Posts Tagged ‘digger’

True Love fades

Posted: January 3, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings
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and other little observations along Dundas Street East – a street that has seen intensive redevelopment in the central core.  These changes are slowly moving east with the consequent mixing of old and new.

Once there were large red hearts on the sign, as well as on the building, but they have disappeared.

sign on True Love Cafe, a bright purple building

The True Love Cafe opened at the corner of Dundas East & Sherbourne back in 2004.  The outside was purple and apparently so was the inside.  Before that (since the 1950s), the space was George’s Spaghetti and Jazz Bar.

Once there were messages like, “I love you” on the walls as well as menu items written inside heart shapes, but these too are no more.

gate across entrance to true love cafe, red door, purple building, painted over window,

man on a bike cycles past true love cafe, a purple building with red awning over door

attached to side of purple building, empty frames that once held signs.

graffiti on a pole with two people with arms upraised, lone has written love, love, love, on it in black marker

below: South side of Dundas at Sherbourne.

church on southeast corner of dundas and Sherbourne, Lahore Hakka Chinese restaurant on the south west corner of same intersection

below: Also at Dundas and Sherbourne are the most famous telephone boxes in the city – or at least most photographed

exterior of front of hair salon with pictures of men and women with their hair cut

West of Sherbourne, some of the original large old brick houses still stand. Some converted to commercial uses long ago; some are still residences.

upper level of bay and gable house on Dundas East

front of old convenience store, bars over windows and gate across entrance, faded coca cola sign, green trim, magenta painted bricks,

jumble of items in a store window, metal bars over window, red coca cola boxes, potted plants, reflections of buildings across the street,

old brick houses on Dundas East

old yellow brick house behind a metal fence, green frontyard

part of lower floor of old brick building painted white

part of older white brick house, two storeys, each with one window, small part of house that juts out and is near back of yard

below: (Dundas and Pembroke) Another blue and white development notice – with another very tall condo.  Yet again, all these residences but only 6 car parking spots compared to parking for bikes; Doug Ford screams about closing bike lanes while the city actively discourages car parking.  Great for the developer as car parking costs more money to build than bike spaces.  The sign says 49 storeys, the latest Toronto paperwork on the site says 55 storeys).  The facades of the 4 heritage houses that the condo replaces will be saved.

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign on front yard of a house on dundas east

below: Nearby, another closed restaurant.

looking through window into empty and permanently closed restaurant. some reflections of buildings across the street in the window as well

below: North side of Dundas, just east of George Street.   It’s looked shabby for years but it’s still in one piece.  George’s Pizza, George’s BBQ, and  Piassa Injera and Takeout (Ethiopian).  The sign in the window of the pizza restaurant says “open” but the whole building is for sale.   No price given on the realtors’ website, but its 6000 SF with 3 retail units and 10 residential apartments.  It’s probably a candidate for demolition?

old brick houses on Dundas converted to businesses awhile back, George's Pizza, George's BBQ

below: Looking westward at Dundas and George

looking westward along dundas at george, new condos, one old second empire brick building on the southwest corner, now a King Place BBQ and curry restaurant

below:  King Place BBQ and Curry stands its ground

King Place BBQ and Curry restaurant, painted orange, in an old second empire brick building at Dundas and Dalhousie,

below: The Filmore Hotel still stands at George and Dundas East

filmore hotel at the corner of george and dundas east

dundas street looking east towards george street, old filmore hotel can just be seen behind newer condo development

below: Looking east along Dundas

dundas street east, looking eastward towards george street, new condos on both side of dundas, window reflections on the right hand side

below: Southeast corner of Dundas and Mutual

southeast corner of dundas and mutual

cyclists at the corner of dundas and mutual

below: Dundas and Mutual, northeast corner

two men talking, at the corner of Dundas and Mutual where old building is now behind scaffolding

upper storeys of older building, second empire style, mansour roof, brick, painted yellow, ground floor has addition for a store front, now cannabis store

below: Old City of Toronto Archives photo from 1978 showing the northeast corner of Dundas and Mutual back when the building was pale bluish grey and not yellow; it was home to Denys Barbecue and not a cannabis store.  The Warwick Hotel (built 1910) is long gone.

City Archives 1978 colour photo of northeast corner of Dundas and Mutual, Warwick Hotel,

below: Where the Warwick Hotel once stood is now part vacant lot and part parking lot. This concrete building (partially seen in the photo above too) was built for Sears Canada, completed in 1971.   It features cantilevered blocks to form an upside down ziggurat.   What is a ziggurat?  It is a building where each subsequent floor is smaller than the one below it with the result being a pyramidal shape.

wrought iron fence in front of a large parking lot which is front of a modernist concrete building in upside down triangle shape

below: Reflections at Dundas and Jarvis

reflections in a large window at dundas and jarvis, showing 222 Jarvis, inverted ziggurat building being renovated,

man walking along dundas at jarvis

below: Dundas and Dalhousie

looking east along dundas from dalhousie street, construction traffic cones, tall buildings,

tall condos, new development, downtown

side of an old red brick smaller building in front of a wall of new condo glass and steel with many reflections in the windows

machinery with giant drill, at a construction site

digger in vacant lot at dundas and mutual, old red brick structure with new condos in the background

old smaller red brick building on dundas, with brick taller building behind

below: Church and Dundas – closing in on Yonge Street and TMU

vacant lot at church and dundas, now a construction site

cyclist rides past construction site at Church and Dundas, looking east, with many new condos rising in the background, yellow construction machinery

new building clad with wood tones and dark blue, with orange bollards outside door

below: Birdo mural on Church Street.

birdo mural

below: A squirrel with a nut (or other edible) on the ramp to one of TMU’s buildings on Church Street.   He’s not waving goodbye, but perhaps he’s thinking “Gotta run!”

black squirrel on concrete ramp entrance to glass fronted building, a bright blue building beside it

As this has turned into the first post of January 2025…  Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year with many walking and/or photographic opportunities!  Have a good one!

behind Dufferin mall

Posted: August 10, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Just south of Bloor Street

below: Ghost sign that probably says Sweet Caporals, a former tobacco and cigarette brand

red brick wall with ghose sign for sweet caporals

below: Geoffrey the Giraffe takes a smoking break.

white wall back of store, truck loading zone with back of white truck and Geoffrey the Giraffe, Toys R Us symbol on the truck. Someone has graffiti black markered a smoking cigarette in his mouth

small tree beside parking lot with white wall behind

below: Remnants of another era – the final part of Zeller’s hangs on.

back entrance, open doors, of what used to be Zellers. Some of the letters of the name are still there, l e r s

below: Call mom

a wood utility pole with bottom part painted white. Written in pink letters, call mom. greenery around the pole

below: A crooked path

doors, back entrances to stores in mall, with crooked yellow railing and crooked patch in pavement

beige brick wall with beige metal door. sign on door says sprinkler room 7. rust marks on wall by overflow pipe

below: Happy face in green

a stump just above sidewalk level with a green happy face drawn on it

below: Maximum 20

back of Dufferin mall, laneway, single storey

one way sign pointing left on beige brick wall

below: A couple of the five short streets and alleys that come to a dead end behind the mall.

red house and a grey house on dead end street behind chainlink fence

an alley with garages on both sides, behind chainlink fence

below: Brockton stadium also backs onto the laneway behind the mall.

stairs to park and tall lights by the stadium, Brockton stadium

below: To the upper level of the stadium

concrete stairs from the back, to the upper level of stadium seating

graffiti on concrete walls, with yellow digger parked behind fence

two yellow half posts in a parking lot, one with happy face and one with crying eyes

top of photo is red brick wall, bottom of image is a weathered wood fence with words crack lizard written on it

Port Lands update

Posted: April 6, 2020 in construction, locations, waterfront
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Work continues on the Port Lands redevelopment with more buildings being demolished to make way for the new mouth of the Don River.

view of portlands includingLafarge silos, gas tanks, and construction

below: Cherry Street bridge

Cherry street bridge over the Keating Channel, green metal bridge

below: Don Roadway looking north.  The southern part is now closed (south of Lakeshore Blvd)

a pile of tree trunks, recently cut down, on a road that is now closed

looking north on the closed portion of the Don Roadway, lumber pile in middle of road, large metal hydro poles,

below: Villiers Street at the Don Roadway.  A couple of old buildings remain on Villiers but many structures between Villiers and the Keating Channel are now gone, especially at the east end of the channel near the present mouth of the Don River.

Villiers street at Don Roadway, two school buses parked here, Gardiner Expressway in the background

below: Commissioners Street, looking east.  Everything in that block, on the south side, has been levelled – the blue and white building is on the other side of the Don Roadway.

Commissioners street in port lands, with road closed sign

a glass bus shelter behind a construction fence

below: The west end of Commissioners street

Commissioners street in the port lands, road closed, yield sign on road yield to oncoming traffic, black and orange traffic cones, a plywood booth for security guard to sit in,

below: Commissioners Street, north side

construction, signs on a wood pole, Toronto skyline in the background

TTC bus stop for route 72 on Commissioners street but pole is now in the middle of a construction site, lots of dirt, orange and black traffic cones, Gardiner Expressway in the background

below: T’nT grocery store is now closed.  The red sign by the door advertises Chinese New Year specials.

back of a large laker boat parked beside an empty parking lot

below: The same boat, the NACC Argonaut, but from the south, from Polson Street.    NACC = Nova Algoma Cement Carriers.  She was built in Japan in 2003 and converted into a cement carrier in 2017.  The next year she entered service on the Great Lakes.

ship parked in channel, beside an empty parking lot with a small booth for attendant of parking lot

below: As you can see more clearly here, the Argonaut was actually parked beside the Lafarge facility.  T’nT is behind the Lafarge Cement round towers (building on the left).

large empty parking lot in the foregraound, largare cement facitily in the background, with a large laker docked beside it

large laker ship docked beside Lafarge cement

below: Shipping Channel

two boats parked in the shipping channel, one is the white and yellow Iroquois

boats parked in the shipping channel

shipping channel, port lands

below: There are quite a few old railway crossing signs in the Port Lands for tracks that have been torn up or long unused. I am surprised that no one has stolen them.

old car parked beside an old railway crossing sign, for a railway track that is no longer there

below: Boats of a different kind –    RCYC (Royal Canadian Yacht Club) on Cherry Street.

a line of large sail boats in storage, on land, covered with tarps, masts in the air, no sails,

below: Cherry Beach

a woman walking her dog beside a forest, on a beach

No construction affects the beach but these days, people are keeping their distance. Since taking these pictures the beach may have been closed, I’m not sure. The parking lot will be closed for sure.

cherry beach with not many people and cherry lifeguard station

below: Unwin Street, looking east towards the old Hearn Generating Station

unwin street in port lands

hearn generating station from the west side

part of Hearn generating plant, upper level with watch tower

below: Another Port Lands view from above.  North of the Gardiner is the construction site for the rebuilding of the Gardiner.  To the south is the Port Lands with the tall smokestack/chimney of the Hearn.   The white building with the two chimneys on the far left is the Portlands Energy Centre, a natural gas powered electricity generating station.

view of port lands and gardiner expressway from above including hearn generating station

below: The entry to the Portlands Energy Centre which is the property of Hydro One.

closed and locked gate with warning signs on it

a concrete road barrier with blue spray paint words that say have a good day

standing alone

Posted: February 1, 2015 in locations
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at the corner of Redpath and Roehampton

A single family, two storey house stands alone in an otherwise vacant lot. The houses around it have been demolished. This last house has just begun to be demolished. There are many apartment buildings in the background.