as I walk Toronto

skateboard portraits

Posted: January 22, 2025 in general Toronto
Tags: graffiti, Graffiti Alley, painted, portraits, positive creations, skateboards

Graffiti Alley is still an interesting place to explore. Unlike some street art locations that have succumbed to the scrawls and tags of the less well-intentioned, good art and ideas can still be found here. At present, adding to the eclectic nature of the graffiti in Graffiti Alley are a few interesting portraits done on half skateboards (or at least on wood in the shape of a skateboard). All are screwed onto wooden utility poles.

below: One on natural wood colour and the other in vibrant red. The sticker says Positive Creations.

below: A man with a mustache

below: Three on the same pole in Graffiti Alley – A red person with shaggy hair and light blue glasses as well someone with very long orange hair.

below: At the bottom, a quizzical look on a pink face.

intersections – King & Bathurst

Posted: January 20, 2025 in construction, history
Tags: Bank of Montreal, Banknote Bar, bathurst st., clock tower, construction, facade, King St., Metrolinx, pianos, redevelopment, streetcars, TTC, Wheatsheaf Tavern

below: 504 King streetcar on a snowy January afternoon

As you all know, Toronto is being demolished and redeveloped. Almost every part of the city is affected by the construction of new condo buildings or the upgrading of public transit. It can be difficult to keep up documenting the changes! A few weeks ago I posted some pictures from Queen & Spadina where Metrolinx is building a new subway station for the Ontario Line. The next stop west from there is at King and Bathurst.

Infrastructure Ontario wants to build what they call a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) at King and Bathurst. The gist of the plan is that these sites will feature high density development around transit hubs. Some of the plans for condo and office may still be at the concept level but the new subway station work is well underway.

below: Looking south on Bathurst from King. On the southwest corner is the Wheatsheaf Tavern which has been here since 1849. The exterior of the building hasn’t changed much in 170 years! It remains untouched by today’s construction.

below: The Banknote Bar on the southeast corner is now gone, or at least most of it has been demolished. The north facade will be incorporated into the new station, the King-Bathurst station (Are they really going to call it that? So Dull. So Bland.).

This 4 storey brick building was previously a Bank of Montreal. It was built in 1901/02 for the Canadian Biscuit Company. It then had a series of tenants until 1923 when Bank of Montreal moved in.

Previously, a mixed use development rising above the old brick structure had been proposed for the site (prior to Metrolinx). Cancelled. At this point there is no other development on this corner.

below: Looking east on King

You can see that the corner (above picture) is now covered by a very big white temporary structure where construction of another station underway. What will be revealed? Plans suggest a mixed office/residential tower above with rebuilding of most portions of the TD bank that was on the corner, as well as the building directly east of it. No car parking spots, bikes only. Concept stage? Or further along? One day we might find out!

Last, the northeast corner –

below: Clock Tower lofts dominates the corner. There really are two clocks on the side of the building, both of which are difficult to see. But that doesn’t matter since they don’t work anyhow.

below: 1919 photo of the Clocktower Building. It was in bad shape in 1980 and was demolished. The Clock Tower Lofts (above) replaced it. In 1919 it was home to Otto Higel Piano Company. The church in the background is St. Marys Roman Catholic church at Bathurst and Adelaide.

1919 black and white photo of a brick building on northwest corner of king and bathurst. 4 storeys, with small clock tower on one corner, church in the background

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 3008

The building dates from 1895; it was built for the Toronto Lithographing Company who used it until 1901. Next, the Newell & Higel Co. Ltd take over the building where they manufacture piano actions, keys and hammers, and organ keys, reeds, and reedboards. By 1912 they employed 450 people. They developed a Player Piano that became famous around the world and business boomed. They expanded the building north to the corner of Adelaide Street West.

By the way, a Player Piano is one that plays itself. The 1920’s were their heyday but advances in technology, especially the introduction of radios and record players, helped kill the Player Piano. By the 1930s production ceased.

below: A 1970s view of the northwest corner.

1970s black and white photo of Otto Higel Piano Company, now a furniture factory

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 7, Item 5,

below: Looking out the window of the Wheatsheaf Tavern. How many people have sat here and looked out this window? What did they think about?

Pacita Abad at the AGO

Posted: January 19, 2025 in galleries
Tags: AGO, art, Art Gallery of Ontario, buttons, colors, colours, fabric, fish, octopus, Pacita Abad, trapuntos, underwater scenes

Pacita Abad (1946-2004) was born in the Philippines. During the Marcos regime, she left Manila intending to study law in Spain. Instead, she ended up in the USA.

below: “Old Dhaka” (Bangladesh) 1978, oil on canvas

Many of the artworks that were on display were large-scale hanging trapuntos, a form of quilted painting made of stitched and stuffed canvas.

below: The central piece in this image is “LA Liberty” 1992. Here Abad recasts Lady Liberty as an “International Lady of Color” as opposed to the very white, very European, statue that exists in New York City.

below: “If My Friends Could See Me Now”, An American Dream with all the trappings of a ‘typical’ middle class life.

below: “Subali” 1983. Acrylic, oil, gold cotton, batik cloth, sequins, rick rack ribbons on stitched and padded canvas.

below: Many of the fabric pieces had marine themes like this very big octopus in “My Fear of Night Diving” 1985. It is 130 x 170 inches (or 330 x 432 cm).

below: Details, striped braiding sewn on to make the seaweed

below: Some of the pieces were hung such that the stitches on the back were visible. Also interesting.

Regrettably, this exhibit closes today.

abandoned site, Baldwin & Spadina

Posted: January 18, 2025 in graffiti and street art
Tags: Bao, Bao Pham, catchoo, Dia the Dog, ghetto blaster, Nigel Smith, paste ups, portrait, posters, slaps, stickers, storm troopers, urban ninja squardon, visual noise

There once was a building on the southwest corner of Spadina Ave and Baldwin. That building is long gone but the hoardings around the vacant lot have become a home for graffiti. Although advertising posters sometimes take over some of the space, there is often new graffiti too.

This is what was there in January 2025.

below: The Last Laugh by Nigel Smith.

graffiti on old hoardings at baldwin and spadina, a sign that says the last laugh, words written in red capital letters on black background

below: Paste-ups on plywood. On the left – a City Kitty character in big pink frame glasses (and what’s that on his head?!). Small black and white pasteups include Visual Noise with Urban Ninja Squadron.

pasteups on plywood hoardings

below: WOW! He is not dead yet. Live! Let Live!

three drawings on a fence, one red, one white, one blue, lines, face, and words, he is not dead yet, ugly, beauty

below: Two pieces by Bao aka (Bao Pham) who seems to like to mix cultural icons that aren’t usually associated with each other.

graffiti by Bao Pham, Trans Quebec, Beatles as storm troopers in a shield shape

below: “Fab Four Troopers” Quebec highway sign

graffiti by Bao Pham, Trans Quebec, Beatles as storm troopers in a shield shape

below: “Return of the Boom Bap Trooper”

graffiti street art by Bao Pham, storm trooper from Star Wars movies holding a ghetto blaster on his shoulder, wearing rapper jewellery

below: A woman’s portrait among the advertisements.

posters on hoardings, some advertising television programs, some HIV education website and in the middle is a graffiti street art picture of a woman with flowers in her hair

below: “Frida Moss”, A Frida Kahlo and Kate Moss mash-up, also by Bao

graffiti picture of a woman (photograph) with flowers in her hair and a cigarette in her hand

below: A green catchoo looking atch you catchoo green rectangular face paste up

below: Ouch! Another Urban Ninja Squadron paste-up, this one in collaboration with Dio Tha Dog.

visual noise, and urban ninja squadron black and white paste up on a pole

This post also appears in Eyes on the Streets blog

True Love fades

Posted: January 3, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: birdo, condos, construction, digger, drills, Dundas East, glass and steel, hair, houses, King Place Curry, Lahore Hakka chinese restaurant, machinery, Mutual St., redevelopment, reflections, Sherbourne St., TMU, True Love Cafe, windows

and other little observations along Dundas Street East – a street that has seen intensive redevelopment in the central core. These changes are slowly moving east with the consequent mixing of old and new.

Once there were large red hearts on the sign, as well as on the building, but they have disappeared.

The True Love Cafe opened at the corner of Dundas East & Sherbourne back in 2004. The outside was purple and apparently so was the inside. Before that (since the 1950s), the space was George’s Spaghetti and Jazz Bar.

Once there were messages like, “I love you” on the walls as well as menu items written inside heart shapes, but these too are no more.

below: South side of Dundas at Sherbourne.

below: Also at Dundas and Sherbourne are the most famous telephone boxes in the city – or at least most photographed

West of Sherbourne, some of the original large old brick houses still stand. Some converted to commercial uses long ago; some are still residences.

below: (Dundas and Pembroke) Another blue and white development notice – with another very tall condo. Yet again, all these residences but only 6 car parking spots compared to parking for bikes; Doug Ford screams about closing bike lanes while the city actively discourages car parking. Great for the developer as car parking costs more money to build than bike spaces. The sign says 49 storeys, the latest Toronto paperwork on the site says 55 storeys). The facades of the 4 heritage houses that the condo replaces will be saved.

below: Nearby, another closed restaurant.

below: North side of Dundas, just east of George Street. It’s looked shabby for years but it’s still in one piece. George’s Pizza, George’s BBQ, and Piassa Injera and Takeout (Ethiopian). The sign in the window of the pizza restaurant says “open” but the whole building is for sale. No price given on the realtors’ website, but its 6000 SF with 3 retail units and 10 residential apartments. It’s probably a candidate for demolition?

below: Looking westward at Dundas and George

below: King Place BBQ and Curry stands its ground

below: The Filmore Hotel still stands at George and Dundas East

below: Looking east along Dundas

below: Southeast corner of Dundas and Mutual

below: Dundas and Mutual, northeast corner

below: Old City of Toronto Archives photo from 1978 showing the northeast corner of Dundas and Mutual back when the building was pale bluish grey and not yellow; it was home to Denys Barbecue and not a cannabis store. The Warwick Hotel (built 1910) is long gone.

below: Where the Warwick Hotel once stood is now part vacant lot and part parking lot. This concrete building (partially seen in the photo above too) was built for Sears Canada, completed in 1971. It features cantilevered blocks to form an upside down ziggurat. What is a ziggurat? It is a building where each subsequent floor is smaller than the one below it with the result being a pyramidal shape.

below: Reflections at Dundas and Jarvis

below: Dundas and Dalhousie

below: Church and Dundas – closing in on Yonge Street and TMU

below: Birdo mural on Church Street.

below: A squirrel with a nut (or other edible) on the ramp to one of TMU’s buildings on Church Street. He’s not waving goodbye, but perhaps he’s thinking “Gotta run!”

As this has turned into the first post of January 2025… Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year with many walking and/or photographic opportunities! Have a good one!

a Guildwood December day walk

Posted: December 28, 2024 in locations, nature, waterfront
Tags: bas-relief, carvings, columns, Guild Inn, Guildwood Inn, Lake Ontario, park, snow, stone, trees, winter, wreath

Just after Christmas, we took a short walk around Guildwood Inn Park where we encountered this cold but jolly fellow.

below: Once it led to the Granite Club (built 1926), now it leads to a path through the park

The Guildwood Inn (Guild Inn) property is now home to many pieces of stone and concrete that once adorned old Toronto buildings that were demolished many years ago. For a more thorough discussion of the history of the pieces, see History in Pieces of Stone a post from 2020.

below: Staging photographs, playing in the snow.

below: A pyramid of old blocks of rescued stone.

below: Representing Quebec…..sculpted panel by Frances Loring.

below: The park runs along the top of the Scarborough Bluffs.

below: Bits of the park fall into Lake Ontario each year – and occasionally parts of the old fence go too.

doors, holiday edition

Posted: December 26, 2024 in doors
Tags: Christmas, decorations, doors, houses, lights, red, reindeer, residential, ribbons, wreaths

Merry Christmas! ‘Tis the season to decorate. There’s something about Christmas that makes us want to decorate our doorways. Although the best time to view most Christmas decorations is after dark, there is something to be said for daytime viewing, especially when the house has a nice front door! (And if you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I like doors).

Understated with a few silver balls in some greenery. Isn’t the door a lovely shape?

Matching planters beside a door with a wonderful stone door frame.

A Christmas wreath on another wood door… but this one has unique hinges.

A wreath and a reindeer with a red ribbon.

I think that our personalities are revealed by what we choose to decorate with.

Inflatable decorations are now everywhere.

Choo Choo! Here comes Santa with his train. Nice purple front door (with wreath and planter too).

This Santa has a teddy bear…. this must be popular because I saw a few!

When I took these pictures the other day, I didn’t realize how many of the front doors had wreaths on them. Once upon a time we may have associated wreaths with some sort of symbolism (unending circles = everlasting life) but now we use them to help brighten up the season.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to add some cheer to these dark December days! I hope that you have a chance to enjoy walking around a neighbourhood or two to enjoy what others have done with their front doors, porches, and yards this holiday season. If not, you probably have another week or two before the wreaths come down and all the “stuff” gets put away for another year. Have fun!!

TTC riders at Runnymede

Posted: December 20, 2024 in public art
Tags: Anonymous Somebody, Elicser Elliot, mural, people, public art, subway, TTC Runnymede station

More than three large murals by Elicser Elliott can be seen on some of the interior walls of Runnymede subway station. Together, they form “Anonymous Somebody”

They date from 2019 and are part of the TTC Public Art Program.

There are a couple that I missed. Like the ones shown here, they feature a diverse group of people that represent the people who use this Bloor West stop on a daily basis.

Thankfully they are more cheerful, more positive, than the images at Union Station!

Namaste, Merry Christmas, and more…

Posted: December 18, 2024 in locations, stores, transportation
Tags: Al Runt, Buddha, Christmas, colors, colours, Gerrard, lights, Little India, mannequins, paan, Santa, saris, stores, tree, windows

Another visit to Little India late one afternoon in December. In December darkness descends early but with darkness come lights. Some things are hidden but others are revealed. Shadows shift and details blur.

below: “Namaste! Warning, This Store is protected by Karma. Steal from here and you’ll soon find out why Karma’s a Bitch.”

below: Christmas lights on poles, and greenery with bows – it must be December in the city!

below: I doubt that it says “Merry Christmas”! … Nor does it say, “Namaste”.

below: Love wins, regardless of the season. A few of the characters on the exterior of a building painted by Al Runt.

below: A cash register on the counter and shelves crammed full of stuff – mostly household things – mugs, pots & pans, and the like.

below: Looking in gallery windows too

below: Baldev Paan – paan, ice cream, soft drinks, and bitcoin.

below: Running for the streetcar

below: Rana Gems, India Paan, and a restaurant with tacos and mariscos (seafood, en español) as well as a Christmas tree in the window.

below: Small, smaller, smallest? or Big, bigger, biggest? Biggest pencil? Yes! ….. Karma’s Kitchen is squished in between two larger buildings.

below: More on the south side of Gerrard, Karmas Kitchen again, Sultan Jewellers and, the now empty, Alesha Beauty Salon and Spa.

below: Pretty in pink

below: Looking through the window

below: Dancing among the flowers

below: Shiny beaded fringes and reflected lights, playing with windows.

below: Harry’s on the northeast corner of Gerrard and Coxwell

below: Coxwell Variety

below: Northwest corner of Gerrard and Coxwell

below: Are YOU a Communist?

Happy trails! and a Merry Christmas…. Joyeux Noël …. Feliz Natal … Feliz Navidad to all!

signs of change

Posted: December 12, 2024 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: condos, derelict, development, Eglinton LRT, GO station, Guildwood, Nigel Smith, parking lot, signs, street art, tire, vacant lot

…. from a walk on Kingston Road near Guildwood GO station.

below: First sign. Sign of distress, of times gone by.

Bob Johnston Chevrolet was on Kingston Road until it went out of business in 2007. The property became a used car lot. It backs onto the parking lot for the Guildwood GO station

below: A sign with no relevance. A sign that says “vehicles protected by security systems” but it’s been a long time since anyone parked back there.

below: Other, much newer, signs have appeared on the property. They are a street art installation by Nigel Smith that appeared a few months ago.

Funnily Enough

and Joking Apart

And last, a sign that tells another story – a Development Notice sign that dates from 2021. It suggests that 996 residences in 4 towers all with large podiums, will be built. Some will be rentals. Back in 2008, the original change of zoning from commercial to mixed commercial/residential allowed for buildings up to 8 storeys. The process limps along as the property changes owner and the height limits are appealed.

The process is also slow because of the people and organizations that get a say. Traffic studies, Urban Forestry opinions, as well as TTC and Metrolinx. Apparently there is a Line 7, the Eglinton East LRT that will (might?) run here. It has been proposed, accepted, and….. don’t hold your breath. The Eglinton LRT is 14+ years old and still not operational. If it gets off the ground in its present plan, it will run east from Kennedy (& Eglinton) to Kingston Road, then northeast on Kingston Road to Morningside. Finally, north to Sheppard (via UTSC) where it will loop back to join the Sheppard line. On that cheery note, I will leave you with a few images from around the property taken on a snowy December day.