Archive for the ‘waterfront’ Category

opened! – the first new Port Lands bridge

Posted: October 7, 2022 in construction, locations, transportation, waterfront
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The middle of three new bridges built for the Port Lands redevelopment has just been opened to traffic.

looking north up cherry street through new yellow and white curvy bridge

The bridge may be open to traffic, but the area is still a construction zone!

Eventually Cherry Street will be realigned so that there is no jog in it at Lakeshore.    At this point in time, the south part of the realignment is closer to completion.  This is where the new bridge is.

Commissioners Street has been extended westward to join the new segment of Cherry Street.

 below: This is the east intersection of Commissioners and Cherry (looking east).  Yes, it’s a mess!  There are traffic signals even though only two of the four approaches are open.  If you are traveling south on Cherry, you have to turn right onto Commissioners.

cherry street and commissioners street intersection, canary diner restaurant, construction, port lands redevelopment

below: Same intersection, looking west.

intersection of Cherry and Commissioners street, construction, police watching over, trucks in intersection, new traffic signals

below: New part of Commissioners Street

construction along the west end of Commissioners street in the port lands, with the toronto skyline in the background

below: The west part of Commissioners ends here

dead end street, Commissioners street, west end, fence and no entry signs, traffic lights

below: If you stand in the same place as the above photo but turn to your right, this is the view that you see.  This is the new part of Cherry Street being realigned to match the section north of Lakeshore Blvd.  The new bridges over the Keating Channel are in place but there is still a lot to be done before this part of Cherry Street can be opened.

Glooking north where the new part part of Cherry Street is being built, new double bridge to go over the Keating channel as well as condos in Distillery District are in the background

below:  Looking south… It is the middle bridge that has been opened to traffic first.  It is located approximately where the T ‘n T grocery store used to be.  An interesting line of large boulders!

new Cherry Street bridge with its yellow curved lines, large rocks in the dirt in the foreground, construction still in progress

below: This is the view from the new bridge looking west.  The large white crane structure predates the construction.  The channel has always been here as it provides water/ship access to the Lafarge cement site on the south side of the waterway.  What is new is that the channel is being extended eastward to join the mouth of the Don River.

view from the Cherry Street bridge new bridge, towards Lake Ontario, Toronto skyline in the background, construction equipment in the foreground for the redevelopment of the Port Lands

below: Traveling northbound

a cement truck and a ttc bus on Cherry street on the new bridge

two cyclists pass over the new Cherry Street bridge in the bike lane

below: Looking east from the bridge.   Pinewood studios in the background on the right.

looking east from port lands yellow bridge, overlooking construction in port lands

below: Another view to the east but slightly more south.  This time Pinewood Studios is more to the left in the photo.   A pedestrian bridge is already built to span the new water channel that is under construction.

port lands redevelopment, noew pedestrian bridge over new water channel that is being created

temporary pole with pedestrian crossing light at an intersection in a construction zone, a cyclist is passing through, new port Lands bridge in the background

below: Looking north up Cherry Street towards the Distillery District.  The old, and now closed part, of the street is being torn up.  The new street and bridge are to the left in this photo.

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

big yellow machinery digging up the asphalt from an old road and placing it in a dump truck

a man in a red shirt walks two dogs on the sidewalk along Cherry street, towards construction and the new bridge, TTC bus in the oncoming lane of traffic

orange construction sign that says be prepared to stop, haul trucks entering and exiting, with construction, and a large dump truck beside and behind the sign

below: To the south, the lift bridge on Cherry Street is being refurbished but not replaced.  This part of Cherry Street is not being moved.

looking south at Cherry Street to lift bridge that is being refurbished

in the early morning sun, stairs in the sunlight beside a bridge, going down to the water, an old building and its reflections behind

a summer day, a city meander

Posted: September 13, 2022 in construction, people, transportation, waterfront
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Another day, another walk through the city starting at the Distillery District and heading west towards the waterfront and downtown Toronto.

below: Posing under the heart, Distillery District.

a woman and child posing under bright red heart installation at the Distillery District while a man takes their picture, also a line of tree shapes painted white, then painted with colourful pictures on parts of them,

below: Posing with the LOVE locks.

4 young women pose for a group shot beside the love word made from locks in the distillery district

below: Flowered Dress Madonna” by Ann Agee, 2021 as seen in the Corkin Gallery in the Distillery District.

small mother and child sculpture by Ann Agee called flowered drress Madonna, made in 2021

below: Looking east on Front Street from Berkeley. Police Division is the old brick building. Both sides of Front are lined with black hoardings as redevelopment of those sites started recently.

intersection of Berkeley and Front, looking east on Front towards police station in old building, black hoardings for construction sites on both sides of Front Street

below: Berkeley St., south of Front

a young man walking his white dog along the sidewalk, past black painted plywood hoardings around a construction site, Berkely Street

below: Another hole in the wall; another vacant lot waiting for redevelopment on Parliament Street. More tall buildings coming to the Distillery District.

an old door in a concrete block wall, now open to hole in the ground vacant lot waiting redevelopment

below: Looking south from the end of Parliament Street and across Lakeshore Blvd to the start of Queens Quay East. Many changes here!

looking south under Gardiner Expressway across Lakeshore Blvd at the end of Parliment where it turns into Queens Quay East

below: The CN Tower peaks through the gap created by one of the onramps for the Gardiner Expressway.

the CN Tower peaks through a gap in the Gardiner Expressway where an on ramp is

below: No Parkin’, Victory Soya Mills in the background

Victory Solya Mills in the background, construction in the foreground, a large yellow crane, a cement barricade spray painted with words no parking

the back ends of two tour boats with Canadian flags flying, end to end, with new condo developments seen across the water

below: Looking east towards the Port Lands redevelopment.  The new Cherry Street bridge is in the background.

waterfront, by Victory Mills silos, looking east towards new Cherry street bridge and portlands redevelopment

below: From the same spot on the waterfront as the above picture, but looking in the other direction.

yellow tent along the waterfront

below: Queens Quay East

looking west on Queens Quay East, construction in the foreground,

below: Relaxing by the lake.

sitting by the waterfront, a man in a yellow Muskoka chair, and a woman in an electric wheelchair, both facing the water

a person resting on wood bench in front of George Brown College on the waterfront, head on backpack, other people walking in the distance

below: Sugar Beach, spectator section, in the shade.

two men sitting on a bench beside water fountain sprayers at Sugar Beach, umbrellas, sand, and Redpath Sugar in the background

sugar beach, a man sun bathing on the sand, another person in Muskoka chair, green ship docked at Redpath Sugar, pink umbrellas,

below: On the rocks, Sugar Beach

two men sit on the rock at Sugar Beach, with green sugar ship docked at Redpath sugar, city skyline behind

below: I am not sure who this is or why he’s on the waterfront.  He’s made of wood – someone constructed him and left him here.

black and white wood cut out, upright of a man with no eyes or nose, white uniform, from waist up, standing on waterfront by Redpath Sugar

below: Closed – ramp to the the eastbound Gardiner at Lower Jarvis.

closed sign at the ramp to the Gardiner Expressway eastbound at Lower Jarvis, along Lakeshore

below: Lower Jarvis

pedestrians on sidewalk on Lower Jarvis with reflections in window beside and overhang above at Shoppers Drug Mart

below: A bucket full of bright and cheerful sunflowers on the sidewalk by St. Lawrence Market.

a turquoise bucket full of sunflowers for sale on the sidewalk by St. Lawrence Market

below: Market Street closed to traffic at Esplanade.

road closed sign, orange barricades, at the south end of Market Street to make it closed to traffic, and open to pedestrians only

below: Marvelous peppers and other veggies for sale at St. Lawrence Market

vegetables for sale at St. Lawrence Market, yellow peppers, range peppers, as well as red and green peppers in small green baskets in the foreground,

below: Someone’s looking a little distraught. Remember how your parents used to say that if you frowned too much, or you made too many weird faces, your face would freeze in that position? That is what this poor fellow reminded me of. “Frozen” in time on the side of St. Lawrence Hall.

small carved face, decorative, on the side of St. Lawrence Hall

below: In a window.  The title of the painting is “Alone” so perhaps she is alone in the city albeit surrounded by flowers.  Unfortunately, they are yellow and blue flowers so I suspect that there is Ukrainian symbolism at play here and that ‘alone’ has a much deeper significance.

painting in a an art gallery window with reflections of the city

below: Leader Lane ends at Wellington.

road closed for construction, pedestrian on sidewalk, Irish flag flying by pub, porta pottie, park in distance, downtown

below: Mama elephant and her two little ones are still walking through the courtyard behind Commerce Court.  They haven’t reached the pool yet (but at least there’s water in the pool now).

elephant statues, adult and two little ones, surrounded by tall buildings

below: This is one of the five Big City Blooms murals found around the city   (west side of Commerce Court).   The big bold and cheerful flowers in reds and pinks are the work of Alanna Cavanagh.

the glass walls of the window of Commercce Court are covered with pictures of pink and red flowers, blooms in the city art project

below: Same Commerce Court building as the above picture but from a slightly different angle.

tall city buildings, an older one of brownish stone, the other a newer glass and steel structure, flags poles,
below: Melinda Street

old stone building surrounded by newer glass buildings

below: Narrow city alley views, framing the gorgeous stone and brick work on the older building with its arched windows.

looking down a narrow alley to the old brick building on the next street

below: There appears to be a forest path in the middle of Brookfield Place.  It is actually a photograph that is part of an exhibit called, “Take Your Seat With the Group of Seven, Nature the Inspires Us”.  (now gone from Brookfield Place).

interior of Brookfield Place, a large photo of a path through a forest is standing in the middle
below: In this exhibit, locations used by the Group of Seven in their paintings were revisited. Photos were taken using a red director’s chair, placing the chair in the artist’s position. In this set of images, two small paintings from Coldwell Harbour are paired with a large photo of present day Coldwell Harbour – the chair is small but you should be able to see it on the rocky outcropping. The harbour is on Lake Superior near the town of Marathon.

two small group of seven paintings from Coldwell Harbour, plaus a large photo of a red directors chair at present day Coldwell Harbour

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waterfront

Posted: April 10, 2022 in construction, locations, public art, waterfront
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Let’s follow the fish! 🐟 It’s pointed east along Queen’s Quay and by coincidence that the direction I’m headed too… 😃

a metal life like fish embedded on the paving stones on the ground, boot toes beside the fish

The seagull is not amused.

seagull standing on a short post beside Lake Ontario, with the back end of a boat in the background

front end of boat, Empress of Canada, white and black hull, dirty, tied to pier with yellow rope, reflections of it in the water of the harbour

below: Harbour Square Park with “Sundial Folly” at the water’s edge.  This art installation is the work of John Fung and Paul Figueiredo.  It has recently been cleaned up.  The sphere is hollow and there is a walkway that runs through it.  An opening at the south side (water side) acts as a sundial.

Toronto waterfront looking westward

Toronto waterfront looking westward

below: Looking east from Harbour Square towards the Westin Hotel tower and the park by the ferry docks.

Toronto waterfront looking eastward towards Westin Hotel tower and park by ferry docks

below: Tour boats and ferries still under wraps for the winter months.

Trillium tour boat and other boats and ferries parked on Toronto waterfront, covered for winter storage, tall condos in a line along the waterfront in the background

below: “Shore Stories” a mosaic located by the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. It was made in 2012 by youth from the community under the guidance of AFCY (Arts for Children and Youth, an organization that may or may not still exist).

mosaic pictures in circles forming a mural, Shore Stories, at ferry dock in Toronto

below: The “egg beaters” at 1 Yonge Street are now behind a fence. The installation is actually called “Between the Eyes”, and is by Richard Deacon.

two people walking past a site with a green fence, a sculpture behind the fence, new buildings and new construction in the background

Between the Eyes, a sculpture by Richard Deacon on Queens Quay East

below:  It’s 830km to Kapuskasing and even farther to Cochrane, just keep following Yonge Street northwards.

brass letters embedded in the concrete of the sidewalk, distances to different places on Yonge street,

a very big muddy puddle in a parking lot with reflections of the condos around it

empty parking lot with two light standards. on the other side of the lot is a light brown brick building with small square windows

an empty bench on the waterfront with new condos behind

below: “A Series of Whirlpool Field Manoeuvres for Pier 27”. by Alice Aycock

whirlwind, a white metal sculpture between two condos, with an elevated section above it, taller condo in the background

along the waterfront, whirlwind, a metal white sculpture, tornado swirls of metal, by Lake Ontario,

CN Tower in the background, peaking through between a new glass and metal condo with different angled balconies, and an older concrete highrise

below: The walkway along the waterfront comes to an end where a very high concrete wall separates Redpath Sugar from the public space.

Toronto waterfront, public path ends at a large high concrete wall by Redpath Sugar, the back end of a red ship is visible jutting out from behind the wall

below: Que Rock murals, water theme, “Water Clans (Nbii Dodem)” four panels at Redpath Sugar.

two Indigenous themed murals on exterior walls of Redpath Sugar on Queens Quay

2 indigenous themed murals on Queens Quay by Que Rock a k a Quentin Commanda

reflected light against a grey exterior wall, with 5 small vents

view from sugar beach, willow tree in front of a red ship parked at Redpath Sugar, city buildings behind

orange life saving ring by a ladder on shore in front of a parked red hulled ship, harbour

below: Pink umbrellas and sugar filled ships, at Sugar Beach.

sugar beach with pink umbrellas in the foreground, a sugar ship unloading at Redpath in the background, Toronto skyline with CN Tower in the distance

below: Queens Quay East at Dockside

new construction, new condo, at Dockside Dr. and Queens Quay East, Corus Quay, waterfront, new street,

below: Sherbourne Commons

Sherbourne Commons as seen from the waterfront, large grey building with washrooms and change rooms

a person sitting in a muskoka chair on the waterfront near a water work site with barge, and rusty metal pylons in the water, port lands in the distance

below: New construction on Queens Quay East where many parts are  being made of wood.   A new park, Aitkens Place Park lies between the new building and the waterfront.

Aitken Park in front, new condo building built behind it, concrete core but rest built of wood

two people sitting on a bench, one with yellow toque and the other with yellow turban, other people walking past, on the waterfront

below: Vacant lot on the corner of Queens Quay East and Small Street.

northwest corner of intersection of Queens Quay East and Merchants Wharf, large billboard, vacant lot parking lot

small temporary bridge, concrete silos in background, construction fence in front,

concrete silos in background, construction fence in front,

below: At the foot of Parliament Street.

small red cabin beside entrance to parking lot and construction site, concrete silos in the background

below: Anser eyes

old anser eyes graffiti on a piece of concrete leaning against a fence

below: Sweet and salty at the Distillery

large billboard in front of tall condos, a sweet and salty relationship, reeses peanut butter cups with potato chips

on the waterfront

Posted: February 25, 2022 in public art, waterfront
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a small pink knitted heart is tied to the branch of a small tree

Winter Stations 2022

a sign by path at beach that says don't feed the foxes

From late February through to the end of March is Winter Stations on Woodbine Beach along Toronto’s waterfront.

Toronto waterfront, by Ashbridge Bay, Lake Ontario, winter stations 2022, people and dogs on the beach with a few art installations

below: “The Hive” by Canadians, Kathleen Dogantzis & Will Cuthbert

Hive, at winter stations 2022,

looking through the coloured plexiglass panels of Hive, an art installation on Woodbine Beach

below: Designed by a team from Daniels Faculty of Architecture, U of T, “Introspection”.

Introspection, art installation at Woodbine Beach designed by University of Toronto John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design team of – Christopher Hardy, Tomasz Weinberger, Clement Sung, Jason Wu, Jacob Henriquez, Christopher Law, Anthony Mattacchione, George Wang, Maggie MacPhie & Zoey Chao, Lead by Assistant Professor – Teaching Stream Fiona Lim Tung

part of "Introspection" an art installation, red box on the waterfront with reflective insides

inside Introspection , reflecrive surface, art installation

below: Designed by a Turkish pair, Cemre Önertürk and Ege Çakır is “Enter-Face”.

two Muskoka chairs sit in the ice at Woodbine Beach, with art installation Enter-Face behind them

below: The structure on the left has circular openings on one side and a translucent panel on the other (lakeside) – you can through but the resulting view is slightly distorted. On the taller structure, there is a reflective material.

on Woodbine Beach, an art installation called Enter-Face by Turkish design team, MELT, Cemre Önertürk & Ege Çakır

view from outside of Enter Face, an art installation at winter stations

below: “S’winter Station” was designed by a team from Ryerson University’s Department of Architectural Science.  The circular openings on the surface panels were made from beach towels, an object more associated with summer than with winter.

a woman with blue paper? beside art installation designed by Evan Fernandes, Kelvin Hoang, Alexandra Winslow, Justin Lieberman & Ariel Weiss, Lead by Associate Professor Vincent Hui from Ryerson

a woman and a dog on the beach, under the overhang of an art installation, S'winter station,

below: “One Canada” by a team from School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph.  The “One” in the title is for the combining of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous together as one.  Seven rings representing wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth.  Orange (for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation) ropes weave the rings together in a pattern echoing those used to make drums.

on the waterfront, beach, with lake behind, an art installation.

part of One Canada installation at Winter Stations, close up of orange cords that form the frame, people and dogs and beach in the background. Design team: Alex Feenstra, Megan Haralovich, Zhengyang Hua, Noah Tran, Haley White & Connor Winrow, Lead by Assistant Professor Afshin Ashari and Associate Professor Sean Kelly

after a hot summer day

Posted: July 3, 2021 in people, waterfront
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a cooler evening on the waterfront

A couple sit with their backs to the camera on the edge of Lake Ontario while a male cyclist walks his bike past. Two red Muskoka chairs in the picture as well as boats on the water

On Toronto waterfront, harbour, three people standing on the dock beside a sailboat, a man in yellow shorts and white hat, and two women. A man is standing in the boat next to it.

below: Simcoe Wave Deck

people sitting and walking on the Simcoe Wave Deck, Toronto waterfront, with condos behind

kids playing on the Simcoe Wave Deck, a young girl is sliding down it

People by the side of Lake Ontario, two on bicycles, some sitting on the side of the walkway, a woman leaning against a post, and a man taking selfies. There is also a seagull. Port Lands is in the distance.

below: Joseph Landau, accordion player

A male accordion player, Joseph Landau, stands beside the waterfront. Curly black hair.

an older man with a big fluffy grey beard sits on a bench with Tim Hortons cup beside him. He's wearing orange shorts and a pink top. Looking at his phone

A couple sits at a table on an upper level balcony patio, behind glass barrier. With condo buildings behind

below: Queens Quay traffic – take care! Cyclists (and pedestrians) don’t always see or obey their traffic signals!

TTC street car on Queens Quay, cyclists on the bike path, pedestrians trying to cross

Two men walk past another man dressed in blue who dances for tips. He's standing still because no one has given him any money

people sitting on the end of a dock by Lake Ontario

hot dog and sausage street vendors at work

Young man in red shorts performing stunts on his skateboard

three men walk past boats docked at the waterfront, one is topless

A couple sit on the sand on waterfront, under yellow umbrella, a man walks past behind them, also two men sitting on the edge of the lake,.

People sitting and lying on benches on waterfront, in front of the tour boats Northern Spirit and Obsession. One woman is doing yoga pose.

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north of the Keating Channel

Posted: March 10, 2021 in history, locations, old buildings, transportation, waterfront
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The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel.  I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side.  A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore.  This is some of what I saw that day.

below: At the bottom of Cherry Street

Cherry street railway building

below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.

old concrete silos as seen from Lakeshire and Cherrt, with Gardiner Expressway above

below: Along the Lakeshore, looking south towards Port Lands at Cherry.

yellow fire hydrant in front, guard rails along the side of Lakeshore Blvd, with Lafarge silos in the background

below: The Gardiner curves slightly northward as it aligns with the Keating Channel.  Lakeshore Blvd takes a wider turn and comes out from under the Gardiner for a few brief moments before slipping back under as both roads parallel the channel.

Gardiner Expressway curves to the left

below:  On the south side of Lakeshore, there is no sidewalk here but the grassy area is wide enough…..

shadow on the grass beside the Lakeshore

below:  Walking here offers a different view of the Port Lands.  The “smokestack” on the right is the old Hearn Generating station.

Keating Channel, looking east

below: Some of the buildings that remain on Villiers Street.

looking across the Keating Channel to a low rise building, square dock juts into the channel

old buildings still remaing on Villies Street as seen from across the Keating Channel

below: Panorama of Keating Channel being developed, 1916, before there was much on the Port Lands and  Cherry Street was just a one lane dirt road.

panorama - 1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo, also Port Lands before they were developed

below: Keating Channel, 1916

1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo
The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel.  But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea.  Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.

below: A few years after the channel was upgraded (1934)…  From vacant land to a forest of BA oil tanks. There are railway tracks along the edge of the channel.  From Wikipedia: “In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp.”

photo of Keating Street

Photo by Arthur Beales. Toronto Port Authority Archives, PC 1/1/10769. Found at Wikimedia Common

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below: BA refinery with the Don River on the right, 1931.  There were still storage tanks here in the 1960s when the city was building the Gardiner Expressway.

1931 photograph, vintage, black and white, of British American oil refinery just north of the Keating Channel and just west of the Don River,

Photo source: Library and Archives Canada, online

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below: This rusty “fence” isn’t going to hold anyone or anything back.  I had visions of tumbling into the icy channel if I went near it.  I think that just looking at it made it wobble.

old rusty metal barrier between the Keating Channel and the road, with some weeds and gravel

below: There are still places to tie up your boat

a large metal piece beside keating channel, for tying off boats who want to park there,

below: A big tap? It’s attached to a pipeline but is it functional?  (It doesn’t look like it).  There is a lot of infrastructure buried under the Lakeshore, sewer lines, water mains, electricals, etc., but this looks like a piece of history.  Pleased correct me if I’m wrong!  Also – if you plan to explore here, there are stretches where the only option is to walk right beside the road.

old rusty large valve for a pipeline, beside Lakeshore Blvd,

below: Likewise, the box structure is probably there to protect the rest – but what are they?  Valves of some kind?

old metal pieces of hardware, pipes and valves?, rusty, beside the Keating channel

lone building onthe other side of the water, surrounded by construction at ground level. boarded up, two storey building

construction in the background, blue digger, vacant land, and the Keating channel in the foreground, ducks in the water

below: Looking north to Canary District and West Don Lands development.  The oil tanks are long gone.

Canary district development from the Lakeshore, looking north,

below: Looking up from Lakeshore, under both the Gardiner and the ramp from the DVP

view from the Lakeshore looking up to the Gardiner Expressway and the underside of the ramp from the Don Valley Parkway to the Gardiner, 3 levels of concrete pillars and roadway.

below: Looking west from Don Roadway along the Keating Channel to the new Cherry Street bridge.

view from the Don Roadway back to the new Cherry Street bridge, looking west, with the Gardiner to the right, Keating channel with thin layer of ice on it, docks and a few buildings on the Port Lands side of the channel

below: Intersection of Lakeshore and Don Roadway.

at the intersection of Don Roadway and Lakeshore Blvd, traffic cones and a blue sign that says sidewalk closed ahead

below: Two metal transmission towers standing side by side.  Geometrical, straight lines, yet lace-like.

two tall metal hydro poles with lots of blue sky, power plant in the distance, and looking very small

below: From the Don Roadway, northbound and homeward

street art on the concrete bents holding up the ramp from D V P to Gardiner Expressway, walking path beside, with a man walking his dog,

close up of part of electrical station equipment, with water tower in the background with word Ponds written on it

chain link fence with a design woven into it with different colours, artwork, shrubbery with no leaves (winter time), billboard on an expressway in the background

remnants of our industrial past

Posted: February 23, 2021 in construction, history, locations, old buildings, waterfront
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I first started walking the streets with a camera sometime in 2011.   At that time Instagram was still a baby; the photo sharing platform of choice at the time was flickr.  Flickr still exists but there are many more choices now.  Back in the day there was a Toronto flickr group that had meetups once a month.  The meetup, there’s another concept that has exploded with the internet.  There are now meetup groups for any photography genre that tickles your fancy.  Ten years ago, you met through flickr and that is how I found Toronto Photo Walks. They walk (or walked pre-COVID) on alternate Saturdays, rain or shine, somewhere in the city.   My first walk with them was February 2012, almost exactly 9 years ago.   If you check their website, you”ll see that COVID-19 has played havoc with their group and there haven’t been any walks for a year now.  I miss my phellow photogs so the other day I walked with one and this is where we ended up.

 

below: If you’ve been in the Distillery District this winter (or any of the past few winters), you might recognize this cheerful fellow.

tall fake snowman with a red and white striped scarf, in the distillery district

below: At Mill and Trinity, the omnipresent blue and white Notice sign.  Apparently a developer has applied to build a 31 storey building (on top of the existing old brick structure) with 392 hotel rooms.  I wonder if they are happy that they didn’t just finish this a year ago?  Ontario hotel occupancy rate hit a low of 15.3% in April 2020 and had barely started to recover when the second lockdown hit.  As an aside – if you like stats, you’ll like the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport research pages!

blue and white city of toronto development notice in front of old brick building in distillery district

below: One industry that is booming is the film business.  Often you can see movie trucks at the corner of Mill and Cherry.  This land is owned by the province and is awaiting an affordable housing development of some sort.

movie film crew trucks on the corner of Cherry and Mill streets

two people buying coffee and muffins from a food truck in a lot with many other white trucks

below: The old Foundry site, actually a group of heritage buildings at the former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company on Eastern Avenue that are more than 100 years old.

glass windows of the old foundry building

The problem?  It sits on provincially owned land.  The province can pull stunts like changing the zoning without city approval (or knowledge).  It can turn one foundry building into 3 towers of max 141m high  (30 storeys is approx. 100m so 141 m is TALL!).  One of them has to be rental apartments but can’t have parking – there’s to be a commercial parking structure instead.  Hey let’s build affordable housing by making them pay for parking!  Here is the government website with the proof – Ontario Regulation 595/20

bench on sidewalk in front of old foundry building

Fast forward to late January.  Demolition of the foundry begins with no warning to the neighbourhood.  There is a rezoning order but no actual plans drawn up or developer named.  As far we know, the province still owns the land but refuses to say exactly the plan is because, well, probably because there is no plan or because the province is selling out to a developer.  Name your poison.   The province just says “affordable housing” and we’re supposed to go oooh and ahhh.

old foundry building behind hoardings, new condo in the background

Just around the corner (on Mill Street) three towers of 761 rental units are being built at the moment (no photo, it’s all behind hoardings so far).

machinery in front of old foundry building that demolition was started on, and then stopped

below: Heritage Toronto plaque, 2012, Dominion Wheel & Foundries Ltd., Manufacturing Complex

plaque at former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company on Eastern Avenue

These four buildings were once part of a larger Dominion Wheel & Foundries Ltd. complex. By 1913, the company had constructed its first building, 169 Eastern Ave. on this site. As a manufacturer of railway equipment, rolling stock, and foundry and machinery supplies, Dominion Wheel & Foundries expanded with the growth of the nearby railway companies. By the 1940s, the buildings stretched from this location to Cherry Street, replacing two former residential streets. The firm’s remaining warehouse (#169)m foundry building (#153, built 1951), office building (#171, built 1930), and machine shop (#185, built about 1935) are now among the few remaining reminders of the extensive impact the railway industry had on this area.

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Anyhow, lots of protest, lots of noise.  Demolition was halted.  An Ontario Divisional Court justice temporarily stopped the province from demolishing the heritage buildings.

4 hand drawn posters protesting the demolition of the old foundry building

below: Just behind the Foundry, an almost completed condo.

new condo in Canary district almost finished construction,

below: Workers remove the protective layer from the mirror-like panels on the underside of the overhang (see yellow area near the bottom of the condo in the above photo).  This feature parallels the mirrors on the “ceiling” of Underpass Park which is close by.

workmen working on a lift, working on mirrored exterior overhanging roof on a new condo

flat bed truck carrying machinery, and little red car on street, man holding slow stop sign by construction site , man on sidewalk walking two small dogs

below: Poster paste up graffiti at Underpass Park (you can see the new condo I mentioned above in the upper right corner).  Good advice whether you take it literally or as a metaphor.

poster graffiti on a piller in Underpass Park, poetry on it

black marker scrawl graffiti on a concrete post, drawing of man's face and head with words about smoking

below: Looking northwest at the corner of King and Sumach

corner of kIng and Sumach, looking northwest, Central Auto mechanic on the corner

below: A few metres further west along King.  Traffic passes under Richmond and Adelaide streets.

TTC streetcar on King as it goes under the Richmond Street overpass from the Don Valley Parkway

below:  Looking northwest from Sackville Park.

looking west through Sackville Park, to city buildings behind, snow on ground

below: ghost sign

ghost sign that says groceries, under a cracking layer of concrete, on a wall with a couple of windows

below: Waiting for the streetcar.

King street 504 TTC streetcar, person sitting onrailing and waiting for streetcar

man making a delivery , a box, on a bike, KIng street,

below: Architectural detail on a corner of St. Lawrence Hall.   That’s quite the expression on the poor fellow’s face.  The harrowed look of someone who has spent too much time in lockdown?

small relief sculpture high on a wall of the St. Lawrence Hall

below: In contrast, this guy looks like he’s having a great time!

a small dog is looking out the open window of a black car

Did you ever think that we’d still be mired in this pandemic a year later?

below: A reminder that this pandemic has been hard on a lot of businesses –  sign on a window, “Dear Customers”

sign in a restaurant window

Dear customers, We have decided to close this weekend to re-assess for the future…

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below: Lining up to buy groceries, masked and keeping distanced.

people lined up waiting to get into No Frill grocery store, keeping the 2 metres apart

On a storefront window, something positive: hearts for the things we love – “my dog”, “mac & cheese”, “movie popcorn”, etc.

pink post it notes with words, beside big pink heart, in the window of a store, notes all say what people love

below: Pam Lostracco artwork on hoardings.

painted hoardings of a couple sitting on a bench, a child on a bike, some Canada geese, by Pam , around a construction site

workmen by the entrance to a construction site, with concrete mixer backed into the site

below: View of the CN Tower from Lower Sherbourne, just north of Lakeshore/Gardiner and immediately south of Hydro One’s Esplanade Transformer Station.  Unfortunately, that is not a public path; it is behind a locked gate.

graffiti on the wall around the hydro substation, lots electrical stuff, with CN Tower and downtown buildings in the background

below: Chairs in the median.

two chairs in the median on the Lakeshore, under the Gardiner at Lower Sherbourne

below: Queens Quay at Lower Sherbourne, looking west towards downtown.

looking west on Queens Quay from Lower Sherbourne, construction,

below: Queens Quay at Lower Sherbourne, looking east towards the old Victory Soya Mills Silos.  They were built for Canadian Breweries’ soya bean processing plant in 1944.  Ten years later the site was sold to Proctor and Gamble who renamed them the Victory Soya Mills Silos.   One last change of ownership occurred in 1980 when Central Soya Mills purchased them.   They have been empty since 1991.  Other buildings on the site have been demolished but the silos remain, now a heritage building but surrounded by a large vacant lot.

looking east on Queens Quay from Lower Sherbourne with old concrete silos in the distance, lots of orange and black traffic cones in the middle of the street in the foreground

below: The mill with its three silos before it closed in the early 1990s.  The silo that still stands is the one in the back, not the two closest to the water.   In this picture, you are looking southeast; the Port Lands are in the background and the Cherry Street bridge is on the left at the very edge.  There isn’t much traffic on the Gardiner Expressway!

old colour photograph of Victory Soya Mills with Port Lands behind

below: Sugar Beach

sugar beach with pink umbrellas, looking northwest to the city, new glass highrise beside redpath sugar

black and white sticker graffiti on a pole

sticker graffiti on a pole

My thanks to Vicki for walking with me that day.  We’ve walked many miles together in the past but I don’t think that we’ve ever walked alone (maybe?)

reflections in a window downtown

below: As an aside, after walking with Vicki, I looped back around to my car.  This construction site is on Adelaide where the brick facade of the old building is being preserved.   More to explore another day!

construction site, Adelaide street, new condo building, but with retention of the old facade

Mimico and Colonel Sam

Posted: February 7, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations, nature, waterfront
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A mild January turned into a frigid February but that shouldn’t slow us down should it?  So I bundled up and drove to Mimico to meet a friend – what? we haven’t seen each other for over a year?  2020 has taken its toll.   At least it’s easier wearing masks in cold weather!

Toronto street sign for Mimico village, Melrose street,, on the same pole is a banner above it that says happy holidays

below: Two murals by Jim Bravo. On the right, “Down Creek Way” 2012. On the left, “Morning Ice Harvest” 2014. Both are part of the Lakeshore Arts Project

two historical murals on the side of a building, one is boys ice fishing and the other is people swimming in the creek

below: A watery mural with a large duck bottom as it paddles by on the side of Birds and Beans Coffee Shop. Another Lakeshore Arts Project; it was designed by Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson and painted with the help of a crew of youth & community members coordinated by Paula McDines.

picture of a mural as seen from across a park, street scene as well. snow, winter,

below: Mural on the side of Calibreze Pizza on Lakeshore Blvd.

mural on the side of a two storey brick store on Lakeshore in Mimico, sign says Calibreze Pizza.

mural on the side of a building, cars parked in front of it

mural

The northern boundary is the Gardiner Expressway.  Here, stairs from the street running parallel to the Gardiner up to Royal York Road before it becomes a bridge over the expressway.

concrete retaining wall beside Royal York Rd, with stairs going up to road level, also a small tree

below: Signs on the outside

signs on the door of Jimmys coffee shop, wear a mask, wear it right, and other covid notices

below: … and old photos on the inside.  Jimmys Coffee, Royal York Road.  Hanging out inside was verboten but a few minutes of warmth was appreciated.

large photograph on a coffee shop wall of a welcome to mimico sign beside an old phone booth with someone inside it

inside Jimmys coffee, a sign on the bar that says our resolution drink more coffee damn it

below: Who can resist a unicorn poop cookie?

cookies for sale at a coffee shop, chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies with pink sprinkles called unicorn poop cookies

below: Signs of Covid.  Prior to the most recent lockdown there was talk about “big box stores” being allowed to stay open while smaller businesses had to close.  At the moment, even “big box stores” are closed.

window of a tattoo shop, rattan blinds closed, painted on window is sign that says big box tattoo, wolves throne, can we open now?

below: Bag full of work.

traffic box on sidewalk painted as back of a person in a red and white striped shirt with a backpack on. outside of backpack are words bag full of work, Red van on road, and houses behind that, snow on the ground,

below: Moooooove me….  I’m tired of getting splattered with slush when cars get too close!

back cow sculpture, lifelike, beside the street, in front of a butcher shop in Mimico.

small blue boat on a trailer parked by garage in an alley behind multiplex houses 3 storeys high, red brick.

below: A cold and wet seat.

a chair in the driveway by an alley, in the snow, cars, chainlink fence behind the chair.

sign beside the red doors of Crossroads Christian fellowship church that says All welcome Sunday service and bible studies cancelled

below: Just out of the picture, and making a lot of noise, was the same dog that’s in this picture.

glass door and windows of storefront with signs and pictures. picture of a small dog,

below: Tibetan prayer flags adorn the fence. Each colour represents an element; white symbolizes air, red is fire., green is water, yellow is earth, and blue is wind. They also represent directions – North, South, East, West and Center. As the flags flutter in the wind, they emit positive spiritual vibrations enabling the wind to carry away the prayers and wishes. As the prayers drift away, the colours fade.

colourful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags strung outside a store

two three storey apartment buildings side by side

houses on a residential street

four motorcycles under individual covers and parked outside in the snow

old square white building on Royal York Road, now a flower shop,

below: Mimico is home to a large GO facility, the Willowbrook Rail Maintenance Facility.  It didn’t look too inviting!  It might be worth some research so that on a warmer, sunnier day we could go exploring.

outer wall of Willowbrook GO facility in Mimico. Large walls,

below: It’s difficult to see, but the door on the left has a “women” sign on it.   His and hers.

two white port a potties beside a parked truck container back part

What had started as a sunny morning, turned into a grey low-light so we headed to the lake to see if we could find more sun, or at least better light.

below: Part of Humber College Lakeshore Campus.   These buildings were built in the late 1880s as “cottages”, part of the Mimico Asylum (later known as the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital).   Almost a hundred years later the site was shut down.  At that time, there were 280 patients, down from a peak of 1,390 in 1950.

from a distance, Humber college brick buildings, lakeshore campus, snow and bare trees

below: The site was leased to Humber in 1991 and since then these four buildings have been completely renovated to suit Humber’s needs.

Humber college brick buildings, lakeshore campus, snow and bare trees

below: Humber College is surrounded on three sides by Colonel Sam Smith park and one of the features of the park is an outdoor skating loop.  This year, online registration is needed for a time slot at all rinks – unless you’re lucky enough to arrive when others have cancelled or have been unable to show up.  (As an aside – they have a washroom for weary walkers in need!)

people at skating rink, outdoors. one is secutiy and others are waiting their turn to use the ice. pink letters on sidewalk that denote place for those with reservations to line up

two kids skating, one is pushing the other who is holding onto a blue plastic support

Another feature of the park are the waterfront trails along the shores of Lake Ontario.

two canada geese in the water, up close

below: Comfy sofa at the ready?

many mallards and canada geese in the water, trees on the shore, an old sofa is perched among the trees, facing the water, winter, snow,

mallard ducks with their heads down,m on Lake Ontario

ice and icicles on a fallen log on the rocks beside Lake Ontario, some snow and bare trees in the background

frozen pond with snow and bare trees

Toronto skyline from Colonel Sam Smith park, lake ontario in between

winter scene, beside Lake Ontario, bench in park facing the water, some bare trees around it

We never did find more light that morning.  But if you’re in the mood for hot chocolate bombs or other sweet goodies we might have found the place for you!

photographer taking a picture of a store window, masks, baking things, red hearts,

below: As I was driving home after the walk, I came across this scene:

a zamboni on the back of a tow truck, travlling on a toronto street

 

Saturday at the beach

Posted: September 29, 2020 in people, waterfront
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… even though it was the end of September!

below: Up, up, and away… not!  The woman in the middle doesn’t seem to interested.  Perhaps she’s too busy taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity to sun bathe on the beach one more time.

two men with large kites are trying to get themselves up in the air, a woman in a bathing suit lies on the sand between them.

two women and a girl paddling in a yellow boat, a sailboat is in the background

below: Walking past Leuty Lifeguard Station.

three couples on the boardwalk, one couple is walking their dog

below: He decided to stay and relax a little while people watching.

a man lies on the grass and watches people passing by on the boardwalk including a woman in a bathing suit and red shoes while talking on her phone, in front of Leuty Lifeguard station

a family sits together on the beach, the youngest is a baby in mother's lap. stroller is beside them, empty lifeguard station too

a man pulls a wagon with a child in it through the sand towards Lake Ontario leaving ruts where the wheels have passed

people walking on the boardwalk at Toronto waterfront, including four kids on their bikes, four aside, blocking traffic

a couple sit on low chairs in the sand at Woodbine Beach, others are in the water swimming or on paddle boards

a group of young people in bathing suits and summer clothing having a picnic at the beach, some under a striped umbrella and some standing and sitting around an large inflatable pink flamingo

young people playing volleyball on the beach in the sane

a couple sits near the water, their bikes are parked on the sand beside a large piece of driftwood

an old woman in a long purple and white skirt and a scarf over her head walks along the boardwalk with her walker

below: … and (almost) last, a wedding party in the park… finding ways to have celebrations in the summer of Covid-19.

a wedding party in the park, other people sitting in the park and looking out towards Lake Ontario

below:  That’s one way of getting to the beach!

new blue Mclaren sports car parked ina parking lot at Woodbine beach, beside a white car and in front of a TTC bus stop

on the old Leslie Street Spit

Posted: May 18, 2020 in nature, people, waterfront
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A long weekend in May (Two Four Weekend) + the first sunny warm day in a while + two months of “shelter in place” = people out enjoying Tommy Thompson Park’s trails and waterfront.

a couple sit on a rock by Lake Ontario

below: Flow Like a River

bikes parked against a fence with signs on it, with graffiti words that say flow like a river, in the background a mound of dirt with two young men standing on top of it.

below: Keep ur distance

a girl in a red bike helmet walks on top of a yellow concrete barrier

cyclists on a bike path, seen through tree trunks and long grass

below: Three people, three positions – up tall and straight, flailing legs middle, and collapsing feet at the end.    Also notable are the mounds of tangled rebar that dot the shoreline.

three young people trying to do headstones on the pebbles at the shore beside Lake Ontario, Tommy Thompson Park, with old rusty rebar in piles on the shore two, washed up old trees and roots,

father and child standing on rocks at the shore of Lake Ontario

below: She’s sitting on some very rounded rocks that have been shaped by the waves and water.  Are they chunks of man-made concrete and not the more solid  rocks formed by nature?

a woman looking at her phone, sitting on rocks by Lake Ontario, her bike is on the ground behind her

The park has come a long way since construction of the Leslie Street Spit started in 1959.  In the beginning, it was to be an area for “port related activities”.   In the early 1970s, it was decided that Toronto didn’t need an expanded port.  Since 1973, the focus has been on developing the area as a park but keeping as much “wilderness” as possible.  If you are interested in the history of Tommy Thompson Park, they have an excellent website with aerial pictures that show how the park has grown.

tall smokestack in the distance, a park in the foreground, with a bike path and cyclists running through the park, early spring

below: Nature slowly takes over, and the piles of rubble and construction waste that were used to help build the foundations of the park become grown over and buried.

grassy, rocky part of Tommy Thompson Park in spring with shrubs and trees just starting to bud

below: Late afternoon fishermen on their way in.

people walking on a trail in Tommy Thompson Park, early spring, trees just starting to form leaves

below: If you look closely, you might see that one of the bikes has a bell in the shape of a skull with red eyes.

4 bikes parked on the shore, among leafless shrubs, beside Lake Ontario

piles of rock, concrete bits, rebar, construction waste, forming parts of Tommy Thompson park

below: There were lots of noisy redwing blackbirds as well as many other kinds of birds – orioles, grosbeaks, goldfinches, robins, warblers, swallows, and sparrows.  During spring migration, up to 300 different species can be seen here.

a male redwing blackbird in a tree, making noise

long droopy buds on a tree, dark red on top and golden yellow on the lower parts, out of focus trees in the background

In the foregeound, trees and stumps in the water at the edge of the harbour, looking across the water to the Toronto skyline

two sailboats exit the marina harbour and pass by the Toronto skyline (seen from the east)

below: Construction on the east side of the park.  This is the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant Landform Project scheduled to be finished in 2025.  Three shore connected breakwaters and a headland/beach system are being constructed.

filling in part of Lake Ontario, walls of rocks with dirt between them

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