Posts Tagged ‘Broadview’

walking River Street, mostly

Posted: August 20, 2024 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, locations
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Nigel smith sign, multi coloured, with text wish you were here

The general plan was to walk River Street.   River Street runs parallel to the Don River (makes sense!) on the west side with the north end of the street just above of Gerrard.   Transit on River Street is limited (is there any?) so I started the walk at Broadview and Gerrard, just to the east of River Street.

below:  At the corner of Broadview and Gerrard is the Roman Coliseum mural that was painted in 2016 as part of ‘Around the World in East Chinatown’.  It was one of seven murals and all of them were featured in a blog post back when they were new (seven new murals, August 2016)

intersection of Broadview and Gerrard, south side, with Boba Boy on one corner and A and W on the other, street car wires overhead, street art on the walls, image of roman coliseum

gerrard, at broadview, southwest side, bus shelter, brick building with street art on it

below: Chinatown East mural by ACK crew, bacon, wunder, tensoe 2, and cruz1, on Gerrard east of Broadview.  Chinatown East is generally Gerrard east of Broadview, but we’re going to walk west today and leave Chinatown for another day.

chinese style gate on gerrard, as entrance to Chinatown East, mural with Chinese theme in the background

below: A long vacant lot on Gerrard.

fence around vacant lot beside a brick house, no trespassing sign on fence

below: Munro Street, south of Gerrard

Munro street, at Gerrard, houses, brick, trees, street scene

below: On the north side is the site of the old Don Jail and its Governor’s House.

many yellow flowers in the garden in front of the Governor's House, with plaque in the garden

Governor’s House,1888, From 1888 until 1968, this was the residence of the Don Jail’s governor (chief administrator).  Until this house was finished, the governor lived in an apartment in the central administration block of the jail.  Designed by architect Mancel Wilmot, this house features a shallow pitched roof with a front-facing gable and double-height bay window that are typical of Toronto’s late 19th century residential architecture.

below: Bridgepoint and the old Don Jail with the red brick steeple of  St. Johns Presbyterian church on Broadview in the distance.  Bridgepoint Health Hospital was built on the site of the old Riverdale Hospital which in turn replaced an older building.  The original House of Refuge was built in 1860.  The Don Jail has been repurposed as part of the hospital complex.

bridgepoint hospital, with old don jail in the background

below: Looking north from the bridge at Gerrard towards the green pedestrian bridge that connects the two sections of Riverdale Park.  Beyond that is the Bloor Viaduct.

view looking north from gerrard street bridge, railway tracks, don river, view to bloor street and beyond

below: Northwest view

very tall hydro electricity transmission tower beside bike path and railway tracks, high rise buildings in the background

below: View from the Gerrard St Bridge (over the Don River and DVP).   Looking southwest.  The tall brown buildings are at River Street.

photo taken while on gerrard street bridge over the Don river, looking southwest towards many highrise apartment buildings

below: Miniature racer, art on a pole by Joseph Lammirato.

miniature black car, toy, mounted on orange board, and attached to utility pole

… and another!  You’ll find lots more on his Instagram page (@joseph.lammirato)

below: Flower Power happiness

sunflower with a happy face, pasteup on canada post mailbox

below: The north end of River Street (north of Gerrard)is showing signs that redevelopment is in the works.

old brick houses with for lease signs in the front yard

old brick two storey houses with front porches on river street, empty, boarded up with plywood waiting for demolition

graffiti tags on plywood used to board up windows and doors on empty old houses

below: If you are driving north on River Street, chances are you are headed down the hill to the Bayview Extension.  The alternative route is a small street that swings left and joins up with Spruce Street.

small houses on Spruce Street, including one that is painted blue, with white gingerbread trim under the eaves, also a modern house in black

below: It also leads to access to Riverdale Park. – there’s that green pedestrian bridge again.  From here you can see Broadview Avenue on the other side of the ravine.

view of Riverdale park with green pedestrian bridge over the DVP and Don River
orange tiger lilies in bloom along a chainlink fence beside a path near River street and spruce street

below: Back to River Street, and let’s head south.

River street street sign, with a no left turn sign under it

below: St. Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church.

St. Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church at Gerrard and River, with tall apartment buildings behind

below: Walking past some of the older Regent Park brick buildings that still remain.   The intersection of Gerrard and River streets marks the northeast corner of the original 1940s and 1950s Regent Park development.

regent park, southwest corner of gerrard and river streets

ivy covered exterior walls of Regent Park apartments,

About 20 years ago, redevelopment of the area began.  The work was divided into five phases.  Phases 1 and 2 have been completed while the third phase is either close to completion or has just been finished.  There is a lot of information online so you should be able to find many more details if you want.  I didn’t feel like going down that rabbit hole!

contrast of old Regent Park residences with newer developments

couple walking a dog on River near Oak street, with three high rises in the background

below: I was surprised at how much variety there was in the housing that I saw.

a row of three storey houses on river street, bay and gable style,

cornwall street row houses, with highrise behind

looking down a private road at a townhouse development

below:  Queen City Vinegar Co. Ltd. factory built in 1908 and converted into lofts (residential) in 2008.

entrance to building, door with stone lintal and decorations

wood railing on a porch, old paint, white, brick house,

blue and white development notice on behind a bent railing on a boarded up building

below: Stalled development (Dare I say arrested development?)  According to the development notice sign, the original file dates from 2017.  Even by Toronto standards that is slow!

red hoardings around vacant construction site

below: Behind the red hoardings is just a vacant lot.  Nothing seems to be happening here.  When I said arrested I was not implying anything criminal…..

vacant lot on river street, buildings already demolished, stalled redevelopment

below: Of course the CN Tower can be seen here too!  This is the view along Shuter Street.

looking west on Shuter street from River street, with cn tower in the distance

cyclist on bike, traveling south on river at dundas, row of houses in the background

below: Dundas, looking west towards River Street with tables in front of Bevy Coffee. The slightly darker brick building was the Adam Beck Box Factory where cigar boxes were once made.  Like the Queen Vinegar Company mentioned above, this building has been converted into lofts (Tannery Lofts, mis-named as this wasn’t a tannery! But it does sound sexier than Box Lofts!).

dundas east approaching river, looking west, bevy coffee shop on the right side, with picnic tables on the sidewalk outside

below: Similar location, but from the parking lot and alley behind – brick building is the Tannery Lofts

back of buildings on river, large condos, lowrise brick old warehouse, back of car dealership on dundas

below: 1930s view of Beck’s cigar box factory

black and white photo from the 1930s of Adam Beck cigar box factory, three storey brick building with cars parked in front

below: Monsters ready to box

mural on large door at back of building on dundas east, blob like monsters in different colours, all wearing white boxing gloves, large white eyes and scowling faces
behind hoardings, boarded up house with graffiti sign by Nigel Smith that says untitled

below: River Variety is no more.

old river variety store, in a ine of rowhouses, boarded up and hoardings in front

below: No more gyros or poutine here.

empty buildings behind green construction fence, boarded up and waiting to be demolished, river street

empty buildings behind green construction fence, boarded up and waiting to be demolished, river street

below: At Mark Street, more old and new

mark street approaching river street, side of red brick house, with new condo in the background

an alley, with lots of greenery from trees and shrubs, back of red building,

below: Every child matters

on a red wood garage wall, in blue spray paint, text that says every child matters, on god

old sign for monarch elevators, in an alley, with lots of shadows, graffiti on wall too

garage in alley, white concrete block with grey metal door

below: West side of River Street, at Queen

River Street, west side at Queen,

below: Old photo from 1914, working on the Queen Street bridge over the Don River, looking westward towards River Street.   The light coloured bank building is still on the southwest corner (see above photo).  The red brick structure on the northwest corner is also still standing, although an additional storey has been added to it.

old black and white photo of men working on the queen street bridge over the don river

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives

below: Looking north on River Street from King.  South from here River becomes Lower River.

view looking north on river street, from king street

below: Part of the mural on the side of Toronto Humane Society (Queen & River) painted by Uber5000

from a mural by uber 5000, an image of a large white and grey dog, tongue hanging out of mouth, happy face,

below: Parked in the bike lane.

blue car parked in the bike lane on river street

Note: River Street is serviced by TTC bus route 121 that runs between Gerrard (just west of Broadview), then down River to Queen before heading west to the Esplanade and Union Station.

 

Another circular route

Posted: May 15, 2022 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, intersections, old buildings
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From the West Don Lands, across Eastern, north on Broadview and then back west on Queen Street East to Parliament and the Distillery District.

below: Saved! Demolition of the old foundry building near the Distillery District.  More on this story in a previous post from almost exactly a year ago.  Also a paste up by 33wallflower33 of a well dressed woman throwing out Doug Ford’s head and paraphernalia such as beer can with “buck a beer” in it.

poster on plywood, saved the foundry, also wallflower33 graffiti of well dressed woman scattering pieces of paper that say bye bye to Doug Ford

below: Signs of celebration on the fence around what ostensibly will be Eastern Avenue Affordable Housing (i.e. We’ll wait and see…)

bottom right: “Here’s why people are rallying to protect this Toronto heritage site from demolition.  The provincial government has paused demolition of the Foundry site in the West Don Lands after an outcry in Toronto” From Toronto NOW.
bottom left: “Province starts demolition of heritage buildings in West Don Lands despite community backlash. Tearing buildings down ‘outrageous’ councillor says.” CBC News

.

below: A simple statement; a red paper heart tied to a tree.

below: Not all of it was saved… but at least they didn’t tear the whole thing down as originally planned…..

back side of old foundry building that was partially demolished

below: Ukraine symbol on a boarded up window

yellow and blue ukraine symbol painted on boarded up window of red brick building

below: Smack! Urban Ninja Squadron paste-up along with a musical sketchrat.

paper paste up urban ninja squadron graffiti on plywood

below: The house with the two green cubes is still standing.  Truth at the base.

house with two green cube shapes on point

below: A painted pillar in Underpass Park, with the pedestrian ramp up to Eastern Ave in background

painted concrete pillar in Underpass park of a woman with purple lips, city in the background - sidewalk ramp up to Queen Street, condo

below: A row of large rocks

a row of large rocks in front of a new condo, black, with other new condo, white with concrete first floor, in the background

below: The underside of the roof over the entrance to the condo is very reflective. It ‘mirrors’ the reflective ceiling of Underpass Park next door to it.

reflections of a street scene in a reflective ceiling, exterior, over the entrance to a building

below: View from, looking east over Corktown Common,  the south end of the Don River, as well as the ramp from the Gardiner Expressway to the Don Valley Parkway.

view from south side of Eastern Ave looking east over Don River, ramp from Gardiner to DVP, many tall hydro transmission towers

below: Eastern Ave and the DVP.  Looking east.

old water tower on top of newer residential development, street sign pointing to ramp from Eastern Ave to Don Valley parkway northbound

car dealership at Eastern Ave and Don Valley Parkway

below: Garfield the Cat just lying around

on a white wall, a painting of Garfield the cat lying down with sunglasses and purple polka dot shorts on

below: Northeast corner of Broadview and Eastern.

a small hyundai dealership, now empty, at the end of a row of empty and boarded up houses on Broadview

below: A row of old houses on Broadview still stand empty.  It’s been years now since anyone has lived in them.

row of old brick rowhouses that have been empty for a while, construction fence in the front

below: Just a bit north, at Queen Street East, another boarded up building.  But this one is now in the middle of an active construction site.

back of an empty building on Queen East, construction site, large green dumpster

below: In an alley behind Queen Street East.

text throw up street art on a garage door, with construction site behind

below: A new view of Queen Street East has been opened up with the demolition of some of the buildings on the south side.

view northwest

below: Northeast corner of Broadview and Queen East, once the home of Dangerous Dan’s.

northeast corner of Queen and Broadview, three storey brick building, Pizza Nova on the corner,

below: Danger due to hole.  On Queen East.  The pyramid shaped roof is part of the Broadview Hotel at Queen and Broadview.

looking east on Queen East towards Broadview and Broadview Hotel, construction on the south side

below: More danger….  watch out for spooky skeletons!

danger due to sign that has been altered to say danger due to spooky skeletons

below: Riverside Common, a new public space on Queen Street East.

Riverside common, a new public space on Queen East

below: Looking back across the Don River from the bridge at Queen Street East.

view across Don River in early spring, just north of Queen Street

below: Passing southbound under Queen Street East.

looking north from bridge on Queen East over the Don River, train car on tracks, cyclists on bike path, river, and traffic on DVP

below: Looking north up Lower Bayview from Queen Street East

looking north up Lower Bayview from Queen Street bridge, 3 black cars, new condo being built, train tracks

below: From almost the same vantage point as the photo above, but looking more west than north.

looking northwest from Queen East bridge over the Don River, view of old brick brewery by River Street (now residences), and newer highrises beyond

below: An Uber5000 yellow birdie on the wall of the Toronto Humane Society at Queen and River.

an uber 5000 yellow birdie on a mural

2 posters on a utility pole, Lost

a painting of the madonna, Mary, in blue robes, with gold halo, and red heart in chest gold light rays coming from red heart, painting on a wall

below: Painting of two fencers where the red wine seems to be winning.

mural of two fencers, one with a glass of red wine in their hand

below: Where Eastern Avenue meets Front Street, looking west towards downtown.   The old brick building is now Toronto Police Services  Division 51 headquaters.  In a previous phase of its life it was Consumers Gas Station A, designed by Bond & Smith and built in 1898.   Beyond Parliament Street and in the background is the blue Globe and Mail building.

where Eastern Ave meets Front Street, old historic brick building with new glass commercial building behind

below: The Porsche dealership on the northwest corner of Front and Parliament is now empty.

Now empty, the porsche dealership at Parliament and Front, large shiny silver curved surface on upper levels, window with red coverings on the ground floor.

below: The southwest corner of Front and Parliament is entirely surrounded by plywood hoardings.

plywood hoardings covering the southwest corner of Front Street and Parliament Street, some posters on the plywood, skyline in the background

below: Another 33wallflower33 paste-up. This time she’s pinning Putin’s head to the ground.

33wallflower33 pasteup on plywood, woman in vintage clothing with umbrella stick holding Putin's head to the ground

below: And back to the Distillery District – and the new construction that is taking place at Front and Trinity, just north of the historic buildings.

construction near the distillery district

Water is Life

Posted: October 7, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Women Paint Riverside
“Currents of Change”

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background with small flowers painted all over it.

below: The faucet is on and water pours into a glass.  Interesting lively water, full of colours and patterns in this mural by Kirsten McCrea

lift truck beside wall with new mural of a glass of water in many colours and patterns,

below: A large mural by Mo Thunder.  Follow the link to her website for more information about the mural – a mother and child lying side by side forming the land as water swirls around them.

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

part of a mural by Mo Thunder on Broadview Ave of a mother and child lying in water, child has plants in her hand, mother earth theme, water theme

artist, Mo Thuner, on a ladder painting details on a mural with a small paint brush

murals in an alley

below: White flowers on a watery blue background by Julia Prajza

large white flower painted in a mural, on a blue watery background, ladder sitting in front of it, step stool with a can of spray paint

below: Invasive species such as phragmites in the Don Valley, by Merryn

metal stair cases, exterior of a variety store, laneway, bike, garbage bins, artist on a ladder painting a mural

below: Rabbit and deer having to contend with out of control greenery, possibly dog-strangling vine. Phragmites are reeds, those tall perennial grasses that grow very tall.

part of a mural by Merryn about invasive species in the Don Valley, a pink rabbit and a pink deer having to contend with out of control greenery

below: Raccoons frolic in the water and raccoons sit by the shore.  Even one raccoon spray painting a rock, naughty raccoon!  Mural by Emily May Rose.

below: by Haenahhh.  Arms around each other

part of a mural, a couple standing by a lake with arms around each other, seen from the back

below: Hands reaching out in a mural by Claire Browne,

murals behind Queen Street East, Riverside, Toronto, behind stores, water theme, blue, Women Paint Riverside,

black hand, large painted, mural, at bottom of metal exterior stairs and under a window with metal bars, part of a mural with water and plants

tall green plants in a mural by Claire Browne

below: Victoria Day‘s mural – what looks a bit like a blue water serpent but is actually a dragon flying high above us in the sky.

two murals in a Toronto alley, on the left, all in blue tones, a water serpent, very big and rising out of the water. on the right, a long horizontal lake scene with a pink border

below: In the pink is written, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone.”

on a wood fence in an alley, a lake scene mural with pink border

below: by Scarbrite Collective (brightening the streets of Scarborough), aka Frannie Potts and Sylvie with help from Memengwaa Kwe Originals aka Caterina.

a woman backlit by large round white moon is holding an infant in the air, woman has long dark hair, sky is pink

laneway mural by Scarbrite Collective and Memengwaa Originals, a mother lifts her baby up backlit by full moon on a pink sky

part of a mural in an alley covers fence and a door in the fence, wood, painting of a landscape scene with water, green shrubs, a tree, and night sky with stars

below: Love not hate.  A blue raccoon stealthily walks across a roof above a mural that was painted by participants in this year’s Girls Mural Camp (a three week program in the summer for teenage girls).

murals in a lane in Riverside near Queen and Broadview, Toronto. raccoon on upper story approaching a window, night scene on lower floor with bird silhoutted by full moon

below: The other part of the Girls Mural Camp project.

on a garage door in an alley, a mural of a blue faced women with swirly white and blue hair, flowers in her hair

murals in an alley

below: by Moonlight Murals Collective

three water women mural on a wall

part of a mural with theme of water, blue woman dancing with eyes clsed

part of mural, pale blue legs and bare feet walking in swirling water

below: Three heads that seem wrapped by a fish, mural by Cedar Eve

below: Eyes closed

long haired creature with just eyes showing, long pink and red hair on a blue fence

below: The Girls Mural Camp 2020 mural is in the same alley.

girls camp mural in an alley near Hamilton Street in Toronto, poster like pictures connected with white lines like a schmetic drawing

blue raccoon painted on wall above a garbage can

NOTE: There is also an installation by monicaonthemoon on the back of the Broadview Hotel that is part of this project but I have given it a separate blog post – Hands, Florests, and Minds.

With support from:

Eastend Arts

Women Paint

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Riverside BIA

StreetARToronto

all, nothing, and a smattering in between

Posted: August 24, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, history, intersections, old buildings, public art
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Most of these pictures were taken on a walk within the area bounded by Dundas East, Broadview, Queen East, and Carlaw.

below: All or nothing

red brick wall with graffiti words that say all or nothing

below: Same same but different.

two old Bell telephone booths

below: “We miss you” at Queen Alexandra Middle School.  An older school, built in 1904/5, used to be on this site.  It was named after the Queen of England at the time, the wife of King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra.

on the fence by a high school, words in white attached to the fence that say we miss you

below: Also at Queen Alexandra Middle School, about 200 large black and white portraits of staff and students were on display on the exterior wall of the school.  This installation is part of the global ‘Inside Out’ project.  To date, Inside Out has appeared in 129 countries and has involved more than 260,000 people.  In fact, they were in Toronto for Nuit Blanche back in 2015.

inside Out project large black and white pictures of students mounted on the exterior wall of a school

below: Public art at Carlaw and Dundas.  I had mentioned this structure by Pierre Poussin back in March of this year.   Not a lot has been done on it in the meantime except for the preparations for some sort of pattern at ground level.

new obelisk structure, public art, rusted metal, at Carlaw and Dundas, still being installed, port a pottie in the background

push button at intersection for pedestrian crossing, with a rusted sign above it

below: The railway tracks cross Dundas Street just west of Carlaw. The tracks run on a NE – SW diagonal as they travel south from Gerrard.

a cyclist on Dundas street about to go under the railway track bridge

below: Save Jimmie Simpson park poster.   The Ontario Line, or the Relief Line of the subway/LRT may or may not come this way.   The Relief Line was once planned as an underground line under Pape to almost Eastern before swinging west towards downtown.  Someone then said why not run it above ground where the tracks already exist between Gerrard & Pape and the south end of the Don Valley Parkway at Corktown Common- and we can have a Leslieville stop.   Has any decision been made?  Is Toronto going to leave it all in limbo, or in the discussion/planning stage, forever and ever… and ever….

posters on a wood utility pole, bottom is to protest Ontario Line (subway) and to keep it underground and not run it through Jimmie Simpson parl. upper poster is for a lost cat

below: The north part of Jimmie Simpson Park.  The park is a right angle triangle with a peak at Dundas East and a base along Queen East.  The long side of the triangle is railway tracks which run behind the trees.

Jimmie Simpson park, people and dogs

a sign that says slow down on a fence above a concrete wall with paintings of plants and flowers on it

below: Once upon a time there was a railway station here, on Queen East at De Grassi that is.  It was operational between 1896 and 1932 and demolished in 1974.  In the beginning there was a level crossing here but after a number of accidents, including a collision between a freight train and a street car in 1904, the railway corridor was elevated.

historic plaque for Riverdale Railway station

below: Old black and white photo from the City of Toronto Archives, found online at “Old Time Trains”

old black and white photo from 1915, City of Toronto Archives, of building of the railway bridge over Queen East at Riverdale station

below: Aged and peeling painting of a Canada goose that was on the railway underpass.

top part of a Canada Goose painting on an underpass, bottom part has been painted over with pale grey paint

below: Eat the rich – and a picnic table is provided for your convenience. Don’t worry about the trains, they’re long gone. This was once a spur line and it hasn’t existed for years .  You can still find small sections of track but most of it has been paved over. (near Carlaw and Dundas)

a wood picnic table at the edge of a small parking lot and beside an old railway crossing sign

street sign, Riverside District, Strange street, with a a no passing sign beside it

store window, two mannequins in summer attire, woman in bikini and man in shorts and long sleeve t-shirt, also a black lives matter poster

below: Looking west, towards downtown, along Dundas East.  The old red brick building is on the northeast corner of Dundas and Broadview.

intersection of Broadview and Dundas East, looking west along Dundas towards Broadview. Large old red brick building on the north east corner
below: Flipped around and now looking east from Broadview in 1954.  The red brick building from the above photo appears to be Dennis House and it seems that they are advertising the fact that they have televisions.   On the south side of Dundas is a drug store.  That building is still there but now it is a variety store whose windows are often covered with Lotto649 and LottoMax ads.   In fact, the picture of the Bell telephone boxes near the beginning of this post was taken here.

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, found online on a Blog TO page

below: This jumble of colours and lines can be found just east of Broadview and they are just visible in the background of the above picture.   I love the little white door that probably leads to a basement apartment (or a secret garden in the front yard?!)

houses on dundas east near broadview

below: If you walk farther east on Dundas from Broadview you will see a collection of old two storey houses with their slate mansard roofs and dormer windows.  This roof style is typical of “Second Empire” houses built in the late 1800s.   I’ve always been intrigued by this group of houses but I have never been able to find out much about their history.

semi divided house from the 1800's, mansard roof of slate, dormer windows

below: The end houses, at Boulton, have already been replaced.

row houses, old mansard roof style from the 1800's with a new 4 storey apartment complex at the end

below: And there are houses with similar architecture on nearby side streets.

corer houses

looking down a dead end street that ends at a school yard, summer time, large trees and cars line the street

Last but not least, a little bit of graffiti to close off this post.

below: Urban ninja squadron

red angle blob street art graffiti on a black wall

 

stencil graffiti of a yellow bee

Broadview & Danforth

Posted: April 27, 2020 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, locations, stores, transportation, windows and walls
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  Most people are still staying home or at least close to home.  You’re still not going to see many people in my photos because I am still avoiding them, still walking in quieter places.  Sometimes those places happen to be streets that once upon a time (only a month ago?) were busy.

below: An empty parking lot.

brick wall of a building beside a parking lot, with sign saying reserved parking

below: A very quiet Broadview subway station.

Broadview subway station, west side,

below: A very tall and lanky animal on a pole.  It’s missing a leg or two.

long narrow shapes made of wood and painted blue an red and attached to wood utility pole

line of houses on a street by Broadview subway station, very tall trees with no leaves, semis, one is painted red

below: The TTC streetcar tracks in the middle of being replaced, on Broadview just south of Danforth.

a red truck in the middle of Broadview Ave as TTC streetcar tracks are being removed, lots of dust.

below: More TTC construction, this time another access to Chester station is being built.

fence in front of construction site at Chester subway station, sign with arrow pointing way for pedestrians

below: After a month of no shopping except for food and even no window shopping, this bright red telephone caught me eye as I walked past.   Salt and pepper shakers in a store window: Flamingoes, pink swans, penguins, cats, monkeys, and little yellow chicks – cute ones and funny ones like the hot dogs, as well as political ones like Trump and his North Korean counterpart.

looking in a store window, bright red rotary phone and a display of different types of salt and pepper shakers in differernt shapes - flamingoes, monkeys,

below: Inspired to do stuff?  I think I identify more with the mug beside these days.

mugs with cat theme pictures on them, on shelves, in window of a store

below: A Covid-19 message from the Danforth Music Hall – “Please take care of each other”.

front of Danforth Music Hall on the Danforth

below: Posters reminding people to share smiles and kindness

posters on a sidewalk bulletin board,

below: An electric sign outside Eastend United Church invites people to join their Sunday services on Facebook.

electronic sign on church saying worship with up on facebook

below: The mannequins had the most stylish face masks.

mannequins with metal stovepipe as neck and head, wearing covid face masks, one is black and white pattern with big red lips

Words scrawled on the side of a concrete block garage in an alley that say Macedonia is Greek

text graffiti in yellow on green wood fence, plywood, peeling paint, faded,

below: Beware of rabbit.

backs of houses and a garage in an alley, graffiti on garage says beware of rabbits

below: A hummingbird is painted on the pillar.

street art of a hummingbird on a pillar, with red flower

bright red gate between two buildings, 2 mailboxes on the gate, one white and the other a brass colour. Brass mailbox is 735

in an alley, the back of houses

a house, semi-divided, two storey, porch, rounded lines on the porch railing,

below: Takeout with distancing – a story that is repeated all over the city as restaurants try to stay afloat.

signs and posters on a glass door, entrance to restaurant

below: Social distancing leads to line ups outside Tims

line up outside Tim Hortons, social distancing for Covid

below: “See you after the curve flattens”

a sign on the glass door of a store selling old lights and lamps that says

front yard and porch of a house, walkway is concrete slabs that are uneven, pine bush on grass, metal railing on porch, small garden in front of porch

back of a small white building, store, in an alley, small porch on upper door with exterior stairs up to it
building beside a parking lot with three cars parked there, white car, blue car and red car

east on the 506

Posted: August 6, 2019 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, people
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506 is the number of the Carlton streetcar which runs from High Park in the west to Main Street subway station in the east.  The older cars still run on this route and one advantage of these older streetcars is that they have windows that open.  This makes it easy to take pictures while travelling; yesterday I went eastward from Yonge as far as Coxwell, sometimes on the streetcar and sometimes on foot.

below: Pointing the camera out the window, D & J Mart Convenience store at the corner of Gerrard & Sackville.

picture taken out the window of a streetcar on Gerrard, an older 2 storey brick building with retail on the lower level, two large old wood hydro poles

below: A new curvy building rises up on the corner of Carlton and Church.  The older building on the left with the R U on the top is the old Maple Leaf Gardens, now part of Ryerson University as well as a large Loblaws.

new highrise building under construction beside the old brick building that was Maple Leaf Gardens on Carlton street.

below: People, striped hoardings, and closed sidewalks.

people walking past painted hoardings in front of a construction site, painted in stripes

below: Waiting outside Jenny’s at the corner of Parliament and Gerrard where the streetcar makes another turn.

a young man stands beside a stroller outside Jenny's Convenience store on Parliament street, large red and white sign with kit kat logo on it twice - once at each end

below: Another convenience store on a corner on Gerrard.  This time there is also a construction site in the picture!  Are there more construction sites than variety stores or vice versa in this city?

from the streetcar window, a food mart on the corner and construction across the street from it.

people sitting on a TTC street car, three people, two women and a man.

below: Looking south on Broadview at Gerrard.

Broadview looking south from Gerrard with utility poles and lots of wires, people crossing the street, some traffic, the clears with the sign with a red cross on it

below:  The 506 streetcar passes through Chinatown East (the area around Broadview & Gerrard) where many of the old houses are also businesses.

older houses turned into businesses on the ground floor, two semis with Chinese businesses, one is Ly Ly beauty salon

below: The southeast corner of Broadview and Gerrard now has an A & W restaurant which seems like an intruder in an otherwise Chinese/Asian section of town.

looking at the southeast corner of Broadview and Gerrard with a large A and W restaurant on the corner. Beyond that, the other stores and restaurants are Chinese

below: At the intersection of Gerrard and Carlaw, where the railway passes over the roads, the walls have been freshly painted.  The north wall is a series of abstract shapes and colours like this.

a person in an electric wheelchair, or motorized scooter, passes by a wall that is covered with street art, traveling on the sidewalk

below: The new painting incorporates the older art that was there. 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”.   Strange grey shapes (flames?) on dirty white concrete.  Regardless of what you think of the concept, the reality is that it was drab.

part of a railway overpass has been painted with street art

below: Lead artist Kirsten McCrea (also known as Hello Kirsten) and her assistants, Victoria Day & Julian Palma, have certainly brightened up the space!  The south wall is a series of frames pictures of hands holding flowers.   As seen from across the street ….

railway underpass street art, seen throughthe supporting concrete arches, paintings of hands holding flowers, framed

below: … and from close up

a dark brown hand holding a sprig of small light purple flowers

below: And lastly, the end support wall of the overpass where the flowers and the stylized shapes come together.

painting on a concrete pillar of a railway overpass, a rose with leaves, stem, and thornes, a collage of abstract shapes and

below: Store signs near Pape including the bilingual Italy Hair Design – but not in Italian!

store fronts on Gerrard including one that is painted bright green, signs over the doors including the Italy hair design store with sign in English and Chinese

below: With remnants of the past such as string of pennants faded to grey….

old three storey brick building with big bay windows on the upper two floors. Ground floor is a store or restaurant with bright red door and yellow metal bars over the windows

below: … or an old street sign still attached to the building.

side of an old brick building with stone features, an old street sign on the building Gerrard Street, now a law office with signs in the windows

below: After Greenwood, the 506 streetcar passes through Little India before it turns north on Coxwell.

food and containers on a table outside a store, with pink and green floral table cloth

below:  In the late afternoon and evening, Little India is much more lively.  Many shops sell food on the street – roasted corn on the cob (a pile is ready to cook on the green table here) as well as south Asian foods.   To the right of the corn is a bundle of sugar cane.

Mumbai Paan shop on Gerrard Street in Little India with a barbeque on the sidewalk, a bucket of corn and a pile of sugar cane

These few kilometres on a streetcar route have opened a small but fairly typical cross section of the city starting with the newer, taller, shinier center.  There’s quite a bit of multiculturalism, some history, and some colourful new art.   It’s a story that plays out all over the city in many similar yet different forms.  Familiar but unique.

 

below: Searching for a story? 😇

three people looking into the sun. Two are shielding their eyes with their hands, wearing sunglases, looking slightly upwards as if searching for something.

 

seven new murals plus

Posted: August 26, 2016 in graffiti and street art, public art
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Updated 2 September

The latest StreetARToronto (StART) summer project has just wrapped up.  Seven new murals around Broadview and Gerrard East, each one depicting a famous landmark, make up this project which is now called ‘Around the World in East Chinatown’.  Although it was largely funded and organized by StART, other partners include the Toronto Parking Authority, 55 Division police, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce (East Toronto).

A crew of more than 20 artists headed by Mike Kennedy worked for about 2 weeks to complete the murals.  Each mural includes the ‘signature’ of the artists.  I am not very good are deciphering (or remembering) the graffiti writing but I’ve had some help identifying the artists.

below: Christ the Redeemer now watches over Gerrard East.  Painted by bacon.  This is the statue built high on a hill overlooking Rio de Janeiro.  If you watched any coverage of this summer’s Olympics you probably saw this statue from every possible angle.   The statue was designed by a Frenchman, Paul Landowski and built by a  Brazilian engineer, Heitor da Silva Costa, between 1922 and 1931.   Made of soapstone and reinforced concrete the statue stands 30m tall and has an arm span of 28m.  He stands on an 8m high pedestal.

a mural of the famous Rio de Janeiro statue, Christ the Redeemer, high on a brick wall, with background in sky blue and yellow

below: Putting the finishing touches on The Great Wall of China, a collaborative effort by Nick Sweetman, Wuns, Rons, Tens, Braes and Wales.   The actual wall was built in sections over many centuries and includes walls, trenches and natural elements such as hills and rivers.  Parts of the wall are in better repair than others – around Beijing where more tourists visit, the wall has been fixed up and is well maintained.  Measurement of the wall varies but if all the branches of the wall are taken into consideration, the total length is about 21,000 km.

a yellow cart with cans of spray paint on it sits in front of a mural of the great wall of China

below: A hummingbird flies over Machu Picchu in the next mural.   Machu Picchu was built by the Incas in the 15th century in what is now Peru.  It is on a mountain ridge, 2430m above sea level.

full mural of Machu Picchu along he wall of a building at the edge of a parking lot, scene of Machu Picchu with a humming bird in the foreground.

below: Machu Picchu.  Painted by Bacon, Kwest, Kane and Rath.

a mural with a panoramic scene of Machu Picchu, with graffiti writing signatues below.

below: In the same parking lot as Machu Picchu but on the other side, is a very large mural centered around an image of the Taj Mahal.  Painted by Sight, Hone, Water, Equal and Tenser.

a laong horizontal mural featuring an image of the Taj Mahal.

below: Commissioned in 1632 by the Mogul Emperor, Shah Jahan, the Taj Mahal was built as a mausoleum for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal.  She was born Arjumand Banu Begum, a daughter of Persian nobility in Agra India.  In 1613, when she was 19, she married Prince Khurram (later he became Shah Jahan) as his 3rd or 4th wife.    She died in June of 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child.   If my math is correct, that’s 14 children in 18 years.   After the Shah died in 1666, he was buried here too.  Anyhow, many centuries later, the Taj Mahal is still standing in Agra India and it is visited by millions every year.

An image of the Taj Mahal in a mural in warm muted orange and brown tones, with a graffiti writing signature underneath it. On a wall in a parking lot.

below: Teeny tiny people dwarfed by the doors of Petra, Jordan.  Petra is an ancient city with immense buildings cut out of the sandstone cliffs and hills.  It was once a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106 when it was called Raqmu.  The Nabateans were a nomadic Arab tribe.  Their empire came to an end when they were conquered by the Romans and their land annexed into the Roman Empire.

mural showing entrance in the stone cliffs to Petra in Jordan, camel head in the bottom left corner, mural on the side of a store, brick wall,

below: The whole Petra mural on the walls of an alley tucked in between the Ka Ka Lucky Seafood BBQ Restaurant and Paradise Spa on Broadview Avenue.  This mural was painted by Hemps.

Chinese restaurant, Ka Ka Lucky Barbeue Restaurant, with an alley on one side. On the wall in the alley there is a mural showing the stone town of Petra Jordan.

below: The Roman Coliseum (Rome) is now on the corner of Broadview and Gerrard.  This is half of the mural and when the photo was taken it was incomplete.  It is now finished – a second visit for a photo is in my future!  The Coliseum (or Colosseum) is in Rome and it was built by 80 A.D, just before the Roman Empire swallowed up the Nabateans.   It was built as an amphitheatre and could hold at least 50,000 spectators – people who came to watch gladiator fights, enactments of classical dramas, or other forms of entertainment.

A mural showing the Coliseum in Rome painted on the side of Chino Locos Mexican restautant.

below: The right hand side of the mural with the graffiti writing signature of the artist. If I could only easily photoshop out that garbage bin.  Mural painted by Sewp, Poser and Frens.

graffiti writing signature on a wall, dripping blue paint, and a garbage bin in front of it.

below: Chichen Itza ruins in Yucatan Mexico and a jaguar on the side of the Sunshine Hair Studio, partially obscured by greenery.  Painted by Cruz, Rons, Sadar and  Rcade.  Chichen Itza was the largest Mayan city covering about 5 square km.  It flourished between 900 and 1050.   The mural depicts El Castillo, or the Temple of Kukulcan, the building at the center of Chichen Itza that dominates the site.

mural on the side of building on Gerrard East, a picture of an ancient stone temple, Chichen Itza in Yucatan Mexico.

And that concludes the seven new murals – Christ the Redeemer statue, The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, Petra, the Roman Coliseum, and Chichen Itza.

This mural project follows the success of last year’s Project Picasso in the same area.   Graffiti from some of the lanes was cleaned up and a Chinese themed mural was painted on the brick wall at the back of the parking lot on Gerrard Street East, just west of Broadview Avenue.  Riverdale Collegiate students helped with the graffiti clean up and contributed ideas for the mural.

below: Chinatown East mural by ACK crew, bacon, wunder, tensoe 2, and cruz1

large mural across the side of a building at the back of a parking lot, Chinese characters and icons, panda bear, tiger, bamboo forest, lucky cat, chinese lantern, dragon

below: Chinese icons painted in the mural – a resting tiger, cherry blossoms,  red Chinese lanterns floating by, a lucky cat with its paws up,  and a panda munching on a piece of bamboo.

 

part of a mural in Chinatown East, pink cherry blossoms, red chinese lantern, panda chewing on bamboo, tiger, lucky cat

below: A red dragon beside some Chinese characters.  Does anyone know what it says?

part of a mural in Chinatown East, chinese characters and a red dragon