Posts Tagged ‘Danforth’

a walk around Pape station

Posted: November 6, 2024 in construction, old buildings, stores, transportation
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Have a seat!   It’s a rather warm autumn this year, isn’t it?

a pale orange, faded, fabric covered armchair sits by the curb on a sidewalk in front of a house, fallen autumn leaves on the ground

below: A Hallowe’en spider caught in a rather thick web. It doesn’t have much to do with Pape subway station although you might feel inclined to put “scary” and “TTC” together.

big black fake spider on white, on a red shrub, front yard

Anyhow back to the main story…. Pape station is where the existing Bloor-Danforth line is going to meet the new Ontario line.

below: Do you remember when Pape station was being renovated? Now the site is a mess again.

pape subway station entrance on pape avenue, with cranes around it, for construction of Ontario Line

Pape station is a short block north of the Greektown section of Danforth.

orange and black traffic cones, and orange construction mesh fencing, outside pape subway station, for ontario line construction

below: Looking south on Pape towards Danforth

looking south on Pape from beside Pape TTC subway station

below: Across the street from the subway station

buildings on Pape across from the TTC subway station

below: See that bright white building in the picture above?  I bet that it’s not white anymore.

truck with red cab is parked beside a white building that is being painted black, person with a paint roller on a very long pole

below: My idea was to walk around the whole site. …

sidewalk in front of A & W, motorcycle parked there, sidewalk ends with orange fence because of construction, utility pole by sidewalk is wrapped in blue with Greektown Danforth written on it, also a blue and white Greektown banner on pole as well as Canadian flag

below: Looking back at the Danforth and Pape intersection, north side.  The white stone Royal Bank building stands on the northwest corner.  Behind it, the steeple and little green dome of Holy Parish church points upward.

Danforth at Pape, north side of the street, bank building on northwest corner, and A & W on the northeast corner

below: Ontario Line construction along the Danforth, northside.  Metrolinx seems to have a lot of property here.

ontario line construction on the danforth near pape

below: Any idea what this is?  What is happening here?

large yellow crane holds up an very large item, ontario line construction

below: I wasn’t the only one taking pictures!

a man on a bicycle has stopped to take a picture of the construction at pape station, on the danforth

below: Eaton Avenue runs parallel to Pape, just to the east.

Eaton Ave at Danforth, looking west, Ontario Line subway construction site

below: Northeast corner of Danforth and Eaton

northeast corner of danforth and eaton avenue, 3 storey brick building, Papa Johns pizza on ground floor, Mr. Pide restaurant (now closed), Black Pot lounge, an empty storefront and an Asian (Korean?) restaurant.

below: Eaton Ave entrance to Pape station lined with plywood hoardings.  This station isn’t that old – the update was completed in 2013.  I think that it is being retained but it is hard to tell from the Metrolinx website.  A brand new entrance is planned for the Danforth as well (and may be very large and very grand, not quite to scale with the present neighbourhood?).

Eaton Ave entrance to Pape subway station, lined by construction hoardings, plywood, Ontario Line subway construction site

below: Houses on Eaton Ave with Metrolinx construction behind them.

single family houses on Eaton Ave with construction cranes behind them, Ontario Line,

2 large orange storage tanks, wires, crane, ontario line construction site

2 large orange storage tanks, wires, crane, ontario line construction site , orange flags on overhead wires

This area has been serviced by the Bloor Danforth line since 1966.  In general, most of the residences are single family houses, often as some form of row housing.  Smaller houses with small yards seems the norm… i.e. a fairly typical East York neighbourhood.

three single family houses on eaton avenue

Muriel Avenue and Selkirk Street, residential neighbourhood near Pape subway station, single family homes and row houses

Exploring on Pape…..

below: Working on Pape, fixing a porch (or just watching)

reconstruction of a front porch

below: Addis Kidan Church, Greek Gospel Church..

Addis Kidan church on Pape Ave., red brick building with small white cross on roof

below: Tzatziki cafe with the painting above the entrance – interior restaurant scene

Tzatziki restaurant cafe on Pape, with painting above entrance

small commercial building on Pape with a TTC bus shelter in front of it

below: Mixed use – once a line of single family homes, now some are businesses.

a line of two storey family houses on Pape Ave., one is now an upholstery business

two storey duplex

Seranos bakery and food store, sign and parking lot,

below: There is also another construction site at Sammon

machinery in a construction site

wires covered with orange plastic, on a pole above a construction site

below: Looking north on Pape Ave from MacPhail.   There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day. (Updated 22 June 2025 – there is now an Ontario Line – North Pape blog post)

looking northward on Pape

white arrow pointing right and orange pedestrian sign pointing left

I’ll end instead the way I began – with a little bit of Halloween to distract you from the constant noise of construction.

frontyard halloween decorations, zombie on swing with grey teddy bear on her lap

halloween decorations, outdoors, looks like yellow skull and arm bones are rising out of the lawn

Danforth – Woodbine – Gerrard

Posted: April 7, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, history, locations, reflections, stores, transportation
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or thereabouts…

below: Starting point, Woodbine and Danforth

below: Small Mediah painting in the doorway, Danforth

small street art mural by mediah in the entrance to a store, people on the sidewalk, Danforth

below: Another Mediah mural, on the railway underpass on Woodbine just south of Danforth

mural by mediah, geometric shapes and colours, on an underpass

below: And again, in an alley south of Gerrard.

below: East End Love

tall narrow mural beside sidewalk on the Danforth, East End Love

below: “Humming on Woodbine”  – A hummingird and a young woman with daffodils in yellow and purple, a mural by Blazeworks at Woodbine and Danforth.

mural painted by Blazeworks in 2023, called humming on woodbine

below: Closer-up version  –  an old streetcar (when did they stop running on Danforth?  The TTC operated streetcars on Danforth from 1923 until the subway opened in the 1960s.)

below: Two storey brick stores with square facades in front.  Rows like this can be found all over the city although in many places they are being replaced. This row has probably been here for a hundred years; this section of Danforth was developed between 1910 and 1930.  The streetcar provided a commuter route and facilitated growth to the east.  The opening of the Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor Viaduct) over the Don River in 1918 made access to downtown and the rest of the city even easier.

row of two story brick stores on danforth

below: Some stores have added features such as this little peaked facade at the front and the fancy brick work around the windows.

two storey brick store front on danforth, with small peak in roof on on side

below: Window reflections

reflections in a window of a store on Danforth, cars and stores across the street can be seen.

below: Tims stands alone

two story building with a Tim Hortons, pale pink building, no buildings on either side of it, a woman in a pink coat walks past

below: Ghost sign on Danforth, Burnett Brothers Butchers, The House of Quality.  That would be Alfred and Horace Burnett.

ghost sign for Burnett Brothers Butchers of high quality, on old brick building on the Danforth

below: Remnants of streetcar tracks can also be found on Strathmore Blvd (behind Woodbine station) that abruptly end at Cedarvale

old streetcar tracks in a street, Strathmore Blvd., that come to an end.

below:  Drink Coca-Cola – an iconic red disc. As for the rest of the sign, the font and the style of sign is still seen in many places in Toronto.

old store, now a gallery, with red round drink coca cola sign, also old sign saying confectionery

below: Soaking up the sun in front of Atop Appliances

two people in a bus shelter, one standing, one sitting, in front of store called Atop Appliances which is an old grey building with a black shingle roof

below: Spring blossoms, pretty even if they aren’t real!

mural on the side of Value village, spring scene with blossom tree and green grass, bike share bikes in a row in front of the mural

below: A line of stars

painted along the side of a red brick building, beside driveway, two stripes, a narrow white stripe on top and a wider blue stripe below. On the blue, are eight pale orange stars

below: And stars on fences in an alley

2 large stars as decorations, on old fence in an alley, crooked fence, car parked in alley, dead leaves on the ground, mossy roof on garage next door

below: Aren’t doors fascinating?  Final Notice and 2nd Final Notice.  If a door is a title to the story that lies within, what is the story that would unfold here?

old black door, with yellow spray paint, three times, that says final notice, mailbox beside the door, number 2138, crooked concrete step

below: Many little pots in a sun-filled window, looks like an attempt to jump start spring planting.

row of old store fronts on gerrard, some now home, one has large window with greenish curtains, also a lot of little pots in the sunlight, perhaps growing seeds for spring planting

below: My favorite kind of Canada Geese.  They are quiet and don’t leave little messes behind.

front yard with decorations - in the shape of canada geese with red scarves around their necks

below: Lakeside campfire at sunset on a garage door

painting on a garage door, campfire on a granite outcropping beside a lake with pine trees around it, at sunset, sky in reds, oranges, and purples

below:  Poser bunnies in a mural on Gerrard

poser bunny mural on the side of a two storey structure on gerrard street

below:  I saw a lot of these posters that day – How to fold a fitted sheet.  Once upon a time such posters had a phone number written on little flaps that you could tear off.  Now we have the dreaded QR code.  Apparently there is now something called “quishing” which is QR code phishing (I am not calling this poster fake, I am just ranting about QR codes in general – like how annoying they are on menus because now everyone has to get their phones out).

poster on wood utility pole with the title How to fold a fitted sheet

below: Secret Park  …. sshhhhh  I can’t tell you where it is.

below: Empowerment by the wading pool (this is not the Secret Park!)

below: Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church (formerly Rogers Presbyterian Church), Woodbine

front of brick building, toronto chinese mennonite church

below: Crossing the street, towards Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church, Gerrard St.

woman crossing stret with a dog on a leash dog has a purple coat on, in front of old brick church, grant african

below: Plaque of Dedication for Grant Church

Plaque outside Grant Church

Plaque of Dedication commemorating the relocation of Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church from 23 Soho Street to 2029 Gerrard Street, November 17th, 1991. 
  Grant Church Journey
In 1833 in Toronto, worship began in each other’s homes.  The meetings were held on a site on Chestnut Street.  Later, a church was built on Richmond Street.  In 1856 we moved to a hall at Queen and McCaul Streets.  In 1912 we celebrated the grand opening at University and Elm Streets, and moved to 23 Soho Street in 1929.

grant african methodist episcopal church, brick building, on gerrard,

below: St. Francis National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith, Archdiocese of Canada.

below: Semis on a slope

semi divided houses in a row on gerrard, two stories, with front porches,

below: A newer three storey residential building. I wonder how many units it has? Three at least?

new three story residence beside an older house

below: Layers

car parked in a driveway beside an older house, with a taller glass and brick condo building behind

semi houses, large trees between sidewalk and street

below: Pink house with a lot of stairs to the front door, Woodbine

below: Housing on the hill

below: A bus shelter, unfortunately it seems to be acting as housing as well.

below: May Peace Prevail on Earth in two languages (and more on the back)

4 sided pole about 8 feet high, with words written on it, may peace, also written in another language (different alphabet too)

hiding behind the Danforth

Posted: January 19, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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On the south side of Danforth, near Bowden Ave.., there is an alley.

below: The backs of two old brick buildings that face onto the Danforth.  Some of the buildings in the area are quite elderly.   The Don and Danforth Plank Road Company built Danforth Ave in 1851.  At that time it only went as far west as Broadview Ave.

back of two old brick stores on the Danforth, driveways and parking spots, 2 parked cars, small balcony on one

below: Looking west to Bowden Avenue.  There are a few street art pieces that have been painted in the past couple of years.

an alley behind the Danforth, a painted fence, a large pink man's portrait, a painted traffic box at the end of the lane

below: Natasha Dichpan painted this young woman and wolf (dog?).  It’s probably a dog but for some reason I’d like to think that it was a wolf.

close up of part of a mural on a wood fence in an alley painted by Natsha Dichpan, a purple young woman's face beside a pink and purple wolfs face

below: The multicoloured swirls of dots and splotches are by Andre Castro.

street art on a wood fence, two womens faces, and a wolf, in an alley

below:  A young woman with flowing pink hair, pointy elf-like ears, and many eyes, rides on a blue pelican (or at least a bird with a big beak), painted by Katrina Canendo in summer of 2021.  Pink mushrooms in blue foilage on the accompanying door.

two street art paintings on a concrete building, a small painting of pink mushrooms on a door, and a larger mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

below: She also seems to have an extra arm as well as an eye on the back of her hand. She ate the mushrooms?

close up of pale green skinned woman in mural of a four-eyed woman with pink flowing hair riding on a blue goose (or pelican), a bird with a long beak. she has an eye on the back of her hand too

below: By Sasha Fonkatz, the only man on the block.  The calligraphy in the black box on the right says: “Sometimes you have to be a lion to be the lamb that you are” (a Dave Chapelle quote).  I am not sure what the whole story is surrounding the pink faced man, but the first two lines start “A true community is not just about …”

mural on side of concrete building, in two sections, on the left a pink faced man with very short dark hair, surrounded by words, on the right is a square of calligraphy white letters on black with a pink flower below it. The words say sometimes you have to be lion to be the lamb that you are
below: by Amani Muhammad, blues…. blue woman, blue pigeon, and blue butterflies among the pink and red flowers

mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

close up view of mural by Amani Muhammad, a woman in blue holds a blue pigeon, pink and red flowers around them as well as blue butterflies

below: Another Katrina Canendo piece, this time from April 2022. On the sidewalk on Bowden Street with Danforth Church in the background.   Once called Chester Baptist Church, the building was completed in two stages.  The original building was built in 1911 while a newer addition fronting onto Danforth was added in 1931.

painted metal bell box on a sidewalk in front of a church

below: Bowden Ave.  The street is named after John Wilson Bowden, a builder who purchased land in the area in 1858 and subdivided it in 1871.

2 houses on Bowden Avenue, 3 storeys high, one with a large wood balcony

below: Behind the church

garages in the alley behind Danforth near Bowden including one with a basketball hoop above the door and the squares in the door all painted differently

a small shed behind a house, lane behind Danforth

To the west of Bowden there are a couple of garage doors that have been painted but that was long ago.  Some have been tagged over.

garages in an alley behind Danforth with doors with old paintings on them

below: Long ago as in 2012 which is when this double garage was painted – CHEST on one side with Magical Mystery Tour and RASR on the other with Imagine.  Beatles fans I presume.

double garage doors, one side painted by chest and says magic mystery tour and the side painted by rasr and says imagine, painted in 2012

below: and 2013 (pest, bacon, nozer).

corner of a mural signed pest bacon and nozer, on a garage door in an alley, in reds and purples, in 2013

behind an old 2 storey brick house, a fence and a gate. on one side of the gate the fence is painted teal, on the other side it is red

Danforth to Scarborough

Posted: November 21, 2020 in intersections, locations, stores
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Walking from Main Street east along the Danforth, with a diversion or two to see what we can see…..

part of a street art mural, a big eye, blue in the middle

a row of three two storey brick stores on the Danforth. Flat roofs, one in the middle is a computer repair shop. A small tree covers the front of one store, Danforth market is on the far right

furniture store in old two storey building on the Danforth with three big windows with save $ $ signs, old building with sagging roof.

old two storey brick building on Danforth, stores, pharmacy, walk in clinic, and carpet store, your carpet connection with rolls of carpet in the window

gas station, two pumps, star self service gas, cars parked behind at auto mechanic shop, top quality auto and cars r us toronto, open sign

woman walking on Danforth at Madeleine, past star self service gas station, large sign with price of gas as 98 cents a litre, computer store on opposite side of street

large sign on pole, stiches outlet, beside a driveway, stores across the street, divine photography

empty storefront on the Danforth

looking through the window of an empty store, pegboard, interior window, and wood paneling on some walls

looking through a large window of a store to see almost empty interior, a chair is there along with a rack for hanging clothes. people and cars are passing by on the street

empty store, for lease sign in the window, looking trhough to other side of street, as well as reflections from window, white bench on sidewalk, yellow truck parked on street

A cosy nook for a pigeon

a pigeon has found a place to sit on a broken opening above a door to lightmans store, glass door with brown paper covering it, white wood frame, painted, number 3270 in different colours

Milk plus convenience store with bright red and white sign saying milk plus milk plus. sign in window that says please do not steal

bar window, with Molson Canadian advert with red maple leaf, also coca cola sign with beer prices listed

signs on exterior of store, Formula 1 store, sells candles and religious items, also sign advertising Liqui Moly motor oils, additives, and car care from PJC Autoworks

below: Come on in and choose a wig while you wait for your like new used tires to be installed!

on a fence beside a store, advertising used tires for sale , like new, at thirty five dollars each. also a sign for visual beauty hair supply with a list of some of their products

Not all skeletons are kept in the closet.

Looking into a building trhough window, a skeleton is on display

hand painted sign on a chain link gate that says do not park in front door

In the category of “the unexpected”, old military vehicles.

old drab green military truck and ambulance with red cross symbol parked in front of a building

Small houses!

street scene - all the houses are small bungalows, large trees in the front yards, cars parked in driveways

intersection of Sneath and Lucy, in Scarborough, small houses,

small bungalow with small porch and flowers on the porch

below: This very small house with the big front yard, and a very overgrown yard at that, sits empty and alone.  “Danger do not enter” and “Private Property” signs are on the front door.   If you can get as far as the front door.

very small house with large front yard, yard is overgrown with long grass and weeds, boarded up with signs in the window

empty boarded up house with danger sign onthe front door

… even more overgrown and even more difficult to find the front door!

a front yard so overgrown with trees and greenery that you can hardly see the car in the driveway. The house is entirely hidden

an old car in an overgrown backyard, behind chainlink fence

A warning sign of a different sort.

sign in the shape of a dog bone, on a door, that says ring doorbell and run, the dog needs exercise

no parking sign on a brick wall, partially in english and partially in another language with a different alphabet

four orange and green taxis parked in front of a building that has a sign that says Oakridge Seniors Bocce Club

two men in lifts working high up on metal beams on a construction site

looking north on a side street towards Danforth, large multi storey apatment building

bungalow in the foreground, highrise apartment building in background

And last but not least, a patriotic splash of summer colour from July when I took these photos for the greyer days of November that we now find ourselves in.

lots of roses growing on a rosebush beside a white fence

canada flag design on plastic windmill in a planter in a backyard

a legion of poppies

Posted: November 15, 2020 in graffiti and street art, locations
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This post might have been more appropriate for Remembrance Day but unfortunately I missed it by a few days.  But it is never inappropriate to remember and honour those who fought for Canada in overseas wars.

cars parked and a man sitting in front of mural in the side of Royal Canadian Lion branch 73, Oakridge Branch, poppies, a yellow airplane, beside an alley,

There is a mural that features lots of red poppies reminiscent of those growing in Flanders Fields during the First World War and now the symbol of remembrance every November.

lots of red poppies in flanders fields on a mural beside a legion hall, also a row of medals painted under a window

This mural is on the south wall of the Royal Canadian Legion branch 73 (Oakridge Branch) on Robinson Ave., just north of the Danforth, in Scarborough. It can be seen from the Danforth

mural in the side of Royal Canadian Lion branch 73, Oakridge Branch, poppies, a yellow airplane, beside an alley,

It was painted by Magic F. Wong aka Basil Dwayne Jardine jr. in the fall of 2016.

a yellow airplane, single jet, open cockpit, in a mural by magic f wong

a black silhouette of a soldier kneeling, the Royal Canadian legion crest and motto lots of red poppies in flanders fields on a mural beside a legion hall, also a row of medals painted under a window

 

Luttrell Loop Lane murals

Posted: August 27, 2020 in graffiti and street art
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Almost two years ago, inthe fall of 2018, a group of artists brightened up Luttrell Loop Lane with some murals.  Luttrell Loop Lane is on Danforth, just west of Victoria Park.

below: A marvelous blue portrait by luvsomone

in blue tones, on a garage door, a portrait by luvsomone of a face with closed eyes

below: A partially hidden face in a mural by Anya Mielniczek

partially hidden by bushes and plants, a face street art mural by anya mielniczek

below: Unveiled

revealed, when branches moved away, partially hidden by bushes and plants, a face street art mural by anya mielniczek

a mural on a garage door by anya mielniczek of a face

below: The imagination of Al Runt and the characters that it produces is on display in this mural.

part of an Al Runt mural on a fence, orange background with lots of his typical characters in bright colours

mural of a large white bird, swan?, heron?, stork?, with wings in position as if about to fly, large yellow flowers

below: The garage at the corner gets four murals.  On the garage door is a moon over a little house by Jieun June Kim.  Beside it, Bomi has painted a mural using linear shapes (for lack of a better word to describe it).

at the intersection of a street and an alley, a garage with street art on all sides facing road, with four different murals on it

below: The whimsical and funny raccoons of Emily May Rose help with the gardening.

a raccoon mural, raccoon with watering can, gardening and looking after plants

teal raccoon in a mural looking at a plant growing in a white planter

mural on a garage door of purplish figures, looks very first nations-like

below: A skateboarder on her way to somewhere important, by Kim Therese Dolan

mural on a yellow fence of a person on a skateboard with a bag in one hand, by kim therese dolan

sign on a yellow wood fence that says beware of dog, a black squirrel is sitting on top of the fence

This project was supported by The Laneway Project

Paul Estrela Lane

Posted: November 23, 2017 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Have a seat!
It’s another tour of laneway street art.

two chairs sitting in front of a closed garage door, a wooden chair with teal back and legs, a directors type chair with teal fabric, garage door is painted teal. autumn, leaves on the ground in front of the chairs.

Today’s blog features Paul Estrela Lane which runs for one block on the northside of the Danforth ending at Woodbine Avenue.   Some of the garages and fences have been painted with bright and cheerful murals.  There are quite a few paintings considering the fact that the lane is only one block long.   Here they are…..

below: A mural by mediah and the CBS crew.

abstract geometric mural by mediah on a red background

below: Another contribution from the CBS crew but this time in collaboration with kanos, a French artist, from Paris.  More of his work can be seen under ikanografik on instagram.

red background mural in black and white

below: A warm summer day by the surf.

mural of a brown woman with a two piece bathing suit standing on a beach holding onto a surfboard. There are 4 very big waves behind her. Painted over two garage doors.

below: Toothy grins and googly eyes, coloured monster faces all squished together to completely cover the back of this building.   It is the work of monicaonthemoon.

exterior wall in a laneway with mural by monicaonthemoon with many silly stylized faces in bright colours

below: Listening to music as her orange and pink hair blows in the wind, by Kim

garage door painted with a mural of woman with light skin skin and orange and pink hair with eyes closed and wearing blue headphones. music notes around her head

below: Marine life swimming in the laneway, an octopus with orange eyes looking at you, and what I think is a squid on the left.  Painted by kittzen.

 

two garage doors with murals of marine life, a squid on the left and an octopus on the right.

below: Wings by monicaonthemoon aka Monica Wickeler

large black and white wings with multicolouredbackground - mural on a garage door in a lane

below: The work of dajenesis aka Jeannie Priscila

head of an animal, front view, wide open mouth with large white teeth by dajenesis

below: More goofy faces

fence in a laneway with mural by monicaonthemoon with many silly stylized faces in bright colours

below: Japanese characters painted by Tokyo.   Hint to street artists – if you want to be found, your moniker should be something that doesn’t bring up millions of unrelated hits on a search engine.  Any ideas about what he might be saying?

 

mural by Tokyo, red background with black and white boys face, and white word bubble with red Japanese characters written inside

below: And last, partially obscured by the car, a profile in shades of blue in front of a cat with marvelous green eyes.

a grey car is parked beside a mural by @victorful of the side view of a person's head, in blue tones, as well as the painting of a cats head

between Pape and Donlands

Posted: August 8, 2016 in graffiti and street art, locations
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I decided to head to Pape and Danforth on Friday, on a very hot & humid afternoon.   The Danforth was just beginning to get ready for the Taste of the Danforth weekend festival.  I stopped for a bottle of water and tried to find a bit of shade while I figured out where to walk.  The street was still quiet.  The day was hot and humid and no one was moving quickly.   Not many photos to be had there.   Instead, I decided to walk a few of the alleys north of the Danforth between Pape and Donlands.

trucks parked on the street, a small ferris wheel being set up pon a street, stores, barricades

below: No famous graffiti artist has left their mark in your neighbourhood? No problem, make your own!
A collection of icons with even the bricks painted into the picture.

copies of famous street art painted on a garage door. Brick background has been painted on too. Mona Lisa, Campbell soup cans, the woman lifting the corner of the wall to sweep things under it. Einstein holding a placard that says love is the answer. A little dog by Albert Einstein's feet.

below: Three garage doors with street art including one by spud.

three garages in an alley, each with street art painted on their doors.

below: Cruz1art (aka Angel Carillo) and a girl power pink skull by dudeman

a low concrete building in an alley with street art by Cruz 1 art, one says girl power. Large pink skull, basketball hoop in the foreground.

below: “Turn the lights off and look to the sky”

street art in an alley of a woman with long hair, wearing sunglasses, a tag beside it.

below: I’m used to seeing ‘No Trespassing’ or ‘Keep Out’ signs but not so many ‘Keep Off’.

an old rusted sign that says 'keep off' attached tot he top of a chainlink fence, in between two garages in an alley

below: A happy Uber5000 birdie knitting away, a close knit street art painting.

an uber 5000 art piece on a garage door, yellow uber birdie is knitting something with blue wool. the words say "close knit"

below: Another creature by Cruz1

blue animal creature painted on a garage door, green shrub growing in front of part of it, art by cruz 1 in an alley

below: Two more painted garage doors, very linear, very stylized and abstracted.

two single car garages in an alley, both with street art paintings on them, also the back of the houses behind them in the lane.

below: A play on the word ‘cool’.  Snowy words and a penguin with sunglasses.  Unfortunately it didn’t make me feel cooler but only slightly nostalgic for winter.  Only slightly!

street art mural on a garage door in a lane, a penguin standing upright wearing sunglasses. The words, written in large blue letters with snow on them, What's cooler than sum glasses on?

below: On the left is “destroy and rebuild” and on the right is “We are 1, [illegible] mi gente siempre”.  The last bit is Spanish and translates to “My people forever”

two garages in an alley with art on their doors, on the left is an abstract in blue and orange with the words destroy and rebuild. On the right is a woman's face. She's slightly blue. Words written beside her are: we are 1, mi gente siempre

below: I think there was a point to this picture, but I’m not sure what it is.

the top of two pieces of wood in a picket fence type gate, pointed tops, wood,

below:  Since this stretch of the Danforth has been “Greektown” for as long as I can remember, it makes sense to find street art in Greek.  In this case, Greek love.

garage door painted bright blue, with the Greek word for love written on it in large letters

below: A slight chuckle, the next garage door is the translation.

garage door painted with a large cursive lettering word love in pinks on blue

below:  Insert a little rant about horrid TTC concrete fences here.  At least someone has found a way to brighten one of them up.   This one is right beside the entrance to Donlands subway station.

concrete fence with paint drip art on it

A few more pictures….

garage door in a laneway covered with streetart painting

geometric street art on a garage door, pink, grey and black

below: A survivor. A lone white rose amongst dead roses.  May you all survive the heat of summer!

one white rose growing against a fence in an alley , with lots of dead roses around it.

 

 

 

Monica, and others, on the Danforth

Posted: December 1, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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A short walk earlier this month along the laneways  south of the Danforth near Woodbine Ave.

below: A mural by Monica on the Moon, styled after Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave off Kanagawa’ picture.   This is only part of it – the mural wraps around the back of the building.

wave mural by Monica on the Moon in a laneway, the mural is styled after Katsushika Hokusai

below: Just throwing a little bit of fun into the mix.  The ‘Great Wave’ has inspired many other great works of art over the years including this Cookie Monster one:

picture of Great Wave off by K Hir, with Cookie Monster eyes photoshopped onto the largest wave, a cookie added under the crest of the wave to make it looki like cookie monster (from Sesame Street) is eating the cookie.

below: Leaving the Danforth area briefly, there is also this mural by skam near Bloor and Bathurst.  You can find it in Loretto Lane on the side wall of Kinka Restaurant.

mural based on a Japanese picture called the Great Wave. In it there is a fish jumping with the wave. Mural on the side of a restaurant in a lane.

below: A little path leads onto a mural on Amroth Ave just south of the Danforth that was painted by Airways Airbrushing and Sign Co.    It was funded by the City of Toronto and the Danforth Mosaic BIA.

mural of a park scene, grass, garden, trees in spring, mural on the side of brick building.

below: Historical mural on a Bell box, ‘Danforth’ 1912 by Emilia Jajus 2012.

mural painted on a metal box on a sidewalk. Historical picture of the Danforth in 1912 painted by Emilia Jajus. A horse drawn wagon is going down a dirt road, a couple of buildings in the background.

below: Another Monica on the Moon mural

panorama picture of mural by Monica on the Moon, white line drawings on brown background, across the back of a building in a laneway

part of a mural by Monica on the Moon, white line drawings on brown background, across the back of a building in a laneway - jumping fish, a tree

a mural on the back of a building in a laneway. Brown background, white line drawing of different animals and shapes, two geese or ducks flying to the right, a tree painted beside a doorway.

mural by Monica on the Moon, white line drawings on brown background, across the back of a building in a laneway - a deer behind a metal gate, spirals and swirls

below: Alley ratz and company

On a white wall, a black line graffiti drawing of a rat with a long tail.

black line drawing on white fence with a hole in it. A face, and a lot of spirals

black line drawing on white fence with a hole in it. On a plywood fence, a face, and a lot of spirals

  below: A red fish swimming in bright blue by an unknown artist.

bright red fish with it's mouth open painted on a bright blue wood fence

mural painting on a wall, bright blue background, a person in silhouette, a red flower, a yellow and green butterfly, and a red tulip

sticker on a pole. The sticker covers part of a metal sign that says Attention across the top

What is Victor up to?

Posted: August 25, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Apparently Victor has been painting the alphabet, one letter at a time, on the sidewalk along Danforth Ave.  The letter A is near Eaton Ave (just east of Pape) and the letter Z is in front of De Serres art supply store (just west of Woodbine).   The letter O seems to be bigger than the others; it is in front of The Only Cafe near Donlands.

  Here is a sample:

The letter B is painted on a sidewalk in black, with blue, gree, yellow and swirls like ribbons wrapped loosely around the letter

The letter E is painted on a sidewalk in black, with blue, gree, yellow and swirls like ribbons wrapped loosely around the letter

The letters J and K are painted on a sidewalk in black, with blue, green, yellow and swirls like ribbons wrapped loosely around the letter

The letter O is painted on a sidewalk in black, with blue, green, yellow and swirls like ribbons wrapped loosely around the letter

The letter Z is painted on a sidewalk in black, with blue, green, yellow and swirls like ribbons wrapped loosely around the letter

Shortly after I took the above photos on Danforth Ave., I went downtown where I stumbled upon another of Victor’s creations.  I think it’s on Spadina Ave.

A painting on a sidewalk, A large rectangle has been made into the top part of a face, round nose at the bottom of the long side of the rectangle

below:  (added 28 Aug) I saw this hummingbird on the sidewalk on Queen West in Parkdale yesterday.

A painting on a sidewalk of a hummingbird done in Inuit style in blue and white, also some flowers, all enclosed in a green circle.

If you spent any time around Richmond and Spadina a few years ago, you might remember the yellow tape measure on the northwest corner of that intersection.  That was Victor’s work too.   Also on that corner is a “sculpture” of a thimble and a couple of buttons; the tape measure seem appropriate.  In fact, many of us thought that it was part of the art installation.  We learned otherwise when the paint was removed by the city, leaving only the shorter, unpainted tape measure that is etched into the concrete of the sidewalk.   Here is a link to a Toronto Star article written in November 2014 about the “cleaning up” of the tape measure.

Part of a yellow tape measure that has been painted on a sidewalk in Toronto

#whatisvictorupto

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