Davenport, Dupont, and vicinity

Posted: July 13, 2021 in general Toronto
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Another walk with a friend. Back in June when I asked Lucie if there was a coffee shop near her house where we could meet, her answer was “my house”. Since we were both double vaxxed, I felt safe going. So nice! We started near Avenue Road and Dupont and generally walked northwest before looping back. Here is some of what we saw (in no particular order).

below: Dupont near Madison

Dupont and Madison

below: North side of Dupont at Spadina with the rounded structure of the subway entrance on the northwest corner.

north side of Dupont, Spadina through the middle of the picture, round structure of Dupont subway station, billboard over the building on the northeast corner

below: South side of Dupont at Spadina

Dupont southside at Spadina, rounded top of south Dupont subway station

Two women stand talking outside the entrance to Dupont TTC subway station

a man crosses Dupont near the intersection with St. George Street, Gabys Groceries is in the background with its green Trident gum advertisement sign

below: Casa Loma peaks over the railway tracks that run parallel to Dupont.

the towers and turret of Casa Loma in the background behind a railway overpass just north of Dupont.

below: Murals on the underpass.

sidewalk, railway underpass, mural on wall

below: Boarded up houses waiting for redevelopment at Huron and Dupont.

a row of three storey brick houses at Huron and Dupont with hoardings surrounding the front of the buildings.

below: Gutted but preserved.

an older house with the insides gutted as part of a renovation

below: It was for sale – for 9.5 million it could be yours! But I’ll bet it’s already been snapped up.

large white house

below: … and you can park your McLaren on the street.

below: I have mentioned the Republic of Rathnelly in a previous post, back in 2017. From that post , “Back in 1967 the residents of the officially seceded from the rest of Canada, originally as a form of protest against the proposed Spadina Expressway that would have physically divided the community. The founders named their republic after Rathnelly Avenue which runs parallel to Avenue, one street to the west. “

Republic of Rathnelly sign on a front lawn, protesting development in the area

below: Forest Hill village

Spadina and Montclair Ave., Forest Hill village shops and business district. Construction signs, cars and traffic

below: I want you to have better coffee AND wear a mask!

poster of a man, parody of uncle sam poster, top hat and pointing, words say I want you to like better coffee. On the exterior of a door to a coffee shop, with covid mask notice in front of it

below: Not all nature in the park is people friendly! Best just to leave them alone!

wasps making a nest on the upper edge of a light on a trail in a Toronto park

below: Condo development beside the park. It’s everywhere

new condo being built at the edge of a park, seen through the trees

below: The hoardings are up on another redevelopment site at 77 Clarendon.

construction hoardings in front of a low rise apartment building at 77 Clarendon

below: This building has been boarded up for a long time. It’s a three story apartment building with 17 units. It sold as a vacant building in October 2020.

man sitting on a bench in a park with back to camera, looking across street to old boarded up brick apartment building

below: And last, the start of another. The blue and white notice stands in the front yard of an older house.

a blue and white redevlopment notice in the front yard of an older home with lots of trees in the front yard

below: There are now coyote warning signs in Toronto parks as some coyotes have been spotted around the city. This one has had a “Let kids play” sticker which was a campaign during COVID lockdown to keep the playgrounds open.

a city notice about being aware of coyotes in the park, a sticker that says Let kids play has been stuck on top.

below: Stephen Harper lingers on.

graffiti stick with ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper's face on it

below: Davenport Road and its Anishinaabe translation, Gete-Onigaming

Toronto street sign for Davenport, with it's indigenous name also, Gete-Onigaming

below: Still surviving, the green ‘The Annex’ decoration on this Bedford Road street sign.

Bedford Rd street sign with it's green Annex top

below: Part of an old mural on Avenue Road (painted 1996)

part of a mural on a concrete wall, a girl sitting on the grass and reading a book

below: Ghost sign, Buckingham Cigarettes on the brick exterior of a building on Davenport Road

below: Remnants of bygone days in an alley

metal communication tower

below: Spadina Road bridge over Nordheimer Ravine with dog park on the east side – view from Winston Churchill Park which sits on top of the St. Clair Reservoir.

below: St. Clair Reservoir entrances. The reservoir was built in 1931 on lands that were donated as part of the Eaton estate. The reservoir is made up of two basins which hold a total of 254 million litres – enough to last the city 3 weeks of average use. The park was closed for a long time while the reservoir was modernized but it is now open again.

below: From the City of Toronto Archives, a 1930 photograph of the interior of the reservoir’s east basin

old black and white photo from City of Toronto archives of east basin of St. Clair Water Reservoir when its empty

below: Down beside the dog park, looking at the Spadina Road bridge and taller buildings on St. Clair.

The next blog post, Nordheimer ravine – paint and paper, shows some of the graffiti and street art found under Spadina Road bridge

a red rose and 4 rose buds on a rose bush

With thanks to Lucie for being my tour guide!

a woman is using her phone to take pictures of irises, peonies, and other flowers and plants

Nordheimer ravine – paint and paper

Posted: July 10, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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below: M is for Mural and probably more.  One of the pieces of street art and graffiti seed under Spadina Road as it crosses Nordheimer Ravine.

street art and graffiti on a concrete support of a bridge, old woman's head and face and lots of names - Alex, Sam, Becca, Faith, tall grass and shrubs growing around it

below: A closer view with God & Love and many little hearts.

close up of old woman in mural, words god and love are written above her, some symbols beside her, lots of little hearts

below: A little black and white dog stands beside another part of the bridge

a small black and white dog stands beside graffiti on the bottom part of a bridge support. triangle headed man holding a big question mark, the word vice, a man with red head band and red bandana over lower part of face,

below: Black Lives Matter mural under the bridge with the now iconic phrases of “I can’t breathe” and “No Justice, No Peace”.
BLM mural on bridge supports, I can't breath, no justice, no peace are words painted on it, also a wall full of names of those who have died

below: A closer view showing some of the names that are painted on the wall.

below: Home to someone, surrounded by graffiti – including “You are what you give others”

tent and belongings of a homeless man under a bridge surrounded by tags and other graffiti

a man in blue top and shorts runs on a path under a bridge , support of bridge has graffiti on it, large red s and b on blue background

below: Some of the stickers seen in the area – an S333 red ring pop and Lucha graffiti. Life© takes first place with trp613 in second, and Bruho coming in third.  Another Bruho character tries to escape the computer monitor with red and blue Kizmet32 faces right below.  Every Knows Us as a man in a gas mask.

3 poles with stickers on them

below: A mouse and a lost creature

stickers on pole, one of a mouse, and other with word lost

graffiti on the concrete supports of a bridge

below: Black and white photos with Chinese lettering make up this paper paste-up

paper paste up graffiti on a concrete pole with chinese lettering and black and white photos on it, orange and blue spray paint beside the paste up

below: Pink and white text

pink and white tag graffiti, text, calligraphy, on dark green background on lower part of concrete bridge support

woman walking on path in ravine park, with graffiti on wall behind her

Adelaide & Peter

Posted: July 9, 2021 in construction, locations, public art
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below: Southeast corner of Adelaide & Peter

Southeast corner of Adelaide and Peter, all tall buildings

below: West side of Peter at Adelaide

West side of Peter at Adelaide. New tall buildings except older beige building on the northwest corner.

below: Still standing – Second Empire style from the late 1850s, with a mansard roof that was added a little later. Just north of it, a 47 storey condo is being constructed.

old pale beige brick house from the late 1850s with brown mansard roof at the northwest corner of Peter and Adelaide. empty, boarded up, with some tags on it, metal exterior staircase from ground level to second story, Second Empire style

below: On the hoardings at this construction site on Peter, is “Toronto Makes Good” a photo exhibit hosted by JAYU and The STEPS Initiative that features the work of nine young people (ages 18 – 29).

hoardings at a construction site, large red and white sign on top that says made in Toronto, a parking meter machine on the sidewalk, two large photographs on the hoardings, part of an exhibit

below: “Swing Summer Away” by Johnny Wu. Taken at the CNE

Photograph on slightly reflective hoardings, black and white, CNE swings with people on the ride,

below: “Toronto Waterfront Silhouette” by April Beatson. Taken at one of the wave decks near Harbourfront.

hoardings on construction site, black and white photo of a skateboarder in the air above the wave deck on Toronto waterfront, reflections of the cars and buildings around in the black parts of the photo

below: “Members of a Nicaraguan Dance Troupe” by Tenzin Dorjé.  Taken at a performance at Mel Lastman Square.

photograph on hoardings, three women of Nicaraguan dance troupe in long colourful dresses, green, yellow, and orange, also with flowers in their hair

photograph on hoardings, three women of Nicaraguan dance troupe in long colourful dresses, red, yellow, and blue, also with flowers in their hair

below: “Game 6” by Stephen Attong. Raptors fans celebrating on the streets of Toronto after the team won their first NBA Championship.

black and white image of Raptors victory party on the streets of Toronto, on hoardings

parts of two photos that are exhibited adjacent to each other on construction hoardings. on left is people at street party after Raptors won the NBA series and on the right is a close up of a woman's face in profile

hoardings on Peter street, with covered walkway on sidewalk, photo exhibit on the hoardings

Other photographers with images on the hoardings: Holly Chang, Leilah Dhoré, Nawang Tsomo, Radha, and Sherry Yu.

below: Saving the old facade

yellow metal scaffolding to keep up the brick facade of an old building while the rest of it is demolished.

below: Some things can’t be saved.

old wood steps covered with a faded, well worn, carpet in greens and browns

windows of an empty building, one is broken. Words pastries written on one window and word lunch written on broken window

chainlink fence and gate at construction site, remnants of interior wall still show old walls that were once pale yellow

2 round paper paste up slaps on a pole. The upper one shows a map of the world with the Atlantic Ocean in the center, the lower one is the round part of an eye

emerging

Posted: July 8, 2021 in people
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We’re getting outside to enjoy the summer while still maintaining some distance as the COVID numbers drop…  a few of the restrictions have been lifted and life is little less constrained. Patios are filling up again and a larger selection of stores are open. The following photos were taken downtown on a sunny day a week or so ago…. as I re-learn how to take candid shots of people!

man lies on the grass, reading, his red bike leans against a tree beside him, activity on Queen Street in the background

a mother and daughter, both with long black hair, sit in front of the toronto 3 d sign, leaning in together, smiling, a pigeon stands by their feet

a young boy teases his sister as she is lying in the center of the O of the Toronto 3 d sign, mother is taking a picture of daughter. mother's back is to the camera

a young poses for a photo at Nathan Philips Square, people around the Toronto 3 d sign in the background

a black man in black baseball cap and T shirt and bright yellow shorts is taking photos with his camera. in background is a wedding shoot of Chinese bride in a long red dress

a man is drawing while sitting on the sidewalk, he has paintings and other artwork for sale, his reflection is in the window behind him. another man stops at the intersection to tie his shoe laces while waiting for the red light to turn green. Dundas Street

an older man in blue shorts and balding hair sits on a walker with a yellow grocery plastic bag on each handle. out of focus close up of man in red top in the immediate foreground

three people at Yonge and Dundas. One is a woman standing with her bike waiting for the red light, second is a woman in cropped white tank top taking a selfie, and third an older man with white hair, white beard and white mustache.

a black woman being video'd, a woman in a wheelchair with a sign leaning against her knees that says Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven John 14: 6 Sign at the back says Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it from eternal destruction.

traffic, cyclists, construction cones, patio, on Dundas looking towards Bay street

a couple, from the back, waiting to cross University ave., with a group of people waiting on the other side as well

a young man with a mask and a Nordstroms shopping bag stands in front of the H B C windows with 5 mannequins modelling clothing

4 people in line to get into store at Yonge and Dundas, all keeping the 6 fet or 2 metres apart for covid restrictions. woman in red tank top is pushing a baby stroller, a couple stands together, woman in blue dress and black mask and a man in black, with advertisement behind him showing image of a woman in a white dress

people waiting in line. first woman has mask, glasses and a red head scarf. she's with a man carrying a yellow plastic grocery bag, other women in the line behind them, at Yonge and Dundas

an older man in a brown shirt crosses Yonge street traffic while pulling a green basket on a dolly. people in masks walking on the sidewalk, a Beck taxi parked on Yonge, a bare chested man by the bus stop, other people

a man waits for his order from a food truck Steve's catering with images of cartoon fries and hamburger on the side of the truck, S. Kazanis truck, menu also on side of truck, today's special hot dog three dollars and sausage four dollars

two people passing each other on a sidewalk, a man in red raptors shorts on a scooter and a woman with a long yellow top pulling a shopping buggy

a mother in black and a daughter in an orange dress sit by the large red planters in Yonge Dundas square with a lot of pigeons on the ground in front of them

an Asian couple at the ice cream truck, men walking on the sidewalk, Yonge street at Dundas

a very shiny metallic green mercedes sports car with no front licence passes through an intersection as a couple walk past

Jarus at Teesdale

Posted: July 5, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Teesdale Place runs west off of Pharmacy Ave., just east of Victoria Park subway station.

below: Victoria Park subway station is on the far left. As the tracks cross Pharmacy Avenue, there is a mural by Jarus of a boy holding a blue jay that covers all of the underpass.

apartment buildings on Teesdale Place behind the above ground subway tracks as it approaches Pharmacy Ave where there is a Jarus mural on the walls of the underpass

Jarus mural of a young boy with a blue jay

mural by Jarus of a young boy holding a blue jay bird, beside sidewalk on TTC subway underpass Pharmacy Ave in Scarborough

silver colour TTC subway crosses over bridge over Pharmacy Ave in Scarborough

On the other side of the underpass is another mural by Jarus – a young girl holding a cardinal carefully in her hand.

mural by Jarus of a young girl holding a cardinal bird, beside sidewalk on TTC subway underpass Pharmacy Ave in Scarborough

mural by Jarus of a young girl holding a cardinal bird, beside sidewalk on TTC subway underpass Pharmacy Ave in Scarborough, with a subway train passing by overhead

below: Teesdale Place

apartment building behind chainlink, triangular piece of mural in the foreground.

path across lawn, entrance to apartment building

Little pale blue wood house with small porch and white front door

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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Charlie Chaplin

Posted: June 30, 2021 in public art
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Charlie Chaplin, large and in many colours

tall mural on a red brick building, left side of Charlie Chaplin's head, with hat on his head, mural in many colours and patterns

at Eglinton and…. Chaplin Cres of course

Eglinton Ave West, looking east at Chaplin Cres., looking towards Yonge Street,

Spring Stations at the Distillery

Posted: June 8, 2021 in events, locations, public art
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Because of COVID, the annual ‘Winter Stations’ art installation at Woodbine beach was cancelled. Instead, there is ‘Spring Stations’ now showing at two locations including at the Distillery District.

below: “The Epitonium’ by Iranian design team of Mojtaba Anoosha, as well as M., Shahed, Elaheh, and Alemeh Yenglabad. It looks like a large sea snail has landed in the Distillery District.

art installation in Distillery District, large, white,

below: ‘ARc de Blob’ created by Austrian and UK team Aleksandra Belitskaja, Ben James and Shaun McCallum.

below: ‘From Small Beginnings’ by Jack and Charlie Leather behind the red heart.  The original design called for small spruce seedlings growing on the timbers.

Distillery district, a line of fake trees with trunks painted white, no leaves, beside a shiny red sculpture of a large heart. Behind that is art installation called From Small Beginnings by Jack and Charlie Leather and it is a stack of timber arranged in a large upside down pyramid

Previous Winter Stations posts:
2019
2020

on a mission to Kennedy station

Posted: June 5, 2021 in locations, transportation
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Sometimes I choose my walks randomly and sometimes I am on a mission to find something in particular. The other day, June 1st, definitely falls in the latter category. I have been following the Crosstown LRT/subway construction so when I heard that the new LRT trains were arriving for testing near Kennedy I knew that I had to see it for myself. While I was there, why not check out the area?

below: On Eglinton, east of Kennedy

looking across the street, Eglinton Ave., at Yal market, an asian store, small tree on close side of the street, low rise apartment building behind the market

apartment buildings on north side of Eglinton, Town Haven place and traffic sign directions to parts of Eglinton not on the hill bridge

below: It’s not the most pedestrian friendly stretch of road but it’s also a bridge over railway tracks.

light traffic on a hill with maximum 50 sign , guardrail, hydro poles beyond,

below: Kennedy station is already a GO train station. The east end of line 2 (Bloor-Danforth line) swings north as it crosses Scarborough. By Kennedy it is at Eglinton Ave and here it connects with the above ground TTC line 3 (Sheppard line). The blue train is the latter.

a GO train and a blue TTC subway train head north on tracks, photo taken from the bridge above

below: Looking west towards the intersection of Kennedy and Eglinton.

view along Eglinton westward towards Kennedy Road, wide street, hydro poles, low rise development, lots of black and orange construction cones

below: Northwest corner of Kennedy and Eglinton

Shell service station, gas station, and other businesses on the north side of Eglinton including a car wash, a dentist office, two storey development

astrologer and palm reader ad as a crooked sign on a post near intersection, cars, businesses behind. also a sign that says no left turn from eglinton onto birchmount starting November 13

below:  The Crosstown LRT tracks are on the surface for
most of the Scarborough portion of its route. Just west of Kennedy station they go underground.

looking along new rail tracks for Crosstown LRT as they go underground just west of Kennedy station, traffic on both sides of the tracks

a workman sits on the sidewalk as he works with underground cables at construction site for new LRT on Eglinton

sign saying crosstown LRT testing is starting soon, caution, overhead lines are energized, on street near near new LRT train

below: A new LRT train on the tracks between Ionview and Kennedy stations.  It had been unloaded from a truck minutes before I arrived.  At least two other trains where scheduled to arrive that day.

police cars and other cars parked in left lane of traffic, along side new LRT train

One end of a new TTC LRT train with workmen in yellow and orange safety vests

below: Ionview station

New Ionview LRT station with its protected areas, like a bus shelter, at surface level, between the lanes of traffic on Eglinton, apartment buildings in the background

below: Traffic flow

people walking on edge of road that has been separated from traffic by yellow plastic dividers, through construction zone, a mother and her children

below: That’s one way to use a construction sign. Whether Mike is responsible or has been pranked is anybody’s guess

old overhead light standard in an empty parking lot in front of a boarded up strip mall with Adult store, hair garden, smoke shop, nails spa and ali baba restaurant

below: The new Kennedy LRT station (at the eastern end of the line) is almost complete. The LRT is scheduled to be operational “sometime in 2022”.

as seen from between two cars, the new Kennedy LRT station under construction

the new Kennedy LRT station under construction

below: What people keep on their dashboards…..

2 hard hats inside a car. Both yellow. One says Heaven is real Hellfire is Real. and the other says Remember Jesus died for me and you

below: Kiss ‘n Ride at Kennedy station

below: TTC subway train, line 3, enters Kennedy station.

blue TTC sheppard line subway train enters Kennedy station after going up the curved concrete ramp

below: Danger due to yetis

two keys on a ribbon have been tied to a street sign that says notice vehicles are subject to removal at owners expense

below: Parking for an underground church? Or underground parking for a church?

sign with an arrow pointing straight ahead and words that say underground church parking

Keep Smiling!

picture of a large tooth with a big red lips and shiny white teeth holding a blue banner that says we'll make you smile

Carlaw surfers

Posted: June 4, 2021 in general Toronto
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Near Carlaw and Dundas there is a two part Uber5000 mural of some of his characters having fun surfing. Of course there are yellow birds, three yellow birdies in fact, and one is wearing a black wet suit. Hawaiian shirts, baseball caps, and googles can also be seen as they all ride the same large wave.

A mural by Uber 5000 in 2 parts. on the left is a tabby cat holding a surf board. on the right are some characters surfing, 3 yellow birdies, on in a wet suit, and three dogs.
surfing mural by Uber 5000, yellow birdie in a black wet suit, a dog in a green Hawaiian shirt, a dog with goggles
Uber 5000 mural, surfers, dog with large grey and black striped tail and green Hawaiian shirt on surf board
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