as I walk Toronto

new slaps on Toronto streets

Posted: March 18, 2020 in graffiti and street art
Tags: bodh.io, c_ska, daught calm, don't worry, feelings boi, forege fury, forge fury, Graffiti Alley, knome, lites, ozokoh, paste up, people, sketch rats, sketchnate, slaps, srats, stickers, tbonez, urban ninja squadron, wheatpaste

below: The garbage always leaks before you can get rid of the bag! A trashy Daught calm sticker.

below: Knome with an expression of alarm. a cute little sketchnate puppy and urban ninja squadron sprouted big ears when tbonez teamed up with srats (sketchrats). All on the side of a Canada Post mail box.

below: 1. The woman with a heart for an eye (got her eye on love?) looks like the work of Italian street artist c_ska. It also looks like she’s taking her temperature. Another c_ska sticker is a naked backside (or is it?) on top of an urban ninja squadron. Yes, you can make jokes about being on top. 2. Talking about jokes, playing on words is daught calm’s ‘be a tuber’ YouTube dig. I guess that’s better than being a potato. 3. The little orange guy, pizza guy? pizza face? is by sketch nate.

below: Red chick light bulb, lites creation.

below: Looking for a drink?

below: Brian has become an astronaut.

below: Morbid, Icey, etc. along with the bearded face of No love; Alone boy in black and white by ozokoh. And of course, don’t worry. It took a while… but see that grey face and its mysterious signature? It’s a lino print by Brian (aka bodh.io)

below: Tbonez with a new face

below: Urban Ninja Squadron as a climbing frame for a whole slew of little sketch nate characters.

below: Forge fury, feelings boi, and a sad puppy (yee hop) by sketch nate.

below: Pikachu and a pokeball…. and a pokemon character that I don’t know.

This post will also appear in Eyes on the Streets, a street art blog.

the new normal?

Posted: March 18, 2020 in graffiti and street art, stores, windows and walls
Tags: closed, hand sanitizer, keep calm, King St., mannequins, paste up, posters, purell, Rex, stickers, words

I went walking on Monday, keeping my distance from others, to “collect” bits and pieces of evidence of what we’re doing and how we’re coping with this virus thing. Some of this is a bit ghoulish (and has nothing to do with the virus) but hopefully some with make you smile. Also, I hope that in the days and weeks ahead we can look back on this as just a little blip in our lives.

below: A little sticker from sketch nate has been edited to say that only all of Toronto can judge me. There were quite a few “don’t worry” stickers.

below: The Princess of Wales Theatre has shut down like all theatres in the city, no shows happening. Keep Calm and Carry On – we’ll see how all this pans out.

below: Another “stay safe” wish for the city.

below: They have no reason to panic.

below: “Don’t argue with it” could pertain to many things including this social distancing that we’re all becoming experts at.

below: Bugs is ready to fight the good fight.

Wash your hands.

Stay healthy!

white walls

Posted: March 10, 2020 in abstract, windows and walls
Tags: abstract, basketball hoop, bird house, door, lights, metal, nail, paint, rust, shadows, texture, walls, wood

A few white walls on a sunny shadowy day.

A metal wall with peeling paint and a few rust spots… and then add an old basketball hoop to the composition.

In the spotlight, spotlight, spotlight, spotlight… and on camera too?

Twig and texture

go east … East York

Posted: March 9, 2020 in history, locations, stores
Tags: apartment buildings, Bethany Baptist, bungalow, church, construction, convenience stores, development, Don Mills United, Donlands, gas station, Holy Cross, intersections, Logan convenience, memorial, O'Connor, Pape, people, plaque, restaurants, soldier, stores

Another blog post constructed from the wanderings around a neighbourhood.

below: A bronze plaque erected by the East York Historical Society is mounted on the stone fence of the Taylor Cemetery which is adjacent to Don Mills United Church. The plaque mentions the Methodist Church – the Methodists became part of the United Church in 1925.

bronze plaque on a stone wall, Taylor cemetery, erected by the East York historical society gives rough outline of the history of the Taylor family here

The Taylor Cemetery – John Taylor (1773-1868), his wife Margaret Hawthorne and seven children emigrated from Uttoxeter Staffordshire in 1821. In 1839, three sons, John, Thomas, and George, purchased this land from Samuel Sinclair (1767-1852) except for a portion Sinclair gave to the Primitive Methodist Connexion in 1851. The Taylors gave the Connexion a brick church in 1859. The family operated three paper mills and a brick mill in the Don Valley, where they had considerable landholdings and were responsible for much of the development of East York in the nineteenth century.

below: The present church building dates from 1950 when a smaller building was demolished. This church was registered in 1819 and has been on this site since 1839 (as mentioned above, originally Methodist).

below: Close by is Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church. Established in 1928, it was the first Catholic parish in the Township of East York. This church, built in 1948, is the second one on the site.

below: Bethany Baptist Church has been on the corner of Pape and Cosburn since 1920. Obviously this building is not that old! This is the addition, built in 1958, to the older church that you can just see on the right side of the picture.

below: A metal sculpture of a soldier mounted on the wall of The Royal Canadian Legion, hall #10, a memorial to the Soliders of Suicide – those soldiers who have taken their own lives, usually as the result of PTSD.

below: The southeast corner of Pape and O’Connor still sits empty. There used to be a gas station here and that probably meant contaminated soil that had to be dealt with. The development proposal sign dates from 2014 and was for a 2 storey commercial building. I am not sure why the delay or what the status of the proposal is.

below: Donlands Convenience with its rounded corner is similar to a few others in the city.

below: Do not block the entrance. …. or are the apples for the teachers?

below: A sample of some of the restaurants in the area. There are also quite a few Greek restaurants as the Danforth (and the original Greektown) is just to the south.

below: Golden Pizza Restaurant in an old brick building with a square facade at the roofline.

below: Another square roofline, Logan Convenience

Like most parts of the city, the houses are of various architectural styles.

Whether I am correct or not, I don’t know but I have always associated East York with small post-war bungalows.

A few are being “renovated”

below: What was surprising to me was how many multi-family buildings there are in the area – Both lowrise…

and apartment buildings

below: I am beginning to think that there should be at least one old car picture in every blog post! I certainly encounter enough of them! Today’s car – a yellow Oldsmobile (from the 1970’s?). Sounds like a challenge doesn’t it?!

faceless in an alley

Posted: March 7, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, cassette tape, cross bones, draawing, faceless, garage door, lane, microphone, murals, painting, people, pointing, singer, skull, street art, window

Behind Dundas Street West near the Junction, there is alley with one old garage building that has been painted with street art.

At one end, there is a black and white drawing of a faceless person in a baseball cap holding a very large cassette tape. His/her shoe laces are undone.

This is a view of the whole west side of the building. All of the people are faceless.

At the very end, a colourful rendition of the skull and cross bones.

Rambling Leslieville

Posted: March 6, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, intersections, old buildings, public art, stores
Tags: alley, architecture, Bruce Jr Public School, Carlaw, dolls, Dundas, Elicser, Elicser Elliot, Evond Blake, fence, flags, graffiti, houses, J. Chiale, Leslieville, lovebot, Mediah, murals, old cars, Pierre Poussin, Queen St. East, residential, streets, think, trees, urban ninja squadron

below: Think! or rather Stop and think. Above that, tbonez with The Forge Fury in another urban ninja squadron sticker.

below: There is a new public art installation nearing completion at the corner of Carlaw and Dundas. When the project is done, the obelisk shaped sculpture by Pierre Poussin will be in the middle of a small park. It is made of laser cut rusted metal and will feature internal LED lighting.

below: Shadows of the trees along a winding trail.

below: There really aren’t enough fairies in the world. The ones that are supposed to clean my home haven’t shown up yet either.

below: This looks like it was once an artwork pasted to a wall. An eagle’s head is still visible at the very top. Are those its feathers at the bottom by the shoes – one dark blue and one red stiletto.

below: The northwest corner of Pape and Dundas. The “This is Toronto” mural by J. Chiale is still there.

below: An old and worn sign

below: A not so old sign with three lovebot stickers on it.

below: Old cars seen in an alley. Any ideas on what model and year the brown car is?

below: Santa Claus hasn’t returned to the North Pole yet! This front yard looks quite barren

below: … compared to this one! I am happy to report that the “doll house” still exists. There is at least one Santa Claus in there!

below: Not quite every inch (centimeter!) is covered. Christopher Robin and Tigger, Ernie and a Picachu. Tweety bird in a blue jacket and a white horse, Dora the Explorer is eating an apple.

below: These stickers still exist! A Star Wars family with a dirty back window.

below: Usually if a couch is waiting for the garbage man it’s sitting closer to the edge of the street!

below: Symmetry at the back of Bruce Junior Public School built in 1923.

below: And then there is the asymmetry created when one side of a semi-divided house explodes upwards.

below: Leslieville has two murals. This one covers the side of the building plus the back in pink, red, and orange stripes. This Guidant Bikeshare mural was painted by Mediah, aka Evond Blake, in 2017.

below: Nearby at the intersection of Queen and Jones is this mural by Elicser Elliot (2016).

below: The Coca-Cola Coady Sweets ghost sign is still there but the convenience store under it has been replaced by a Spanish restaurant.

below: Queen Street East

below: This is on the wall beside a vacant lot on Queen Street East that has been empty for years.

below: Another vacant lot but more recently so.

below: An alley view, behind Queen Street East

below: Waiting for spring?

below: Dundas Street East

And how can we end without re-visiting the doll house?!

old Parkhurst windows

Posted: March 5, 2020 in old buildings, windows and walls
Tags: abandoned, empty, glass, historic, industrial, Leaside, old, panes, Parkhurst, Research Rd., windows

Until a few years ago this was part of Parkhurst Knitwear but today it sits empty. Today when I passed by the lighting was good for taking pictures of the south exterior wall. There is a fence between the street and the building but there is ample room for photography. I am now on many surveillance videos (if the warning signs were for real).

This building started its life as Radio Stores Building No. 16. It was constructed in 1942 and the chimney was added in 1946. Building No. 16 was part of a complex of buildings occupying 55 acres of land east of Laird Drive and south of Eglinton that was owned by Research Enterprises Ltd. (REL). During WW1 this land was an aerodrome.

In 1940 REL was incorporated in response to the outbreak of World War II; it was a Crown Corporation created through the Munitions and Supply Act of Parliament in September 1939.

REL’s mandate was the production of technology equipment such as optical instruments and radio and radar equipment to assist with pilots with night flight. During its 6 years of operation, REL employed 7,500 people.

After the war, this building was sold to Dorothea Knitting Mills (1947). Dorothea ultimately became part of Parkhurst Knitwear.

This building is part of a larger story – the slow disappearance of industries in Leaside as commercial and residential developments proliferate. Prior to 2010, the area was zoned industrial but developers fought for, and won, changes to the zoning in the area.

I can’t remember how long this building has been empty. If was still a functioning knitting mill in 2013. In 2019 the city of Toronto moved to have the building listed as a Heritage site. Last year there was a large sign on the building advertising the fact that it was soon to be a self-storage facility. Is that still its fate?

Winter Stations 2020

Posted: February 28, 2020 in events, locations, public art, waterfront
Tags: bells, boxes, chair, Charlie Sutherland, climbing, Cristina Vega, drums, iheartblob, jumping, Kaleidoscope of the Senses, Lake Ontario, lifeguard station, mirage, Noodle Feed, Pablo Losa Fontangordo, people, public art, sand, snow, water, waterfront, winter, winter stations, Woodbine Beach

This is the 6th annual Winter Stations art installation event at Woodbine Beach. It was officially opened on Family Day, February17th.

below: Tying yellow ribbons on the yellow metal frame in “Mirage”, designed by Cristina Vega and Pablo Losa Fontangordo. The orange frame is parallel to the lake and the yellow sections are perpendicular. Depending on where you are standing, you see either a red transparent sun setting or a light and bright rising sun laying on the horizon.

below: “The Beach’s Percussion Ensemble” by Centennial College while under construction.

below: The end product. There is now graffiti on the boxes

below: and cowbells hung from the underside of boxes in a couple of places.

below: “Kaleidoscope of the Senses” is a strong piece designed by Charlie Sutherland of SUHUHA (An architecture studio in Edinburgh). People were lining up to take turns sitting on the lifegusard chair.

below: “Noodle Feed” by iheartblob was very popular on the Sunday before Family Day (the official opening of ‘Winter Stations’). It wasn’t designed to have a jumping feature but that’s what all the kids were doing that day. The fabric tubes are filled with straw.

below: When I returned to the beach a few days later, the installation was gone.

Information about the installations can be found at winterstations.com

across two bridges

Posted: February 25, 2020 in construction, history, intersections, landmarks, locations, transportation
Tags: architecture, Bathurst St bridge, bridge, city, downtown, Garrison Crossing, metal, Puente de Luz, railway, Sir Isaac Brock Bridge, street art, tracks, TTC streetcar, Wellington Destructor, yellow

This is another “walk about” post; in fact, it is the product of two nearly identical walks a few months apart.

below: Standing at the corner of King and Spadina while TTC workmen clear the streetcar tracks of excess dirt and sand.

below: Looking east along King Street. The LCBO on the corner is now closed.

below: Spadina, south of King.

below: Looking through a parking lot on Wellington.

below: Looking south on Draper Street

below: The CN Tower from Draper Street

below: Construction continues on the old Globe and Mail site south of Wellington and north of Front.

below: A pink pig still celebrating Valentines Day.

below: Looking east along the tracks from Portland Street. In November when I walked here, there were many movie trucks parked along Front Street.

below: The new condos on the north side of Front Street that face the railway tracks.

below: Crossing the Puente de Luz, Toronto’s yellow pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.

below: On the south side of the railway – the green building is the Library District condo.

below: Bathurst Street at Fort York Blvd., with the overhang from the library which is on that corner.

below: Bathurst streetcar southbound.

below: The grassy green mound that separates Fort York from the city…. with the city creeping up behind it.

below: Orange bars across the eyes, graffiti

below: The Bentway, under the Gardiner Expressway (a previous post on the Bentway)

Garrison Crossing is actually two stainless steel bridges, both over railway tracks. Both have spans of close to 50m. In the middle is a peninsula of land that is in the process of being developed into condos and a park. Almost 20 years ago there was a proposal to build a bridge here – to be opened in 2012 for the anniversary of the War of 1812. Mayor Rob Ford was opposed to it (too much money) and the plans were shelved. A change of mayor (and some help from developers) and a change of plan again. Construction began in 2016. It provides a much needed link between the two sides of the railway lands.

below: Southern span – walking north from Fort York

below: City view from the new park in the middle, train tracks (difficult to see in this picture) on two sides of the triangle.

below: Yellow construction fences still line the edge of the path through the middle section between the bridges.

below: People crossing the northern portion of Garrison Crossing (looking south).

below: Looking northwest from the second span of Garrison Crossing towards Strachan Avenue and beyond.

below: Garrison Crossing ends at Wellington Street close to Stanley Park

below: Found – one city snowplow parking lot, between the railway tracks and Wellington Street (at the end of Walnut Ave).

below: Immediately to the east of the snowplows is the old brick building. It has its own access road from Wellington including a bridge with three arches. The road is overgrown and blocked by a fence. There is no sign by the road.

below: It took some time on google but I finally found the answer to the building above. Here it is in 1925, the year that it was built – the Wellington Destructor. It was used until the 1970s when burning garbage was banned; it has been a heritage building since 2005. I found the photo online on a CBC News webpage where there a great description of the building and its history, along with some pictures of the interior.

below: And that brings us back to the Bathurst Street bridge over the railway tracks on the south side of Front Street. Did you know that it’s officially called the Sir Isaac Brock Bridge? It spent most of its life as the Bathurst Street Bridge until 2007 when it was renamed.

below: It is a steel truss bridge that was built in 1903 (one of the oldest bridges in the city). It’s first life was a railway bridge over the Humber Bridge but in 1916 it was disassembled, moved to Bathurst, and reassembled.

below: Bathurst bridge, 1919, from the west (Lake Ontario is on the right hand side).

vintage black and white photo of railway tracks and bridge over Bathurst street, 1919, from Toronto City Archives

The view from the Municipal Abbatoir Building, looking southeast. The building with the water tower on top is the Matthews Blackwell meat packing company. On the left, you can see part of the cylindrical tower belonging to Consumers Gas Company

below: Someone has given this rusty guy some eyes! He too is watching out for interesting stories. He’s also thankful that you made it this far! At least he can’t roll his eyes!

February thaw

Posted: February 23, 2020 in locations, nature, people
Tags: bridge, ducks, Edwards Gardens, ice, melting, path, people, puddles, reading, sitting, snow, walking, water, Wilket Creek Park

This weekend saw the temperatures rise high enough draw people outside. A lot of the snow melted and there was hope in the air – hope that winter won’t last too much longer. This being Canada, winter can last as long as it wants!… And that’s often into April. In the meantime, it was great to enjoy the weekend.