There are two large murals by Nick Sweetman that cover both sides of Bathurst street as it passes under the 401 highway. The murals are a collection of animals – birds, frogs, cows, cats, foxes, bats, tigers, and more. This blogpost is a selection of images from those two walls.
Enter if you Dare!
A late October walk on a sunny day – starting at Dupont station which is just north of Bloor on Line 1 (That’s the University side of the Yonge-University Line for those of you who, like me, haven’t mastered the TTC numbering system yet!). We walked a few blocks on Dupont before going under the railway tracks to Bridgman, then took a quick turn on Albany to get to Davenport. A short block later we were on Bathurst. Vaughan Road veers left off Bathurst just south of Bloor. We meandered a bit north of Bloor before walking back to St. Clair West station.
below: A bright and sparkly flower blooms on the southbound platform of Dupont subway station. This is one of the mosaics designed by James Sutherland in the series “Spadina Summer Under all Seasons” found around the station.
below: More Dupont station flowers to greet subway travelers, this time on the concourse level.
below: Taking the escalator up inside the dome at street level.
below: There is a Nick Sweetman mural of birds that wraps around the curve of a bench.
below: The curve matches that of the domed entrance to the station on the southeast corner of Dupont and Spadina.
below: Casa Loma in the distance, on the hill beyond the tracks. This is the view on Spadina north of Dupont.
below: Northeast corner of Dupont and Spadina
below: Big rounded arches, rooftop terraces in the back, and two turrets, all at the corner of St. George Street and Dupont.
below: Looking north on St. George, towards Dupont, 1904. Working on the street. The house with the two turrets is already there. The duplex on Dupont at the top of the street still exists too.
below: The duplex (176-178 Dupont) is difficult to see because like so many other older residences on main streets, an addition has been added to the front to facilitate a store or a restaurant. At the moment, 176 Dupont is a Mexican restaurant, even though the says Pastrami (close enough!).
below: Bruno Men’s Hairsylist and his quaint little sign.
below: On Dupont, east of Spadina is this mural by Catherine Cachia
below: Cozy and euphoric.
below: Bete Suk, Ethiopian Coffee shop
below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Spadina, and another domed subway entrance.
below: Looking west on Dupont
below: Another, much clearer, example of the transition of houses to businesses by building additions in front, are these two – Krispy Kreme and the faded Modern Laundry & Dry Cleaners.
below: West of Dupont, there are still some garages covered in street art.
below: This is 390 Dupont Street, part of which is now a coffee shop/vintage clothing store. I am not sure what the history of the building is but when I tried to research it, I discovered that there is a condo development being proposed for the site.
below: This is the neighbouring property, 388 Dupont. Two years ago when I walked this stretch, there was a blue and white development notice sign in front of the building (Dupont Street Scenes). When the application for redevelopment was first filed (2020), it was for an 11 storey building involving 374 to 388 Dupont. By 2023 the plan had evolved to 12 storeys and now included 390 Dupont as well. Because the site is adjacent to the CP Railway corridor, a train safety derailment wall along the entire back wall is part of the plan.
below: Although there is no posted notice of planning applications for this building, it appears to be empty. The front door is boarded up and there is a No Trespassing sign in the window.
below: Two years ago this building was in the early stages of construction.
below: Another theme that occurs over and over again on the streets of Toronto – the jumble of different eras. Very old brick houses and new glass and steel towers mixed together along with ages in between. The smaller older structures dwarfed by the newer ones that tower over them.
below: The Troy Lovegates mural of 10 faces on Howland & Dupont is still there and still looking vibrant. If you are interested, there are more images of this mural elsewhere in this blog.
below: Running parallel to the railway tracks, and just north of them.
below: The north side of the CP Railway corridor shows signs of its more industrial past. This building with its curved glass sidelights and other small Art Deco finishes, sits empty. Previously it was home to a plumbing company but they have moved to new quarters elsewhere in the city.
below: Tarragon Village mural by Elicser Elliott
below: There is also this mural, just around the corner on Albany, “You are not alone”. It was painted by Julia Prajza and Bareket (bkez). ‘You Are Not Alone Murals’ is a public mural project with over 100 murals completed. Their goal is to “inspire artists to create murals in their communities–sparking hope, connection, and conversations about mental health.” (quote taken from their website, youarenotalonemurals.com).
below: An intriguing series of photos in the windows… but I couldn’t get a closer look at them.
below: A large red heart and an even larger blue spruce tree.
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below: The paintings along the concrete wall on the west side of Bathurst have all been defaced.
below: Another touch of Art Deco in the neighbourhood
below: Bathurst Street houses
below: Playing in the playground
below: Store fronts on Bathurst
below: Looking north up Bathurst where Vaughan Road exits left. Vaughan Road was built in the 1920’s along an older trail that follows a now underground creek. From here, it runs more or less diagonally north and west to its northern end at Dufferin and Eglinton.
below: Choice laundry in the old brick building, on Vaughan Road.
below: Also on Vaughan Road, Zoomiez Doggie Daycare and Vaughan Road Pharmacy.
below: We met a couple of strangers. They weren’t very talkative though so we kept walking….
below: The gateposts on Strathearn Road mark the entrance to the former village of Forest Hill. Forest Hill was incorporated as a village in 1923 and then annexed by the City of Toronto in 1967.
below: There is a metal plaque at each end of the Glen Cedar pedestrian bridge over the Cedarvale Ravine. This is the one at the south end. The text is taken from the lyrics of “Anthem”, a song by Leonard Cohen. The first bridge here was built by Henry Pellatt (the same man responsible for Casa Loma) in 1912. It became a pedestrian bridge when it was modernized in 1989.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your prefect offering.
There is a crack,
a crack in everything
it’s how the light get’s in
[and yes, the plaque has an apostrophe in gets]
below: Home is where our story begins.
below: At Bathurst and St. Clair – Da Best Pilipino Bakery and Deli
below: Waiting to cross Bathurst Street
below: Looking east on the north side of St. Clair, from Bathurst. St. Clair West subway station is just a few meters away.
below: There was once a gas station on the northeast corner of Bathurst and St. Clair West. Now it is a vacant lot with a few alien creatures like this one lurking about.
below: Happy Hallowe’en pumpkins! The frog’s not so certain though.
With thanks to Nancy who walked with me that day.
A walk down Graffiti Alley on a rainy night.
below: Unfortunately, one of Uber5000’s large Toronto/Canada themed murals has been defaced (the one on the north side of the alley).
below: Doug Ford running away with the money, stencil graffiti by D. Terra. Our Premier seems rather happy with his haul. Accurate?
below: A dope piece that bears some resemblance to Homer Simpson.
below: A yellow one-eyed daisy standing tall.
below: This portrait has hair!
below: For some reason, a section of one of the side lanes (McDougall Lane? or Rush Lane?) was lit by a red light. Here there was a collection of pasteups and stickers including one with an abundance of flowers in her hair, a skater figure by drecks. She is joined by a bare breasted woman with even more flowers on her head as well as a Snoopy look alike and a cat on the telly.
below: On the same wall as the above – Tweetie bird, from Australia, along with some friends. Because of the red light, this photo is very low contrast and difficult to see. Best to see this wall in the daytime! Second best, would be to check out the instagram page of tweet_streetart
below: Another selection of slaps, mostly birds this time.
below: A little raccoon
below: Mortus figure – his hands are almost big enough to hold all those skulls.
below: On the pavement
below: FP Monkey (aka Julia H), Skamoney, Monster Fan Club, and PP Spray
below: Poser bunny
below: Making a rap music video
below: The east end of Graffiti Alley, the part closest to Spadina, was very dark.
below: As it turns out, the buildings at this end (north side) are now behind a metal construction fence. Darkness equals empty I suspect.
below: Yes they matter but was there no where else to paint this? There’s so much junk in the alley that no one would miss.
below: I am going to end this post with a bit of a rant. Yes, to some extent the art in this alley has come somewhat commercialized especially with the newer buildings on Richmond that back onto the alley. Uber5000 has benefited from some of this as he has painted a few large (and very good) murals here. I understand that street art by its nature is prone to “disappearing” behind the work of others but I reject the notion that one person’s tag is as good as another person’s mural. Anyone can destroy. Anyone can paint their “name” but if you are proud of writing it over someone else’s more talented work then you haven’t progressed beyond the preschooler phase of life.
This post also appears in eyesonthestreets.blog
There is a railway bridge over Lawrence Avenue West just to the east of Weston Road (close to Weston UP Station). The walls beside the sidewalk on both sides of the underpass have been painted with street art designs of flowers, birds and animals. The murals are the result of a collaboration between Que Rock and Alex Bacon.
Another Weston mural – Out and About
Another recent Weston blog post – A little piece of Weston
Recently I was in the area east of Danforth and Main when I had one of those moments where I stop and say to myself “I’ve been here before”. I recognized some of the street art in the lane (see Alleyway of Dreams, 2016). For this blog post, I have started with the artwork that I didn’t remember on the assumption that it is newer. The murals that remain from 2016 all seem to be in good shape.
below: A collage of pictures called “Against All Odds” in the shape of a map.
below: On the same wall as the above is this mural of a swan. My apolgies to Alika, Angela, Dylan, Molly, Serval, Bandi, Ludo and Weal (?) whose names I chopped off. To the right of the swan, and behind a parked car is a piece by Mediah.
below: A hummingbird with a red hibiscus flower.
Love birds of a different colour
below: There had been a fire in the back of a furniture store not long before I walked the alley this summer.
below: A black cat in the moonlight, sitting on some very curly branches. This row of fences was painted in 2016.
below: This blue pug was here previously but the rabbit that was once beside it seems to have disappeared.
below: The blue rhinoceros with the whimsical horn hasn’t moved either.
below: Stay Out is still sprayed on the old wood door but now it has a new lock. The blue 666 is also an addition.
below: “Bee Haven” from 2014. One of the earliest bee/pollinator murals in the city.
below: Signatures. The mural was painted by Elie J. Saad, Sarah Van Dusen, and Curtia Wright with help from Community Centre 55 kids.
This has been a wet spring along the waterfront. Lake Ontario has been at its highest level in years. Earlier, I had posted some photos that I took of Woodbine, Kew and Balmy beaches and the high water levels there (blog post, “water logged”). The other day I visited the beaches and walkways at the other end of the city’s waterfront, from H2O beach to Ontario Place.
below: Flooding at H2O Beach
below: All that water makes for some colourful reflections!
below: Looking west towards the old Canada Malting Company silos as the dark clouds signal an approaching storm.
below: The Empire Sandy docked along with the tugboat, M.S. Kane
below: Toronto’s fire rescue boat, the William Lyon Mackenzie, docked beside Fire Station 334. It was built in 1964 and is named for Toronto’s first mayor.
below: Queens Quay at Spadina, looking west
below: A streetcar starts to head north on Spadina
below: Playing basketball in the rain.
below: An old blue canoe at Little Norway park. A training camp for the Norway’s Air Force was located here (SW corner of Queens Quay and Bathurst) during WW2. The large rock that you can see in the photo is a 3000 pound boulder brought from Norway in 1976 to be part of a permanent monument to the people who trained and served here. In 1986 the space became Little Norway Park.
below: Looking back towards downtown and the CN Tower from the western end of Queens Quay West.
below: Lots of big puddles at Coronation Park
below: Yellow flowerpot islands
below: Someone has tied a string of small Canadian flags to the railing at Coronation Park. Happy Canada Day weekend!
below: Toronto skyline from Trillium Park, from the green trees of Coronation Park on the left and past the CN Tower to Billy Bishop airport on the far left.
below: Large granite rock in Trillium Park
below: Ontario Place, where TSN was playing to no one.
below: Flooding by the marina at Ontario Place. In the foreground is what appears to be an electrical box.
below: The Canada geese have these Muskoka chairs to themselves.
below: From the northwest corner of Ontario Place, looking west over Lake Ontario towards Etobicoke and Mississauga
below: There was also flooding on Lakeshore Blvd.
below: Puddles in an almost empty parking lot, CNE grounds.
Just south of St. Clair West, Runnymede Road runs under the CP train tracks. In the summer of 2017 the wall on the west side of the underpass a mural was painted by Christopher Ross (aka GAWD). It is a collection of animals, mostly in shades of pink and blue – dragonfly, pigs, birds, and more. Most of the animals are in pairs.
At one end of the mural, this little engine sits on a tree stump.
I’m still playing catch up as I go through photos that I took back in the fall. Late in October I went west on St. Clair to visit Feel Good Lane. The lane was officially named in 2016 in memory of Barry Lukensberg. He was a rapper, part of the 512 Crew, who was born and raised in the neighbourhood. He went by the name FeelGood. In 2014 he died in a motorcycle accident in Vietnam.
Just prior to my walk down Feel Good Lane, it had been the canvas for more than 30 street artists. This is what I saw that day. … Back before the snow!
below: The title mural, by SPUDBomb
below: by monicaonthemoon
below: by Oriah Scott
below: This is the front of the same garage in the above photo (with the streetcar). Both were painted Elly Dowson
below: Dog mural by @Dr_Roameo
below: Raccoons all over the place! A mural by Emily May Rose and Rage Williams.
below: The blue landscape is a painting by Leyland Adams
below: by Bomi (Bomino San Grantes)
below: by Cruz1
below: Butterfly face and curly hair – Frannie Potts
below: Another Cruz1 creation with a small painting by Bkez (aka Bareket) in the background
below: by Mska
below: A mural for the 512 Crew,
below: In the back, a mural by Odinamaad (turningwind). In the foreground is the work of Desko Zima
below: A face in blue and orange by Anya Mielniczek
below: On the right, a small piece by Andrew Castro
below: A fox head by Ed Hamer
below: Three pieces. Chris Perez mural on the left (blocked by a parked car), in the middle and one of a few swirls painted by Flip
below: The white chair is in front of a jellyfish and heart by Psyblimation
The project was organized by Julian Back and Kim Lesperance with the help of Team SPUDBomb. Financial support was provided by
StreetARToronto (StART). In addition, $5000 was raised from the community to help finance the project.
The brains are back! Close to 50 brains decorated by different artists can be seen in about a dozen locations around this city throughout the summer.
This year they are 2-dimensional, not three. They are much flatter. Above, making an interesting companion to the fabulous pink dress is “Enigmatic Glitter” by Donald and Elaine Rafelman Creative Arts Studio at Baycrest. When we picture art together it lights a spark and evokes a glitter of hope.
below: At Nathan Phillips Square, from left to right: “Pop Art” by Mary Ann Grainger, “No Brainer #Repainthistory” by Andrea Bolley, “Neon Future” by Steve Aoki, “Get Me Out! by Hate Copy (aka Maria Qamar), “Mental Vacation ” by Birdo, and “My Mind is Swimming” by Gina Godfrey.
below: “Power in Growth” by Amy Jeffreys in the Distillery District. Persevere and grow. Every human is capable of harnessing strength from their weaknesses. In this piece, the tangled roots represent the inner struggles and complexity of one’s thoughts.
below: “Memory” by Colin Nun at Nathan Phillips Square. “This type-based piece represents disconnect, dead ends, and memories lost to brain disease. It is inspired by the loss of the artist’s grandfather to Alzheimer’s disease and was created as a tribute to his memory. Take a close look to find a hidden word in the piece. What do you see?”
below: “The Mind’s Eye” by Dave Bagley at Yonge and St. Clair. Concentric rings of birds, fish, and diamonds radiate from the center.
below: Close up of the above, clearly showing the two seahorses in the center as well as the repeating yellow fish and blue birds. According to the artist, “I believe all of humankind share an organic Wi-fi that connects everyone, all we need to do is turn on the switch… is yours on?”
below: “Puzzled” by Harm Huibers on Grist Mill Lane in the Distillery District. The design of the brain is complex and intricate; when it’s complete, it’s a beautiful puzzle. Diseases like Alzheimers take pieces out of the puzzle.
The project is sponsored by Yogen Fruz and Pinkberry and is in support of the Baycrest Foundation. Baycrest, a leader in research into brain health and aging, is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
You can find pictures of all of the 2018 brains online at the brainproject.ca as well as descriptions of the brains and the artists behind their creation.
The other day I headed towards Dupont and Dundas West because I heard about a mural that I didn’t recall having seen. Here it is … and more.
below: The most westerly part of the mural is on the north side of Dundas West where Old Weston Road and Annette Street meet.
It continues along the side of the railway underpass on Dupont (it’s a confusing tangle of streets here!)
….and on the stairwell up to the West Toronto Railpath.
It was a gorgeous day so I walked around a bit more, of course!
below: On Dundas West
below: A row of houses with wonderful facades. You don’t many like that anymore! .. at least not on houses.
below: These fooled me at first. Interesting black and white photos looking grubby and worn… with a small McDonalds logo on the bottom right. The photo on the bottom left also has a few words in small print that give away the fact this is a McDonalds promotion. I don’t think I’ve seen any like these elsewhere – or have I missed something?
below: The large black metal staircase at the end of the footbridge over the tracks at Wallace Ave are gone. The replacement stairs are dull and bland. This change was meant to accommodate new development on Wallace.
below: Railpath window reflections.
below: Also on the West Toronto Railpath, someone has hung this colourful ‘curtain’ on the fence in order to add a splash of colour to a sitting area. Once upon a time there were more chairs here. And a table if I remember correctly.
below: One of two chalkboards installed by crazydames where people have written notes to cyclists imploring them to slow down and use their bells. I totally agree! Just before I came upon this, a man on an electric bike came up behind me, silently and fast.
below: This little gnome still stands by the entrance to a convenience store. This guarden gnome has been here (Bloor West) for a few years.
below: Reduce, reuse, recycle – here the R used is reuse. Truck and tractor parts and other bits and pieces craftily arranged and put to use on the outside of the Farmhouse Tavern. It should look better in a couple of months!
below: A fairy in a garden of mushrooms.
One last look at part of that mural!
as I walk Toronto 