Posts Tagged ‘arch’

College to Elm

Posted: December 9, 2024 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, public art, stores, windows and walls
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…. A short distance but with a lot happening.

An early morning walk with a weak winter sun low in the sky.  Tall buildings that cast shadows, or reflect light.  Patterns of light and shadow.

below: Crossing Yonge from Carlton to College

people crossing intersection of college and yonge, walking westward, towards TTC streetcar that is heading east, in front of College Park, with old red brick building on the north side of college street

below: North on Yonge.  The facade above Shoppers remains.  “….has design value and technological merit as a representative of the 1950s Toronto School of ‘Picturesque Modernism’ in its expressive use of concrete seen in the cantilevered canopy and decorative piercings of the concrete screen for the above-ground parking, in the ‘egg-crate’ elevations designed to reduce solar gain, and in the predominant white aesthetic of glazed white brick and concrete surfaces.” (form City of Toronto report on heritage inclusion)

below: Rising above Yonge and College

tall new condo tower above older red brick building on northwest corner of Yonge and college

below: Looking north, up the canyon that Yonge has become.  The very tall building that is obviously under construction in the distance is at Yonge and Bloor.

looking north on Yonge, from College, towards two very tall condo developments at Yonge and Bloor, shadows because of buildings, blue sky, not much traffic

below:  Empty, boarded up and waiting its turn. Southeast corner of College & Yonge.  I have vague memories of a candy store on this corner although I think that there were a number of businesses that passed through here.

brick building with rounded edge at front, now empty, southeast corner of Yonge and College, construction at street level in front of building

below: The east half of Yonge street in front of College Park is now a construction zone.  An additional entrance on the east side of Yonge along with more elevator service between street and track levels, is being built for College subway station.  Are there any streets in the downtown area that don’t have partial closures for construction?

small construction site on yonge street, taking up space on the street, in front of College Park shops

below: Sunspots, reflected light on the side of College Park

construction equipment

below: More emptiness, more waiting.

metal grille gate covering window of a store or restaurant that is now closed, old doordash sign in the window

below: Granby and McGill are two streets that run parallel to College but don’t actually meet Yonge Street, pedestrians only here

person walking through pedestrian zone between yonge street and sheard street at the end of mcgill

below: Looking back at Yonge Street from the same spot.  When the area was pedestrianized back in the 1980s, the city purchased added the arch.  The arch came from St. Andrews United Church at Bloor and Park Road (not on this site, moved here).  The mural on the wall, right hand side …

old stone arch remains, on yonge street near Sheard and McGill streets

… is The ‘History of Music on Yonge’ mural that covers two large walls on the same building.  This is the south side of that building.   It was painted by Adrian Hayles and features music legends who played in Toronto in the 1950s and 1960s.

History of Music on Yonge mural, south side,

Brown Derby tavern and Steeles tavern part of mural

part of History of Music mural by Adrian Hayles, group of male singers in black shirts, white ties, and black stripe on white suits

On the north side of building, the mural shows Ronnie Hawkins, Glenn Gould, Dianne Brooks, Jackie Shane, Muddy Waters, Shirley Matthews, B.B. King, Gordon Lightfoot, and Oscar Peterson.

history of music on yonge mural by Adrian Hayles, north side, Massey Hall, Gordon Lightfoot, B.B. King, piano player, tall, vertical mural

part of a mural by Adrian Hayles, piano player with multicoloured keyboard

below: Behind Yonge street, between Granby and McGill (Joseph Sheard parkette)

Joseph Sheard park in Toronto, old brick house, with many tall trees, some new condos

new condo towers downtown

below: Looking north up Yonge from Granby

looking north on yonge from granby, just south of college

below: Aura

looking south on yonge by ikea store and fusettes restaurant

below: People on a corner… To the woman in the brown coat – A penny for your thoughts (Does anyone use that expression anymore?)

two women holding bright green coffee cups, talking to each other, man in background crossing the street,

below: The southeast corner of Yonge and Gerrard is still a construction site….

redevelopment of building on southeast corner of yonge and gerrard, old facade being saved

below: …. but now it is on its way up!

redevelopment of building on southeast corner of yonge and gerrard, old facade being saved

below:  On the northeast corner, also Yonge and Gerrard is an older building that is still standing… for now.  An almost obscene 76 storeys with 828 residences.  No car parking; parking for 828 bikes only.   May I recommend the elevator repair business as a career prospect for those who are looking for ideas?  Also, we could have quite the discussion about bikes and bike lanes……

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign

 

man talking on his phone, walks under covered scaffolding, beside hoardings with painted diagonal stripes in yellow and blue

people walking on sidewalk, approaching covered scaffolding at construction site

looking through scaffolding, to west side of yonge, older 1800s buildings with mansour roofs, H and R block, cotti coffee,

yonge street, motorbike parked outside cotti coffee

below: Looking south on Yonge from Elm

street scene, looking south on yonge from elm, towards yonge dundas square, now called sankofa square

upper levels of buildings on west side of yonge, just north of dundas, includingmcdonalds,

below: The Zanzibar Tavern glows in the morning light

view from Elm street, looking north at Yonge, zanzibar strip club glows in the morning sun, condo redevelopment on the northwest corner of yonge and elm

below: Hoardings around the construction site on the northwest corner of Yonge and Elm

artwork titled Homecomings on the hoardings at construction site, northeast corner of elm and yonge,

below: Orange! Even more construction on Yonge, this time the southwest corner of Yonge and Elm

elm street, south side, looking east, at yonge

below: No more pizzas here.

damaged exterior wall on now abandoned pizza pizza restaurant, orange and yellow ties on point, some missing

below: Looking west on Elm

person walking on sidewalk on elm street, walking west from yonge

below:  A quick stop at the Cong Caphe.  That’s an iced coconut coffee!!

bouquet of flowers on a coffee shop table along with a cinnamon bun and an iced coffee drink

 

From Charles Sauriol southward

Posted: October 27, 2020 in history, nature, old buildings
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Back in the early spring of 2019, I wrote about accessing the East Don path from Moccasin Trail.

below: Last week, the view from the east side of the tunnel under the DVP leading to Moccasin Trail Park.

semi circular arch and tunnel under the DVP from the East Don trail, autumn with fall colours on the trees, paved path, grass beside,

Now, in a different year and a different season, I have explored more of that trail starting at the north end, near Lawrence Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP). Originally, Lawrence Avenue curved south down the east side of the ravine before it crossed the Don River. The remains of part of that road provide access to the East Don path at Charles Sauriol Conservation Area. Sauriol (1904-1995) was a Canadian naturalist who played a leading role in conserving many natural areas in the province including the Don Valley.

Here, the Alexander Milne family first settled in 1832. Over time, a woolen mill and a sawmill were built, other families moved in, and the village of Milneford Mills was born; it thrived until the early 1900’s. The old woolen mill remained derelict until it was demolished in 1946. Between Hurricane Hazel floods in 1954, and the expropriation of land to make way for the DVP construction, most traces of the village have disappeared.

below: All that remains is one house. It’s been behind chainlink and “under renovation” for MANY years. When I went searching for any kind of story about this house, I discovered a blog post from 2011 about Charles Sauriol Park and the house was fenced in then. Apparently it was covered in graffiti back in 2008/9. I’m not sure that Mr. Sauriol would be impressed.

old white house, built 1878, now in park, with metal fence around it because of renovations, autumn, with trees in golds and oranges

autumn colours in the leaves on the trees, oranges and golds, and some red sumach

below: The Rainbow Bridge from the north side.

the rainbow bridge on the east don trail, a semi circle arch tunnel painted like a rainbow

below: The trail passes underneath the Canadian Pacific (CP) tracks.

a man walks his dog along the path through the Don River ravine, autumn trees, and the path goes under the tall CN railway bridge with its metal girders

below: Footings for the CP bridge

concrete footings on a metal railway bridge over the Don River

below: As the trail crosses land owned by CP Rail, it is covered by a metal frame canopy. It’s difficult to see in this photo but there is a series of small laser-cut metal artworks between the grey railings. The whole structure is “A Walk in the Woods” and it is the creation of both Robert Sprachman and Arnaud Boutle.

a metal canopy over a path and under a metal railway bridge

gnarly old dead tree that looks like screaming face

a woman walks along a path at the bottom of a hill. the hill is covered with leaves that have fallen off the tall trees

2 people walk on the sandy river bank on the side of the Don River, autumn with leaves in different shades of red and gold

below: Farther down the trail is another railway bridge. This is the same line that goes north to Oriole GO station and beyond. The scaffolding under the bridge is for the construction of another canopy similar to one under the CP bridge (above) as well as an art installation.

workmen on a railway bridge

below: Part of art installation “High Water Mark” by Robert Sprachman that is almost complete. There are 15 rocks each with a year on them. The height of the rock on a metal pole represents the height of the flood water on the Don River that year (but is not an exact height). There are four rocks in this picture and from left to right are 1926, 1934, 1942, and obscured (the last is behind the wood. Ooops).

Artwork called High Water Mark, rocks at levels that match the flood levels of different years, on metal poles by a bridge beside the Don River

below: Oak leaves

leaves on a small oak tree have turned a rusty red colour around the edges

below: Backs of houses overlooking the park

a white house up on a hill behind autumn trees that are starting to lose their leaves

below: A chickadee holding onto a dead flower as it eats the seeds.

chicakdee holding onto dead flower as it eats the seeds

chicakdee holding onto dead flower as it eats the seeds

below: Fish. Yes there are fish in the Don River, about 21 species apparently. This one, salmon?, although large is unfortunately also dead. Over the past 30 years the Don River has received a lot of TLC which has helped to reduce the level of industrial pollution as well as the amount of litter and trash found along the banks.

a large dead fish has washed up onto the sandy shore of the Don River

below: We were told “It’s not the best time” when we asked if we could continue on the trail. South of here the trail is a construction zone. Eventually (soon? I may have visited a little too soon?) the path will join with those farther south so that there will be a continuous trail from Lawrence to the lake. In the meantime, this is Wynford. You can exit here, or retrace your steps back to Lawrence. Next time!

two people with their backs to the camera stand on a path and watch a digger in front of them, there is a bridge over the creek ahead and workmen have parked their truck on the bridge, autumn colours in the trees around them.

path through the woods, autumn

three dried berries on a shrub with one red leaf, autumn