Emery village

Posted: May 30, 2021 in construction, history, intersections, locations, stores, transportation
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Or, approximately Finch and Weston Road

utility pole with police red light camera, no standing sign, a TTC bus stop, and a street sign for Finch Ave West in Emery village

Today, the intersection of Finch and Weston Road is a mess. Metrolinx is preparing to start construction on the Finch LRT, more than 12 acres on the southeast corner is being totally rebuilt, and water mains along Finch are being upgraded. The intersection also has the misfortune to lie in a hydro corridor.

below: Looking west on Finch at Weston Road.

intersection of Finch and Weston Rd., looking west on Finch, construction, traffic, hydro poles,

below: Canadian Pacific tracks cross Finch just east of Weston Road
red Canadian Pacific engine pulls a train across a bridge over Finch Ave West on its way northward. Traffic under the bridge, also some construction work, a crane and a large truck blocking some of the lanes

below: Emery train station just after 1900. This was a a flag station built for the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway in 1870 (i.e. trains only stopped if you flagged them down). In the early 1880s the line was acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railroad.   Photo source: Toronto Public Library

vintage black and white photo of a small wood building, Emery train station, with a woman holding a baby in the doorway and a man holding a hat in his hand standing on the tracks getting ready to flag down a train

Like the rest of the GTA, development here began as a village that supported the surrounding farms. In 1796, Isaac Devins and his wife Mary Chapman were given 200 acres of land, south of what is now Finch Ave from Weston Road to Islington. Devins had worked with Governor Simcoe as a superintendent on the construction of Yonge St.   Two of their grandsons opened businesses near the corner of Finch and Weston Road. – one was a blacksmith and the other a carriage maker.  A brick schoolhouse came shortly after 1850 and the Methodist church followed in 1869. A post office was established in 1879… and Emery was officially a village.

below: 1902 photograph of Isaac Devins house.  Source: Toronto Public Library

black and white photo of Devins homestead at Finch and Weston Road.

Celebrating the history of Emery are some plaques on display at a couple of bus stops on Weston Road.  The one below describes two musicians with local roots, Claudio Vena and Alfie Zappacosta.  Both men have streets named after them.

historic emery plaques at bus stop celebrating Claudio Vena and Alfie Zappacosta, two musicians

below: Finch West Mall was built in 1971 on the southeast corner of Finch and Weston Road on what had previously been farm land.  Step-brothers Aubrey Ella and Orrie Truman had farmed here since 1930.  …. but you can’t go shopping there any more.   [transcription of the text can be found at the bottom of this post]

A plaque by a bus stop in Emery describing the history of the Finch West Mall

below: Development notice sign at the site of the former Finch West Mall.  The proposal includes 5 towers, 2237 residences ranging from bachelors to 3 bedroom, some retail, and a park.  All rentals.
Blue and white toronto development notice sign at Finch and Weston Road

below: Construction is only in the early stages so there isn’t much to see


fence around construction site, parking lot, no left turn sign on its side, green fence

large yellow and orange signs guide pedestrian track through a busy intersection with a lot of construction

below: Preparations for the construction of the Finch LRT are underway.

below: But not always well thought out – here sidewalk access ends but the only way to go is to cross Finch in mid-block with no help

Empty glass drink bottle lying on ground, Sof Drink, carbonated beverage, pineapple flavour, Jamaican flavour

Also like many places in Toronto, Emery has become very multicultural.

below: African Food & Groceries as well as Comida Colombiana

part of a strip mall on Finch West, laundry, African food groceries, Erica beauty salon, Comida Colombiana Latino Americana,

below: A Vietnamese restaurant and a West Indian grocery store

two highrise apartment buildings in red brick with white balconies, strip mall in front with 6 businesses, a vietnamese restaurant, Ali Babas fast food, a west indian grocery, a mattress store, and a convenience store

below: North York Sikh temple

sikh temple in a two story plaza, beside Beck and Aps beauty supply and salon, and Makola Tropical foods, and employment agency

below: Confusion?

many signs beside a sidewalk, new tires, rotors and pads, Plaza Latina, milvan shopping centre, a bus in the background

 

below:  More restaurants and businesses

Sign for B & T plaza, 2437 Finch West, with many businesses listed, Anatolian fine foods, Malado Sushi & korean food, Sendas Money transfer, Chay Hoa Dang Flower Lantern Vegetarian restaurant, PePeyee(dot)com, Nash hair salon, etc

below: Ghanaian Presbyterian Church, since 1994 (as seen from Finch Ave)

Ghanaian Presbyterian church, light grey concrete structure with front in a triangle shape, cross on top of the tallest middle section, three flags in front - Canada, Ontario and Ghana

below: Prayer Palace

exterior of Prayer Palace

below: Lindylou park

A man sits on a bench in a park beside an apartment building

a large willow tree beside a playground and three apartment buildings

below: Emery Creek south of Finch
Emery Creek and shrubs in the foreground, new condos and older apartment buildings in the background

below: Finch Avenue West, looking eastward towards Weston Road

Finch Ave West looking east towards Weston Road, townhouses on the south side of the street, orange and black construction cones on both sides of the street, some traffic, apartment buildings in the background

below: Slightly closer to Weston Road (from Lindyloou park looking northeast)

Lindylou park looking northeast towards finch and weston road, apartment building, Burger King, McDonalds

below: Not taken from the same spot but also Finch Avenue West, looking eastward towards Weston Road in 1958 when Finch was still a dirt road.  The brick building is Emery Public School (built 1914); and it looks like it had a portable in the yard… and is that an Elmer the Safety Elephant flag?  The school was demolished shortly after the picture was taken.  Photo source: Toronto Public Library, photo by James Victor Salmon

below: Farther east, now past Weston Road. If you go even farther you will come to Hwy 400
intersection of finch with arrow and signet, construction, a long TTC bus us waiting to turn left, one woman walking on sidewalk

below: Most of the area north of Finch is zoned for light industry including this business, the making of prefab concrete staircases. With all the condo development in the city at the moment, there must be a lot of demand for these stairs!
light industrial area of the city, factory that makes prefab concrete staircases with lots of the product in piles of 4 or 5 staircases lying around outside

sign on a chainlink fence wishing a merry christmas and happy holidays to essential workers - you essential to us,

red and white danger due to sign altered to read danger due to climate change

below: Another vacant lot
vacant lot for sale

*****

Transcription of Plaque (above):

“Emery’s first large indoor shopping complex was built in 1971. It was called the Finch West Mall and was located on the southwest corner of Finch and Weston Road… Prior to the mall being constructed, the land was used for farming. A farmhouse, barn, and some other farming structures remained on the property up until the construction of the mall began in the early 1970s. Aubrey Ella and Orrie Truman built a farmhouse on the lot in the 1930s just south of the intersection of Finch and Weston Road. During this time, the entire property permitted wide range agriculture with even an arena for sheep.”
“The opening of the Finch West Mall in 1972 was a big hit for the community. A sizable Towers outlet first appeared but it swiftly merged into a Zellers retail store. Zellers was the principal leaseholder located at the far north end of the mall. Safeway Canada quickly decided to build a grocery store connected to the south end of the mall.”
“In 1973, McDonald’s restaurant was added onto the site but as a separate building situated at the far south of the property. It was one of the first McDonald’s restaurants opened in Canada along with another outlet at Dufferin and Wilson. This McDonald’s even featured an outdoor sitting patio with six stone tables made out of lightly coloured presses marble complete with matching benches. Close to this historical marker was a dirt trail that was upgraded into a long set of wooden steps that permitted pedestrian entrance onto the site.”
“On occasions local bands were permitted to conduct live concerts right in the mall.”
“When Zellers shut down their store in the 1980s, Canadian Tire quickly opened an outlet to take its place. However, they too decided to close their doors at the turn of the new millennium. The commercial banks began moving out and countless other stores too. The mall had ceased to have sound commercial value and disappointingly started to become an endless array of dollar stores.”
“The owner of the mall (Medallion Properties) recognized these telltale signs and thought it might be ideal for a development upgrade which could inspire financial resurgence within the general community. The City of North York Planning Department made a recommendation to establish a Business Improvement Area (BIA) to stimulate economic recovery.”
“With the organized structure of the Emery Village BIA in place, city staff suggested creating a new secondary plan for the entire general community…The mall was demolished in 2006.”

*****

One of life’s unexpected coincidences… I didn’t read the text before I took the picture so it wasn’t until a few days later that I saw the name Orrie Truman. I have Trueman ancestors in this area… was he related? Orrie Truman was Orrie Levi Richard Trueman. I don’t know where the name Orrie comes from but Levi and Richard were his grandfathers, Levi Coulter and Richard Trueman. William Mellow Trueman married Eleanor (Nellie) Coulter and Orrie is their son. William died shortly after and Nellie subsequently married Ella. Going back a generation, William Mellow Trueman is the son of Richard Trueman and Rebecca Mellow who happen to be my great great great grandparents. My great grandmother, Ina Rebecca Moore was named after Rebecca Mellow, her grandmother. Ina would have been Orrie’s first cousin. Question: What relation am I to Orrie Trueman?

 

lowrise townhouses, red brick, with large pine trees

northward on Parliament

Posted: May 28, 2021 in alleys, locations, old buildings
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below: Looking through a store window in the Distillery District towards the intersection Parliament & Mill.

Distillery District lighting store, looking through their windows, with reflections, a person walking past, horizontal lines, yellow and red desk lamps, an oval lamp hanging from the ceiling

below: Photography exhibit “Looks Like Us” hanging on the fence around David Crombie Park. The exhibit was produced and presented by Jamii in partnership with The Journal.

photograph of a protest in Istanbul Turkey taken by Serra Akcan, mounted on a chainlink fence beside a park

below:: Photo by Serra Akcan, Istanbul

below: Looking northeast at Parliament and Adelaide

new condo construction on the northeast corner of Parliament and Adelaide

below: Parliament and Queen Street East

northeast corner of Adelaide and Queen East

below: Queen Street East

new TTC streetcar travels westbound on Queen Street East past old brick storefronts, historic buildings, The Bullger Burger snad Steak, Convenience and Supermarket, 2 people waiting to get on streetcar,

below: Embedded in the sidewalk, a memorial to those who died in the fire at the Rupert Hotel.

Plaque in the sidewalk describing the Rupert Hotel fire of 1989 when a rooming house burned down, killing 8 people“Rupert Hotel Fire – On December 23rd 1989 a fire roared through the Rupert House Hotel, a licensed rooming house on this site.  Despite the heroic efforts of firefighters and several tenants, ten people died in the blaze, making it one of the worst fires in the history of Toronto.  The tragedy sparked action by municipal organizations to improve the conditions in rooming houses throughout Toronto.  This plaque was dedicated by the City and the Rupert Coalition in a special ceremony on May 18, 1993 in memory of the ten who died: Donna Marie Cann, Stanley Blake Dancy, Edward Finnigan, Vernon Stone, Vincent Joseph Clarke, David Donald Didow, John Thomas Flint, Ralph Orel Stone, Victor Paul Whyte. ” Read the rest of this entry »

Cabbagetown graffiti and street art

Posted: May 26, 2021 in graffiti and street art
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below: A new TTC streetcar on a Toronto street, a mural by Colin Tea

a mural of a toronto street with a TTC streetcar on it, over two garage doors in a small Cabbagetown lane

below: Another Colin Tea mural, a larger than life raccoon looms over a city neighbourhood

a mural of a larger than life raccoon standing over houses, by Colin Tea, in a lane with other garages

below: CN Tower and Toronto skyline on a very blue sky

mural of blue birds flying above blue sky and CN tower and toronto skyline, exterior wall with a door in it

below: A Tokyo Meow

mural of a black and white car with pink inner ear saying meow, mural signed bu tokyo on a wall with two barred windows

below: Lovebot and the city beside a woman in square glasses and black flats.

A small paste up on a brick wall, black and white drawing of a woman in black flats, shorts, sleeveless top, square glasses, and long black hair. There is also a lovebot sticker nearby, an egg timer with red heart on top and city of Toronto skyline on the bottom

below: Two faces, one in better shape than the other

peeling paste up on a wall beside a mural of a face in purple and green tones

paper paste up on a wall that is badly peeling around the edges, an abstract face with blue nose and yellow skin
below: Another drawing paste-up that is peeling around the edges.  They are rather intriguing and I wish that I had seen them when they were whole.

below: T-bonez as the boy wonder, Urban Ninja Squadron

a man walks past a black and white urban ninja squadron sticker, T bonez dressed as robin and another character dresses as Batman

below: T-bonez with Timmy Drift

urban ninja squadron sticker, weathered and a bit faded, on a pole with red and yellow stripes
below: Horny and green with big white teeth

green dragon or monster head on a blue garage door, big white eyes, horns, big mouth with white teeth

mural on a brick wall in white and turquoise of a stylized head divided into sections,

below: Email God – church’s closed, 2021

written in black on plywood hoardings is email god church's closed 2021

below: You are not your mistakes

mural of a seated woman on a brick wall, an advert for Benjamin Moore paint

Bloor over Rosedale Valley

Posted: May 26, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Bloor Street East passes high above Rosedale Valley Road. There is access from the southeast corner of Bloor and Parliament to a path that leads down into the valley but it doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t connect to any other ravine trails.  These photos were taken early in April before there were leaves on the trees, and before anyone cleaned it up.

path down a hill, through the trees

bloor street east bridge over Rosedale Valley Road

graffiti on the concrete walls of a bridge

looking back up the hill beside a concrete bridge with graffiti on the bottom sections

a man taking pictures of the graffiti on a concrete bridge

bridge, all concrete on left side but with metal girders across the larger middle span

looking up hill through the trees to a new condo tower being built at Bloor and Parliament

below: St. James cemetery

looking uphill through trees to cemetery markers in the cemetery on the other side of a chainlink fence

below: The covered bridge for the subway (built 1966) runs parallel.

looking through arch in bridge to another bridge. the one in the background is the covered bridge for the TTC subway between Sherbourne and Castle Frank stations

two bridges, Bloor street east on the left and covered subway bridge on the right, in the distance, condos and tall buildings on Bloor Street

TTC subway bridge from below on Rosedale Valley Road

below: No vaccine passports

graffiti under bridge, no vaccine passports

broken pipe, missing a piece, no connection, under a bridge

garbage left on the ground, an old newspaper, empty pop can, empty spools for cables or wires

garbage on the ground, an old piece of clothing and some paper, looks like has been partially burned

Gerrard underpass – hands and water

Posted: May 17, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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In many places in Toronto, railway lines run diagonally through the city’s grid of streets and avenues. Often, they cross the streets near intersections including at Carlaw and Gerrard East. The result is an intersection with two underpasses.

The mural on Gerrard East was updated and added to recently that I remarked on that I noted in a previous post, East on the 506. Kirsten McCrea was the artist.

below: The southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw is angled.  In “East on the 506” I described the art on this wall as:  “In the center of the newly painted rectangles are two grey shapes, these are originals. They are part of a 1996 installation by Dereck Revington called ‘Blue Fire’. There is still a plaque that describes these aluminum pieces as “a constellation of five paired aluminum fragments etched with traces of a poem by Robin Blaser and suspended from the entrances to the underpass”.

southeast part of intersection of Carlaw and Gerrard with railway overpass

The overpass on the Carlaw side has now been painted too. The following pictures were taken back in November.

below: Hands beckon and point the way under the railway tracks on the west side of Carlaw, from the north

A large hand mural beckons you forward, under a bridge on Carlaw

below: And from the south

a large realistic hand painted in a mural, part of Bridges in Art project

below: Under the bridge

purple windmills on an orange pink background, part of a Ryan Smeeton mural on Carlaw

Under a railway overpass, looking across the street to arches in concrete supports between road and sidewalk, lights on above sidewalk, mural painted on the far wall including purple windmills on pink and orange background

part of a mural, text graffiti, very three dimensional looking in shades of blue on blue background, representing water

below: A blue octopus in the water

part of a mural, blue background with a darker blue octopus

At the southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw there is a small park. The retaining wall of the railway tracks marks one of the boundaries of the park and is continuous with the walls of the underpasses. It too was painted by Ryan Smeeton but with the help of Elicsr, Smug, Tenser, and Steam.

part of a mural, a very large brass faucet is open, water is pouring out, a frog sits on a lily pad

mural on a wall along railway embankment, park in front of wall. water theme mural, large faucet has water running out of it, a frog, a scuba diver, and some text street art

part of a mural on an outdoor wall, a frog in a blue hoodie sitting on a lily pad, frog has gold chain and medallion around his neck

tree in front of a mural, painting of a person in vintage scuba outfit with old fashioned helmet, yellow suit, weight belt, sitting on a box or a rock at the bottom of the lake, silhouette fish swimming past

park in autumn, wall of railway embankment runs along edge of park, mural on the wall, water theme, with text throw up street art by tenser and steam

part of a mural, a young man in red shorts and red baseball cap, squatting on ground beside a ghetto blaster, there is also part of a text street art piece, as well as a rose on a stem with thorns and a couple of leaves painted on a support pillar for a bridge

dogs, and more, by the dog park

Posted: May 14, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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On Gerrard Street East, beside a parkette, is a grey concrete building that has been brightened by some paintings by Spud1 and kreech9 (and others?)

beside a park, a two storey concrete building with murals of dog portraits on the first storey, between the windows

red car parked in front of a body shop with a mural on the side of its building. Black and white dog in mural with black fuzzy ears, sunglasses and a Toronto baseball cap

part of a mural, a grey dog's face


part of a mural, a furry small dog's face in shades of brown with black nose and eyes, blue and orange spudbomb stencils under the dog, also words say #spud1. Pink and blue swirls for background

part of a mural, orange and white animal face with other symbols and abstracts

in the foreground, part of mural with blue, green, and yellow swirls. A hot dog with wiggly line of mustard down the center of the wiener is on top of the swirls

….And around the corner, past a pile of tires, is a wall of flowers, a happy face, and a rainbow.

a pile of tires in an alley across from a white wall painted with lots of colourful flowers, stylized form

painted, large 6 petal pink flower with yellow triangles at central edge, and an orange hexagon center, on same wall, a green happy face

alleyway with metal exterior stairs to upper floor, a pile of tires, and a wall full of colourful flowers and a rainbow

looking up an alley with a mural on the left and a chainlink fence with lots of saplings on the right

save the foundry

Posted: May 13, 2021 in graffiti and street art, history
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I read in the news this morning that the graffiti and artwork on the hoardings around the old foundry site in Corktown/Canary District are being painted over now. I had previously mentioned some of the stencils and posters that we here when I first saw them back in February. Unfortunately I am a bit behind on my posts so I haven’t uploaded the pictures that I took on a subsequent visit to the area…. here they are now. This is what is being painted over today:

below: “The history that is represented in this era of globalization is very important not to bulldoze”
“I want to save the Foundry because the buildings lend character to an area that is being made more and more bland every day.”
Meanwhile Doug Ford can’t keep his hands off Toronto City Hall.

red hearts stenciled on plywood hoardings along with a poster showing parody of Doug Ford with his hands meddling with a model of Toronto City Hall. Other posters with words describing why saving the old Dominion Wheel Foundry is important

below: “Municipal Destruction Minister Steve Clark screws up plans for A-Ford-A-Bull-Housing.”

below: Why Doug? Why?

below: “Dear Doug Ford: Let us fix this for you.”

East End mural

Posted: May 8, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Initiated in 2017, the “Bridges to Art” program envisions murals on nine underpasses in Toronto’s east end. Several of the murals along the Carlaw-Dundas corridor have been painted including this one on Jones Avenue just north of Gerrard. It was painted by Jason Pinney and features scenes from the east end.

green and white GO train passing over bridge over Jones Ave. where a mural in shades of green and blue has been painted

painting of a young black man in a mural on Jones Ave., with railway overpass

painting of a young man sitting on a bench, with his bicycle leaning against the back of the bench, an apartment building in the background, part of a mural featuring views of the east end of Toronto

a woman is walking past a mural on Jones Ave., also a black car is on the street, East End mural

mural on Jones Ave., two pictures shown, one is a man with a backpack walking towards a TTC bus stop. The second is kids on bikes on a path in a park

A boy walks towards the back of a baseball diamond with its overhead lights

a young boy plays basketball, holding basketball, hoop in background

part of mural painted by Jason Pinney onJones Ave, a woman sitting outside, a two storey semi-detached house

part of one of the murals in Bridges to Art project, on Jones Ave.

two scenes in the east end mural on Jones Ave by Jason Pinney, one is outdoor exercises and the other is the valley smokestack

people gathered on the beach by a lifeguard station, part of a mural on Jones underpass by Jason Pinney

mural on Jones Ave., Bridges to Art

walking along Wilket Creek

Posted: May 4, 2021 in locations, nature
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Wilket Creek forms one of the many ravines in the city. The northern part has been buried; it surfaces just south of York Mills Road and flows south until it joins the West Don just north of Eglinton. Edwards Gardens is part of the park system along the creek and that is where I met a friend the other day.  It was her part of town and she was my guide for the day.  The magnolia trees were at peak bloom and the fragrance of their blossoms filled the air.

below: Magnolia

A white magnolia in full bloom in front of a house with chimney

below: Three magnolia buds ready to open up.
Three magenta magnolia buds ready to open up, grey fuzzy bottom part of the bud included

below: Other trees and shrubs were also laden with blossoms
Pink blossoms on a tree, spring

A man takes a picture of his wife and daughter in front of a tree full of pink blossoms at Edwards Gardens

below: Volunteers working in the Teaching Garden, preparing the beds for planting.
A woman with grey hair and a blue baseball cap is hoeing weeds out of a garden, orange yellow wheelbarrow beside her, Edwards Garden

below: Some of the different types of trees that grow here – three different bark colours.
Three different kinds of trees, with 3 different coloured trunks, including a birch tree

below: A willow tree by Wilket Creek
large tree on a grassy field beside a creek lined with rocks, early spring, willow leaves are just beginning to show, a pale green colour

below: Dawn Redwood tree (aka Metasequoia tree)
large dawn redwood tree, also called metasequoia, no leaves, very early spring

below: Parts of the gardens were closed for repairs to the banks of the creek and the path alongside it.
construction machinery on a path beside Wilket Creek, Edwards Gardens

Walking the ravine north from Edwards Gardens is impossible – unfortunately, that stretch of the ravine  is not open to the public.  A gap in the system. We rejoined the creek at Windfields Park.

Windfields Park

paved path, curves as it goes downhill, bench at the bottom of the hill, grass beside the path, trees on both sides, Windfields Park

A person in a red jacket sits on a fallen log in a forest beside a teepee shape structure made from tree branches, leaves are just beginning to open, late April

below: A rock stuck in a hard place, where rocks usually aren’t found.
A large granite boulder entangled in the roots of tree that has fallen over

below: Yellow wildflowers, Lesser Celandine which is apparently an invasive species.
A large patch of low yellow flowers and greenery in front of a tree that has fallen down, tree trunks in the background

below: A tennis ball in the wild.

orange tennis ball stuck in the V of a tree, between two branches, in a forest

below: Two birch trees, probably Silver Birch because of the brown bark of the younger tree that will soon shed to reveal the white bark below.

Two birch trees in a forest, one is younger and has just started shedding it's brownish bark, the other is older and had white bark

below: Yellow trout lily. The flashy red parts hang downwards so they are hidden close to the forest floor. The flowers are difficult to spot but the mottled green and brown leaves give them away.
wildflower on the ground in forest, a yellow trout lily
below: Bloodroot flowers
wildflower on forest floor, white bloodroot flower and leaves

With thanks to Iskuhi for walking with me and teaching me the names of some trees and wildflowers. … and for some playing with sunlight and shadows (because that’s what photographers do!).

A person holding a bloodroot plant in one hand and a camera phone in the other, trying to get a picture showing texture of veins in the leaf

late in the day, Queen East

Posted: April 28, 2021 in events, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, windows and walls
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street art mural on the side of a building beside a car wash. Car wash has bright turquoise wall with lots of garbage bins lined up along side it.

below: “88 Keys of Light”, a collaboration between Edward Platero and Kristyn Watterworth
upright painted piano sits on the sidewalk, five guitars on top if it

below: Southeast corner, Queen St East and Woodbine Ave

southeast corner of Woodbine and Queen St East, three storey brick building with stores on ground level, people waiting at traffic light,

from across the street, mural of a woman on a sofa reading a book, mural, covers window of an empty store, a woman in a red coat is walking past, the store to the right is for lease, the store to the left is a variety store with a blue and yellow sign,

small white house with blue trim and a yellow awning over the front door, white fence around the front yard, empty lot beside it with white tarp covering chainlink fence around the yard

below: A cheerful dalmatian stands outside Firehall 227

fire hydrant in front of a fire station 227 painted like a dalmation dog, white with black spots, a red hat with number 227 on its head, and a big smile on its face

below: Mural, “Greetings from the Beach” by Elise Goodhoofd

mural, Greetings from the Beaches by Elise Goodhoofd

a person sits on a bench in front of the Sunrise Grill on Queen East

below: A Lovebot sticker

pink lovebot sticker, with a blue heart, on the back of a stop sign, historic woodbine beach street sign for Queen Street East as well

below: Don’t tell her that her head is empty.

in a store window, florist, planter in the shape of a woman's head, also metal round trays of succulents

below: Another Starbucks gone.

empty storefront, with ghost Starbucks coffee sign across the front

below: faded to yellow

in a store window, fake licence plates with Canadian flags that have faded to yellow and white

below: Another Luminosity installation, “Headlights”, by Collective Memory aka Robert McKaye and Stoyan Barakov

Luminosity public art installation of 6 mannequins with lampshades for heads

below: About an hour later….

Luminosity art installation of mannequins with lampshades for heads. night time, so dark outside, lights turned on inside shades

below: Mural by John Kuna painted in 2019. It replaced an earlier mural (2007, by Rudolf Stussi) that had deteriorated.

mural on Queen Street East, side of Foodland grocery store, scenes from the beach - a couple dancing by an outdoor pavillion, an Asian family having a picnic in the park, young adults playing beach volleyball, Leuty lighthouse, fireworks in the distance, by John Kuna and Mural Routes

below: Part of a mural, Scarborough Amusement Park, by Daniel Seagrave, 2008

Mural on a wall beside Subway fast food restaurant, a tree in front of the mural, old fashioned beach activities with people in period bathing costumes, red row boat, boardwalk, boat with orange sails
a lime green vw microbus parked in a driveway

below: Above the entrance to an empty store.
old sign above a store doorway, the word Mara with a woman in a blue dress lying across the last 3 letters, holding a big orange and red flower

below: One of many hearts shining in the windows.

blue LED lights in the shape of a heart in the window of a shoe store on Queen Street East

below: Looking in other windows too.

store window with a yellow LED light heart, a white head and shoulders mannequin with closed eyes and wearing a black covid mask with white maple leafs on it.

store window, wonder woman items, a large purple platform shoe,

looking in the window of a toy store

clothing store window with women's tops and blouses in orange hanging from a bar, a green and orange scarf around the neck of the orange knit top in front

looking in the window of a laundromat with no people in it, but with open sign

window of an art gallery at number 888, an abstract painting in the window predominantly red

looking diagonally across the street at a corner store, Convenience Plus as it gets dark outside

below: “Share the Love”, Thelia Sanders Shelton

Luminosity installation person holding a large red heart, in front of a TTC streetcar

Luminosity installation person holding a large red heart, with R C Harris filtration plant in the background

below: Part of “Beacon Silo” by Chris Foster
strips of mirrors forming a cylinder that rotates as coloured lights shine on it.

below: Same installation but from across the street
Under an umbrella shape - a series of mirrors making a cylinder that rotates, lights shining on it from the sides so the shapes of lights being reflected changes as the cylinder moves

a couple walk down the sidewalk, late evening as it gets dark

a string of yellow LED lights looped over branches of a large tree beside a row of stores, evening

below: “Out from under the Shadows”, by Bryan Faubert.  Light passes through cutouts in the metal plate to make shadow pictures on the wall.

below: Firehall 227 with it’s clock tower

Evening lights, exterior of Firehall number 227 at Queen East and Woodbine, clock tower shows 8:20,

below: Open doors, Firehall 227

night, exterior of firehall 227, open door showing interior and pepsi vending machine, bench on sidewalk,

back of a small house at night, gate open, light on in back room, tree by sidewalk,

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