Mural on the wall of the Sanko Trading Company
(a Japanese Canadian business, since 1968),
corner of Claremont and Queen St. West,
There are many Japanese motifs in the mural including sushi.
A robot is at the door.
Painted by Ken Galloway, Timothy Fukakusa, Mitsuo Kimura, Takashi Iwasaki, Darcy Obokata, and Shogo Okada in the winter of 2013-2014
More on the Japantown Mural
Lineal Order
Part of an art installation by George Boileau, 1990,
on Simcoe St., between King and Wellington.
A bronze statue of a bare footed man wearing an overcoat.
Behind him on the wall is ‘his shadow’.
Not seen in this photo is another figurative sculpture. A small boy stands on the other side of the stairs. He too is bare foot and wearing a coat. He is looking toward the shadow on the wall.
On Queen St. West, just before it meets Roncesvalles Ave., is the Corona Restaurant and Nightclub. Along the wall of this building are a number of pieces of street art. Only a small section is visible from the street.
If you follow the alley that runs behind Queen St., you will find more street art alongside the same building.
The back part is a mural entitled ‘Destination Mammal Cabana’ by Birdo, Spudbomb and SKE1. It was painted in 2012.
On the north wall of the same building…..
If you look closely at the above picture, on the right hand side metal pole supporting the landing, is a sticker. Below, that sticker up close.
Looking west along the alley towards Roncesvalles Ave.
but if you walk slightly west, away from Roncesvalles, you will encounter two more pieces by Birdo. The ‘Dreamer’ is on the same building as the Destination Mammal Cabana that is pictured above.
In an alley to the southeast of Huron St. and Dundas West is a mural of the Great Wall of China. It is 147 feet long (almost 45 m) and 12 feet high.
Chinatown BIA.
Mural painted by Blinc Studios artists: Allan Bender, John Nobrega, Rick Sauve, Brian Broders, Jesse McQuaig and Ming Lau.
Painted in the summer of 2013.
In the early 1900’s brothers George and William Dempsey bought a store on the northwest corner of Yonge and Shepard from the Sheppard family. It became known as Dempsey Brothers.
below: The store in the 1960s
In 1989 the property was sold to developers but the store remained on that corner until 1996. At that time it was moved a few blocks north to a site on Beecroft Ave; the site is now known as Dempsey Park. The building was renovated and became the home of the North York Archives, an arrangement that didn’t last long. In 1998 Mike Harris and the provincial Conservative government of the day amalgamated the old city boroughs into one City of Toronto. North York ceased to exist and their archives merged with those of the new city. Instead, the old Demspey Brothers store is home to Beecroft Learning Centre.
The restored Dempsey Brothers store, now at 250 Beecroft Avenue.
Where Dempsey’s once stood, there is now this….
… a 7 Eleven and a McDonalds. I doubt that anyone thinks “nice corner” when they look at it.
below: Looking southeast from the front of Dempsey Brothers store many years ago.
The billboard is an ad for Simpsons, a department store that is long gone.
For a long time, a grocery store stood where the billboard is in the above photo. But now that corner is changing again.
below: An attempt to replicate the location and angle of the above photo
below: Looking south across Sheppard Ave. East at the north side new Hullmark Centre including the new subway entrance.
below: Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Sheppard Avenue.
The new Whole Foods store is the first building on the right.
The southwest corner is also undergoing major changes.
below: The greenish coloured Emerald development is almost complete. And yes, the tops of the buildings are meant to curve that way!
St. Patricks Day, 17th March
Watching people watching the parade in downtown Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
Stop Bill C-51 Protest and Rally
Nathan Phillips Square, noon, Saturday 14 March
It was a foggy and damp morning before the protest.
but the rain held off once the rally started.
“Protect our Charter Rights. Fuck you Harper”
Stop C51″. “Stop Harper’s secret police”
A coalition of groups under the banner of StopC51.ca organized a “National Day of Action”. Included in the events were protest rallys in cities across Canada.
“Citizen journalism will be silenced by Bill C-51”
“Don’t let the terror win”
#rejectfear
“Say no to Islamophobia. Say no to war.”
The other side of the Lisa Simpson sign are the words “I don’t want a big brother”
The Toronto Raging Grannies were also there with their own unique sound.
“Not the Canada we want or need”
Located at the northwest corner of Regent Park Blvd and St. David St.,
(which is south of Dundas East and east of Sackville)
painted on the wood hoardings around a construction site.
This wall was painted as part of The Patch Project
PATCH = “Public Art Through Construction Hoarding”
Unfortunately, one photo that is missing is one of the section of the wall that is a large section that says “Conquer Adversity with Diversity”, the title of this work.
More information on The Patch Project
Bare branches, snow, and sometimes blue sky –
things that usually only come together in winter.
Views that are hidden behind summer leaves are revealed in winter’s barrenness.
Trees take on a different character when they have no leaves
and they cast a different shadow.
Toronto is a city of trees. They are everywhere, and a surprising number of them are large, mature trees.
When we think of trees we usually think of shade on a hot day, or maybe the joy that spring buds bring, or maybe the rustle of fallen leaves in the autumn. The winter tree is often overlooked but they too add to the character of this city.
Along with many other people, I have been watching the demolition on the southeast corner of Dundas & Sumach streets, part of the Regent Park redevelopment. This 14 storey apartment building was designed by Peter Dickinson; it was built in the late 1950s.
January 31st, 2015
I first saw this building being demolished on a grey day at the end of January.
I’m not sure when the demolition actually started.
Looking north up Sumach Street.
The colours of past lives.
3 February
It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.
In the midst of demolition.
10 February
Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.
A view from the south.
Looking west from River Street.
Another view from River Street.
12 February
17 February
23 February
27 February
There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.
dust storm in the sunlight
28 February
… after 5 weeks, 6 March
Just another hole in the ground.
as I walk Toronto 