Archive for the ‘stores’ Category

from Amsterdam to Skopje…

Posted: November 24, 2025 in locations, public art, reflections, stores
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and a few places in between.

 

young people crossing o'connor drive, at intersection, with a metal box on the corner painted with a large female portrait

Amsterdam and Skopje refer to two streets that intersect with O’Connor Drive in the northeast corner of East York, Amsterdam Avenue and Skopje Gate.   There is also a Wakunda Place but the spelling is different from Wakanda, the fictional country that was created of Marvel Comics.

Every neighbourhood has a story to tell, even if it’s just the story of a quiet life in their own corner of the city.  There are many similar threads that run through the many narratives of Toronto neighbourhoods – the ethnic stores and restaurants, the redevelopment of older buildings into new housing, quiet side streets.  There’s probably a mix of residential styles – single family homes, rowhouses, older apartment buildings, and newer glass and steel condos where people are trying to live as best they can.   It is a scene repeated over and over again.  Parts are fascinating, parts are dull and lacklustre.  There will always be utility poles and wires and garbage bins in the way.    Maybe there will be an alley or two to explore – with old abandoned cars, basketball hoops, and graffiti left behind by jilted lovers or angry young men.   There’s probably a vacant lot where a building has been demolished – or perhaps it hasn’t been demolished yet but it’s just sitting there taking up space and looking sadder and sadder with time.

Just because there are many similarities doesn’t make it less interesting.  Here are a few images from “between Amsterdam and Skopje”.

old welcome banner is falling off the wall, glass wall, with bright red above it

single family homes on a tree lined street

upper two storeys of a line of rowhouses, each slightly different, brick

upper level, back of stores on O'Connor, white brick strip mall, square white chimneys

blue metal xonstruction fence in front of an empty building with parking lot in front of it

parking lot and abandoned buildings waiting to be demolished

faded picture on exterior wall, overflowing cup of coffee or tea on bottom of foot that is upside down, wearing white sock

mailbox at number 1519, beside an image of a woman lying on her back

markings on a sidewalk in pink and red


large yellow arrows on the pavement in a parking lot

backyard garden with overhead vines

bright orange leaves on a tree in front of an apartment building

brick residence, fall colours outside

window of Jesse's filipino foods restaurant

reflections in the window of an audio equipment store

looking in the window of Shakira Beauty Academy, with some reflections of trees and cars outside

halloween decoration, life sized skeleton sitting on a chair on a balcony

two metal boxes on sidewalk painted with street art

Not every neighbourhood has a large bowling pin (as public art). Backstory – the condo that this pin sits in front of was built on the site of the old O’Connor Bowling Lanes (1951-206).

very large white bowling pin sitting in the middle of a large raised garden, as art

Of all the similarities that this neighbourhood shares with others in the city, not many of the others can claim to have a cookie outlet….

entrance to Peek freans cookie outlet, one car parked in front, mostly glass front to the building

And even more unique,  it’s also the home of the Peek Freans Biscuit factory.  There was a lovely sweet vanilla-ish smell in the air the day that I walked around.  Peek Freans has a long history in England dating back to the 1850s.  In 1949 they established their first bakery in Canada, here on O’Connor Drive.

entrance to peek freans cookie factory, a yellow brick building

Although the company has changed hands numerous times since then, the East York factory still produces cookies (and other items such as Oreos and Wheat Thins) for Mondelez Canada.

looking across O'Connor Drive towards Peek Freans cookie factory

Back in 1953 when this photo was taken there wasn’t much else around!

black and white photo of Peek Freans cookie factory in 1950s, on O'Connor drive, not much else is around it ,

source: City of Toronto Archives, fonds 1128, series 380, item 39

.

tops of storage silo towers at peek frean cookie factory

below: A couple of the metal boxes painted by D. Drew.

orange painting on a metal bell box, car parked behind it, boarded up business in the background with for sale sign on it, painted by D. Drew

forest sunset scene painted on a metal sidewalk box

man walking dog on sidewalk, past fall coloured trees

orange traffic cones stored in pink container

clear bottle with yellow liquid, partially full, sitting on a yellow concrete wall

side wall of a white brick building

looking in a window with flat rectangular ceiling lights, reflections of hydro pole and lines outside

balcony wth black railing on a grey brick building, blue sky with a cloud, transformer on hydro pole, with some wires

row houses on the corner of O'Connor Drive and Skopje Gate

After I wrote this blog post I asked google for a list of streets in Toronto named after American cities.  I got this answer: “Toronto has a number of streets named after American cities, such as Chicago Street, Dallas Street, and Milwaukee Avenue. These streets often have historical connections or reflect the city’s relationships with other North American metropolises.”  I had never heard of these streets in Toronto!  Maybe I missed something.

My next move was to look for Chicago Street in Google maps.  “There is no street named “Chicago Street” in Toronto” was the answer.  I also struck out looking for Dallas Street (which is when Google tried to direct me to Yonge Street).  The answer when I searched for Milwaukee Street was the best of all – “There is no “Milwaukee Street” in Toronto; however, there is a street called Ossington Street, often mentioned in lists of the city’s coolest streets, and a retail store named The Milwaukee Road located at Yorkdale Mall).   The next time you walk down Ossington, you can think of Milwaukee!

 

from Dupont to St. Clair West

Posted: November 12, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, transportation
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Enter if you Dare!

halloween decorations, including hand written sign that says enter if you dare, skeletons, fake cobwebs, yellow caution tape, all behind a little white picket fence

 

A late October walk on a sunny day – starting at Dupont station which is just north of Bloor on Line 1 (That’s the University side of the Yonge-University Line for those of you who, like me,  haven’t mastered the TTC numbering system yet!).  We walked a few blocks on Dupont before going under the railway tracks to Bridgman, then took a quick turn on Albany to get to Davenport.  A short block later we were on Bathurst.   Vaughan Road veers left off Bathurst just south of Bloor.  We meandered  a bit north of Bloor before walking back to St. Clair West station.

below: A bright and sparkly flower blooms on the southbound platform of Dupont subway station.   This is one of the mosaics designed by James Sutherland in the series “Spadina Summer Under all Seasons” found around the station.

mosaic flower, very large, on the wall at track level, by platform of Dupont subway station

below: More Dupont station flowers to greet subway travelers, this time on the concourse level.


mural picture seen inside dupont subway station, concourse level, on tiles

below: Taking the escalator up inside the dome at street level.

on escalator up to surface level, dupont subway station, looking towards glass dome roof of station entrance

looking through glass doors of dupont station entrance, a woman is coming in, stores across the street

below: There is a Nick Sweetman mural of birds that wraps around the curve of a bench.

mural by Nick Sweetman, above a curved bench at Dupont station, a blue jay, nuthatch, evening grosbeck, and more

below: The curve matches that of the domed entrance to the station on the southeast corner of Dupont and Spadina.

bikes parked outside Dupont subway station, beside glass dome over entrance, beside bench with Nick Sweetman mural

elevator structure at dupont subway station

below: Casa Loma in the distance, on the hill beyond the tracks. This is the view on Spadina north of Dupont.

railway underpass on Spadina, with casa loma on a hill in the background

looking through railway underpass, traffic including school bus is stopped at a red light at dupont

below: Northeast corner of Dupont and Spadina

stores on northeast corner of spadina and dupont, pedestrians people waiting to cross at traffic light, D and D gift shop, country style, and XC Art Restoration, Subway restaurant

below: Big rounded arches, rooftop terraces in the back, and two turrets, all at the corner of St. George Street and Dupont.

large multi unti old brick residence, three storeys, two turrets

below: Looking north on St. George, towards Dupont, 1904.  Working on the street.  The house with the two turrets is already there.  The duplex on Dupont at the top of the street still exists too.

old black and white photo from 1904 of St. George street looking north to Dupont.

below: The duplex (176-178 Dupont) is difficult to see because like so many other older residences on main streets, an addition has been added to the front to facilitate a store or a restaurant.   At the moment,  176 Dupont is a Mexican restaurant, even though the says Pastrami (close enough!).

the first a in pastrami is missing, in a sign above a restaurant.

vines growing on concrete wall that has street art painting on it, side of railway underpass supports

below: Bruno Men’s Hairsylist and his quaint little sign.

Bruno mens hairstylist sign on building on spadina

below: On Dupont, east of Spadina is this mural by Catherine Cachia

mural on the side of a residential building on Dupont, big circular flowers, by Catherine Cachia

below: Cozy and euphoric.

cozy coffee and euphoria stores

below: Bete Suk, Ethiopian Coffee shop

front window of Bete Suk, Ethiopian store and coffee shop on Dupont

below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Spadina, and another domed subway entrance.

bus shelter and dome of dupont subay station entrance on northwest corner of spadina and dupont,

below: Looking west on Dupont

looking west on dupont from in front of dupont subway station, red and white TTC sign.

below: Another, much clearer, example of the transition of houses to businesses by building additions in front, are these two – Krispy Kreme and the faded Modern Laundry & Dry Cleaners.

peaks of original houses can be seen over the top of the boxy additions to the structure to make space for stores, krispy kreme donuts on one side, a dry cleaners on the other

below: West of Dupont, there are still some garages covered in street art.

 

white car parked beside a garage with a street art on the side of it.

below: This is 390 Dupont Street, part of which is now a coffee shop/vintage clothing store.  I am not sure what the history of the building is but when I tried to research it, I discovered that there is a condo development being proposed for the site.

commercial building, coffee shop on ground level

below: This is the neighbouring property, 388 Dupont.   Two years ago when I walked this stretch, there was a blue and white development notice sign in front of the building (Dupont Street Scenes).   When the application for redevelopment was first filed (2020), it was for an 11 storey building involving 374 to 388 Dupont.  By 2023 the plan had evolved to 12 storeys and now included 390 Dupont as well.  Because the site is adjacent to the CP Railway corridor, a train safety derailment wall along the entire back wall is part of the plan.

old car wash on dupont street

below:  Although there is no posted notice of planning applications for this building, it appears to be empty.  The front door is boarded up and there is a No Trespassing sign in the window.

two storey older brick building, boarded up front door, seems to be empty

below: Two years ago this building was in the early stages of construction.

new condo under construction, balconies are white, with curved ends
below: Another theme that occurs over and over again on the streets of Toronto – the jumble of different eras. Very old brick houses and new glass and steel towers mixed together along with ages in between.   The smaller older structures dwarfed by the newer ones that tower over them.

old grey house, old brick building painted bright red, new condo development, in a line along dupont street

below: The Troy Lovegates mural of 10 faces on Howland & Dupont is still there and still looking vibrant.  If you are interested, there are more images of this mural elsewhere in this blog. 

mural by Troy Lovegates at the corner of Howland and Dupont, 10 faces cover the exterior wall of Fat Pasta restaurant

 below: Running parallel to the railway tracks, and just north of them.

parking lot with tall hydro transmission tower and lines running through it

empty parking lot, with row of condos in the background

below:  The north side of the CP Railway corridor shows signs of its more industrial past.   This building with its curved glass sidelights and other small Art Deco finishes, sits empty.   Previously it was home to a plumbing company but they have moved to new quarters elsewhere in the city.

curved glass sidelights around a metal frame door, brick building, number 316, now empty

 below: Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott

Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott
Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott

below: There is also this mural, just around the corner on Albany, “You are not alone”. It was painted by Julia Prajza and Bareket (bkez).  ‘You Are Not Alone Murals’ is a public mural project with over 100 murals completed.  Their goal is to “inspire artists to create murals in their communities–sparking hope, connection, and conversations about mental health.” (quote taken from their website, youarenotalonemurals.com).

mural on the front of a building, wrapped around the front door, in cursive, text says You are not alone

below: An intriguing series of photos in the windows… but I couldn’t get a closer look at them.

private property, no trespassing sign on chain link gate, in front of driveway, beside building with old pictures displayed in boarded up windows

below: A large red heart and an even larger blue spruce tree.

large blue spruce tree growing in the front yard of a house with table and chairs in the front yard, also a bench with a large red heart on it

older house with trees growing in front, front door and enclosed porch have been tagged;

in magenta, stencil graffiti that says you grow girl

below:  The paintings along the concrete wall on the west side of Bathurst have all been defaced.

front end of a white truck in view, driving past a mural painting of an orange car, mural has been tagged in large fat green and white letters

below: Another touch of Art Deco in the neighbourhood

stairs and entrance to an art deco style brick apartment building with curved corners

below: Bathurst Street houses

2 single family homes on Bathurst street

below: Playing in the playground

autumn foilage on tree at edge of playground

below: Store fronts on Bathurst

store fronts on Bathurst

Green Farms store on the corner, Bathurst Street

store fronts on Bathurst, one is empty and for lease, another is knit o matic

below: Looking north up Bathurst where Vaughan Road exits left. Vaughan Road was built in the 1920’s along an older trail that follows a now underground creek.  From here, it runs more or less diagonally north and west to its northern end at Dufferin and Eglinton.

looking north up Bathurst to where Vaughan Road veers left

below: Choice laundry in the old brick building, on Vaughan Road.

Choice coin laundry and dry cleaning, , with a young man sitting outside

below: Also on Vaughan Road, Zoomiez Doggie Daycare and Vaughan Road Pharmacy.

vaughan road pharmacy, brick building on vaughan road, beside newer building with is home to zoomiez doggie daycare

a face has been added to a hydro pole, plastic face parts nailed to the wood

below: We met a couple of strangers.  They weren’t very talkative though so we kept walking….

two life sized skeletons sitting outside with drinks in their hands

vacant lot behind black chain link fence

large apartment building in background, top of a porta potty in the foreground,

hole in the ground for condo construction, crane,

piles of supplies for construction, building materials, behind an old house

below: The gateposts on Strathearn Road mark the entrance to the former village of Forest Hill.  Forest Hill was incorporated as a village in 1923 and then annexed by the City of Toronto in 1967.

two large stone gate posts for a gate in a boulevard between two lanes of traffic

two large trees in front of a single family home, 2 storeys, both trees full of red leaves for autumn

bungalow single family home, white garage door, brickwork is checkerboard light and dark brown,

older stone house with brown wood addition, ivy covers on of the walls, stone chimney, large blue spruce tree growing beside the house

below: There is a metal plaque at each end of the Glen Cedar pedestrian bridge over the Cedarvale Ravine.  This is the one at the south end.  The text is taken from the lyrics of “Anthem”, a song by Leonard Cohen.  The first bridge here was built by Henry Pellatt (the same man responsible for Casa Loma) in 1912. It became a pedestrian bridge when it was modernized in 1989.

brass plaque embedded in the concrete of a bridge railing

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your prefect offering.
  There is a crack,
a crack in everything
it’s how the light get’s in
[and yes, the plaque has an apostrophe in gets]

glen cedar pedestrian bridge in late october when the trees were in their autumn foilage

red, range, and yelow oak leaves, autumn colours, from Glen Cedar bridge

below:  Home is where our story begins.

graffiti words on dark grey metal railing of bridge, background is path and trees below the bridge, words say "home is where our story begins"

graffiti, black drawing on white, signed, also words toxic city on drawing

large gnarly old tree beside a two storey brick house

path through a ravine with some sunlight coming down through the large trees that are on both sides of the trail,

below: At Bathurst and St. Clair – Da Best Pilipino Bakery and Deli

on Toronto education workers building, a green sign that says Da Best Pilapino Bakery and Deli

cracked concrete sidewalk, metal drain cover

below: Waiting to cross Bathurst Street

looking east on the north side of St. Clair on Bathurst

below: Looking east on the north side of St. Clair, from Bathurst.  St. Clair West subway station is just a few meters away.

looking east on the north side of St. Clair on Bathurst,, fence around a construction site

below: There was once a gas station on the northeast corner of Bathurst and St. Clair West.  Now it is a vacant lot with a few alien creatures like this one lurking about.

large digger on construction site, with glass and steel condos in the background

passenger in a white truck, window down, elbow out, as it drives around a corner

plastic halloween decorations, a flying orange ghostly creature with a black witch's hat on

below: Happy Hallowe’en pumpkins!  The frog’s not so certain though.

two jack o lantern pumpkins for halloween decorations, on a front porch

 

With thanks to Nancy who walked with me that day.

Captain Hawley and others

Posted: September 12, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, stores
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below: This lane was recently named for William Hawley, a retired Toronto firefighter and Leslieville resident.

sign for Captain Hawley lane, with new third and fourth floor additions to a building in the background

Captain Hawley lane runs north from Eastern towards Queen St East.  It is west of Leslie Street.  There are a few other little alleys in the vicinity all of which seem to be unnamed.  This blog post shows some of the things seen in these alleys as well as on the major streets around them, Queen, Leslie, and Eastern.

below: Elicser Elliott’s Leslieville mural still looks great at Queen & Jones.

young man crossing Queen Street near Leslieville mural, and beside a TTC streetcar

Leslieville mural

below: “Community” by Candace Bell on Queen East

painting on sidewalk traffic box, in front of store, on Queen Street East

below: Who is the photographer?

a camera is set up on a tripod, on the sidewalk outside a cafe, man sitting on chair nearby, another man sitting too

workman in hard hat and work boots, spray painting a line on the pavement, street,

below: Stores on Queen East.

stores on Queen Street east

below: Northeast corner of Larchmount and Queen East.

intersection of Larchmount and Queen Street East , northeast corner

queen street east, north side

below: Photo taken on a day when gas was $1.43 a litre, albeit full service which you don’t find everywhere these days.

sun gas services station on queen street east

below: An afternoon break on a patio.

woman on patio of duke tavern, red building with mural on the side, white umbrellas,

below: Waiting to get into the Duke, Men’s Entrance

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern, men's entrance, plus a boy sitting on the steps outside

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern

below: Leslie and Queen East south side,

glass of bus shelter, with Leslie St sign on it, people walking on sidewalk, front of Shish restaurant on Queen Street, construction on southeast corner of Leslie and Queen in the background

below: Construction on the east side of Leslie – one of countless large holes in the ground.

workmen talking, construction site, Leslie street at Memory Lane

below: Houses on Leslie, south of Memory Lane.

houses, Leslie Street and Memory Lane,

below: A house with a bright turquoise front door and another that is now taller and skinnier.

row of houses on leslie street, one has a bright turquoise front door and the one beside it has had a third storey added to it

below: 27 Leslie Street

small blue building at 27 Leslie Street

below:  Non-believers on top – “No Truth to it!” over “Jesus saith unto him…. “.

Note on pole that says, but someone ha written over it, no truth to this

toronto street sign for eastern avenue, on a pole covered with vine and ivy

below: On Eastern, the AMCO gas station is now closed because of a recent fire.

gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire

men boarding up burned out gas station
AMCO gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire, with backs of houses beside it

below: “Navalny” and “Text” by Nigel Smith

text street art by Nigel Smith, on old office building, two signs, one says text and the other says Navalny

below: There is still a large vacant lot on the south side of Eastern Avenue (with views towards the Port Lands)

temporary building structures on a large vacant lot
no trespassing sign on fence surrounding a large vacant lot on Eastern Avenue

… and now the laneway scenes …..

below: Starting with the now  ubiquitous laneway garden suite

new infill house development in a lane

low burlap barrier draped across an alley, repairs being made to the concrete and pavement behind the barrier

a large billboard on Eastern avenue, with advert for second cup coffee shop, summer drinks

below: These  houses  with the square-ish shapes at the back are disappearing as more and more home owners renovate and/or expand upwards.  Brick is no longer the cladding of choice (and hasn’t been for a long time).

back of house, alley view, square red brick two storey house, one window, wood fence

alley views, back of two semi detached houses, that share a chimney, one green siding and one one white siding

white camper of RV parked behind house, goldenrod weeds growing by the back door.

back of house, alley view, painted wood fence, lots of trees

vines growing on overhead wires, over a lane, with garages along the sides of the alley

back of house, alley view, wood fence, white sun umbrella, grey cover on barbecue

back of house, alley view, white house, white van parked behind, green wood fence

backyard alley view, back of newly renovated house, expanded, fence down at back, bags of yard waste

backyard alley views, old tire, trash bins, rooftop terrace with umbrella

small red car parked in a lane, line of garages, tall trees,

backyard alley view, overgrown grass and shrubs, hard to see the house, chainlink fence and gate

backyard alley view, lots of stuff, including a shopping cart full of basketballs and soccer balls, chairs, sheets and clothes hanging from a yellow rope clothes line

chainlink fence, old painted wood, rusty metal, latch, gate in an alley

red gate in an alley, with black line drawing on it, locked, latch,

old plywood on a fence, once painted red, now faded to slightly orange red, with dirt splotches and worn areas, texture, pattern, abstract

 

Ontario Line – north end of Pape

Posted: June 22, 2025 in construction, locations, stores, transportation
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On a hillside along the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), there is a large construction project underway.  This is where the new Ontario Line subway will go underground after crossing the DVP by bridge.

construction site at north end of Pape, on hill overlooking Don Valley Parkway, workman leaning on fence, new entrance to Ontario Line being built here

From this angle it’s difficult to see the work that has been done on the north side of the DVP but the ground has been cleared for construction of the support pillars for the large bridge that will take the LRT from Don Mills Road to this point at the top of Pape.

looking across the DVP from north of Pape

It has altered the quiet East York neighbourhood at the north end of Pape.

sidewalk closed, cross left, new stop sign, at Minton Ave., make way for Ontario Line construction

top of Pape Ave., now a construction site

houses, red brick, two storey, on one side of the street, hoardings for construction on the other side

Ontario Line construction has also affected Pape Avenue.  Here at Cosburn, a long stretch of what used to be stores and restaurants are now behind plywood hoardings.   The main entrance to the station will be on the northwest corner of Pape and Cosburn.  The final decision on the look of the station is not yet made (according to the Metrolinx website) but at least some of the renderings show that Infrastructure Ontario is involved and maybe the site will include other uses such as housing or offices.

an older woman pushes her shopping under a passageway alonside plywood construction hoardings. Tops of old buildings about to be demolished can be seen on top

Demolition has started but it looks like this project is going to take a while.   The subway is going to run just west of Pape, under these buildings.  Construction will kill (has killed?) street life but traffic shouldn’t be affected as much.  Someone somewhere made that decision.

demolition of an old building, behind green hoardings

woman with a cane and pulling a shopping cart, walks past a construction site with green hoardings

below:  Some of the buildings from the back side, behind the plywood

back of buildings, alley view, empty and waiting for demolition, ontario line work, on pape,

 

big crane, construction site, apartment buildings in the background

below: There is a large Coca-Cola advert on the side of the building that is about to be demolished.
coca cola ghost sign on the side of a building about to be demolished

utility pole wrapped with pape village sign in red, beside plywood hoardings, mcdonalds in the background

below: Bethany Baptist Church

bethany baptist church on pape ave

looking west on cosburn at pape, construction of new subway station

looking west on cosburn at pape, construction of new subway station, with two red benches in the foreground

three young men sitting outside a coffee shop on pape avenue

payday loans, signs all over building on pape
below: There are little semi circular “ears” at the top of this building.  I doubt that they had a function but along with the 3-D pattern across the top of the building, it adds a little bit of interest to the street scene.

row of brick stores on pape including 1000 variety

below: Cat and dog at Floyd … while the crossing guard takes a break.

intersection of Pape and Flloyd, with cutout images of cat and dog high up on the brick wall of the nearest building, crossing guard is sitting on the bench

mural on the side of El Greco restaurant, a woman drinking a large mug of coffee

street art mural of an ancient Asian warrior

ghost sign on brick wall, auto mechanic ad,

large red vinyl arm chair with old fashioned hair dryer

Back in November 2024, I posted some photos of the changes around Pape station (at Danforth).  I ended that post just north of Danforth with the comment, “There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day.”  I guess that you could say that now is that day.

below: The top sticker is for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra and on the bottom it’s something about Kirby and Zaku and if you are into such things you might understand the reference.

graffiti stickers on a pole, including one for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra

graffiti stickers, catchoo and trp613

from Bay to Christie

Posted: May 20, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings, people, stores, transportation
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… a walk along Bloor Street on one of the rare warm days in May.

  With respect to the weather, it’s been a crazy May – first cold, then warm, then cold again.  As I write this, my windows are closed and the furnace is on.  These are the coldest days in May since 1967 they say.  I was going to make jokes about Hell freezing over but the Leafs didn’t win.

smaller Bay station entrance, beside The Momo House, with people walking past

One of the Bay station exits is at Cumberland Terrace.

view from Cumberland Ave., into the glass wall of Cumberland Terrace, people sitting at tables for lunch, reflections of tall buildings behind

The lower level of Cumberland Terrace, especially along the north side, sits mostly empty.

empty fast food stalls in the basement level of cumberland terrace, korean food, and falafel places,

the basement level of cumberland terrace, with lots of mirrors and square ceiling lights, but no people, mostly closed

From Cumberland Terrace, I headed to the corner of Bay & Bloor Streets and then westward from there.  This is some of what I saw (and, for a change, I managed to keep the photos in the order that I took them).

looking down an alley downtown, with tall glass and steel buildings

mannequin in a window, with reflections, behind metal bars from scaffolding

young man carrying a ladder, under scaffolding on sidewalk

 

A woman in a green t shirt and blue shoes sits on a circular bench on Bloor Street, with a laptop, outdoors

Many people crossing Bay street on north side of Bloor. intersection of Bay and Bloor. TD bank on the southwest corner

intersection of Bay and Bloor. building on the northwest corner has cladding removed for renovations, man sitting on corner begging, other people walking by, traffic,

below: Cladding changes at Bay and Bloor.  The older concrete window frames are disappearing.  Does anyone know if this type of recessed window feature has a name?

architecture of windows and cladding, two buildings downtown

people walking past st laurent store, large black off-white coloured building with no windows

woman in beige sweater and orange pants walking abong bloor street

below: People watching from behind glass

2 white mannequins in a window, one in dark glasses and the other in tight fitting cap, looking out a window, with reflections of trees and traffic

bloor street, reflections as well as street scene,

below: From Avenue Road, looking west, where the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) dominates the south side of Bloor.

looking west on bloor from avenue road, past the front of the art gallery of ontario, crane in the distance, cement truck on street

below: Renovations now underway on part of the “crystal” structure at the front of the AGO.

in front of the art gallery of ontario where renovations are occurring, hoardings, looking east on bloor

construction and renovations of part of the crystal structure at the entrance to the art gallery of ontario

workmen and equipment, renovations of part of the crystal structure at the entrance to the art gallery of ontario

people walking on the sidewalk, bloor street, in front of the art gallery of ontario

below: Red car….

a bright red car parked on bloor street, in front of new condo building, and a building with a black and white striped awning in the front

below:  … and red maple leaves

sign on brick wall at varsity stadium, arrow pointing right to varsity pavilion, witn lots of red maple leaves on blue background above the sign

below: The OISE building (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) was controversial when it was built in the late 1960s but it has aged into a good example of classic late modern concrete architecture.   As an extra note – if you are interested in Toronto’s concrete architecture of this period, check out “Concrete Toronto: A Guidebook to Concrete Architecture from the Fifties to the Seventies”, edited by Michael McClelland and Graeme Stewart (many people contributed chapters to the book).

man on electric bike in bike lanes on bloor in front of OISE building

people waiting for traffic lights, before crossing St george, at bloor, by the bata shoe museum, reflections in the window of the building beside them

below: Reflections in the windows of the Bata Shoe Museum at Bloor and St. George.

people crossing bloor at st george, by the bata shoe museum, reflections in the window of the museum

reflections in the window of bata shoe museum on bloor, showing buildng across the street, blue sky, clouds, and people passing by

below: Looking west on Bloor at Huron Street where the old church on the northwest corner is being renovated and expanded.  Bloor Street United church was built in 1880 and was originally a Presbyterian church.  In 1925 it was one of about 70% of the Presbyterian churches that merged with the Methodists to form the United Church of Canada.

looking west on bloor at huron, north side of the street

below:  The Bloor street facade of the church is being retained and updated while maintaining the church itself intact.   A new condo tower is being built on the site, set back from the church building.

conversion of church into condos, northwest corner of bloor and huron

below: Looking east on Bloor Street.  This view also shows the new building to the west of the church that is also part of the same project.

looking east on Bloor street, north side of street, traffic, new construction, church being turned into condos,

below: Tartu College building – another example of concrete architecture; it was designed by Elmar Tampold.  Tartu College is a not for profit student residence and was named after the city Tartu in Estonia.

front, and entrance of, tartu college, a highrose student residence on bloor street, made of concrete in the 1970s

a group of people standing on the corner or Robert and Bloor as a red car turns right beside them

old black and white graffiti stickers on a one way arrow sign

side of a woman in a navy blue sress, god watch, and holding a phone case, as she walks along bloor street,

below: Red dress to symbolize missing and murdered Indigenous women.

red dress hanging in a garden outside a church, as a memorial to missing indigenous women

below: Heart Garden at Trinity St. Pauls church at Bloor and Major.  There are many of these gardens across the country and they are all dedicated to victims of the residential school system.

a woman in a head scarf walks past a small memorial garden, that has a large rock in the middle, heart garden

poetry, on wood, on a wood wall in a garden, heart garden,

Words on the first panel – by Katherena Vermette  An other story this country has an other story one that is not mine or yours but ours

 

below: Colourful Annex mural by Planta Muisca

shrubs and a tree in front of a mural for the annex in bright colours, houses in blues and reds, by planta muisca

below: Bloor at Bathurst, southwest corner.  This is what replaced Honest Eds – one had character and the other doesn’t and I think you know which one is which.

Mirvish village development on southwest corner of bloor and bathurst, glass and steel with some concrete, standard new condo street level design

a woman sits on a low concrete wall around a planter, on bloor, two cyclists pass by, another woman is pushing a stroller on the sidewalk

below: Markham Street is still closed as it is part of the large construction site on the old Mirvish property.

looking south on Markham street from Bloor. Still a construction site while Mirvish village makeover is underway.

below: Little wavy curled features on the roof

two storey brick building on bloor, market on lower level, language school, CCLCS, on the upper. roofline has two little wave-like curly features

below: From Sammie’s to Jimmy’s, with Real Nails in between.  Square buildings, flat rooflines.

upper levels of a row of three storey brick stores along bloor, the two in the middle are painted yellow.

below: Gold Leaf Fruit Market at Palmerston and Bloor

Gold Leaf Fruit market on the northeast corner of Palmerston and Bloor.

below: Northwest corner of Palmerston and Bloor

northwest corner of palmerston and bloor, 3 storey red brick row of buildings,

four young women standing on a street corner, al with a drink in their hand, with traffic going by and street scene behind them.

looking out the window of a coffee shop, word coffee is in window, but reversed, street scene with stores and traffic.

two women in a coffee shop, one is working at a table by the window, the other is seated at another table

below: Todays Specials

outside a book store, on a table, books for sale, with sign that says Today's Specials, prices as marked

below: Bloor Fruit Market

bloor fruit market, west side, two street art murals on the side of the building, lots of produce for sale outside, red brick building,

man in grey shirt is choosing berries from the bloor fruit market where there are lots of berries in plastic containers, blueberries, strawberries, and black berries,

below: Table for two

on the sidewalk, two small red plastic chairs wth a table between them, a man walking past, street scene in the background, Bloor Street

below: Just a little monkey sunbathing in the window!

little stuffed grey and light purple monkey sitting in the window of a store with 3 mannequin feet behind it.

pedestrians on sidewalk outside clothing store on bloor street, mannequin in the window

signs on the sidewalk for stores along bloor street in koreatown including a restaurant ad for Sapporo premium beer, pictures of plates of food in the restaurant,

below: Koreatown, mailbox

older black mailbox with lid open, on a white wall beside a door on Bloor street, also on the wall, Korean lettering in blue and red

below:  Waiting for the green light.

two cyclists in the Bloor Street bike lane, stopped and waiting for a green light, traffic on the street including a school bus.

woman walking alone on sidewalk with purse over her shoulder and wearing a navy blue sweatshirt that says talentless but connected on the front of it

below: Christie subway station

entrance to Christie subway station, TTC, sidewalk in front, blue bins,

subway stopped at Christie station, one man isgetting off, can be seen through windows, while a woman sits by another window

three men on a subway train, two are standing by the door, looking at their phones. the third is sitting with arms folded and eyes closed

And last, a shout out to Alternity Cafe where my smoothie was a fabulous pale bluish turquoise colour, thanks to the addition of “blue magic”.

fork in salad bowl with avocado dressing, drink beside bowl is a pale turquoise coloured smoothie in a glass

between Wellesley and Gloucester

Posted: May 2, 2025 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores
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Like many good walks, this one starts from a subway station. This time it is Wellesley station

from in front of Wellesley TTC subway station, looking west on Wellesley, past Chechalk Lane to Yonge Street

below: Standing on the northeast corner of Yonge & Wellesley

on the northeast corner of Wellesley and Yonge, looking southwest

Not Just Noodles in old brick building, northwest corner of Yonge and Wellesley

Walking north on Yonge and taking advantage of the fact that there wasn’t much traffic. Some (all?) of these buildings may have appeared in prior blog posts. At some point I should pull together all the Yonge street photos that I have taken over the years. It might be interesting to see what has changed and how much. In the meantime, here are a few scenes from the two blocks from Wellesley north to Gloucester (past Dundonald St.)

below: Looking north.

looking north up Yonge towards Bloor

below: Large abstract red metal sculpture by Albert Paley.

red metal sculpture on the corner of Yonge & Gloucester

old brick buildings with mansour roofs, on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, Kung Fu Tea, a chicken restaurant with bricks painted pink,

old brick buildings with flat roofs, on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, Life Med quick fix, a vapes store, tattoo parlor, Molly Teas, and Ana Nails,

old brick buildings on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, san coiffure,

old brick buildings on Yonge, north of Wellesley, west side of the street, three storeys high, most from the 1880s, flat roof. Bloom clinic, a spa, an empty store with brown paper covering the window,

upper storeys of old brick buildings on Yonge Street

below: Yonge Street has long been a dividing line down the middle of the city. There are some east-west streets that now run uninterrupted across Yonge but many don’t. For example, Dundonald Street ends at Yonge (runs east only) but after a slight jog to the north, you can continue on St. Joseph Street.

looking west along St. Joseph St., north side, from Yonge

below: Like St. Joseph St. is the continuation of Dundonald, Irwin Ave is the continuation of Gloucester.

from Irwin Ave looking east to Yonge and then to Gloucester, red sculpture by Paley, new glass and steel condo tower

Ethiopian restaurant on Irwin Ave

below: Shown here is one of the numerous alleys, that crisscross downtown Toronto – Cottage Lane runs north from Irwin Ave for a short distance.  Murals have been painted by B.C. Johnson on both sides.

Alley, with red brick buildings on each side, both with murals across the bottom part, painted by B. C Johnson, downtown, highrises in the background

below: Nearby, St. Nicholas Street south of Irwin becomes a narrow lane.

alley running north from Irwin Ave., just west of Yonge

Back to Gloucester (because we can never walk in a straight line!)…..

below: James Canning Gardens

James Canning Gardens, public space downtown

James Canning Gardens, public space downtown

below: An row of three old red brick houses with a heritage plaque outside – 7 to 11 Gloucester, built 1887.  Also known as the Hugh Matheson houses.  They have been incorporated into a condo development.

large 2 storey red brick house with a heritage plaque in the front

…”In September 1885, physician and tailor Hugh Matheson received a permit to build a row of homes on this site, located at the rear of his Yonge Street property at a cost of about $15,000 (about $500,000 in 2024). Matheson trained to become a doctor in Toronto and Connecticut but instead chose to be a men’s clothing retailer, running a successful store at 16 King Street East. His large home was just west of here at the corner of Yonge and Gloucester Streets. Matheson was planning to return to medicine when he died during the construction of the homes….. The first people to live at 7, 9, and 11 were James N. Peer, commercial merchant, George E. Challes, paper company manager, and Margaret J. Pringle, a widow… In 1950, five of the houses were demolished for construction of the subway…”

The next series of photographs are all taken in Gloucester Place, an alley that runs behind Yonge Street on the east side.  Artist B.C. Johnson has also painted most of the walls and doors in the one block stretch north of Gloucester Street.

below: Looking north up Gloucester Place towards Isabella, with tall glass and steel boxes at Yonge and Bloor towering above.

looking north

palm trees on the beach, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

water, stream, nature scene, beside a door painted like bright blue boards, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

lake scene, part of a mural by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

glittery green striped iguana on a tree trunk looking at a yellow butterfly, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

alley walls and doors painted by B C Johnson, scenes of nature

orange butterfly among branches of a tree, blue sky background, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

price list sign above painting of a white heron or egret standing beside a small creek, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

white chicken on the roof of an old red truck, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

5 large sunflowers in a field of sunflowers, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson in Gloucester Place

alley walls and doors painted by B C Johnson, scenes of nature

2 different scenes painted beside each other, one is palm trees, the other a yellowish building, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson

a white rabbit nibbles on the grass beside a wood crate full of red apples, part of a mural of nature scenes by B C Johnson

a no parking sign on a chain across an archway leading to a farm scene, along with a Canada goose and a chicken

three tigers in the bushes, in the corner of an alcove,

below: The south end of Gloucester Lane, at Gloucester Street.  The old house was preserved and there is a coffee shop on the lower level at the moment.

exterior, neo coffee, tree in front, on Gloucester near park

Gloucester street, looking west towards Yonge street

interior, neo coffee,two people sitting and working

below: She looks rather perplexed and I am inclined to agree with her!

graffiti stickers on a canada post box

below: A little black catchoo heart

black catchoo heart graffiti sticker on a yellow bollard

One last quick circle back, this time to the beginning to include one last bit –

below: Chechalk Lane, from Wellesley towards Dundonald.  This lane was named for Chechalk, an Anishnawbe Chief who was one of the signatories to the 1805 Toronto Purchase. He also signed the Mississauga Treaty of 1805 (aka Treaty 13). The name/word means crane or big bird.

looking down a laneway, tall buildings on both sides, with reflections of buildings in the glass of the building at the end of the lane.

The story of the Toronto Purchase of 1805 is described on the website of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. (MCFN).  I am not going to copy and paste the whole thing; instead three points:

1. Original purchase price was 10 shillings (plus other items).
2. Renegotiations began in 1998 leading to a settlement for more money in 2010.
3.  The cities of Etobicoke, Toronto, North York, York and Vaughan are located within the boundaries of the Toronto Purchase Treaty lands.

If you want to read the whole story, link: MCFN Treaty 13.

some Parkdale doors and windows

Posted: March 31, 2025 in doors, stores, windows and walls
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below: Have a seat!  Let me show you a few interesting and colourful doors and windows that I have seen along Queen Street West.

2 wood chairs outside a coffee shop

below: We’re all in this together. Recognize the font? the style?  It’s a throwback to Honest Eds.

sign in window that says we're all in this together

outside wall painted bright blue, window,

below: Passing in front of Bone & Busk store.

Front window with two corsets, one white, and one red, of bone and busk store on queen west

below: Art frames the windows

part of a street art mural that frames the windows in a store, reflections in the window

below: Facial time, with love from Pepe!

old black mailbox on a white wall, with poster above showing a woman getting a facial, black scrawl graffiti below the mailbox

below: An abstract painting of a musician in hot reds and oranges covers this door.

dark wood door frame, abstract painting in hot colors, reds, orange, and some yellow, covers most of the door.

below: Welcome, but closed.

metal gate in front of door of store with closed sign, also a sign that says welcome

below: Luigi plays Tetris

in the window of a store, a figurine of Luigi from Mario brothers, with a toy tetris game

below: Grocery Coffee

from across the street, front of Grocery Coffee with a table and two chairs outside

reflection of woman looking at pastries for sale in a bakery window,

two men talking outside a tattoo parlour on Queen West, both wearing toques

below: In a quiet niche, a guitar player finds a place to play.

man plays a guitar in doorway of closed restaurant and cafe, guitar case on ground, pictures in window

a woman walks past Lee's Variety on Queen West, store is painted red, with large window in front,

below: Advertising their wares, phone accessories, backpacks, incense sticks, cat dog food, ice, beer, and key cutting… and many more inside!

window of convenience store, key cutting, with ads on boards outside on sidewalk

below: T.dot Variety

t dot variety store with a tree growing in front of it

below: Gumby lies in the window of Tammy’s wearing white boots and pink thong.  Not the Gumby of your childhood!

rainbow coloured bench in front of Tammys window, Gumby with white boots and pink thong, holding a microphone,

below: Mailboxes and stickers

2 doors on a building, the one on the right is covered with stickers

below: A peachy scene

doorway alcove painted with abstract person's butt in the shape of a peach

green door, with 2 green milk crates sitting on the doorstep

below: Mary stands outside a window of Our Lady of Lebanon Church

part of a dark red brick church, with arched window, white statue of Mary in front of the church

looking in a restaurant window, plastic pink flower, with reflections of street

I have chosen to focus on the content or the character of the windows and doors at street level. There is at least one, and probably more, stories that could be told about the doors and windows of Parkdale from an architectural perspective (commercial, and then residential…). I will leave you with a couple of examples but I will have to save the rest of the subject for another post.

upper level of 2 storey building, brick, with six windows, and pattern of yellow bricks,

toronto city street sign, Queen Street West, Parkdale, showing the upper level of the buildings across the street

everything’s for sale

Posted: March 26, 2025 in construction, locations, stores, windows and walls
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below:  Signs. I always read the signs.  As I approached the fence, I was preparing to read about yet another condo so I was pleasantly surprised to read, “building with Electronic Gaming and Bingo Hall”!   Apparently Dolphin Gaming has submitted a number of applications for developing this site over the past few years and finally, back in November the plan for a lowrise building with plenty of parking was approved.

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign,

I came across the above sign a few weeks ago when a small group of us explored a rather forlorn section of Scarborough. “Forlorn” can be fun because often it equals interesting photography opportunities.  It was still winter then; back when there was still snow on the ground.

do not enter sign on chainlink gate, in front of light industrial, storage facility

Many people react to seeing a group of people with cameras walking in their neighbourhood.  Some of the natives are friendly and want to talk, even if it’s just a minute or two of small talk.  We can be a chatty group.  A number of times during this walk we were asked if we were looking to buy.  When we asked if what they had was for sale, the answer was frequently, “everything is for sale”.  I can not vouch for how true that is, but in this section of Scarborough it certainly felt possible.

city street signs on a stop sign pole, cleanside road and warden avenue, vacant lot behind

a yellow digger and a full blue dumpster on a snowy vacant lot, behind barbed wire fence

cars and other junk stacked three levels high, outdoors,

small plastic santa claus beside a mail box

large 18 wheeler truck cab, with three mirrors on drivers side

looking between the backs of trucks that are parked close to each other

below: Signs!

below: Oh no!  I can picture the driver jumping out of his Cybertruck already for his shift in a school bus!

Tesla cybertruck parked by Stock school bus office building, small yellow school buses in the background.

below: Most of the architecture is one storey brick buildings, long and low.  This type of roof over the entrance probably has a name, canopy? awning? – it seems very 1960s or 1970s.

one storey light industrial building in scarborough, with zigzag roof over entrance

below: Largest in Canada!  Pink windows say: Open to the public…. We can finance your kitchen for a few dollars a week….Big or small, we auction it all…  (and more)

building housing a company that specializes in liquidation, buying and selling of items unsold or unwanted by others

below: Old style bus shelter with no ads.

Warden Ave in Scarborough, bus shelter in front of low rise red brick building with green roof,

below: Railway tracks cross Warden Avenue at a level crossing

private property, no trespassing sign beside railway tracks in scarborough

 

hoardings with photos of city buildings with blue sky backgrounds, behind chainlink fence

broken front headlight of a purplish coloured van

old purple van with patchy bodywork

pile of stuff outside a red brick building, including a gatorade vending machine, green plastic chair, two shovels, a metal container, a red plastic gas can, and more

stuff being stored outside behind a gas station including a sign that says hand car wash, yellow dumpster,

gas station in winter

wood chair with old beige cushion sits on a snow covered sidewalk in front of a building under construction

below: A large pile of old used wheel rims
pile of old wheel rims, other piles of scrap metal and metal for recycling

large dump truck entering Triple M Metals site

looking through chainlink fence at large dump truck entering Triple M Metals site

behind chainlink fence, old cars parked bumper to bumper

locked gate, steps leading up to gate, mound of dirt behind gate, winter, snow on ground

rusty barbed wire drooping down across chainlink fence,

signs on the side of a building, one of the signs is partially fallen off

a red brick building with two tall skinny windows is beside and slightly in front of a yellow clad building, picnic tables in the space between the two, snow on ground,

two piles of pallets sitting outside a brick building with graffiti on the walls

below: “Puzzle” created by Elaine Teguibon, Tara Dorey, Raymond Cho, as well as  youth employment program artists, 2011.  Funded by the City of Toronto.  It covers the front of the Youthlink building .

youth theme murals on low rise building, mural routes

kids playing cards, youth theme murals on low rise building, mural routes

below: It has a couple of Mediah murals and a Scarborough 3D sign, and now its for sale…. (more details at: Scarborough Mediah blog post)

building for sale. mediah murals on two sides, big for sale sign in front, bus stop, painted storage container in front, warden ave in scarborough

below: More for sale!  All one storey.  This is steps  the new Eglinton LRT (we think!).   It is zoned M4A-225 which is industrial.  Also sneaking into the picture –  You might recognize the large white city of Toronto water tower near the corner of Warden and Eglinton.

large for sale sign beside stores and businesses on warden ave., toronto water tower in the background, snow,

below: Domestic Tank & Equipment with its wall of small panes of window glass.  There must have been hundreds of these types of buildings in Toronto once upon a time.

gates of Domestic Tank and equipment factory, yellowish bricks with large windows made up of hundreds of small panes of window glass

I tried to find some history on this building… instead I learned a lot about “liquid storage solutions since 1952”.  Industrial use tanks are actually quite interesting!

part of wall of windows at Domestic Tank and equipment factory, yellowish bricks with large windows made up of hundreds of small panes of window glass

below: Where an Electronic Gambling & Bingo Hall just might go …

vacant lot with concrete barrier blocking entry

old roller gate, open position, driveway now blocked and lot now vacant

old faded and rusty metal sign on chainlink fence

As I was taking the above three photos, I had my back to another very large abandoned site which happens to also be the place where I ended the walk. A large and very empty Rona store occupies a large chunk of prime real estate.  It was made redundant when  Lowes and Rona (both were big box hardware and building supply stores) merged a few years ago.  A second, but very active, Rona store is only a block or so away.

below: It is quite a large piece of property.  Present asking price is just over $50,000,000.

snow covered field in front of empty rona store in scarborough

side view of main entrance to rona store

view of empty loading bays at empty rona store

billboard in empty parking lot of a now empty rona store

below: Although I know that big box stores are big, they look even bigger when they are empty.  There doesn’t seem to be much to them – some beams to make a metal frame, add a few pipes and some wires, and wrap it on all sides.  An engineer or a contractor may disagree, but it looks so simple.

interior, empty Rona store

interior, empty Rona store, looking in through window with reflections of exit door and parking lot

below: Over and out!

exit door from old abandoned rona store

Thanks to the usual Wednesday walking group for letting me join them once again – All bundled up for walking on a winter day!

backs of people walking on sidewalk, past shiny reflective hoardings, with new housing in the background

intersections – King and Queen

Posted: March 15, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, memorials, old buildings, stores, transportation
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… and Roncesvalles and Queensway.

King Street merges with Queen Street twice, once in the east at River Street and once in the west when King turns north and joins Roncesvalles.  At this point Queen becomes the Queensway.

below: Queen streetcar traveling westbound (center of picture) while a King car makes the turn north into the intersection (right side).

intersection of Queen, King, Roncesvalles and Queensway, looking east

If that King car continues north, it travel up Roncesvalles to Dundas West station.

looking north on Roncesvalles from Queen, sidewalk planter decorated with fancy lettering says Roncesvalles village

below: Looking west on the Queensway with all the overhead streetcar wires because….

looking west along Queensway from Roncesvalles, lots of overhead streetcar wires

below: … the TTC Roncesvalles Carhouse is right there.  It is 28 streetcar tracks wide and is used for storage and maintenance of part of the TTC’s streetcar fleet.

Queensway TTC streetcar yard

below:The Queensway also runs parallel to (and within sight of) Lakeshore Blvd, the Gardiner Expressway, and Lake Ontario.

view from pedestrian bridge over lakeshore blvd and gardiner expressway, traffic on the roads, etobicoke and mississauga in the distance, lake ontario

below:  There is access to the waterfront is by a pedestrian bridge.

pedestrian bridge over the lakeshore and gardiner expressway, towards lake ontario, street art and graffiti on the lower concrete parts of the railing, lamp lights along the way, blue sky day, no people

below: Also at this intersection is a memorial to all the Polish citizens who died at the hands of the Soviets during WWII.

monument in a park, large stone with a plaque on it,

Plaque reads: “1940-2000, In Memoriam … Lest we forget… May the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of Polish citizens in Soviet forced-labour camps, political prisons and execution sites, always remind the world that freedom is bought with great sacrifice.
Dedicated to the memory of over one million seven hundred thousand Polish soldiers and civilians arrested in EAstern Poland by the Soviet secret service (NKVD) in 1940-1941, for the only reason that they were Polish citizens and were deported to the far reaches of the Soviet Union (siberia), where many were executed or died of hunger, cold, disease, and exhaustion during World War II.
[words in Polish]”
Alliance of the Polish Eastern Provinces in Toronto, February 10, 2000.

The rest of this post are images of some of the sights along Queen West and in the alleys behind.  Some of them may look like photos that have appeared in prior blog posts….  Many things have changed over the years and yet many things remain the same.

below: North side of Queen West, looking towards Roncesvalles.

queen street west, north side, looking west towards roncesvalles

below: South side of Queen West, looking towards Roncesvalles

brick buildings, low rise apartments, on south side of queen, near roncesvalles

Some of the old architecture remains – Volumes could probably be written about all the old architectural features that can still be seen out Queen West and King West.  Many of which date from when Parkdale was an affluent suburb of Toronto.

three storey house on king street

man standing in front of an older brick apartment building three storey brick buildings on queen west, stores at street level, windows with little turrets on the top floor

below: An old Royal Bank of Canada building (now used for other purposes).

old royal bank of canada building, red brick, with stone dorway, including arch over door

below: An old Second Empire type of building, that is now home to the Easy Restaurant as well as Rosa’s restaurant.

below:Back of the building – King Street side.

back of easy restaurant with black and white mural, old red brick building,

below: The original mural with its yellow convertible once seen on the back of the building is still there, it’s just hidden by a more recently built structure to store garbage bins and other stuff in.

old Easy restaurant mural, now covered over by storage shed for garbage containers

below: If you have passed by this intersection, you may have noticed the yellow motorcycle rider on the King Street side of the building.

yellow painting of a man on a motorcycle, on wall outside Easy Restaurant, King street side

below: Dancing in the window

figurines or sclpture in a store window, thai dancers in traditional costume, head dresses on, gold accessories and highlights

below: A doggie in the window!

neon light art in a store window, a white dog with blue glasses riding on a blue skateboard

below: Ford among the light fixtures.  Who is the dimmest bulb?

inside a store window, light fixtures, shades, and other bits and pieces, along with some campaign literature from Doug Fords recent provincial election

old paint by number paintings of boats, two of them, in frames, on display in a shop window on Queen West

below: An anchor, many stickers, and a red skull and crossbones

a door to a tattoo parlour, part of it is covered with stickers, as well as blue anchor and red skull and cross bones

bright red door with glass panel, number 1635, junk store, vintage store, antiques, all cluttered in windows of the store

signs on a store door, glass door, one says closed, another says parkdale shop local and last, proudly parkdale

collage, graffiti, on a wall on queen west, man's face made up of 6 pieces of paper

below: Potato sack racers in a mural by Jim Bravo.  The sacks all say “Eva’s Fine Deli” on them so perhaps this was once the wall of said deli?  Now it is the Dosa restaurant on Roncesvalles.

mural by Jim Bravo in a lane off Roncesvalles, close to Queen, children in a greenfield, running potato sack race, hopping,

looking west towards roncesvalles in an alley behind queen west on the north side, brick buildings, some street art,

below: Dreamer

alley view, back of building, with door and windows, one mural of a bird with the word dreamer, one abstract blobby street art

below: Birdo paintings that have faded and weathered.  Check out an earlier post if you want to see what they once were like (Animals and Birdo Birds) This post was from March 2015, ten years ago!

 

birdo street art painting in an alley, bird with blue and white body

birdo street art painting in an alley, koala head, old man with white beard in profile

pink tags on garage in lane

exterior stairs leading to basement level door, door has street art painting of a blond woman's portrait, wearing a red hat

below: Still Alive! It’s always marvelous to encounter Lovebot the Robot in the wild.

a very big lovebot the robot street art, on a black building, white lines, faded red heart, on legs the words still alive are written

concrete steps up a small hill in front of a highrise apartment building, houses in the background

Parkdale mural on mini mart, beside house, with highrise apartments in the background

Parkdale mural on the side of Parkdale mini mart convenience store

below: More alley backyard views…. another house with a rooftop terrace or deck. I have mentioned before in other posts with other alleys, that this type of renovation/expansion has become very common throughout the city.

laneway view, back of houses, one red brick, the other blue cladding, garages, with tagged and graffiti covered garage doors, red truck,

large painting of a rabbit, street art mural, in alley behind queen street west

street art painting on garage door in alley

 

Out with the Dragon, In with the Snake

Posted: January 25, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, stores
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As Chinese  (or Lunar) New Year approaches, I thought that I would give you a quick tour around Chinatown as it appears in January after a little snow.  Most of the pictures were taken in the vicinity of Spadina and Dundas.   Some shots are ‘iconic’ views, others not so much.

below: This girl has been carrying her soup bowl for many years!  She has appeared on many Instagram pages and on many other sites.  She may even be on your phone.  The “BEST” is a more recent addition!

the word best is written on the sidewalk with an arrow pointing to restaurant with a large statue of a chinese girl dressed all in red holding a large white and red bowl. she is winking

below: Spadina Avenue

chinatown stores, with lots of signs, spadina at glen bailie

bikes chained to fence, in snowy alley, with street art on the wall and an ad too

part of a chinatown mural, elderly person in a blue cap with small child

below: Cute little red stuffed snakes for sale.

little stuffed toy snakes in bright red, for sale at a store in Chinatown

below: Yes, there is a very large black bear that patiently sits beside the door of one of the stores on Spadina.

large sculpture of a black bear sitting outside a chinese store, evening, lights on inside

below:  Looking in the window of a Vietnamese store – boxes of things, band-aids, cotton balls, eye care massagers, and many brands of green tea.

looking through front window of an Asian store, window is full of merchandise

crossing Dundas at traffic lights to northwest corner of Dundas and Huron

below: The east side of Spadina

looking across spadina avenue, trees in median, winter, line of stores on the other side, lights on, late afternoon

below: Yin Yang mural – Yin and Yang, two interconnected forces that are complementary yet opposing.  Together they are dynamic system that is greater than the sum of the two parts.

a yin and yang circle and dots mural in blues and oranges, on a brick wall,

below: On the wall to the left is part of a mural that features the Great Wall of China.

chinatown alley with mural of the great wall of china on one side, back of houses and garages at the end of the alley, snow, winter,

alley scene, back of houses, parking spaces, fence, snow, graffiti

  below: Behind Dundas

man pushing a cart along lane, in snow, with garages on his right, some with street art, utility pole with street light, tall buildings in the distance,

sign on orange wall that says no graffiti please

 

alley in chinatown, winter, snow, one building covered with street art

mural on a building in laneway in chinatown, black man, with pink boxing gloves,

below:  “The Herd-Boy and the Weaver-Girl”, a mural that illustrates a story.  It designed and painted by Allan Bender, John Nobrega, and Stacey Kinderwas  (2017)

outdoor patio, in winter, with snow on tables, beside a large mural, chinatown,

From Mural Routes website: “A very long time ago, when the King of the Sky created the heavens, he decorated it with stars and asked his beautiful daughter to help him by weaving the clouds and mists. It was a long task and when the king noticed his daughter looking tired and drawn, he ordered her to take a break and go out to play among the stars. The princess headed down towards the Milky Way to bathe, whereupon she came across a handsome herd-boy grazing his water buffalo by the banks of the stream. To this day, on the seventh day of the seventh month of every year a great King sends a flock of magpies over the Milky Way to form a bridge to ensure the return of his daughter. The weather must be clear on this evening or the lovers cannot cross the celestial river to meet each other. If it rains the pair must wait another year. On a clear night you can see their two bright stars together in the sky. If it rains it is said that the drops falling to earth are the tears of the Weaver-Girl Princess.”

bench in front of a wall with street art, snow, people passing by on sidewalk beside it

stores and buildings on east side of spadina

merchandise for sale outside a store, red and gold chinese new year items, snow on shelves, winter

front of a store in chinatown, goods on display outside

below: The next two pictures are parts of a mural by June Jieun Kim.

window of a store, with mural on wall below, woman in a pink cap and a scarf around her shoulders

mural of a chinese dragon under windows of a store

delivery truck in alley that dead ends at huron street, orange square house at end of alley

below: Pho Hung, Vietnamese restaurant at Spadina and St. Andrew, northwest corner

large red brick building on northwest corner of spadina and

below: Huron and Grange, southeast corner

block of row houses with stores at ground level, including T and C hair salon, southeast corner of Huron and Grange

below: Bay and gable houses on Huron

upper storey of a row of bay and gable houses on Huron St., one in red, one in pink and a light grey one

below:  Looking south on Huron towards the downtown core

looking south on Huron st., just south of Dundas, towards downtown. winter, snowy. large trees.,

backyards and houses seen from a wintery snowy chinatown laneway

looking down the space between two houses, graffiti on the fence, snow on the ground, multiple exterior staircases

north side of Dundas, chinatown, three buildings including Asian Legends restaurant

outside wall of a restaurant, pictures of menu items on plates, also lights in the shape of a basket of steamed dumplings, a bowl of ramen noodles, and a drink with a straw and a slice of lemon

outside asian store, door open, ceramic pots for sale, clearance sale sign in window

signs in chinatown, on dundas, spa, printers,

canadian flag on sign for canadian souvenir store on spadina

many signs on businesses in chinatown, dundas street

dundas at Jean Lumb Lane, south side, man on sidewalk pushing baby stroller, snow,, winter,

dundas in chinatown, after dark, people on sidewalk, reflections on the wall, pink sign over door that says spa

below: Shopping on Spadina

woman in side store, seen through glass in door

below: Lucky Moose Food Mart after dark

night time, moose market on dundas street, lit inside

below: Summer Sun Spa, and others

below: Yunshang Rice Noodles

night time, yunshang rice noodle restaurant on dundas, with food delivery cyclist outside on bike

below: Happy Lamb Hot Po, Zao bar and grill, and one that I can’t read.

night time, 3 large signs lit, one for happy lamb hot pot and another for zao bar and grill, third is in mandarin language only

below: Spadina and Dundas after dark

night time photo of Spadina and dundas, looking east on Dundas, traffic, pedestrians, lights, signs, snow,

Happy New Year!

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