concrete | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘concrete’

swirling around the Science Centre

Posted: April 30, 2023 in construction, landmarks, locations, transportation
Tags: building, concrete, Crosstown, development, Don Mills, Doug Ford, Eglinton, housing, LRT, politics, rock, Science Centre, transportation

Rumours swirling that is…. because the Ontario Science Centre has been in the news lately. Doug Ford (and the Provincial PC’s) have said that they are going to move it from its Don Mills and Eglinton location to Ontario Place down by the Exhibition Grounds. What then becomes of the Science Centre LRT station? It hasn’t even opened yet and its already obsolete? And needs a new name? …..that’s assuming that the Eglinton Crosstown LRT ever gets done. But hush, no one is talking about that, that’s a secret……

below: Behind fences, the new Science Centre LRT station and transit hub remains unfinished. It is a very quiet construction site. Not a soul to be seen.

One of the arguments for moving the Science Centre is to open up the land for housing. Let’s ring some bells and say ‘housing’. Who can oppose housing, right?

below: This is southeast corner of Don Mills and Eglinton where a development notice stands. Apparently two towers are planned for this location – 26 and 48 storeys high. (The Science Centre is on the west side of Don Mills Road).

In fact, on the east side of Don Mills Road, south of Eglinton (i.e. across the street from the Science Centre), there are two other properties with development notice signs.

Four new towers, as infill, have been proposed for these sites.

AND

What is now the upper parking lot for the Science Centre is already on the books as new housing. This is at the southwest corner of Don Mills and Eglinton. The sign may have been flattened but that doesn’t make the plan disappear!

below: Blocked sidewalk on the south side of Eglinton, upper parking lot is on the left side in the picture

below: View looking south from the upper parking lot towards the Science Centre

AND (Yes, there’s more)

There is a 60 acre development on the northwest corner of Don Mills and Eglinton (the old IBM/Celestica site) that is in the midst of being transformed into the Crosstown neighbourhood.

below: This is a picture that I found (and have blatantly swiped from) on an Urban Toronto web page – It shows the development and infill at Flemingdon Park among the existing structures. The planned buildings are slightly transparent – perhaps 14 of them?? (and that doesn’t include all of Crosstown) The Science Centre is bottom centre.

So which developer whispered sweet nothings in Doug Ford’s ear?

Who thought that moving the Science Centre was a good idea?

Who owns the land now? Did you know that 81 acres of the land that the Science Centre is on is owned by the TRCA? That’s the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority. The rest of the land (a tiny sliver along Eglinton & Don Mills) is owned by the city of Toronto. TRCA and the City of Toronto jointly leased the property to the Ontario Science Centre for a 99-year term, expiring on June 30, 2064.

The TRCA owns the land because of the terrain – steep slopes, ravines, and waterways – i.e. not land suitable for housing. Doug Ford’s announcement came as a surprise to the TRCA – but does that surprise anyone?

below: Another image that I found online that describes the area better than any words that I could write. This is a map of the area showing who owns what. Source: TRCA website

BUT

What else is happening here?

The new subway/LRT line, the Ontario Line, Doug Ford’s favorite line, is also being built here. It is the transit line that runs south from the Science Centre to close to the lakeshore before turning west through downtown (Queen Street closed for 4 years for construction!!) and ending at Ontario Place.

Work has already started in the ravine south of the Science Centre where there will be stops for both Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park. The whole north section of the Ontario Line will be elevated. Between the Science Centre and Flemingdon stations it will run above the street and sidewalk (Don Mills Rd). At some point between Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park there will have to be a bridge over the West Don River.

below: Where the Science Centre meets the West Don Trail

Some other photos from the area

below: The Science Centre has interesting trash bins on its grounds. Maybe they could teach the city a thing or two?

below: West side of Don Mills Road

below: The southwest entrance to the Science Centre station from another angle

below: Looking west on Eglinton towards Don Mills

below: Walking home after school

It was four years ago that demolition of the old IBM buildings began. On the surface it doesn’t look like much is happening.

Out of Service. Nothing happening here.

Sorry, but I have a few more questions and comments about this thing I encountered at Don Mills & Eglinton ….

What is this? A phallic rock in a concrete circle …. or Doug Ford giving the city the finger? To those who design and build public art (if that’s what it is)…. that concrete circle is just a large garbage can. It will collect trash. It will fill with rain water. It will be an unsightly mess. It’s too low for a bench and it blocks the sidewalk. There’s no sign and no explanation. I can’t find anything about it online either.

Bloor over Rosedale Valley

Posted: May 26, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Bloor East, bridge, concrete, girders, path, Rosedale Valley Road, trash, trees

Bloor Street East passes high above Rosedale Valley Road. There is access from the southeast corner of Bloor and Parliament to a path that leads down into the valley but it doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t connect to any other ravine trails. These photos were taken early in April before there were leaves on the trees, and before anyone cleaned it up.

below: St. James cemetery

below: The covered bridge for the subway (built 1966) runs parallel.

below: No vaccine passports

another wall installment

Posted: March 20, 2021 in doors, windows and walls
Tags: brick, concrete, concrete block, faded signs, metal, paint peeling, parking, red, Ryerson, steps, wall, Yonge

Just a few more pictures of walls, with or without doors and windows. Some are from familiar places and others are more obscure.

below: Sad grey door on a grey concrete wall

below: Textures and patterns in paint on brick.

below: Parking for hot dogs

below: Ryerson University blues

below: Red and purple, the now closed Love Cafe at Dundas and Sherbourne

below: Customer parking only

below: Strong verticals in metal

below: Another ridged metallic wall… this one with no standing in front.

below: blocked in

below: Paint slowly peeling away to reveal more underneath

previous wall posts:

north of the Keating Channel

Posted: March 10, 2021 in history, locations, old buildings, transportation, waterfront
Tags: British American Oil, concrete, DVP, electricity, Gardiner Expressway, history, Keating channel, Lakeshore Blvd., pipes, Port Lands, ramp, street art, water

The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel. I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side. A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore. This is some of what I saw that day.

below: At the bottom of Cherry Street

below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.

below: Along the Lakeshore, looking south towards Port Lands at Cherry.

below: The Gardiner curves slightly northward as it aligns with the Keating Channel. Lakeshore Blvd takes a wider turn and comes out from under the Gardiner for a few brief moments before slipping back under as both roads parallel the channel.

below: On the south side of Lakeshore, there is no sidewalk here but the grassy area is wide enough…..

below: Walking here offers a different view of the Port Lands. The “smokestack” on the right is the old Hearn Generating station.

below: Some of the buildings that remain on Villiers Street.

below: Panorama of Keating Channel being developed, 1916, before there was much on the Port Lands and Cherry Street was just a one lane dirt road.

below: Keating Channel, 1916

The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel. But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea. Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.

below: A few years after the channel was upgraded (1934)… From vacant land to a forest of BA oil tanks. There are railway tracks along the edge of the channel. From Wikipedia: “In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp.”

Photo by Arthur Beales. Toronto Port Authority Archives, PC 1/1/10769. Found at Wikimedia Common

below: BA refinery with the Don River on the right, 1931. There were still storage tanks here in the 1960s when the city was building the Gardiner Expressway.

1931 photograph, vintage, black and white, of British American oil refinery just north of the Keating Channel and just west of the Don River,

Photo source: Library and Archives Canada, online

below: This rusty “fence” isn’t going to hold anyone or anything back. I had visions of tumbling into the icy channel if I went near it. I think that just looking at it made it wobble.

below: There are still places to tie up your boat

below: A big tap? It’s attached to a pipeline but is it functional? (It doesn’t look like it). There is a lot of infrastructure buried under the Lakeshore, sewer lines, water mains, electricals, etc., but this looks like a piece of history. Pleased correct me if I’m wrong! Also – if you plan to explore here, there are stretches where the only option is to walk right beside the road.

below: Likewise, the box structure is probably there to protect the rest – but what are they? Valves of some kind?

below: Looking north to Canary District and West Don Lands development. The oil tanks are long gone.

below: Looking up from Lakeshore, under both the Gardiner and the ramp from the DVP

below: Looking west from Don Roadway along the Keating Channel to the new Cherry Street bridge.

below: Intersection of Lakeshore and Don Roadway.

below: Two metal transmission towers standing side by side. Geometrical, straight lines, yet lace-like.

below: From the Don Roadway, northbound and homeward

crosstown west

Posted: April 4, 2019 in construction
Tags: Black Creek, bridge, concrete, construction cranes, crane, Eglinton West, excavation, LRT, Mt Dennis, overpass, portal, railway, stores, transit, transportation, TTC, Weston Road, York

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be 19 km long once it’s finished in 2021. The other day I posted some pictures of the construction between Yonge & Victoria Park on the eastern section. This post covers the stretch from the Allen Expressway to Weston Road where the tracks end in the west.

below: A new way to ride. For a city on the move. Cringe worthy design.

below: Approaching the south end of the Allen Expressway as well as Eglinton West subway station from the east. Eglinton West station, on the Yonge University line, is low building with a flat concrete roofline. You can hardly see it in the photo, but it’s there. The interior of the present station is heavy on the concrete, a legacy from the 1970’s. As to whether or not this will be renovated, I don’t know.

below: No room for the sidewalk so it diverts through Ben Nobleton park.

below: Working under Eglinton Avenue in front of Eglinton West station. Once the Crosstown in open, this will become Cedarvale station.

below: The big green crane at Oakwood station

below: Beside Oakwood station with all the “Open for Business” signs. Businesses in the area are struggling.

below: At Dufferin, looking north towards Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. Fairbanks station will be at this intersection.

below: Also at Dufferin, this time looking south towards St. Hilda’s towers.

below: Photobombed!

below: Construction of Caledonia station in front of Westside mall. Because this station is adjacent to the Barrie corridor (GO train), plans are in the works to build a GO station here too.

below: A mural showing the evolution of TTC streetcars, painted by Jim Bravo in 2017, with supported from Fairbanks Village BIA, Josh Colle (city councillor), the City of Toronto., and Sherwin Williams paint.

below: Construction in front of York Memorial Collegiate (at Keele).

below: looking east along Eglinton from Keele.

below: Working on the westernmost section of the LRT after it emerges from underground between Keele Street and Black Creek Drive. As you can see, the tracks are elevated and cross over Black Creek before entering the terminal station at Weston Road (Mount Dennis station).

below: The western end of the line. The bridge is new. I am a bit annoyed because I didn’t pursue it – I don’t know where the road goes! It has to go somewhere because I saw at least two vehicles on it. A quick search on google maps plus a guess equals maybe it’s an extension of Photography Drive (named that because it’s where the old Kodak factory was).

below: There is pedestrian access to the bridge, or rather, there will be access.

Then Eglinton Avenue passes under the railway tracks (the same line that the Union Pearson Express runs on) and into Mount Dennis.

below: Construction of another access to Mt Dennis station to the west of the railway tracks.

below: The EMSF aka the Eglinton Maintenance and Storage Facility is almost finished. It’s the long low grey building in the photo; it is about the size of 4 football fields. Access is from a side street to the north of Eglinton. This isn’t the best photo of it. If you are interested, there is a better photo online (a ‘Toronto Now’ article) that is taken from an angle that I can’t access. The same article describes how the Mt Dennis station will be the second largest transit hub in the city (after Union Station) as it will service GO trains, the TTC, and the Union Pearson Express.

below: mural by Adrian Hayles at the northeastern corner of Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue.

Moccasin redevelopment

Posted: March 18, 2019 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: apartments, brick, concrete, demolition, Don Mills, empty, Mocassin Trail, North York, redevelopment, residential, snow, trees, windows

Exploring new places often leads to interesting finds. I’m not sure if you think demolition/redevelopment sites are interesting, but I came across this one when I went to Moccasin Trail (next blog, scroll up).

An empty building. The grey hoardings completely block the view of whatever is inside.

I tried walking the perimeter, but there is no access or viewpoint. There are actually two buildings. Apparently one of the buildings was damaged by fire (arson) in 2008. The buildings have been empty since 2011.

The old sign still stands beside the fence. It is faded enough that I can’t read it, even with some manipulation in photoshop. The building in the background is also part of the redevelopment plan.

The year on the development proposal sign is 2013. It also states that three buildings will replace the ones being torn down, one of 10 storeys and two of 4 storeys. That was six years ago. In March 2017 a plan was approved by city council for an 8 storey condo and a 4 storey rental replacement building.

When I saw the state of the building above, I started taking some pictures. I thought the building was empty. But then I heard music coming from one apartment. Then a woman came out on to a balcony to hang up a blanket.

Two years ago, back in March of 2017, 12 of the 34 units were occupied. I am not sure how many people are living there now. When it was first built, it was probably quite nice – very suburban, very Don Mills. Now the building is in very poor condition but I’m sure that’s because the landlord is waiting to be able to demolish the building.

City of Toronto report on this site (May 2017)

xenophobia and apathy

Posted: March 8, 2019 in construction, locations
Tags: apathy, Capitalism, concrete, construction, danger, danger due to, demolition, Doug Ford, dust, human infestation, industrialization, misinformation, misuse of signage, over consumption, political subterfage, predatory economics, redevelopment, Regent Park, shitty pop music, shrinking resources, signs, social decline, urban decay, water, workmen, xenophobia

…and social decline, and capitalism, and a few more…..
The many dangers that we face.

The demolition of older residential buildings in Regent Park continues as that area of the city is redeveloped.

Around the demolition site, someone has hung 18 “danger due to” signs, printed with different “causes” of danger, such as industrialization.

It’s spelled wrong, but you know what it’s trying to say (hypocrisy).

Apathy

Over consumption

Political subterfuge

Doug Ford

GM food

Human infestation

Mass surveillance

Misuse of signage

Shrinking resources

Predatory economics

Shitty pop music

Capitalism

Urban decay

Misinformation

Social decline

gargoyles on the path

Posted: October 17, 2017 in nature, public art
Tags: art, casts, concrete, Duane Linklater, interactive, lion, Lower Don Trail, man, seated, woman

We went exploring. With a three year old. A three year old who is starting to explore the world as only a three year old can. One who gets joy from ‘balancing’ on the green line as we walked the Lower Don Path.

We were walking with a purpose – to find ‘Monsters for Beauty, Permanence and Individuality’ by Duane Linklater. This is a collection of cast concrete gargoyles, replicas of those on Toronto buildings, that is now on the Lower Don Trail. Last week I saw them from the subway as it passed across the Bloor Viaduct so I knew approximately where to walk.

The Lower Don Trail only has a few access points – we entered by Riverdale Park and walked north.

below: Renovations of the underside of the bridge at Bloor/Danforth have just been completed and already one piece of graffiti has appeared.

Just a bit farther north, and on the west side of the path we encountered the artwork. It’s a scattered arrangement of some interesting pieces. If left in place, some future archeologist of the future might stumble upon it and be totally mystified.

Today I got myself tied up in knots as I fought with words as I tried to write this post. How do I describe the thoughts behind the installation? Should I talk about the meaning of gargoyles vs grotesques?

But then I realize that I should just leave it be. Be content.

After all, what was more important was that the blocks turned out to be the perfect size for a three year old to stand on and roar like a lion. We played. And it was fun.

shout, shout, let it all out

Posted: September 5, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: concrete, doors, feelings, graffiti words, love, marker, nonsense, paint, poles, sharpie, Trump, wall, walls, wisdom

I’m talking to you….

Well, I’m not the one doing the talking. In fact, no one is talking, or shouting for that matter. The words are silent, present.. but quiet. They are written on the walls; scrawled on the walls. They’re rarely beautiful and they’d rarely qualify as being profound.

below: But “Sometimes it doesn’t matter”. I love the ambiguity and flexibility of the word ‘it’ in this context. Write your own story. Develop your own plot.

below: … even if the plot doesn’t make sense, like Trump himself.

below: From Trump we jump to conspiracy theories. That was easy wasn’t it?

below: I have no segue for 911 conspiracies to love. A jump in the plot?

below: Sentimental feelings – dripping with sentiment. Oh dear.

below: .. or wishes for feelings of being loved

below: Pull yourself together and get it together…. But.. but.. Buddha once said: “Life is suffering; suffering is just part of life.” Sooooo if you start suffering do you stop living? Yes, I can be insufferable, just like philosophy and psychology and a few other ologies.

below: Did I mention that sometimes the words make no sense?

below: These words, on the other hand, make sense: Bew Are! (not technically graffiti but my editor didn’t question it!)

And that’s the end. No more words. I have no more words. Fini.

Elvis has left the building.

walls, more walls

Posted: June 28, 2017 in abstract, windows and walls
Tags: abstract, brick, colours, composition, concrete, curtains, dandelions, door, doorway, exterior, fence, gate, glass, metal, paint, patched, plaster, plywood, red, reflections, shadows, shingles, wall, window

This blog post is part of my continuing fascination with walls and the other things that you see on walls such as windows, shadows, pipes, bars, and other architectural details. I like to look at how the elements interact visually and how they come together to form compositions. Sometimes they tell a story and other times they are just an abstract picture. Here are a few that I have collected over the past few months. The first one in the group is a photo that I took this morning; it was the prompt that led to this post.

below: the contrast of red, black, and right angled yellow