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intersections – Dufferin & Queen

Posted: May 11, 2026 in construction, graffiti and street art, history, intersections, old buildings, transportation
Tags: catchoo, CN rail, construction, D7606, development, donuts, Dufferin St., feelings boi, geekypet, GO Transit, graffiti, Grow Up Art, history, Milky Way, murals, Queen Street West, raccoon, railway tracks, sentient cookie, sketchrat, stickers, The Turd Reich, trp613, TTC, urban ninja squadron, visual noise, vivvy, zonr

The intersection of Dufferin and Queen Street West is dominated by the CN railway & GO transit tracks. Large underpasses to the north and to the east define the character of the streets here.

Between 1881 and 1891, the population of Toronto more than doubled, from 86,415 in 1881 to over 181,125 ten years later (numbers are from census data). As the city expanded, infrastructure struggled to keep up as it usually does. It was decided that Queen Street needed an underpass instead of a level crossing. In 1896 the first bridge was built. At this time, Dufferin street ended at Queen to make room for the tracks. Dufferin was now divided into a north and south section.

below: This is a 1898 photo from the City of Toronto archives showing the new railway bridges over Queen Street West. The view is westward. Dufferin is difficult to see in this image but it ends under the railway bridge that is farthest away. Parkdale train station would have been just outside the picture on the left side. It was closed by 1970.

below: Still on Queen Street and still looking west but from farther back from the railway bridge which is now in the distance. The big square-ish building on the right is a Veterinary Surgeon’s office. The ad on the side of the building is for ‘The Sun’ where you could find the highest grade of bicycles, manufactured by G. T. Pendrith. The photo was taken in November 1896.

black and white photo from late 1890s, Queen street looking west towards railway tracks and Dufferin Street

source: There are many places to find this photo on the internet. This copy came from Wikimedia Commons.

below: Looking east along Queen from Noble Street, past Dufferin to the railway tracks, 1954. The Gladstone Hotel in the distance. There is a Shell gas station on the southwest corner, and although it’s difficult to see, a policeman is standing in the intersection directing traffic.

black and white photo from Toronto Public library digital archives

source: Toronto Public Library digital archives. Photographer – James V. Salmon

below: Southwest corner today …. that Shell station is long gone. A newer condo development fills that corner (built since 2010).

below: The stone wall along the east side of Dufferin looks very similar to that of 1954. The buses have been modernized though – we now have new shiny red hybrids.

The “Dufferin Jog” was fixed in 2010 when another railway bridge was built.

below: Looking north up Dufferin during the construction of the bridge, 2010. This is another image from the City of Toronto archives.

construction of the bridge for CN rail and GO transit, to eliminate the dufferin jog, 2010, from city of toronto archives

source: Fonds 601, Series 2860, File 4, Item 1 (City of Toronto archives)

below: North on Dufferin today (not exactly the same view as above). Bus lanes, or rather transit priority lanes, have recently been painted red. The red brick building on the east side of Dufferin still remains.

below: There are changes coming to the northwest corner of the intersection. This photo was taken from the corner of Noble and Queen and is generally north looking.

below: Hoardings on the north side of Queen

below: The view behind the hoardings

To the west of the tracks is the Parkdale neighbourhood with its colours and idiosyncrasies.

The Milky Way runs parallel to Queen on the south side. There has been lots of street here and I have blogged about it before, 5 times before as it turns out. The first time was back on 2015 (Walking the Milky Way) and the most recent was in 2023 (Aging on the Milky Way)

below: On the north side of the railway tracks, there is a pedestrian crossing and bike path. There is also a quiet corner with a couple of benches. The rest of the images in this post were taken on that pedestrian crossing.

below: The Turd Reich – a wonderful series of paste-ups of our “favourite” men in uniform. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, British MP Nigel Farage, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, JD Vance, and Vladimir Putin have been dressed up as World War II Nazi soldiers. This collection first appeared in London, England about a year ago. They are they creation of Grow Up Art.

below: A hole in the fence, with a well worn and muddy path!

below: Thing 1 and Thing 2, right out of the Cat in the Hat.

below: A little red X marks the spot

below: We are all connected

below: Every man needs a muse. Who is your Venus?

below: “Always remember you’re Heart & Soul, you are Loved 4 ever. Trust me.”

Graffiti by: Catchoo, D7606, Feellings Boi, Geekypet, Sentient Cookie, Sketchrat, TRP613, Urban Ninja Squadron, Visual Noise, Vivvy, Zonr (and others)

late April searches

Posted: May 3, 2026 in construction, locations, nature, transportation
Tags: armillaria, bridges, construction, Crothers Woods, flowers, fungus, GO train, Ontario line, spring, trains, trees, trilliums, yellow trout lily

… and meanderings.

transmission towers and wires among the tree tops

X marks the spot

The original plan was to find a good place to find out how far the Ontario line construction has progressed on the portion of the line that crosses the Don Valley Parkway.

A quick reminder – this is a photo (lifted from the Metrolinx website) of the bridge in question. The bridge in the background is the Millwood Bridge. On the north side of the bridge will be the Thorncliffe station on Overlea Blvd. Immediately after the southbound trains cross the Don Valley Parkway, they enter the Minton Place tunnel which is at the north end of Pape Ave. The rest of the journey is underground. [One problem with this image – when is the traffic this light on the DVP? Like, never. Certainly not during the day.]

Our starting point was a Crothers Woods trail, specifically at the trail head behind Loblaws. There is a plaque here to honour Thomas Hauser.

circular, like a bike wheel, plaque mounted on a large rock at the start of a trail, in memory of Thomas Hauser

“In memory of Thomas Hauser Thomas had a passion for mountain biking and dedicated countless hours to help in the restoration and enrichment of the trail system in the Don Valley. Thomas’ positive attitude and hard work in this area demonstrated his love for adventure and the outdoors. “

There is also a sign that warns against walking the trail if it is muddy. Yes, it was muddy but that didn’t stop us… at first. The trail takes you downhill to river level. Just before going down, there were a lot of sirens, police cars and fire trucks, on Redway Road. This is the road that seemingly ends at Loblaws, but actually goes downhill and then runs parallel to the train tracks by the Don River (apparently it is also home to the longest staircase in the city, 194 steps, but we missed that).

There are a few signs of spring in Crothers Woods these days but in general it’s still rather grey.

below: Trilliums

below: Yellow Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum), also known as dog-tooth violets, with it’s droopy flowers and mottled leaves.

below: It almost looks like string art but it’s actually the remains of a fungus, Armillaria root rot (Armillaria mellea), a parasitic fungus that grows under the bark of trees. It is found in soil and can attack trees (especially unhealthy ones) starting from the roots. It grows upwards, invisible, until it chokes the tree and the tree dies.

Rather than dodging puddles and trying not to slip in the mud, we retraced our steps. At the moment, no pedestrians are allowed on the Redway Road hill but that seemed like a better route to try…..

below: Bottom of the hill, Redway Road

… And there we found the construction site. But we also found a GO train that was stopped on the tracks (hence all the sirens). Unfortunately someone was hit by the northbound train and died at the scene. At this point, 5 days later, I haven’t been able to find any information beyond that.

Construction pictures:

below: The buildings on the left are at Overlea and Millwood. The Ontario Line is elevated as it parallels Overlea Blvd (where the Thorncliffe station will be). It then crosses Millwood which is where the new bridge begins. The white (erosion protection?) covers the hill that is part of the support for the elevated tracks. I wonder if construction is impacted by the transmission lines running to and from the Leaside Transmission Station (also at Overlea and Millwood)?

below: Partially completed concrete support between the railway and the river. The men in the white pickup truck have the job of making sure that it is safe to cross the tracks.

below: The concrete support in the photo above is now on the far left. The details aren’t easy to spot but the white horizontal lines on the far right mark the site of the Minton tunnel. Between the partially finished support and the tunnel are both the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway. Trains will pass over the traffic on the DVP.

long awaited ride to Kennedy

Posted: April 22, 2026 in construction, public art, transportation
Tags: construction, Eglinton Ave East, Louie Witthöft, LRT, Metrolinx, people, redevelopment, Rodney Latourelle, Sarah Morris, Scarborough, streetcar, trains, TTC

As everyone knows, the Eglinton LRT took FOREVER to plan, build, and test. Way back in June 2021, I posted about going to Kennedy and Eglinton to see the first LRT trains being tested (On a mission to Kennedy station). Little did we know then that it would be almost five years later before the trains came into service.

below: Some of the stations have artwork (six of them I think). This is the glass and mirror installation at Eglinton, “Light from Within” by Louise Witthöft & Rodney Latourelle (Witthöft Latourelle)

below: There is also some colour at Don Valley station (formerly known as the Science Centre). “Total Luna Eclipse” by Sarah Morris is a series of circles and overlapping circles in bright colours.

below: This is the interior of the concourse level on one of the subway stations along the Eglinton line. I am not sure which one it is because they all look the same. White everywhere, with an elevator in the middle.

below: Waiting on the platform at Don Valley, the last underground station before the tracks surface on their way eastward towards Kennedy.

below: My apologies Scarborough, but you are rather dull to look at from this angle….

below: But most of us don’t ride transit for the scenery

Nothing really exciting but there is definitely a sense of relief that it’s finally open. It took too long and cost too much but it’s running….

In a lot of ways, the tracks running down the middle of Eglinton Avenue create a wall, especially for pedestrians. For better or worse though, this section of Eglinton has never been pedestrian friendly. It has been designed for cars. And that’s probably not going to change in the near future.

But the coming of the LRT will affect development along Eglinton (or rather, has already started to affect development).

below: 1900 Eglinton East – From shopping center with lots of parking, to four mixed use buildings up to 48 storeys high. Will the slow down in the condo market affect this? If you are interested in this, it is application number 19208733ESC21OZ and the link takes you to the relevant City of Toronto webpage (Good luck!).

below: At 1911 and 1921, out with the old and in with 8 buildings, 4 towers, a park, and 2 new streets. This is almost right across the street from the picture above (between Pharmacy and Warden). The application wasn’t completed until Nov 2025 so not much is going to happen here for a long time yet.

Redevelopment in Toronto is slow. This plaza (strip mall) at Kennedy and Eglinton was already boarded up in 2021. It looks a little scruffier and a little rougher now but otherwise, not much has changed in five years.

Construction along Eglinton East continues as Metrolinx builds the Scarborough Subway extension. This section of subway is an extension of the Bloor-Danforth line and will run from Kennedy station, east along Eglinton past Brimley before turning north. It ends at Sheppard and McCowan. Back in 2023 I visited that intersection and I posted some photos – Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard

below: Eglinton at Midland, looking northeast (on a rainy day).

Edna and more

Posted: January 9, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
Tags: 33wallflower33, alley, alywyz murals, autumn, cassette tape, catchoo, chairs, chill, Edna Ave., Flips, garages, Glenlake, graffiti, houses, lane, Mel Coleman, raccoons, residential

It had been a grey and slightly damp morning when I was out walking. As I headed to the subway to go home, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. So I kept walking north of Dundas West station. Edna Avenue is the street that runs parallel to Bloor immediately north of the station.

below: Edna Avenue, looking east towards Dundas Street West.

below: Edna seems to have a Guardian watching over her.

below: There is an alley that runs north from Edna and the sunshine beckoned.

below: T-shirt sale at the One Stop Shop!

below: The sun sets and rises eternally, apparently.

below: A little Catchoo daisy sticker caught my eye.

below: There was also a 33wallflower33 paste-up with a few little catchoo stickers on her gorgeous white outfit.

below: Faded bricks like faded jeans. They are a little rough around the edges too.

below: Chairs, backyard chairs.

below: Backyard picnic tables too.

below: Raccoons on the roof! Mural by Mel Coleman.

below: More backyards – or at least, backs of houses

below: Another chair

below: Cassette tape (remember those?!) and supersized pencil. If you had tapes, you always had a pencil handy, just in case! Back in 2020, this mural was fairly new. You can check out “faceless in an alley” if you want to see the whole mural before the one wall was defaced.

below: Another ghost from the past – a ghetto blaster proudly carried on his shoulder

below: The mural is an Ex-Vandals piece, or at least references them. On the left in this image are the words Dino Nod – he was one of the founding members of the Ex-Vandal crew (formed in 1971 in Brooklyn NY).

below: Red and green men too.

below: A couple of blocks north of Edna is Glenlake, and here we are looking east towards Dundas.

below: Glenlake and Dundas. When I was double checking Google maps for the names of these streets, I discovered that this used to be a store that sold flowers and other things. Where there is no grass beside the building, was once a fenced in area with plants for sale.

below: Just north of the Glenlake/Dundas intersection is the large bridge over the railway tracks that connects Dundas to the West Toronto Railpath.

below: The concrete supports for the bridge were painted with nature scenes many years ago. The weeds have grown up and the artwork has faded.

below: Blobs, curls (by Flips), stars, and Spy vs Spy

below: Looking up the stairs (but not walking up – I’ll leave that for another day).

below: Instead I turn around. This is a big part of the view that you see as you walk down the stairs – a large, striking, mural by Kizmet32 .

below: I now know that these metal utility poles can be used to make “music”. All you need is a big stick or two.

below: Walking back to Dundas West station to finish for the day.

below: Slightly off on a tangent – for those of you who follow such things, the Giraffe Building on the northeast corner of Dundas West and Bloor is still there, and still empty.

from Dupont to St. Clair West

Posted: November 12, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, transportation
Tags: Bareket, birds, bkez, Catherine Cachia, decorations, Dupont, Dupont subway station, Elicser Elliott, halloween, James Sutherland, Julia Prajza, murals, Nick Sweetman, pumpkins, signs, Spadina, stores, Troy Lovegates

Enter if you Dare!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

below: Northeast corner of Dupont and Spadina

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

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.

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!).

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

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

below: Cozy and euphoric.

below: Bete Suk, Ethiopian Coffee shop

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

below: Looking west on Dupont

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

below: 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.

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

;

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

below: Another touch of Art Deco in the neighbourhood

below: Bathurst Street houses

below: Playing in the playground

below: Store fronts on Bathurst

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

below: Home is where our story begins.

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

below: Waiting to cross Bathurst Street

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

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.

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

With thanks to Nancy who walked with me that day.

south from Liberty Village

Posted: October 26, 2025 in history, locations, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: Allan Lamport stadium, BMO Field, condos, construction, cranes, Dufferin Gate, E.B. Cox, Elford Bradley Cox, Exhibition Place, Gerald Glastone, GO trains, Greek gods, Lakeshore Blvd., Liberty Village, McGillivray Fountain, Mino Bimaadiziwin, Ontario Place, people, Scadding cabin, sculptures, Shrine Peace Memorial

Liberty Village is the neighbourhood that is south of King Street, west of Strachan, and east of Dufferin. It’s southern boundary is a combination of the Gardiner Expressway and the railway tracks (CN, VIA, and GO)

below: A temporary park has taken over a corner of the parking lot on Hanna.

below: The sign says Ontario Place straight ahead.

below: Dream Big

below: Allan Lamport stadium concrete

below: Looking north from the goalposts in the stadium.

below: Once it was a carpet factory – The Toronto Carpet Factory was spread over 8 brick buildings on a 4 acre site. It was built between 1899 and 1920. The company was established by F. Barry Hayes in 1891 and was originally at Jarvis and Esplanade. At the end of WW1, 1250 people were employed here. The factory remained in production until 1979, although the number of carpets that were made annually was greatly reduced by the end.

below: Streetcars waiting at Dufferin Loop, Dufferin south of King.

below: View from the bridge at the south end of Dufferin looking west along the Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga.

below: Eastern view

below: The arch marks the Dufferin Gate, the west entrance to the Exhibition Grounds.

Part way between Dufferin and Strachan is Exhibition GO station. The station has been designed to provide access from both sides of the tracks which in turn offers another walking route south from Liberty Village. The area north of the tracks is a bit of a mess as the new Ontario Line will terminate at Exhibition and the completion of that project is still a few years away.

below: The pedestrian tunnel under the tracks.

below: Looking north under the Gardiner – Liberty Village provides that background in this image.

below: More Ontario Line construction as seen from Platform 4 at Exhibition station

below: South end of BMO Field, looking east towards downtown and the CN Tower.

below: BMO Field is home to both the Toronto Argonauts (CFL, football) and the Toronto FC (MLS – Major League Soccer). It has just undergone upgrades (think $$$) to make it ready to host some of the FIFA World Cup soccer/football games in mid 2026.

below: Some of the lights seen at the Exhibition – with the CN Tower in the distance.

below: rooftops

below: One of the latest public art addition to the Exhibition Grounds is “Mino Bimaadiziwin”, an Anishinaabemowin phrase that translates to “Good Life”. The mural was developed in partnership with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation 50-meter-long artwork honors Indigenous history and culture and was unveiled in October 2024.
The installation is part of a plan to separate Exhibition Place from the Gardiner Expressway.

below: The McGillivray Fountain was designed by Canadian sculptor Gerald Gladstone and donated to Exhibition Place in 1968 by Gordon B. McGillivray in honor of his father, John A. McGillivray.

below: The Scadding cabin was originally built in 1794 by John Scadding on land that he owned east of the Don River. He owned more than 200 acres and his property stretched from Lake Ontario to what is now the Danforth. The next owner of the property used the cabin as an out-building. In 1879 it was donated to the York Pioneer and Historical Society who arranged to have it moved close to its present site to celebrate the opening of the Industrial Exhibition (now the CNE).

below: The title printed on this image is “Log Cabins of the York Pioneers,Exhibition Grounds Toronto 1880. Lithographed and printed at the Exhibition Building, Rolph, Smith & Co. Toronto”. The cabin on the left is labelled Simcoe 1794 (i.e. the Scadding cabin) and the other is labelled York Pioneers, Lorne 1879.

below: Shrine Peace Memorial

below: There is a collection of twenty small sculptures representing Gods, heroes, and monsters of Greek mythology in what is called the Garden of the Greek Gods. They were created by Elford Bradley Cox (1914-2003) in the 1960s.

below: Hercules is the tallest of the sculptures.

Immediately south of the Exhibition Grounds is/was Ontario Place. This pile of rubble is all that remains of what was on West Island – mostly the decaying amusement/theme park that hasn’t been in operation for years (death by neglect).

below: The round Cinesphere is still there but everything west of it is gone. Once it was the pride of Ontario – built in response to Montreal’s Expo ’67 – but slowly over the years many of its features have been altered or removed (Children’s Village, the Forum with its free concerts, and more). Having said that, other sections have been renovated – Trillium Park on the east end for example. I didn’t get that far on this walk but you can some of it in Ontario Place 2.0 from 2017.

around Oriole station

Posted: October 17, 2025 in construction, transportation
Tags: 401, bridge, bridges, construction, GO, Leslie St., Metrolinx, oriole, pedestrians, sidewalks

Oriole GO station is on the Richmond Hill line. It is located at Leslie and the 401 highway and for many years the parking lot for the station was under the 401. With the recent changes to the Leslie/401 interchange, and all the construction that that entails, this parking lot is gone. Also, the old station building is no longer in use and the platform has been moved slightly north. A new metal pedestrian bridge has been built over the tracks south of the station to replce an older wood structure – this provides access to the residential area to the south.

below: Under the 401 highway

below: Access to Woodsworth park involves getting over the tracks via a new pedestrian bridge.

below: Caged!

below: The bridge is high! The top of it is level with the traffic on the ramp between the eastbound 401 and Leslie Street. This is the view north and slightly west from the bridge.

below: Another view from the bridge, this time looking northeast

below: Looking east over all the lanes of the 401, including the new Leslie Street on-ramp on the south side.

below: At track level

It was very quiet here. Oriole station is the first stop north of Union but trains only run during rush hours. There are four trains that run southbound in the morning and five trains for northbound trips in the afternoon. No trains stop here between 8:35 a.m. and 4:14 p.m. There don’t seem to be any stats online re the number of people who use this station.

below: Old station building in the background that is no longer is use (i.e. there are no washroom facilities here at the moment).

below: You may have seen this giant billboard if you have driven past on the 401. It stands beside the Oriole station platform. Recently, the platform was under under the 401 and therefore, protected from the rain. It has been moved slightly north to bring it closer to Leslie subway station (TTC)

below: All pedestrian access to the old station as well as the parking lot has been closed.

below: There is another entrance to the station at the north end where the tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd. [extra note: Esther Shiner was a North York municipal politician who was first elected in 1972. She served as councilor, as well as a short stint as Deputy Mayor until her death in 1987.]

Not everybody walks to IKEA!

below: The tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd, but the sidewalk doesn’t and all pedestrian traffic is routed to the south side. If you want to transfer to the TTC (Leslie station), there is a walk involved. It takes about 10 minutes I think.

below: Turn left at Old Leslie if you are looking for the TTC subway. Straight through gets you to Leslie Street (at North York General Hospital, north of the 401 highway and south of Shepard).

below: The signs still direct you to the GO station via under the 401….

below: …. but the road is actually closed to traffic.

below: Looking northwest across Leslie, south of the 401 (towards Yonge & Shepard).

below: Making sidewalks.

below: Old and faded, rules and regulations for prevention of the spread of COVID-19

a little bit of Sherbourne in the sun

Posted: September 3, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: anser, artsbyabe, Church Wellesley village, construction, Garden of Lost Boys, houses, housing, Howard St., Ishkozi Park, Jarvis St., King St., Leader Lane, Maple Leaf Gardens, Michael Snow, O'Gradys, P.J. O'Briens, redevelopment, Rogers, Sarah Klawiter, St. James Town, Upper Jarvis

a little bit of Church Street, on the run…..

And of course, a lot of in-between too. A bit of a random walk south from Bloor on Sherbourne, Jarvis, and Church. A zigzagging walk through four neighbourhoods.

But first, coffee! De Mello Coffee on Bloor has mirrors under their counter and it makes for some strange scenes.

below: In the lobby of Postmedia Place on Bloor Street there is this sculpture – three people reading newspapers.

below: I found not one, but two, anser faces of unknown vintage in an alley just west of Sherbourne

below: Upper Jarvis was neighbourhood number one that day. The north end of Jarvis Street is at Charles Street; here Jarvis splits into Ted Rogers Way (old Jarvis Street) and Mt. Pleasant.

below: Looking south along Mt. Pleasant immediately south of Bloor. If you can see the covered pedestrian walkway over the street in this picture, that is where Mt. Pleasant turns slightly left and becomes Jarvis Street.

below: Ishkozi Park is a small green space on Huntley (actually on the grounds of Rogers Toronto headquarters). The benches have been recently painted, but the large sculpture in the center has been there a while. The walking lady in the sculpture may look familiar and you may be thinking to yourself, “Where have I seen her before?”. The stainless steel sculpture is a giant tree and is titled ‘Red, Orange and Green’ and it was created by artist Michael Snow. …. Have you figured out why she looks familiar? … She was first spotted back in the early 1960s…..

The neighbourhoods along Sherbourne and south of Bloor are other rapidly changing areas of the city. On the west, many older homes still exist but they are empty and obviously waiting demolition (or inclusion into a large condo development?).

below: Once they were a few family homes, now they are a number of smaller apartments. Interesting brickwork.

below: Another ubiquitous development notice sign – this time to inform us of a very large two tower development that involves three streets, Huntley, Linden, and Selby. Portions of some of the older houses would be kept and the towers would be behind them. I did not do a complete research on the planning application (21 227527 STE 13 OZ) but it seems like city council didn’t like many parts of the initial proposal back in 2021/2022. I do not know what it’s status is now.

below: On the east side of Sherbourne, it is Howard Street that is torn up. This is the west side of St. James Town.

below: A cheeseburger with a sesame seed bun!

below: Someone’s heart is in heaven, but Lisa and Jerry 4-Ever!

below: Jarvis & Gloucester/Earl northwest corner. Some black, some white, and lots of grey.

below: Fancy brick work, rounded windows, and a turret!

below: Church Wellesley village, neighbourhood number two.

below: Once upon a time it was Maple Leaf Gardens, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team (1931-1999). Now it houses a Loblaws grocery store and TMU athletic facilities (Mattamy Athletic Centre). Northwest corner of Church and Carlton

below: Lots of pink on Maitland Street.

below: Garden of Lost Boys – dedicated to the memory of friends and neighbours lost to the AIDS epidemic.

below: Hot tub macrame!! Finally, a use for those plant hangers that you (or your mother) might have – that you probably made back in the 1980s. If you don’t have such a thing, you can find this one in a store on Church Street.

below (also above): Tribute to Sarah Hegazi, written in 2020. “To my siblings: I tried to survive and failed, forgive me. To my friends: the experience was harsh & I was too weak to resist it, forgive me. To the world: you were cruel to a great extent, but I forgive.” Hegazi was an Egyptian writer and LGBTQ activist who was arrested and tortured in Cairo for waving a rainbow banner. She found asylum in Canada in 2018 but died by suicide in Toronto two years later.

below: Patchwork teddy bear graffiti sticker by artsbyabe

below: At the end of the rainbow you will find O’Gradys – in on of the few half houses that exist in the city.

below: On a school wall – a door with rainbow stripes and hearts along with Honesty (Gwekwaadziwin) and Wisdom (Newaakaawin)

below: Gerrard Street East and the Garden District,… now we are at number three.

below: … but wait, Gerrard Street East in McGill Granby Village? The difference of course is that one is on the west side of Church and the other is on the east. Neighbourhood number four.

below: By the time we get to Queen Street, we are in Old Town Toronto, Historic Queen Street and Neighbourhood number 5.

below: The round turret of that yellow building still remains. The green scaffolding keeps the facade stable while new development occurs around it. Some of you may be old enough to remember it as a Thriftys Sports Shop. The last business to occupy the space before demolition was Shawarma’s King.

below: Church street just north of King. Fenced off and closed to traffic.

below: The intersection of Church and King, looking towards the southeast corner.

below: Still King and Church but a slightly different angle

below: … Also King Street

below: Leader Lane runs between King and Wellington. After many years of “discussion” and planning, the part of Leader Lane that is south of Colborne just might get pedestrianized. This picture show the north half of Leader Lane and yes, that section has just been completely redeveloped around the older white building.

below: P.J. O’Brien’s has been on the corner of Colborne and Leader Lane since 1966.

A quick look back at Front and Sherbourne – this is the northeast corner of that intersection. A lot of new development here!

Phew! Time for a rest!

With thanks to all the friends that I walked with that day…. shown here doing what we all do best, play in our favorite photo places (in this case, Leader Lane, side of P.J. O’Briens)

dense and denser

Posted: August 11, 2025 in construction, intersections, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: apartments, Canada Square, Catherine Widgery, condos, construction, demolition, development, Eglinton Ave., history, Ilan Sandler, KPMB, LRT, Mindshadows, North Toronto Collegiate, NTCI, Postal Station K, St. Monicas church, St. Peter, TTC, Yonge Street

…. another visit to Yonge and Eglinton

Of course, this is also the location of the Eglinton station on the mysterious Eglinton LRT. The underground walkways between it and the Yonge – University subway line are complete, as is the entrance on the south side of Eglinton. The latter is a large building and it will definitely help with the flow of traffic… but it sits idle.

below: All of the old Eglinton station bus bays are long gone.

below: Canada Square, home to Canadian Tire head office for more than 50 years, was built in the 1960s and 70s. It consists of two towers connected by a lower section – it is this middle connecting piece that has the vertical concrete slabs on the exterior. These verticals are on both the Yonge Street side (below) and this motif is repeated on the back of the building (see photo above, behind the new station entrance). Earlier this year, Canadian Tire announced that they had renewed their lease for another 20 years and that the building was going to be redeveloped/upgraded/modernized in the near future.

below: Northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton

below: The Duke of York pub at Yonge and Roehampton

below: The old Postal Station K has been incorporated into a new condo development. The older building dates from 1936; it was built on the site of Montgomery’s Tavern (made famous in 1837 when it was the epicenter of William Lyon MacKenzie’s rebellion). It was a big square building but with Art Deco elements around the entrance. Because it was built in 1936, it actually featured (and still does) the Royal Insignia of King Edward VIII whose reign was very short-lived because he abdicated the throne only 11 months after being crowned.

below: North of Montgomery/Broadway more development. More cranes.

below: About 15 years ago, North Toronto Collegiate (NTCI) was rebuilt on Broadway. The new school was incorporated into a condo development. At the north entrance to the school is an artwork by Catherine Widgery’s called “Mindshadows”. It is a 20 foot high stainless steel cube on legs that is covered with numbers, letters, and words. Serene, provoke, laugh, loud, big, spirit, and up are some of the words.

below: View from Broadway of the North Toronto football field and track and some of the condos that surround it.

below: Looking north from Roehampton

below: At the south entrance to NTCI (on Roehampton) is another public art installation. “What’s your name?” by Ilan Sandler (2011) contains the first names of all the NTCI students since the school opened in 1912. Each name only appears once – but there are still 2053 different names such as Sven, Connie, Marlee, Janis, Lola, Ephraim, Bryan, and Snezana.

The neighbourhood that is north of Eglinton and east of Yonge has been the home of many apartment buildings for at least a few decades. A growing number of them have been replaced by taller glass and steel condo developments, especially since the city has targeted the area for “… tall buildings and an intense concentration of office, retail, institutional and residential uses…” (quote comes from Yonge Eglinton Secondary Plan, 2018)

below: Old style (1920s?) 4 storey walk-up apartments. There was a time when this type of architecture was common and these apartment buildings are (were) scattered around the city. There aren’t as many as there used to be although some, like this one, has been renovated and kept in good shape…. a testament to their good design.

below: Concrete building from the 1970s at 2323 Yonge …

below: … but it too has a blue and white development notice on the side of this building. Fifty eight stories with 40 car parking spots but room for 350 bikes.

below: St. Monicas church, an A-frame structure built in 1959, is set well back from the street with a parking lot in front.

below: One of the many stained glass windows inside St. Monica’s church. This image shows a window that features gold crossed keys which are a symbol associated with St. Peter. These are the keys to the Gates of Heaven. The church website describes this window as representing the (Catholic) Sacrament of Reconciliation (the pardoning of confessed sins).

below: Redesigned. From the KPMB website, this is rendering of the proposed new St. Monica’s church. It has been brought forward closer to the street which also allows for a new condo tower behind. That’s the plan.

below: Beside the church is St. Monica’s school. The original brick building was built in 1916. A few additions have been added over the years.

below: Changes are also happening to the west of Yonge Street. For instance, this building on Eglinton between Duplex and Henning is coming down.

below: Old, new, and in between

below: Remnants of what used to be.

below: As I am sure you are aware, I have blogged about Eglinton Avenue before. Back in 2015 (ten years ago!!) I posted this photo of Eglinton and Duplex. Both glass buildings are now gone. The Toronto Hydro Systems building (the short brick one) at the northwest corner of Duplex and Eglinton remains – it is the one with the coloured patches on the wall in the photo above.

below: Same corner, slightly different angle, taken this past week.

below: After the glass clad building on the northeast corner of Duplex and Eglinton came down, the backside of the Yonge Eglinton Center was exposed (on the right) as well as another tower (in an area that needs to be explored more!).

below: With thanks to my mother who walked with me that day.

What remains

Posted: July 12, 2025 in history, old buildings, transportation
Tags: concrete, construction, Ellesmere, Lawrence East, Mike Myers Dr., redevelopment, Scarborough, Scarborough Town Centre, SRT, subway, transportation, TTC

There is talk about what to do with the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line that runs from Kennedy station, north to Lawrence and Ellesmere, and then east to Scarborough Town Centre. The SRT was built in 1985 and then closed in July 2023. The concrete and glass infrastructure still remains. The tracks are gone. A few years ago, I went for a ride on the SRT (blog post is Are you going to Scarborough? ) but I never checked out the stations themselves. Since I am not sure how much longer they are going to exist, I thought I’d better take a look before it’s too late.

below: Lawrence East station nestles under the bridge where Lawrence passes over railway tracks between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.

below: Although the SRT tracks have been removed, other tracks remain. These tracks continue on to Agincourt GO station and points farther north.

below: Looking south

below: Signs for 54A and 954 Lawrence buses

below: If you wanted to cross the tracks, this was the fastest way…

below: Permanently closed

below: Mike Myers Drive with Lawrence East station in the background.

below: A short distance north of the Lawrence East station is the old Ellesmere station. It too is under a bridge (under Ellesmere of course!). It is smaller than the Lawrence East station

below: Ellesmere station also has the circular hole for the stairs leading to an underground passage. The station looks like a big glass tube.

below: Someone is missing their lock.

After Ellesmere station, the SRT turned east, diverging from the other set of tracks. Midland station was just after the turn – on Midland between Ellesmere and Progress. Sorry, no pictures (busier street, no parking). Although the architecture is similar (a glass tube), Midland station is built on top of a bridge, above the road instead of below it. From Midland the trains went directly east to Scarborough Town Centre. For most of thee eastern section, the tracks run behind industrial or light industrial land. I haven’t been able to find out if there is any access or if it is all fenced off.

below: East view of Scarborough Town Centre station with covered walkways from both the federal government building on the left, and the shopping center on the right.

below: No trains run here anymore, but the station is still used for buses with the elevated rails being used as a roof.

below: Pillars supporting the elevated tracks still run through the parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan.

below: McCowan station was the eastern end of the line.

below: McCowan station viewed from the east side. The tracks continued a short distance to the SRT yard where trains were housed and serviced.

below: At McCowan, Scarborough Transit Connect is partnered with Metrolinx to build the new Scarborough Extension subway from Kennedy station to a new terminus at Shepherd and McCowan. See a previous blog post, Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard for some photos from

below: Traffic on McCowan is impacted by the subway extension construction

below: One more view of the construction at McCowan station

below: And last, I found evidence on a pole in the parking lot at Scarborough Town Centre that indicates that I have missed the Rapture; they left without me. I guess that I am stuck here!

as I walk Toronto

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