as I walk Toronto

anti bill C-51protest

Posted: March 14, 2015 in events
Tags: #rejectfear, bill C-51, Canada, crowd, current events, federal government, freedom, Harper, nathan phillips square, news, people, placards, protest, rally, signs, slogans, Stephen Harper, stop bill C-51, terrorism

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.

A young woman is holding a piece of white fabric on which words have been printed: "Fuck bill C-51" is in larger letters.

“Protect our Charter Rights. Fuck you Harper”

Two young girls are holding protest signs. One says "Stop Harpers Secret Police" and the other says "Stop C51".

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

A man is handing out protest signs that say "Say no to Islamophobia"

“Say no to Islamophobia. Say no to war.”

A boy on his mother's shoulders is holding a sign with a picture of Lisa on it.

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.

signs lying on the steps as people walk around.

“Not the Canada we want or need”

Regent Park hoardings

Posted: March 13, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
Tags: animals, boy, colorful, colours, community, construction site, diversity, Elicser, faces, graffiti, hands, hawk, heads, hoardings, men, mural, painting, Patch Project, people, public art, Regent Park, renewal, St. David St., street art, stylized, take flight, Toronto, women

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

winter trees

Posted: March 10, 2015 in general Toronto, nature
Tags: alley, bare branches, blue sky, branches, buildings, city, deciduous trees, garages, houses, lane, laneway, no leaves, residences, shadows, snow, street scenes, Toronto, trees, urban, winter

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.

watching it come down

Posted: March 9, 2015 in history, locations
Tags: apartment building, bricks, bunny, city, concrete, cranes, demolition, Dundas East, eating away, gone, history, machinery, poser, redevelopment, Regent Park, revitalization, Sumach St., Toronto, urban, workmen

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.

A large 14 storey brick clad apartment building in the initial stages of being demolished.

Looking north up Sumach Street.

View of the interior of some of the apartments that were exposed when the exterior brick was removed. Some of the rooms are painted in bright colours, purples, pinks and greens.

The colours of past lives.

3 February

A workman dressed in orange coveralls works on the street in front of a building being demolished

It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.

Part of a 14 stprey apartment building that is being demolished. The exterior walls have been removed and some of the interior walls are buckling.

In the midst of demolition.

10 February

Two very large cranes are being used to demolish a large apartment building on the corner of Dundas and Sumach streets. Some men in bright yellow vests are directing traffic as some of the debris is falling towards Sumach street.

Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.

A purple and yellow sign against a metal fence that says Regent Park Revitalization Phase 3 has started. Demolition of an apartment in the background.

A view from the south.

Hydraulic crane and truck and other machinery used in the demolition of the building.

Looking west from River Street.

Vacant lot in the forground with demolition of a building in the middle. In the background are the new buildings that have been built in that area

Another view from River Street.

12 February

17 February

23 February

27 February

A man is taking a picture of a demolition in progress of an apartment building.

There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.

As part of the upper stories of an apartment are brought down, a cloud of dust forms as the debris hits the ground.

dust storm in the sunlight

28 February

… after 5 weeks, 6 March

A large hole in the ground where a building once stood, vacant land is around it. A street of houses in the distance, machinery to one side.

Just another hole in the ground.

Broadcast Lane

Posted: March 8, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: 509 dance, alley, cabbagetown, defaced, faces, garage doors, garages, graffiti, knobs, lane, murals, music, musician, parliament street, snow, street art, tags, tree, winter

Graffiti in a Cabbagetown lane.

Behind 509 Dance, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre on Parliament Street.

Hendon palms

Posted: March 6, 2015 in locations, public art
Tags: art in the park, fake, Hendon park, magenta, North York, palm trees, park, public art, snow, Toronto, turquoise, winter

The other day I was driving near Yonge and Finch when I made a wrong turn. I found myself driving on some streets that I don’t think I’ve ever been on before. Getting lost can have its rewards….
I discovered pink and blue palm trees in Hendon Park!

no competition

Posted: March 5, 2015 in galleries
Tags: Doug Jeck, Gertrud Mohwald, Mith, museum Gardiner Museum, naked men sculptures, Toronto, torso

Florence has ‘David’ and Toronto has ???

left: ‘Torso of a Young Man’ c1993 by German artist Gertrud Mohwald.
A collage of earthenware, porcelain and broken pieces of glass amongst other things.

center: ‘Mith’ 1994 by American artist Doug Jeck.
A “fractured assemblage”.

Gardiner Museum

sheep, ram or goat

Posted: March 2, 2015 in events
Tags: celebrations, Chinatown, Chinese spring festival, colourful, decorations, goat, gold, lunar new year, new year, ram, red, sheep, the year of the goat, the year of the ram, The year of the sheep

Happy belated Chinese New Year!

19 Feb 2015 was the Lunar New Year, the start of the Year of the Sheep (or Ram or Goat).

Sheep are considered auspicious animals, and the Year of the Sheep, therefore, heralds a year of promise and prosperity. This year will be the year for contemplating and appreciating what has already been accomplished and to think about bringing goodness to others.

Are you a sheep (or a ram or goat if you prefer)?
If you were born in one of the following time frames, then you are a sheep:

17 Feb 1931- 5 Feb 1932
5 Feb 1943- 24 Jan 1944
24 Jan 1955- 11 Feb 1956
9 Feb 1967- 29 Jan 1968
28 Jan 1979- 15 Feb 1980
15 Feb 1991- 3 Feb 1992
1 Feb 2003- 21 Jan 2004

The Sheep is thought to be the most feminine sign of the zodiac, perhaps because this is a very creative sign. The Sheep is artistically talented, and has a great sense of fashion.

Sheep are wise, gentle and compassionate and can cope with business cautiously and circumspectly. In their daily life, they try to be economical. They are willing to take good care of others, but they should avoid pessimism and hesitation.

They are very romantic, sensitive, sweet and darling. Empathy comes natural to sheeps. In relationship, they could be sometimes a little bit bossy and lazy, but with their gentle and caring nature, it will be hard to resist them.

Sheeps avoid confrontation and are not born leaders.
They can be indecisive, timid, vain, pessimistic, moody, and weak-willed.

On the 8th of February 2016 it will be the Year of the Monkey.
In the meantime, enjoy your Year of the Sheep!

Photos taken in the Dragon City shops at Dundas and Spadina.

the house that leather built

Posted: February 28, 2015 in history
Tags: architecture, Beardmore, brick, Chudleigh, Front Street, George Beardmore, house, italian consulate, leather, mansard roof, second empire style, slate roof, tanner, tower

A couple of weeks ago I was at the AGO with some friends. As we looked out over Dundas Street, one of them asked me if I knew anything about the building that we could see at the northwest corner of Beverley St. and Dundas. I had to admit that I knew nothing about except that I thought it was the Italian Consulate (it does have an Italian flag flying in the front after all).

Then I thought nothing about it. Flash forward about a week. I was at the St. Lawrence Market, sitting in the lower level eating my lunch when I happened to notice some posters on the wall. The posters were about the history of the area, especially the architecture. Right beside me was a picture of the house at 136 Beverley St., the Italian Consulate. Apparently it was called ‘Chudleigh’ and it was built in 1872.

So back I went to take some pictures.

Apparently the house is a fine example of the Second Empire style of architecture, a style that was popular between 1865 and 1880. Features of this style found in ‘Chudleigh’ are the steep mansard roof, the ‘tower’ portion of the house, and the asymmetry of the design.

This 35 room house was built by George Beardmore, a tanner from Chudleigh Devon England. It remained in the family until 1934. In 1937 it became the Italian Consulate. During World War 2 the Canadian government confiscated the property and used it as local headquarters for the RCMP. In 1961 it was returned to the Italians who used it as a center for Italian immigrants before renovating it and turning it back into the Italian Consulate in 1978.

Chudleigh in 1952

Chudleigh, an old house built in 1872 as seen in a 1952 black and white photo.

photo credit: torontopubliclibrary.ca

When George Lissant Beardmore first came to Canada in 1844, he set up a tannery in Hamilton Ontario. A few years later, this tannery was destroyed in a fire. Rather than rebuild in Hamilton, Beardmore built a warehouse in Toronto and bought a tannery in Guelph to supply the leather from which he made shoes. The Toronto warehouse, the Beardmore Building, was at 35 – 39 Front Street East and the building is still there today. A Winners store occupies part of the building.

In 1967 Beardmore & Co. are the largest tanners of leather in Canada. Their buildings and properties cover an area of over 500 acres, including a tannery in Acton that Beardmore purchased in 1865. They employed about 600 people.

Chinatown mural

Posted: February 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Aaron Li-Hill, Alexa Hatanaka, alley, bike, child, Chinatown, Chinatown BIA, Chinese, city, downtown, Dundas St. West, lane, man, mural, people, street art, Toronto

Chinatown Mural
2011 by Alexa Hatanaka and Aaron Li-Hill
Commissioned by the Chinatown BIA & located in an alley near Dundas & Spadina.
The mural is based on scenes from everyday life in Toronto’s Chinatown.