Posts Tagged ‘cranes’

south from Liberty Village

Posted: October 26, 2025 in history, locations, old buildings, public art, transportation
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Liberty Village is the neighbourhood that is south of King Street, west of Strachan, and east of Dufferin. It’s southern boundary is a combination of the Gardiner Expressway and the railway tracks (CN, VIA, and GO)

a man holds a cup of coffee as he walks past a road sign with bump symbol, and a utility pole wrapped in red and white liberty village design

below: A temporary park has taken over a corner of the parking lot on Hanna.

artificial grass covering ground in new temporary park in Liberty Village, the word liberty in black on the green grass

below: The sign says Ontario Place straight ahead.

below: Dream Big

large pink mural with black letters that spell dream big

below: Allan Lamport stadium concrete

exterior side walls of Allan Lamport stadium, , concrete, peaks in roof make triangle shadows

below: Looking north from the goalposts in the stadium.

view across the field of Allan Lamport stadium, looking north to wall of condo towers

interior, seating, rows of concrete, sections 22 and 24 of Allan Lamport stadium,

triangular roofline of allan lamport stadium

lights reflected in glass windows, stadium lights on blue sky 

below: Once it was a carpet factory –  The Toronto Carpet Factory was spread over 8 brick buildings on a 4 acre site. It was built between 1899 and 1920.  The company was established by F. Barry Hayes in 1891 and was originally at Jarvis and Esplanade.  At the end of WW1, 1250 people were employed here.  The factory remained in production until 1979, although the number of carpets that were made annually was greatly reduced by the end.

part of old carpet factory, a brick building

part of old carpet factory, exterior,

part of old carpet factory, exterior

part of old carpet factory, exterior

below: Streetcars waiting at Dufferin Loop, Dufferin south of King.

TTC streetcars waiting at Dufferin loop at the bottom of Dufferin street

below: View from the bridge at the south end of Dufferin looking west along the Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga.

looking west from bridge over Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga

below: Eastern view

bridge over the Gardiner at northwest corner of CNE Grounds

a woman dressed in black walks a small white dog over a metal bridge

below: The arch marks the Dufferin Gate, the west entrance to the Exhibition Grounds.

two men walking across bridge by dufferin gate at the exhibition grounds

Part way between Dufferin and Strachan is Exhibition GO station.  The station has been designed to provide access from both sides of the tracks which in turn offers another walking route south from Liberty Village.    The area north of the tracks is a bit of a mess as the new Ontario Line will terminate at Exhibition and the completion of that project is still a few years away.

below: The pedestrian tunnel under the tracks.

interior, people walking through tunnel, lights, unfocused, fuzzy image

double decker green and white GO train at Exhibition station, wtih workman in orange work uniform waiting to get on train.

below:  Looking north under the Gardiner – Liberty Village provides that background in this image.

construction near railway tracks south of Liberty Village, near Exhibition station, under the Gardiner Expressway

workmen with digger excavator on construction site for ontario line subway

below: More Ontario Line construction as seen from Platform 4 at Exhibition station

ontario line construction site just north of Exhibition station, in liberty village

below: South end of BMO Field, looking east towards downtown and the CN Tower.

on Exhibition grounds, south end of BMO field, looking east towards CN Tower and downtown Toronto

below: BMO Field is home to both the Toronto Argonauts (CFL, football) and the Toronto FC (MLS – Major League Soccer). It has just undergone upgrades (think $$$) to make it ready to host some of the FIFA World Cup soccer/football games in mid 2026.

food building in background, as is CN Tower, entrance to construction site for renovations of BMO Field soccer
red seats that have been removed from BMO stadium, or are awaiting being added. stored outside

below: Some of the lights seen at the Exhibition – with the CN Tower in the distance.

lights and lamp posts at CNE, Exhibition, with CN Tower in the distance

below: rooftops

below:  One of the latest public art addition to the Exhibition Grounds is “Mino Bimaadiziwin”, an Anishinaabemowin phrase that translates to “Good Life”. The mural was developed in partnership with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation 50-meter-long artwork honors Indigenous history and culture and was unveiled in October 2024.
The installation is part of a plan to separate Exhibition Place from the Gardiner Expressway.

 

blue metal sculpture, behind 3 large trees, people walking past in silhouette

art installation at exhibition graounds,

below:  The McGillivray Fountain was designed by Canadian sculptor Gerald Gladstone and donated to Exhibition Place in 1968 by Gordon B. McGillivray in honor of his father, John A. McGillivray.

two women walking past fountain at the CNE

below: The Scadding cabin was originally built in 1794 by John Scadding on land that he owned east of the Don River.  He owned more than 200 acres and his property stretched from Lake Ontario to what is now the Danforth.  The next owner of the property used the cabin as an out-building.  In 1879 it was donated to the York Pioneer and Historical Society who arranged to have it moved close to its present site to celebrate the opening of the Industrial Exhibition (now the CNE).

below: The title printed on this image is “Log Cabins of the York Pioneers,Exhibition Grounds Toronto 1880.  Lithographed and printed at the Exhibition Building, Rolph, Smith & Co. Toronto”.  The cabin on the left is labelled Simcoe 1794 (i.e. the Scadding cabin) and the other is labelled York Pioneers, Lorne 1879.

old black and white photo of a drawing of two cabins, at an exhibition, in 1880

below: Shrine Peace Memorial

angel sculpture at shrine peace memorial

shrine peace memorial on exhibition grounds

below: There is a collection of twenty small sculptures representing Gods, heroes, and monsters of Greek mythology  in what is called the Garden of the Greek Gods.  They were created by Elford Bradley Cox (1914-2003) in the 1960s.

one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds

below: Hercules is the tallest of the sculptures.

one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds, back of naked man, with windmill in the background
one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds, bunch of grapes

Immediately south of the Exhibition Grounds is/was Ontario Place.  This pile of rubble is all that remains of what was on West Island – mostly the decaying amusement/theme park that hasn’t been in operation for years (death by neglect).

pile of rubble, remnants of demolition, on west island, part of Ontario Place, on Lake Ontario, as seen from the Exhibition Grounds

west island of ontario place after having been cleared of everything

below: The round Cinesphere is still there but everything west of it is gone.  Once it was the pride of Ontario – built in response to Montreal’s Expo ’67 – but slowly over the years many of its features have been altered or removed (Children’s Village, the Forum with its free concerts, and more).   Having said that, other sections have been renovated – Trillium Park on the east end for example.  I didn’t get that far on this walk but you can some of it in Ontario Place 2.0 from 2017.

what remains of ontario place

ontario place under renovation, exterior stair with workmen on it ontario place under renovation, digger working behind hoardings

graffiti on a metal railing near Lake Ontario

graffiti on a metal railing near Lake Ontario

two men stand beside street art painting at south liberty trail

Dupont Street – the western end

Posted: October 26, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings
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For the whole length of Dupont Street, from Avenue Road to Dundas West, the street runs parallel to, and south of, Canadian Pacific railway tracks.  The proximity to the railway was a major reason that the street was home to many industries.  Back in June I walked a section of Dupont east of Ossington (see Dupont Street Scenes).

A couple of weeks ago I explored west of Ossington and I’d like to show you a few pictures from that walk.  The last part of the walk was a wander through some of the streets and alleys south of Dupont.

the word dupont written in upper case block letters, black, on an old metal truck, barbed wire in front of it

below: There are still a few reminders of Dupont’s industrial past…

old light industry building behind chainlink fence

yellow front end loader in front of building, large green storage tank behind

red truck parked behind chainlink fence, sign on side of truck, on passenger door, says Supont Construction Supplies, building materials, ready made concrete

  Dupont has always been a very mixed street with residences

a front porch on Dupont, white wrought iron chair, also white metal railing, greenery in front, new condo development in the background

semi detached houses, two storeys, one large window in the upper storey, fire hydrant in front, parked motorcycle with cover a well in front

and businesses side by side.  A working class street.

old cars and trucks outside house and mechanic workshop on dupont

an orange vinyl padded chair on a porch with black wrought iron railing and a small white bookcase

food truck and two slush trucks parked beside empty commercial building

below: A more recent addition to the street – Sovereign Smoke (cannabis) sits beside the tire store (or mechanic).

line of tire shops and mechanics, with sovereign cannabis there too

red brick two storey building on Dupont, railway bridge in background, CIBC ad on billboard on roof of building, Sound PX

below: Looking west along Dupont towards Dufferin – where the Galleria Mall used to be there is now a wall of glass.

looking west on Dupont towards Dufferin, tall cranes and new condo highrise construction

Same site, different angle

construction site at dufferin and dupont

below: On the west side of Dufferin, the street is being reconstructed.

looking east on dupont towards redevelopment project at dufferin, many workmen making new sidewalks

below:Re-routing the sidewalk on the south side of Dupont at Emerson

south side of intersection of dupont and emerson, houses, new sidewalk route, black and orange traffic cones

below: Looking west on Dupont at Emerson.  The two tall buildings on the right are on the north side of the railway tracks.  The apartment building in the center of the photo was built in the 1960s or 1970s.

looking west on dupont towards lansdowne, pioneer gas station, apartment building from the 1970s

a row of two storey houses, one painted turquoise, in front of an apartment building of about 20 storeys

below: A colourful mural by Jacquie Comrie

below: Under the tracks near Lansdowne.

mural on underpass wall, construction on railway track above

part of Suitman mural on Dupont Street, 3 men in black suits, white shirts, and black ties, standing together. they all have large yellow halos, or circle auras around their heads

 The “Suitman” Mural was first painted and funded with $2000 received from the City of Toronto’s Clean and Beautiful program. But after Rob Ford was elected mayor of Toronto in 2010 and began his own “clean up” campaign, it was painted over with dull grey paint. Not a bright move considering that Joel Richardson was paid by the city to paint it in the first place. Late in October 2011 it was replaced with a similar mural as seen here. It took six weeks to repaint, 25 gallons of paint were used along with 100 large cans of spray paint.  Photos of the whole mural (on both north and south sides of the street) from 2011 and 2013 are on a previous blog post.

below: “And do thy duty even if it be humble, rather than another’s even if it be great. To die in one’s duty is LIFE: to live in another’s is death.” [quote from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700 verse scripture that part of the Hindi epic ‘Mahabharata’]

mural on underpass wall, construction on railway track above, along with elevated tracks being built above that

below: A GO train passes over the new elevated section of the tracks as it crosses Dupont Street. This is the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation project on the GO line to Barrie.

green and white GO train passes over new elevated section of tracks as it crosses Dupont Ave

below: Looking north from Wallace Ave (towards Dupont) at the south end of the 1.4 km of elevated track.  Although the tracks are functional, the streets and paths below are still a work in progress.

looking north from Wallace Ave along new elevated rail tracks just west of Lansdowne, construction underneath

below: (On Wallace by the new elevated tracks) A bull and a maze makes me think of the story of the Minotaur, a creature in Greek mythology with the body of a man and the head of a bull.   The maze, or labyrinth, was made for King Minos of Crete to hold the Minotaur.

mural, bull in pinks and purples, 2 large horns, ring through nose, in front of a maze, like minotaur

below: Around the corner from the bull is a mural by Emily May Rose. It faces the tracks on what is now a vacant piece of land – shall see what becomes of it.

mural by Emily May Rose on wall by new pathway on east side of elevated rail line, just south of Wallace Ave

below: An old “Stop Harper” sticker – topsy turvy but still hanging in there.  Almost as old and worn as the railing below it.

old stop harper sticker on a no parking sign, that is upside down,

The “Strength in Numbers” mural at the next  underpass to the west (by the West Toronto Railpath) has been tagged over.    The link leads to a blog post from July 2016 if you are interested in what it looked like when it was newer.

white words written on a red brick wall Jesus, blesses, immanuel, also a white cross

below: Dovercourt signs with a maple leaf in the center.  “Since 1985” refers to the founding of Dovercourt Village which is south of Dupont to Bloor between Christie on the east side and Dufferin on the west.

two Toronto street signs, both with Dovercourt top parts, Hallam st and Salem Ave

below: Alley infill – a tiny house!

small house in an alley, alley infill housing, or a large shed

and other small houses too.

two narrow bungalows side by side, 2 dark cars parked on street in front of the houses

below: Santo Antonio Coin Laundry

Santo Antonio Laundromat

a woman stands beside a store, in window of store is a yellow sign that says come in and try our delicious hot veal sandwiches

 

below: The red brick building was built in 1909 and it’s shape suggests that it was once a store.   Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, these stores were very popular and could be found in most neighbourhoods.   With changing lifestyles (cars, larger grocery stores) and laws (only residences in residential areas) these old stores became houses. Last year Toronto City Council passed a new by-law allowing small scale retail and service businesses in residential areas.

two houses, one on right is red brick with three upper storey windows, also a large green shutter, or covering over front window, square roofline

below:Lucky Convenience Store

man unlocks his bike in front of Lucky Convenience Store

glass window in door of closed variety store, Canadian flag hanging inside some notes and posters, door frame is pink

below: St. Ephrasinia Orthodox church (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox).

rectangular two storey grey brick building, with a small silver dome and cross on top

red, white, and blue, barber pole on a wall painted orange with primary colour dots,

white stencil graffiti on a brick wall, image of a security camera

graffiti on a wood utility pole made from a vinyl LP record

below: Development notice – what appears to be an older building with three apartments might disappear to become a three storey building with ten units.   Nice to see higher density without the ego of the developers vying to see who can build the tallest building.

three mailboxes by a door along with a blue and white development notice sign

below: Making use of the tiny yard space – melon vines covering the fence and running along the walls.

melon vines

below: Another use of a front window! Whenever I see a house like this I always wonder if there are sentimental reasons why it is those particular items that sit there.  The roses with their purple ribbon were probably important as Mary now watches over them.  But one of these ducks has a dead plant – why?  What is on your front window sill?

ornaments along the front window sill, exterior

bright red flower growing in a front yard

It’s getting close to Halloween so don’t be surprised if there are some creepy folks lurking around!

Halloween decoration on a porch, a fake man with a chainsaw

a front yard full of halloween decorations such as skeleton, ghost, hands, eyeballs

But not everyone is scary…  Fatima and the scarecrow

on a pinkish red painted brick wall, a plaque for Lady of Fatima religious icon and a little scarecrow autumn decoration

blue stencil on sidewalk, graffiti, words that say be kind to yourself

A shout out to Cats Eye Coffee where we started that day.  Also, a thanks to Nancy who was my tour guide and walking partner!

coffee cup from cats eye coffee shop on dupont

around the Distillery, June 2023 version

Posted: July 6, 2023 in locations, old buildings, people, public art
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below: The sparrows around Balzacs Coffee shop are as brazen as ever.  If you decide to lure them away by throwing crumbs elsewhere, the pigeons will join in the fun.

small sparrow at edge of round table, outside, balzacs coffee

people sitting outside at balzacs coffee at distillery district, yellow umbrellas,

below: East entrance to the Distillery, on Cherry Street.  I suspect that everyone who visits the Distillery takes this photo.

east entrance to Distillery District at Cherry street, with large Distillery District sign overhead

below: Part of a display of some of the products produce by the Gooderham and Worts distillery over the years.  The distillery complex built by Gooderham and Worts started producing spirits in 1862.  At one time it was the largest employer in Toronto.  It also once produce half the spirits made in Canada.

part of a display of liquor bottles, some of the gooderham and worts distillery products over the years, Ballentines, and Hiram Walker products, Government House rum,

below: There are now many old photos of the Gooderham and Worts distillery from years past scattered around the Distillery District.   This one is ” The Office Entrance”.  The door is still there, as are many other features seen in the photo.

little green metal door in brick wall at Distillery, with a copy of an old black and white photo of a distillery building

woman in pink head scarf and dark sunglasses, sitting outside brick building at distillery district, smoking a cigaretts

 

pride flag in a window box in the distillery

below: Approaching Parliament, with the large heart painted in rainbow colours for Pride month (June).

 

rainbow heart in distillery

below: Home is Toronto

black and white sign on brick wall that says home is toronto

below: Old millstone from the windmill that pre-dates the dsitillery.

large stone, round with hole in middle, plaque attached, old millstone from the distillery, made in 1832

“This millstone brought from England on the schooner ‘Kingston’ to the town of York 1832 was used for grinding grain in the historic windmill of Gooderham & Worts. The windmill stood 52 feet southwest by south of this point. It was the eastern limit of the famous ‘Old Windmill Line” on which the original plan of the city of Toronto was based.”

below: Note on the bakery door – Please make sure that the pigeon doesn’t come in with you! Patty the pigeon wasn’t there the time that I went in.

sign in a window of a door that says don't let the pigeon in when you open the door

below: The line of painted head and torsos is back.  The shapes are all the same but each has bee painted by a different artist.  They are part of the  ‘6ix Art Outdoor’ exhibit.

a woman sits on a stool in the distillery district, with a small white dog,

below: Two of the sculptures still under wraps. This is at 6least the second time that they have been on display.  They were lined up in same place last August.  If you want more information about them, I blogged about the 6ix Art Outdoor last year.  (follow link).

two painted human torso and head forms

banner of pennant shaped flags in rainbow colours, over two sculptures with human forms, torso and head

barrel of flowers on a rock wall in front of a line of sculptures

large spider sculpture in the distillery

a woman in a white dress and cowboy hat poses beside an old rusty truck

distillery district roofine

looking through a blue metal cutout of a mexican day of the dead couple, to a restaurant on the other side

locks attached to a metal structure on a brick wall, love sign in distillery

reflections in a small gallery window

a couple walking in the distillery, he has bright red dyed hair

below: The inflatable couches are there because through July there are night time showings of various movies, Italian movies for the most part I think.

a family eating ice cream while seated in the distillery district

below: Painting by Terran McNeely for Pride 2023.

painting by Terren McNeely, pride 2023, man with inverted rainbow pyramid in his hand

below: Development notice sign on Mill Street.

broken bike at bike stand on Mill Street, by blue and white development notice sign beside brick building

below: One of the buildings on Distillery Lane is being refurbished.  Yellow crane is for new development on Parliament.

view at south end of Distillery, just north of Gardiner, looking west towards CN Tower, many cranes, large billboard

below: There is now a hole on Parliament!

construction site on parliament, large hole in the ground with distillery district in the background, cranes

below: … a very big hole!

construction site on parliament, large hole in the ground

below: And I’ll end this post with a sigh…. some people

trash, used coffee cups and an empty bowl and plastic spoon, left on a window sill, flower box in front of it

Commissioners to the Gardiner

Posted: September 24, 2021 in construction, locations
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more changes, more demolition

From Leslie to Cherry, Commissioners Street runs through the middle of the Port Lands, or at least it used to. The re-making of the mouth of the Don River involves a new waterway that cuts Commissioners into two sections.  This blog post is a quick look at the east side.

Toronto blue and white street sign for Commissioners Road, also a sign for Port of Toronto

below: TTC streetcar leaving Leslie Barns at Leslie and Commissioners- celebrating 100 years.

TTC streetcar leaving Leslie Barns, sides are decorated with pictures commemorating 100 years of the TTC

below: There are a lot of cement mixers in the area!

cement plant on Commissioners Road, cement truck parked in front

cement concrete facility

below: Canada Post has a large presence in the area too.  A series of images of stamps featuring Canadian birds, such as this black-capped chickadee, decorate the exterior wall of one of their buildings.

picture of Canada Post stamp with a chickadee on it

 

port a pottie by a wall holding back a pile of sand

below: Portlands Energy Center on the other side of the Shipping Channel.   This is natural gas powered electricity generating facility.  It also has a steam turbine generator that allows it to make electricity using steam from waste heat.

gas powered electric station on the shores of the Shipping Channel in the port lands, large white building with 2 tall smoke stacks

below:  Commissioners Street now ends at Saulter

end of Commissioners Road, chainlink fence, road taken up, Toronto skyline behind

below: The new bridge has been delivered and sits at the western end of Commissioners, on the other side of the gap.  Soon(?) that gap will be part of the new route of the Don River.

in the distance, new bridge for Commissioners Road, end of Commissioners Road, chainlink fence, road taken up, Toronto skyline behind

port lands construction with city skyline behind

below: Looking north on Saulter Street towards Villiers Street.  Metal beams from the Gardiner are being lowered to the ground.

looking north on Saulter street towards demolition work on the gardiner

below: New utility poles on Saulter, with another view of the Gardiner demolition.

new utility poles at a construction site, hydro poles

below: Saturday traffic on Villiers.  The Lakeshore is closed on the weekends to facilitate the dismantling of the Gardiner.  Yes, it does cause traffic issues and confusion!

construction zone along Villiers Street, concrete barricades separating car traffic from cyclists, blue fence around construction, demolition of the Gardiner Expressway, skyline in background

below: Looking north on Don Roadway from Villiers

looking north on Don Roadway from Villiers, demolition of Gardiner

very large crane on Don Roadway, Gardiner demolition

red and white danger due to sign, danger due to noise

below: Some of the concrete bents from the Gardiner still stand as does the curved elevated ramp from the Gardiner to the DVP.

motorcyclists wait for traffic light at intersection of Don Roadway and Villers, construction behind them, removal of eastern portion of the Gardiner Expressway

below: An abrupt end

ramp to Don Valley Parkway is still in place but the Gardiner is gone except for a couple of bents

below: Crane demolishing a concrete bent beside the Keating Channel.

demolition of the Gardiner, yellow crane, by Keating channel

below: An older photo from 2015 showing the Gardiner Expressway on the north shore of the Keating Channel with the Lakeshore below. The yellow crane in the image above is close to where the blue barge is in this picture (but on the shore side!).   The supports for the Gardiner over the mouth of the Don River are metal (the greenish coloured two on the right side of this photo), not concrete like the others.  These metal supports is at the right edge of the photo above.

from 2015, photo of Gardiner along the north shore of the Keating channel

photo taken in 2015

demolishing concrete bents under the Gardiner, catching debris in nets and on sliders that direct rubble to piles

below: When the steel beams are removed, they are first trimmed and cut in half.

men helping a crane to direct a girder down to the ground while another machine breaks another girder to get it ready to go in truck

below: They are then hauled away to another site where they are cut down even more.

truck taking away girders that have been removed

below: Standing in the middle of Lakeshore Blvd and looking west. Remains of the Gardiner.

taken from center of Lakeshore - Lakeshore looking west from Bouchette, middle of Gardiner demolition, road surface is missing but steel structure is still there

below: Side view, Lakeshore with remnants of the Gardiner rising up beside.  Soon to be gone.

side view, Lakeshore looking west from Bouchette, middle of Gardiner demolition, road surface is missing but steel structure is still there

cyclist rides on the sidewalk past construction site in Port Lands, Gardiner demolition

cold and windy, downtown in January

Posted: January 30, 2021 in construction, locations, public art
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A cold and frosty afternoon walk westward along a windy Queens Quay to Harbourfront with a detour to Union Station to warm up.  It was below zero, but only single digits so it can’t be that bad, right?

below: New construction, Lower Jarvis at Queens Quay East, beside Sugar Beach

new building being built at Lower Jarvis and Queens Quay, beside Sugar Beach

below: Redpath Sugar on Queens Quay East

redpath sugar processing plant on Queens Quay in Toronto

below: “Whaling Wall”, 1997, on the side of Redpath Sugar, one in a series of 100 murals painted by Robert Wyland that feature whales and other seal life.

whale mural on the side of Redpath sugar warehouse

below: Looking north up Yonge Street from Queens Quay

looking north up Yonge street from Queens Quay, tall buildings, not much traffic, a TTC bus,

below: Ice just beginning to form on the water.  Although it’s almost February, Lake Ontario remains unfrozen – at least up until last Thursday when this picture was taken.  That was also the coldest day of the winter that we’ve had so far.  A lot more of the harbour, and lake, should be frozen now!

ice starting to form in harbour where the Toronto island ferry is docked

below: Looking north up Bay Street from Queens Quay

below: Lakeshore & Gardiner at Bay Street.

below: There’s a new walkway over Bay Street that joins Union Station and the GO bus terminal.

below: Looking south from the new walkway.  On the right is the old postal sorting station, then Air Canada Centre, and now totally rebranded as the Scotiabank Arena.

below: It also offers new views into windows!

looking into window of MLSE entertainment, from above,

below: Towards the new GO Terminal.  When I wandered through it was just me and two security guards.

below: The first of these that I have seen, inside the new GO bus terminal.

vending machine selling disposable masks for two dollars each

below: The old GO Terminal

below: It was very quiet in front of Union Station, especially subdued for late on a weekday afternoon.

below: Remembering the 2019 Raptors team.

street sign for Brmener Bl that has been turned into Raptors way to celebrate their 2019 NBA championship. The sin is red and white inside of the usual blue and white

below: York Street at Bremner, with the base of the CN Tower peaking through.

below: Looking into the lobby of a new building at 10 York Street, designed by Brad Golden & Co.

looking into the lobby of a condo building, through a large glass wall, some art inside including a large wall panel that looks like crinkled shiney gold paper, some reflections,

below: “Iceberg” in Canada Square, with the CN Tower in the background. This sculpture, that you can walk through, also has sound and lights.  The latter would probably be better seen a little later in the day!

metal sculpture called Iceberg in Canada Square with the CN Tower in the background

below: Dewit L. Petros, “Untitled (Overlapping and intertwined territories that fall from view III)”, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.  This was part of the 2020 Contact Photography Festival.

large photograph by Dewit Petros on the south wall exterior of the power plant contemporary art gallery

below: “Sonic Runway” a light-art installation on the waterfront created by Warren Trezevant and Rob Jensen.

rings with a pinkish colour surround a walkway, a woman is walking through them, on the waterfront, a boat is docked beside the walkway

And then home to warm up again!

Ashbridges wallnoize wall

Posted: October 31, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
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There is a large construction project underway adjacent to the Ashbridges Bay water treatment facility between Lakeshore Blvd and Eastern Ave. The whole site is surrounded by plywood hoardings.  In mid-September, Wallnoize 2020 took over the area and painted water themed murals on a large portion of the hoardings.   More than ninety artists participated in this project, all coordinated by Cruz1.

signs at the entrance to the construction site for the new ashbirdge's bay water treatment facility on Eastern Avenue.

Let’s take a walk around the site, starting by walking east on Eastern Avenue towards Coxwell, south across the park, and then back along Lakeshore.  I suggest that you’re sitting down since I tried to cover all the murals and it might take a while!

below: Painted by Danielle Hyde

mural of large brown hands holding water

below: Trina Moyan‘s horse has a mane like many brightly coloured feathers.  “‘Water Spirit Horse’ – Nehiyaw Mistatim (Plains Cree horse).“

a brown horse with mane that lookslike coloured feathers, face painted in primary colours, mural

below: Portrait of a street artist in pink and white by Keitha Keeshig Tobias

mural in pink and white, a face wearing a gas mask, breathing apparatus for spray painting

below: by Siezswift

a tree in front of a text throw up mural in blues

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: ‘Nibi Manitous’ by Cedareve. The water spirits are are shapeshifting between human and animal.

mural by cedar eve on blue hoardings, fish like creature with human heads

mural with two fish making a circle with a deer in betwee, some trees on both sides, multi coloured background

autumn trees in front of hoardings covered with murals, wallnoize, leaves on the ground,

below: “You are Loved” in a heart dripping with water in the center of a mural that is the product of the combined efforts of Shawna Howe and Monique Aura.   Rainbows and dancing stars.

mural on the hoardings around the ashbridge bay water treatment facility expansion construction site. the words you are loved are in a heart shaped space in the middle, brown hands holding a shallow brown bowl fromwhich a rainbow is pouring out into the smaller cupped hands of another person

below:  A head in the water by Shina

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, brown profile in water near yellow and orange shore

below: Bird and flowers by Jennifer, her first solo piece

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, indigenous art style bird facing upwards with flowers on both sides

below: This picture of a bald man snorkeling was painted by still_hungry

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project, head of bald man with diving mask and snorkel, in the water,

below:  He looks like he’s made of water and he looks like he’s on a skateboard.  Painted by 3tr_t

mural on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, blues wildstyle with man that looks like he's made of water, on a skateboard

below: Floating away, floating with the fish in a pink bathing suit.  Painted by Ghazaleh

hoardings around a construction site, beside vehicle entrance, a mural of a woman in a pink bathing suit floating on her back in a pool

below: by Francis Pratt, the poolboy cares apparently

the letters s o r b ae, with different fonts and different backgrounds

below: Branislav Dordevic‘s mural suggests keeping an eye on the water and ice, warm and cold.

mural, a large eye at top center, ice bergs, lake, ice and snow by onesketchyguy

below: Water being poured into three tall clear glasses because we’re all thirsty for clean water, a mural by Julia Antohi

three tall glasses of water, each with a different amount, with the words thirsty for clean water, in a turquoise box, a mural

below: A green god with his trident – either Neptune the Roman god of the sea or Poseidon his Greek counterpart, by tongbokes

a small tree in front of murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: After the green god, is a more somber toned mural with the words, 1752, Mi’kmaq Nation, Take care of the water.

looking uphill at murals on hoardings near Ashbridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: A mermaid in a jar by Yasaman Mehrsa. Has she been captured?  Is she in a protective bubble?  Do mermaids live in glass houses?

mermaid in a jar in the water, a mural

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

below: Surfer dude by broguymanz and a green throw-up on purple by Lukas Byra

mural on hoardings near Ashvridge Bay water treatment facility, wallnoize project,

truck and vehicle entrance to construction site, orange cones, wire fence, hoardings,

below: “Be Like Water” by Adrian Hayles and  what could be blue sea serpent, or a blue Chinese dragon, by Avril Wu

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, by an entrance to the site, a mural of a man

below: A mermaid of another sort, with skulls and burning candles, brought to life by Oriah Scott.

mural, long haired woman with nose ring, topless, upper body covered with tattoos, with scarves over her arms, halo on head, skulls beside her and a burning candle in each hand

below: Bomi (aka bomitosangrantes) painted the lines and white dots that cover this corner

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, cranes behind the fence, murals at the corner

below: It’s not that easy to see, but the grey letters that look like stones in water along a rocky shore were painted by Getso.  In the foreground is what looks like a mountain of flowing water (by bareket)

long line of murals on blue hoardings zround water treatment facitily upgrades construction site, with yellow water pipe running along beside, green grass,
below: This pink striped octopus with stars in its eyes is the work of Jieun June Kim.  Did you know that October 8th was World Octopus Day?

a mural of a pink striped octopus sitting in the water with head above water and some tentacles sticking up above the water, by Jeun June Kim

below: Like the words say, Kizmet the original Toronto raccoon, Radcliff is his name.  I don’t think he’s going after the cranes even though that’s what it looks like.  Swimming away from Radcliff is a Sedna, a curving woman by Angela Aulia.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a kizmet raccoon and a person swimming

below: A KERZ throw-up to the left of the BUBZ wildstyle  with the tam-wearing duck with a bottle of water on top

 

a duck character looks over the top of two text based graffiti murals one says kerz and the other is by bubzart

below: A “Clew” throw-up by Clewin77

throw-up style graffiti on mural in light blue and olive green

below: Three colourful fish swimming in the waves by Poonam Sharma

mural of stylized fish swimming in the water with the sun shining down from above

below: Blackbird flying along with the moon in different phases is the work of Natalie Very B.   On the right, the wildstyle text-based mural was painted by spud1

2 murals on hoardings, a stylized blackbird flying with the moon in different phases around it. on the right is a wildstyle

below: A watery wildstyle by Trevor Goodwin (aka Horus)

wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

black and white wildstyle mural on blue hoardings, pine tree beside

below: The white eyes are a bit disconcerting – awake? asleep?-  but otherwise she’s colourful.  Kizmet32 again.

water treatment facility construction hoardings, mural, by kizmet 32, a woman's face in green, blue and red, on top of a textual

pine tree beside hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall

below: Burner on the left and Poser on the right

two text murals on hoardings, on the right is poser, and on the left is one with two eel heads poking up on top

below: The happy grinning lobster with a fish on each arm is Gentle Giant aka big_doz261.   The other mural is by onerzeus

a cartoonlike character red lobster grinning with a female fish on either of two arms, one at each side

below: A little fish nears the blue head at the end of the CRUZ tag in this Cruz1 mural.

mural by Cruz 1 on hoardings around a construction site near Ashbridges, a blue face and lots of colours around word that says Cruz, plus a tiny fish in top right

blue text

below: by Rusty (aka gutter_crew_guru),  If anyone would like to attempt an interpretation, I’d love to hear from you.  There’s a lot of detail in the mural that is fascinating yet creepy. Happy Halloween!

bright orange background like fire

below: A collaborative effort between Rowell Soller and @tenneshaskyers

portrait of a black man in the middle surrounded by calligraphy in black and white

on blue hoardings, a row of text graffiti

below: A very realistic looking creature in the water painted by Cesar Ar.

very realistic painting of a water dragon or monster in the water

below: Mural by Julie Amlin

Julie Amlin mural on Ashbridge water treatment construction hoardings, curves and curvy shapes in different colours

Jipik'am mural of a snake with tongue out, first nations symbols, words that say land back

hoardings around a construction site that have been painted by wallnoize, a group of street artists who have each painted a mural on a section of the wall with city of Toronto water tower behind

below: The work of invader.zima

green text, with a machine

below: Horizontal stripes of fish and water in a basket, or woven onto fabric, by Dakota Brant beside a Octo-Godess-Sea-Witch Lady by Katrina Canendo

two murals

below: A vintage scuba diver among the weeds, by silestyle161

below: Two whales swimming in the ocean, an orca on the left by Ren Lonechild of Red Urban Nation. The whale on the right was painted by Camila Wong and she describes it on instagram as “Inspired from the Great Hokusai artwork, expressive waves with colourful brushstrokes and whale represent overcoming challenges in your life“.

2 murals, one is a whale and the other is a dolphin, swimming in the water

below: Three Nick Sweetman green moray eels looking at SADAR‘s (aka blazeworks) mechanical octopus.

two murals. one is 3 large eel heads in yellos by Nick Sweetman, the other is a mechanical looking octopus

below: Two murals made with text.  FATHOM on the left and the creative efforts of RUN (Red Urban Nation) Artist Collective

two textual paintings on a wall, one with hashtag red urban nation and the other says fathom

below: Ashbridges water treatment facility with the wall.

round Ashbridges water treatment tower with lots of green grass in front, a blue hoardings wall around the construction of new parts of water treatment plant, with lots of street art murals painted on the hoardings

below: Looking in the other direction.

city of toronto concrete water tower behind blue hoardings with street art murals on them

below: Calligraphy by Kreecha (right) and a painting by Art Child (left)

two murals on hoardsing with crane behind.

below: Two figures nose to nose with their reflections in the moonlight, by Julii McMillan. The nail polish matches the blues of the water.

mural by Julii McMillan of two identical heads nose to nose in the water up to their noses, reflections of the two. hands beside heads so they reflect too. water, dark, moonlight

below: Victoria Day painted the very pink woman with grey hair who is surrounded by lily pads and little green dinosaurs? eels?   To the right is Clean Water text by SKAM

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, on the left a very pink faced lady with grey curly hair in the water with little green dragons and lily pads. on the right, text painting that says clean water H 2 O

below: A lovely orange octopus by Spyone beside a man partially submerged in the water, Rise Up by James (aka mistersoy)

two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges, an orange octopus and a man in a red and white striped T shirt with words rise up

A white boat with many portholes sails past, while on the right, by Andrea Rodriguez (aka Andrea Cataro) a pink dolphin and a grey walrus swimming underwater.

a dog and cat head in front of a large white boat in one of the two murals on hoardings around new water treatment plant by Ashbridges. other mural is a pink dolphin and a blue narwhal playing in the water

below: Abstract and sort of geometric, in teal and purple, by David Baron

abstract geometric mural by forge fury in teal, purple, and black

mural, an old woman's face in the middle, stylized brown trees, lines for earth and sky

below: A wonderful woman with turquoise dreadlocks in a turquoise sea under a pink octopus wearing a tophat.  This mural was painted by Désiré Betty

mural on hoardings, a woman with long braided turquoise hair under a pink octopus wearing a black top hat, mural by dbetty13, Desire Betty

below: A blue, purple, and white sea monster  by Andre Castro looks towards red and purple text by mr_tensoe2 

two murals side by side on blue hoardings, on the left is a blue monster by andre castro and on the right is an orange and red text graffiti

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings

below: By dat_dude_stu

text street art in layers, red on top, yellow in the middle and green on the bottom

below: Something other-worldly by fongkikid

a painting by fingkikid, fuzzy abstract watery thing in blues and purples

below: By mr. Water

mural, in blues, stylized waves, or text, could be either

looking along a wall of murals on blue hoardings to where they cross and block the sidewalk

below: Swirls by Flip surround a slightly greenish woman with hair that merge into the waves.  The woman’s face was painted by @gosiakomorski One Love – Don’t let hate win.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a woman with long flowing hair and with her eyes closed

below:  Luvs crocodile with crocs floating in the water to the right of a small elfin(?) woman with long pink hair by @monicavcao

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, a crocosile, very realistic looking, by luvs, with its feet in water

below: At the end of the painted section of the hoardings is this old green car, “little deuce coupe” surrounded by skulls, a dudeman ‘trademark’ of sorts.

wallnoize street art murals on blue hoardings around new water treatment plant, one end of the hoardings, by the bike trail, an old green car by spud, and a graphic in neutral tones,

watching it come down

Posted: March 9, 2015 in history, locations
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Along with many other people, I have been watching the demolition on the southeast corner of Dundas & Sumach streets, part of the Regent Park redevelopment.  This 14 storey apartment building was designed by Peter Dickinson; it was built in the late 1950s.

 

January 31st, 2015

I first saw this building being demolished on a grey day at the end of January.
I’m not sure when the demolition actually started.

A large 14 storey brick clad apartment building in the initial stages of being demolished.

Looking north up Sumach Street.

 

View of the interior of some of the apartments that were exposed when the exterior brick was removed. Some of the rooms are painted in bright colours, purples, pinks and greens.

The colours of past lives.

 

 3 February

A workman dressed in orange coveralls works on the street in front of a building being demolished

It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.

 

Part of a 14 stprey apartment building that is being demolished. The exterior walls have been removed and some of the interior walls are buckling.

In the midst of demolition.

 

blog_demolition

 

10 February

Two very large cranes are being used to demolish a large apartment building on the corner of Dundas and Sumach streets. Some men in bright yellow vests are directing traffic as some of the debris is falling towards Sumach street.

Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.

 

A purple and yellow sign against a metal fence that says Regent Park Revitalization Phase 3 has started. Demolition of an apartment in the background.

A view from the south.

 

Hydraulic crane and truck and other machinery used in the demolition of the building.

Looking west from River Street.

 

Vacant lot in the forground with demolition of a building in the middle. In the background are the new buildings that have been built in that area

Another view from River Street.

 

12 February

Two large cranes are demolishing an apartment building.

 

17 February

A lot of rubble, concrete, metal and brick, from the demolition of a building lies in front of the partially demolished building.

Looking into the remains of a partially demolished building. The pipes that used to run between the walls vertically are now exposed.

 

23 February

Machinery is being used to sift through the debris and rubble from a building demolition

27 February

A man is taking a picture of a demolition in progress of an apartment building.

There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.

 

As part of the upper stories of an apartment are brought down, a cloud of dust forms as the debris hits the ground.

dust storm in the sunlight

 

28 February

vacant lot, truck, and remains of a building being demolished

… after 5 weeks, 6 March

A large hole in the ground where a building once stood, vacant land is around it. A street of houses in the distance, machinery to one side.

Just another hole in the ground.

city under siege

Posted: January 2, 2015 in general Toronto
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Construction, it’s everywhere.
I’m not sure if it’s my imagination but 2014 seemed to be the year that the city was torn apart in the name of changes, development and/or improvements.

A white hard hat sits on the end of a large wooden spool. Blue gas cylinders are behind it.

on break

How many cranes are in the sky?

downtown cityscape with tall buildings as well as the CN Tower. Lots of construction cranes in the picture.

looking towards the CN Tower from Soho St., just north of Queen West.

Men on a crane working above a hole in the ground where a new condo is being built.

Yet another crane at work, on Adelaide West.

How many kilometres of road have been dug up or blocked off?

Yonge street is closed by a large crane that is parked in the middle of the street.

Yonge north of Davisville one summer day.  Removing a crane that was used in condo construction.

Near Eglinton West subway station. Construction of the Eglinton LRT impacts traffic on Eglinton Ave.

Near Eglinton West subway station. Construction of the Eglinton LRT affects traffic on Eglinton Ave.

Cars trying to merge from three lanes to one. Large sign with arrow pointing left. Tall buildings on either side of the street. Yellow leaves on the trees because it is October.

Adelaide St. West

a section of city street is being renovated. The pavement has been removed, construction equipment and vehicles are in the picture. There is a 'road closed' sign.

Another street under repair.  York St., looking south towards Queen St. and Richmond St.

How many holes have been dug?

A construction site, hole in the ground, large yellow crane, red dump trunk and a large fence around the site. A church is in the background.

Dufferin and Adelaide

How many orange and black cones adorn our streets?

Black and orange traffic cones along with a yellow fence block traffic from entering a construction site at an intersection where new street car tracks are being laid.

New streetcar tracks at King and Sumach.

How many kilometres of fencing have been erected?

construction site surrounded by both metal fence and blue mesh fence

double fenced

How many years will it take to finish Union Station?

looking west on Front St. towards Union Station. Construction equipment is in the foreground of the photo. The CN tower is in the background.

Looking west on Front St.  The renovation and upgrade of Union Station and it’s impact on Front Street has been ongoing for a long time now. Maybe one day it will be finished!

What construction will 2015 bring? 

alley animals

Posted: July 14, 2014 in graffiti and street art
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A selection of the graffiti animals that I have encountered in the past few weeks.

large mural on the side of two storey building of a rhino surrounded by large birds

rhino and his feathered friends, parking lot off College St.
This is only part of the mural…. more below.

.

mural of many large birds in blues and greys, they all have long curved necks and large beaks

large beaks, large birds
This is only part of the mural…. more above.

.

large realistic painting of a pink pig

oink, oink
A mural by ACS murals

.

A white outline drawing of a dinosaur painted on a green door that is locked

guardasaurus to watch over the door

.

a red and white painting of a floppy eared stylized rabbit on the side of an old garage. Other garages with tags on them are also in the photograph

posr rabbit tucked in beside a garage – hiding from those who are hunting rabbits

.

large mural street art piece painted on the side of a one storey building of a beaked creature with wings

Creature with scales and a tail, Willis St., near the northwest corner of Queen and Bathurst streets.

.

elephants in threes, but you can only see two of them in this pic. The elephant on the right didn't fit in the photo.

Elephants herd of three, but you can only see two of them in this picture. The elephant on the right didn’t fit in the photo…. but it looked just like the one of the left except it’s facing the other way.

.

painted graffiti of a hummingbird that looks like it is coming into land, hovering near vertical

hummingbird hovering beside a garage door

*****