below:  Also at Harbourfront, orange ties blowing in the wind.  These are remains, and a reminder, of Orange Shirt Day on 30th September.

2 rows of orange ties hanging from tress, winter, snow covered ground, in a park

CN Tower between two condos

below:  Looking east on Harbour Street, parallel to the Gardiner Expressway, toward York Street and the wedged shaped building that has been squeezed into the space.

wedged shaped building at York and Gardiner Expressway

below: Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story is a “temporary creative intervention” located under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe.  Crowd-sourced stories and memories of the waterfront each on a little blue square.  Making constructive use of a space that has been neglected for so long; adding colour and interest to what was grey and slightly foreboding.

under the Gardiner, pillars painted blue and purple

blue squares arranged in a grid as part of a public art installation. some squares have simple white pictures and some squares have words written in white

“Railways arrived on Toronto’s waterfront in the 1850s. To accommodate, a southward extension of the shoreline via infill was required. The ground where we stand now is close to the original shoreline of the lake.”

construction beside the Gardiner expressway, raised road, winter,

below:  On the north side of the Gardiner – still a little darkness lurking there.

under a Gardiner expressway ramp

below: City of Toronto sign says Tree Protection Zone.  I don’t think that I believe it.

City of Toronto tree protection zone sign on a fence around a construction supply site. no trees there, under the Gardiner Expressway

walking beside a Gardiner Expressway ramp, near York street, north side

concrete bent pillar under the gardiner painted blue with the work york, for york street,

glass structure south of the Gardiner on York

looking into entrance of 12 York, reflections in the glass

below: At this point I had had enough of the cold; it was time to check out a warmer route!  So underground I went, down into the PATH system.   The lobby of ICE at 12 York has this large circular skylight over the escalator.

skylight in roof over escalator to PATH system in ICE condos

 below: And then there is this long black, white, and chrome tunnel that connects the ICE condo and the PATH system.   The walls on both sides are reflective and it’s a bit disorientating.  Is this supposed to represent walking through a block of ice, or black ice?

tunnel from Ice Condos at 12 York to the PATH system, black and white and reflective surfaces

below: PATH, the underground rabbit warren of tunnels that connect downtown buildings to each other.  Usually I get lost down here.

on a white wall, PATH sign,

below: I found myself in a grocery store

view of shelves in grocery store

below: And I discovered that the PATH sometimes goes high, not low.  I found myself on the upper level of the Scotiabank Arena.

a man walks through the PATH system on the upper level of scotiabank arena, interior

below: There is a great view of Legends Row from up here – that’s the statues of all the Maple Leaf Captains from the past.

looking out window of scotiabank arena and seeing legends row, the line up of statues of former Maple Leafs captains

below: And inside, a collage of Leaf players hangs on the wall.

collage of Maple Leafs hockey players, framed picture on wall

below: There’s even a portrait of Justin Bieber, behind glass, wearing a Maple Leaf jersey with a Captains C on the shoulder.

framed picture of Justin Bieber in a Maple LEafs jersey, blue, with a C,

below: This is also good vantage point for all of Maple Leaf Square

Maple leaf square view towards union station with royal york hotel in background, snowy, grey day,

below: Including a close up view of the rusty metal things…  Actually it’s “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.

rusty metal conical shapes, art, maple leaf square, metal has star shaped holes and are lit from inside

At Scotiabank Arena, the PATH splits into two possibilities.  One route is through Union Station and the other is up the escalator towards the new GO Bus Terminal.

below: Four  (or five?) John Tavares’s to give directions to the new GO Bus Terminal.  Happy to oblige!

Picture of Maple Leafs captain John Tavares in quadruplicate, in uniform and helmet, photo on the wall behind a sign giving directions to the new GO bus station

below: There is now a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station Bus Terminal to the new CIBC SQUARE building. This is the view looking south on Bay

view south on Bay street from pedestrian bridge south of railway tracks that joins union station to cibc square

man using phone to take picture out a window from pedestrian bridge, another person watching him as he walks past

below: Along the north wall of the bridge is a work by Nicolas Baier called “Mycelium”.  It is a network of LED lights and it is visible from outside as well.

elevated enclosed walkway over street, with one wall made of glass with artwotk of LED lights running through it

reflection in mirrored glass with a network of L E D lights running through it

below: At CIBC Square there is a new rooftop garden/park that has a tall  skinny metallic tree, along with some real trees. There is no access to it yet but it will probably  be a more welcoming in a few months.

rooftop park, closed for winter and construction, cibc square

At this point I retraced my steps back through Scotiabank and then walked through Union Station where I learned that a small space has been set aside for a temporary roller skating rink.  Free rentals. Free entry.

two women roller skating, one has fallen and the other is helping her up

below: He still stands outside Union Station with the flock of birds flying around while the sun reflects off the gold tinted Royal Bank Building.

sculpture outside union station, man with birds flying around him in partial sphere shape, gold coloured rbc building behind him

below: Steamy Yonge Street on a cold day

Yonge street looking north at king on a cold winter day, steam coming from manhole, steam and fog above the street too

below: Development notice outside 69 Yonge Street.

blue and white city of toronto development notice outside door of 60 yonge street, orange and black traffic construction cones in front of the building

below: C’est tout. Fini. Time to go home.

a man stands on the platform at king subay station, talking on his phone

 

Sherlock Holmes hangs out behind the library

Posted: December 22, 2023 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Behind the Toronto Reference Library that is…..

The passage between Asquith and Church streets has been renamed Sherlock Holmes Walk and it now  features a large mural honoring the fictional detective first brought to life by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

hoardings, decrated with panels with sherlock holmes theme, painted by various artists. title sections,

“I am a brain Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix”, section by Bernice Lum

The mural was developed in partnership with the TTC,  the City of Toronto’s StreetARToronto (StART) program, the Toronto Public Library (TPL) and the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.  It differs from most street art in that the panels were produced elsewhere.   They also have a shiny finish on them so there are many reflections.

 

pathway behind library, with hoardings on right side, painted with images with sherlock holmes theme

The hoardings surround a construction site for the TTC’s Bloor-Yonge Capacity Improvements Project. The site will be home to a future fan building to enhance air circulation at the newly renovated station.

below: The Palace of Westminster (England’s parliament buildings) as Sherlock’s “Mind Palace”, an image created by EGR.  Other London scenes can be found in the background.

EGR image for Sherlock Holmes mural, Holmes with Westminster Palace in London as the top part of his head

below: A younger Sherlock Holmes playing with toy soldiers and toy dinosaurs, Jeff Blackburn

boy in blue pith helmet lying onthe grass playing with toy dinosaurs, painting in a mural by jeff blackburn

below: A collection of images from Heidi Berton,

mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a long wall of hoardings around TTC property, at left is mural by Heidi Berton, Sherlock Holmes related images

part of a larger mural, fountain pen lying on white piece of paper, words written, ink blots on paper and table

below: Niiwin Binesi (Four Birds) – Brent Hardisty

part of a mural about sherlock homes, a section by indigenous artist,


A group of StART artists provided artwork for the mural – I haven’t been able to match all the artists to the sections (and I missed a panel or two?) As well as the artists named above, the following were also involved in this project:  Artists: Adrian Hayles, Annwin Arts, Fatspatrol, Brian Jiang,  Jasmin Pannu, Keitha Keeshig Tobias, Megan Oldhues, Melika Saeeda, Poser.

below: An image that makes me think of  “The Hound of the Baskervilles” novel.

 

Clarence and Draper

Posted: December 2, 2023 in history, locations, nature, public art, waterfront
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Almost 200 hundred years ago plans were made for a new park in a very new city.

old painting of Clarence Park in Toronto in winter, trees around a small fountain, a line of houses at the top of the picture

Colorized print, Clarence Park with houses on north side and a fountain in the middle.  Image found on a Heritage Assessment document for the park, no credit given there.

The park, named Clarence Park for the Duke of Clarence, was part of a planned community conceived of in the 1830s that included a church, a market, and building lots for houses.  The land that it was on was part of a military reserve (i.e. it belonged to the British).   In 1860 ownership of the land, already developed as a park, was transferred to the city by means of a  Crown grant containing a restrictive covenant to maintain it as a public square.

below: A map of the area circa 1833.  Lake Ontario to the south is at the top of the map.  Fort York, on the right was actually on the waterfront at the time.  On the left are some of the original streets – Peter St. and John St. being two of them that are still with us today.  The red square on the map is the location of the present day Clarence Park.

1833 map of Fort York and some streets in Toronto at the Lake Ontario waterfront

below: Clarence Park fountain these days.  I have mentioned before that I think that Toronto does a horrible job with fountains but this one probably wins an award for worst maintenance job ever.  And you say it’s been this way for at least four years?  Is the original fountain (see the painting at top) hiding under here?

boxed sculpture in dry fountain in clarence park

below: So nice of the city to provide more canvas space for graffiti.  Public art at its finest!

paper paste ups on plywood on boxed sculpture in clarence park

close up of paper paste ups on plywood covering sculpture in the middle of a dry fountain in clarence park

below: Not that long ago, this type of picture was not that common in the city. Now, this layered look is everywhere. The houses of Clarence Square, north side, built 1879 – 1885.

row houses on clarence square with glass condos behind

below: Part of the homeless encampment of Clarence Square.  Since this picture was taken (mid-November) some of the other encampments in the city have been cleared, specifically Kensington and St. Stephens church on College Street.  Yes, we have a housing problem.  No, we haven’t got any solutions, or at least none that we can agree on or are prepared to pay for.  Are tents in parks a good idea?  Probably not.  But they are there because it’s an “easy” solution that costs the city nothing.

homeless encampment in clarence park

below: Does anyone recognize this view?  There are a view clues that suggest this is just another view of Clarence Park. But when did those towers appear?  Turn around and someone alters the landscape while you’re not looking, playing tricks with your memory.

cluster of tall condo towers behind a park

below: Now turn 180 degrees, and the view changes…. sort of.  The new LCBO on Spadina that replaces the one at King & Spadina (that building is still standing and still vacant by the way).  Also, across the street is The Well that I blogged about previously.

LCBO store in brick building on corner, on Spadina, across street from new steel and glass development, the well, and other condos in the distance

below: Looking south on Spadina at Front Street – I love the way that Spadina seems to disappear into the distance.  Into the great beyond.

standing on streetcar tracks TTC and looking south on Spadina, at Front street, with glass tower condos on both sides

people waiting at streetcar stop at spadina and front in toronto,

below: If you walk through The Well, at one point this is the view to the north with an interesting jumble of roof lines, window styles, and brick patterns.

layers of midrise buildings, mostly brick, some with balconies, downtown toronto, north of wellington, west of spadina

below: Front St., putting the finishing touches on the sidewalk outside The Well development.

workmen in hi viz jackets laying concrete blocks to make sidewalk along Front Street in downtown Toronto, CN Tower in the background

below: Front Street, walking west towards Bathurst.

three people walking along sidewalk on front street towards portland street and bathurst street in toronto

below: “Dance all night till you can’t feel your legs”

back corner of white car, red light, stickers, rooster, mask, dakkar, and words that say dance all night until you can't feel your legs

below: So many possible captions!  Tossing happiness aside … Empty promises of happiness…

a pile of empty pizza boxes on the sidewalk beside some city of toronto rubbish bins and recycling bins

below: In the midst of all the new development along Front Street and the railway corridor, Draper Street remains.  It is one block of old houses, many of them heritage row houses.

old blue wood door on brick house, stone step, welcome mat with keith herrig image on it

below: Draper Street houses – a smaller version of the houses seen on Clarence Street (see above).  They are of a similar vintage with almost identical rooflines and window shapes.  The Empire Style.

empire style row houses from the 1880s, black mansour roof, with new condos behind

City of Toronto historic plaque for Draper Street

“DRAPER STREET – Draper Street’s Empire-style cottages were built in 1881 and 1882,  while its larger homes were constructed between 1886 and 1889.  The street – a Designated Heritage Conservation District – is unusual because its residential character survived the overall industrialization of the King-Spadina neighbourhood in the twentieth century.  Draper Street has been a haven for people of many backgrounds, such as Lincoln Alexander, who was born here in 1922 to West Indian parents, and who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario from 1985-1991.  The name of the street honours William Henry Draper (1801-1877), a pre-Confederation lawyer and Conservative politician, who was the virtual “Prime Minister” of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1847.  He subsequently became a judge, eventually being appointed Chief Justice of post-Confederation Ontario in 1869. “

 

shadow of old light pole on brick wall of house, new condo being built behind, draper street

The new condos at The Well loom over a new park (2021), Draper Park.  It’s small, the equivalent of two housing lots; numbers 19 and 21 once stood here.  The original owner of 19 Draper Street (1881) was George Hickey, a railway manager.  It was demolished in 1942 and was replaced by a small factory owned by Farrell Plastics.  At that time, a factory would not be out of place as the area was more industrialized.  The building was destroyed by fire in 1969.

below: Draper and Front, looking east

intersection of draper and front streets, looking eastward

Since I mentioned the fact that this land was once owned by the British military, and the fact that Fort York was once “in the middle of nowhere”, I’d like to add a couple more photos that show much development has occurred in the area.

below: New development along Front Street.  The bridge is at Bathurst.  Draper Street is just outside the photo on the righthand side.  All the railway corridor and the lands to the south were not there in 1833 when Sir. Richard Bonnycastle drew his map – but that’s a whole other story for another day!

looking northeast across the railway corridor to Front Street and the new development along it at Bathurst St., Bathurst bridge over the tracks, and new condos in the distance

below: View from Bathurst – the white buildings here are part of Fort York while the new condos are just beyond, closer to Strachan Ave.

buildings at fort york in the foreground, new condo high rise buildings in the background, looking northwest from Bathurst and Front

buildings at fort york in the foreground, new condo high rise buildings in the background, looking northwest from Bathurst and Front

 

intersections – Yonge & Empress Walk

Posted: November 19, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, public art, reflections
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After a very warm October, colder November days aren’t always easy to get used to!  The solution?  There are lots of paces to walk in Toronto where indoor pathways can be used to warm up!

below: Loblaws at Empress Walk, our starting point that day.

Looking down from mezzanine level to lower level Loblaws grocery store

looking down from above to the produce section of Loblaws at Empress Walk, people shopping for apples

below: Glass ceiling at North York Centre.  Before amalgamation of the six Toronto boroughs into what is now the City of Toronto, this was a busier place as it is adjacent to North York City Hall where City Council offices and meeting spaces were.

large glass ceiling over walkway down centre of mall, North York Centre

below:  Interior of the library

interior of central library on Yonge, with rounded balcony sides on three levels

below: The next two photos are taken from the south entrance to the library. First is looking south along the edge of North York City Hall. A  sliver of Mel Lastman Square is on the left.

view from the back entrance to the library, looking south along the edge of North York City Hall towards Sheppard Ave

below: Now looking east towards Yonge Street with Mel Lastman Square on the right.

view from back exit of library, looking east along edge of North York Centre to Yonge St

below: West side of North York Centre (& library)

below: “Green Between” (1994) by Peter Hide stands beside Meridian Arts Centre on North York Blvd (not to be confused with Meridian Hall which is downtown at Yonge & Front)

metal sculpture beside sidewalk, brown, rusty, looks a bit like a face,

below: Also North York Blvd., the south entrance to North York City Hall as well as the Board of Education building.

North York blvd street scene

below: Benches! On Yonge Street

benches along the sidewalk on Yonge street

below: Fountain in the small park by Joseph Shepard Building (federal government).  Now dry for the winter season.

dry fountain in front of brick building, along with some trees with yellow and gold coloured leaves (autumn colours)

yonge street

two storey shops and restaurants on west side of Yonge Street, just north of Sheppard, with large residential building behind them

waiting for bus near Yonge and Sheppard

walking on Yonge near Sheppard

below: Hearts on planters –  These are 2 of the 19 hearts that make up the Willowdale Mosaic Mural Project.  They were created by Robin Hesse and Cristina Delago under the auspices of Mural Routes.   You can find them on West side of Yonge Street, between North York Boulevard and Upper Madison Avenue.

public art project on yonge street, heart shaped, decorated, on side of concrete planters on the sidewalk

public art project on yonge street, heart shaped, decorated with picture of willow tree, on side of concrete plan

below: The Yonge Sheppard Centre on the northeast corner of that intersection has been renovated and the the exterior is totally changed/improved.

below: A pedestrian walks beside the Yonge Street side of the redesigned Yonge Sheppard Centre

walking on yonge street beside new yonge sheppard centre

below:  Even though there are already a lot of condo towers in the area, construction continues on more of them.  This new building is just north of Sheppard.

construction site, building of new entrance to new condo, lots of glass, open door, can inside the interior

elevator on exterior of new highrise condo under construction on yonge street

below: The Legion building (dark brown, with the Canadian flag) is now dwarfed by development around it.

cement truck parked outside new condo building

below: There are still some sites that have not yet been redeveloped.

two storey brick commercial or office space, empty, for lease, on yonge street, brick building

a young woman pushes a baby stroller on sidewalk in front of a glass store front

tall glass buildings across yonge street at empress and park home

people waiting at a bus stop

below: Public bulletin board with posters of a few of the people kidnapped by Hamas in Israel back in October.

notice board on sidewalk covered with kidnapped notices of Isrealis kidnapped by Hamas in Israel

below: In an alley near Yonge & Greenfield; a joint effort by Carillo Art Studio, Cruz1, Luvs (Moise) and Zgar as part of Bit Lane 2021.

luvs and cas mural in north york alley

below: A pink and purple tiger watches the blue jay standing on the branch by June Kim and Nixo Street Art (Erika James). The orange snake is the work of Muisca (aka Daniela Rocha)

three murals on two sides of a building

below: More wildlife, a sparrow, in among the crates in a corner of the lane.

in a corner behind stores in an alley, a small doorway, some stacked crates and boxes, a mural on the wall of a sparrow

below: Lots of birds! On TTC property, Sheppard station bus loop, another mural by June Kim.

wall at Sheppard station TTC bus loop, mural of birds by June Kim, with Emerald condo development in the background

 

poster on grey wall, mostly torn off

With thanks to my mother for being my walking partner that day (which as it turns out, was one of the colder days this month).

reflections in puddle

reflections in puddle

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