Posts Tagged ‘DVP’

walking River Street, mostly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: A long vacant lot on Gerrard.

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

below: Munro Street, south of Gerrard

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

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

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

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

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

bridgepoint hospital, with old don jail in the background

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

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

below: Northwest view

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Flower Power happiness

sunflower with a happy face, pasteup on canada post mailbox

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

old brick houses with for lease signs in the front yard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: St. Sava, Serbian Orthodox Church.

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

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

regent park, southwest corner of gerrard and river streets

ivy covered exterior walls of Regent Park apartments,

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

contrast of old Regent Park residences with newer developments

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

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

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

cornwall street row houses, with highrise behind

looking down a private road at a townhouse development

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

entrance to building, door with stone lintal and decorations

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

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

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

red hoardings around vacant construction site

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Monsters ready to box

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

below: River Variety is no more.

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

below: No more gyros or poutine here.

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

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

below: At Mark Street, more old and new

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

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

below: Every child matters

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

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

garage in alley, white concrete block with grey metal door

below: West side of River Street, at Queen

River Street, west side at Queen,

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

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

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives

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

view looking north on river street, from king street

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

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

below: Parked in the bike lane.

blue car parked in the bike lane on river street

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

 

looking for north Ontario

Posted: May 6, 2024 in construction, locations, transportation
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… the northern end of the Ontario line that is.  It was a foggy, overcast day when I went searching so I have many grey low contrast pictures with the occasion sunny image when the clouds parted for a few minutes.   As construction progresses there will be lots of opportunities for better photography!  It may be many years yet.

The plans on the Metrolinx website show the Ontario Line ending at the Science Centre station at Eglinton and Don Mills.  From the Science Centre, an elevated line runs south to a Flemingdon Park station near Gateway Blvd and Don Mills Road.  The map suggests that the line runs over or parallel to Don Mills Road.

below: Northeast corner of Don Mills and Gateway Blvd.  Grey on grey I’m afraid.

below: Map, screenshot from Metrolinx website.  Pink sections of the line are elevated and blue sections are underground.

map showing location of Thorncliffe and Flemingdon Metrolinx stations

It is difficult to determine from the map the exact route the line will follow along Don Mills Road.  At the moment, the east side is largely undeveloped between the Science Centre just south of of Eglinton to the school at Overlea.   The west side of Don Mills Road is already home to a number of tall office and residential buildings as well as stores and restaurants.  Whatever the route, traffic on Don Mills is about to get ugly again (having just returned to normal after the Eglinton LRT construction).

below: West side of Don Mills Road, looking north towards Eglinton from hydro right of way.


South of Flemingdon, and before Overlea Blvd, the line swings west and crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the section of land that has been clear cut recently. It is on the northern edge of a Hydro right of way that crosses the city.

clear cut stretch of land, some stumps still there, hydro poles and wire in the background

below: Photo taken from the same place as the one above, but looking more north.  It was a bit foggy but what you are looking at is E.T. Seton Park and the archery range there.  A tiny bit of the Science Centre can be seen near the top right.  The black bridge is the railway bridge just south of Eglinton near the foot of Leslie Street.

Seton Park, ravine, near Science Centre,

below: A spot of colour, spring blossoms on an old and gnarly crab apple tree.

below: More grey concrete.  A wall of  Valley Park Middle School at the northwest corner of Overlea Blvd and Don Mills Road.

When the Ontario line swings west of Don Mills Road, it will run parallel to Overlea Blvd as it crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the plaque on the bridge, the Charles Hiiscott Bridge apparently (does anyone call it that?).  It was named after the mayor of Leaside at the time (1960).  I’m willing to bet that everyone just calls it the Overlea bridge.  Whatever you call it, it’s 62 1/2 feet long and rises 115 feet above the valley floor.

below: Looking north from the bridge over the West Don River and the Seton Park trail.  There is a clear cut hill on near the top left corner of the photo where the Ontario Line will pass.  I have tried to find any drawing or plans that Metrolinx has that might illustrate what this section would look like beyond the fact that it will be elevated.  Some sort of bridge over the Don is needed but the details seem to be up in the air as well.

West Don River as seen from Hiscott, or Overlea, bridge, looking north towards Eglinton, spring, leaves just budding on trees, grass along path is green, some evergreen trees, large new condos n the distance

After crossing the West Don, the tracks will (probably) run behind the buildings on the north side of Overlea.  until Thorncliffe where a station is planned at the intersection of Thorncliffe and Overlea.

below: The Greek Orthodox church has a large presence in this stretch of Overlea.

United Macedonian unknown soldier memorial outside greek orthodox church, along with Canadian and macedonian flags

United Macedonian unknown soldier memorial outside greek orthodox church

truck backed into parking spot in loading bay of yellow brick warehouse type building

large puddle reflects tree that has been pruned to avoid hydro lines,

large puddle reflects a couple of high rise office buildings as well as a low brick warehouse building

 

back of a light industrial building that is red brick with large sections of coloured trim, parking lot, apartment building on Thorncliffe in the background

below: There is a large community garden there now.

large community garden in Thorncliffe, lots of fences and stakes, early spring so there isn't much growing

below: This is still on the Hydro right of way.

community garden plots on hydro right of way land

below: That’s the back of Costco just peaking into the photo.

car driving on street behind costco, vacant land and hydro right of way on the other side of street

many tall metal hydro poles on right of way

two small orange cones in front of a concrete barrier, large metal hydro poles in the background

below: Road closures and empty buildings.

dead end of street, small building there is no longer open for business, signs for metrolinx construction of Ontario lone

below: A “trash panda” raccoon checks out the old metal bin behind Costco

a raccoon climbs up broken door of a metal bin, shopping cart in foreground,

below: On the west side of Costco there is a row of apple trees now in blossom

a row of apple trees covered in white blossoms along a path beside a concrete building

below: But on the other side of the apple trees is a very large, now vacant, plot of land surrounded by hoardings.  This is Metrolinx.  This is where the Ontario Line turns to join Overlea at Thorncliffe Park.

fencing and hoardings around a vacant lot, with a pile of sand along the far edge

below: Much of Overlea to the west of Thorncliffe is either empty or about to be. The exception is the Salvation Army headquarters at the corner of Overlea and Millwood – the blue and white striped building in this photo.

below: Part of the plan for the neighbourhood is this new Islamic Centre that replaces an older building that will be demolished to make way for the Ontario Line.

new islamic center under construction,

below: A discovery – hiding in the bushes.  This looks like an old fire hydrant.

vintage red fire hydrant, still in use, behind a bush on Overlea

below: It’s actually a “fire main indicator post” made by the McAvity Company.    It marks an underground valve that controls the water supply.   Thomas McAvity started in business in 1834 in St. John New Brunswick; he was followed by most of his 6 sons and together they built a large, thriving company with foundries that produced plumbing parts, among other things.   They started making fire hydrants in 1903 but sold the company in 1960.

closer look at mcavity fire hydrant,

broken sign that had lights, in front of a building with ads for vitamins on the windows

outdoor storage of extra traffic lights, temporary lights used in construction and for road works

yellow construction fence around vacant lot with low rise building in the background

red metal piece that joins the tops of two metal construction fences, ripped corners of hoardings that used to be attached as well

below: Digging holes on one side of the street

two men working beside the road, one in a digger, and one standing by the hole that it is digging

below: And laying orange conduit for future cable on the other side

a man in hard hat and safety vest sits beside a piece of equipment used for laying large conduits for cables under roads, lots of orange conduit piping on the trailer too

below: Sidewalk hieroglyphics, speaking a language most of us don’t understand.

red, orange, and yellow markings on sidewalk, pre construction layouts and routing of underground systems

below: Looking east on Overlea approaching Millwood.  The new Islamic Centre is the building with the turquoise upper level.  Somewhere in here, sometime in the future, an elevated train will run.  At least that’s the plan.

looking east on Overlea towards construction of new islamic center

From Thorncliffe Park station at the intersection of Thorncliffe Park and Overlea Blvd., a train running towards downtown will now need to cross Millwood, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: I had more luck with finding possible ideas for this second bridge.  On a page on the Metrolinx website there is a rendering of the bridge that will cross both the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP).  This view is from the northwest.  It shows the new bridge running parallel to the Millwood bridge (shown here as the shorter straighter bridge).

screenshot from metrolinx website showing planned bridge over the West Don River and DVP just north of Overlea

A pretty picture.  But what does in mean?  What are the implications?

A hint….

large tree trunks with yellow caution tape tied around them

land recently cleared of vegetation, dirt ruts

below: Another section of Toronto ravine lands cleared of trees. This is immediately west of the Millwood Overlea intersection. The Millwood bridge is in the background.

ridge of land, now cleared of trees, some debris remaining, dirt, Millwood bridge in background

large tree stump in a patch of forest that has just been clear cut

below: The clearing has made the North Toronto Wastewater Treatment facility much more visible. There is a lot of upgrade work going on there too!   Twenty five million dollars worth of upgrades in fact, yes $25,000,000.  (source: Bennett Construction Group)

North Toronto Wastewater Treatment plant, in valley by Don River

below: “The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto” in stone and embedded in the concrete of the Millwood bridge.   In the center is the “Arms” of the municipality created in 1991.  Because the internet is the source of amazing trivia, this is the description that I found on the Governor General of Canada’s website, “Argent on a chevron Gules between two open books Argent edged Or bound Gules in chief and a caduceus Or fimbriated Gules in base a representation of the Royal Crown Or on a chief Azure a cogwheel winged Or;”   One questions leads to many more, right?  Well, “gules” = red, “fimbriated” = has a narrow border,

Metropolitan toronto symbol in stone, embedded in the concrete of the Millwood bridge

below: Under the Millwood Bridge.  The fence has been repaired so access to the structural underparts is restricted. Back in 2015 it was easy to get underneath – Under the Millwood Bridge.

a photographer stands under the Millwood bridge, on hill beside fence that keeps people off the underside of the bridge, graffiti on concrete and metal parts.

graffiti on lower parts of concrete pillars hoding up the Millwood bridge beside the Don River, spring greenery

graffiti happy face under millwood bridge

simple black drawing of a man in a hat, eyes closed and crying big tears, drawn on a wall with other street art

discarded trash on the ground, broken orange cones, an old hubcap, brown paper, dead leaves, beside a sidewalk

Another circular route

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

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

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

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

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

.

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

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

back side of old foundry building that was partially demolished

below: Ukraine symbol on a boarded up window

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

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

paper paste up urban ninja squadron graffiti on plywood

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

house with two green cube shapes on point

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

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

below: A row of large rocks

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

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

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

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

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

below: Eastern Ave and the DVP.  Looking east.

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

car dealership at Eastern Ave and Don Valley Parkway

below: Garfield the Cat just lying around

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

below: Northeast corner of Broadview and Eastern.

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

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

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

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

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

below: In an alley behind Queen Street East.

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

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

view northwest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Riverside common, a new public space on Queen East

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

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

below: Passing southbound under Queen Street East.

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

below: Looking north up Lower Bayview from Queen Street East

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

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

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

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

an uber 5000 yellow birdie on a mural

2 posters on a utility pole, Lost

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

construction near the distillery district

those big teeth…

Posted: March 5, 2022 in locations, nature, public art
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…at the Forks of the Don

If you’ve driven on the Don Valley Parkway you’ve probably seen them, the big grey structures that look like teeth.  They are just south of Don Mills Road, on both sides of the DVP.  Over the years, the trees and shrubs have been growing around them so they don’t stand out as much as they did when they were first installed in 1998.

below: On the west side of the Parkway

an old and rusted city street sign, maximum 30 km/h begins, with elevated wetlands sculptures behind

The structures were designed by Noel Harding (1945-2016) and are constructed out of recycled polystyrene and acrylic. Financing was provided by a group from the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

large concrete containers, planters, on a small hill with small trees, winter,

Their purpose is to help purify polluted water from the Don River watershed.

below: On the west side, the third planter stands alone, looking a bit like the back end of an elephant.

large grey planter for wetlands water purification, looks like the back end of an elephant, with four stumpy legs

large container on right with spout to concrete planter on the left, in the background, seen between the two concrete planters, an old cement bridge and a highrise apartment in the distance

below: The three concrete structures form a line on the east side of the DVP.

looking across traffic on the Don Valley Parkway to the other set of elevated wetlands sculptures

They can be accessed by following the trail that goes under the highway and follows Taylor Massey Creek.  If you follow this route, you end up walking generally east and you can walk for miles through the ravine system that runs under O’Connor Drive, through Taylor Creek Park and on to Warden Woods Park.

roadway curves to the right and passes under the Don Valley Parkway, traffic crossing over the bridge, winter time, snow on the ground, Forks of the Don where Taylor Massey Creek joins the Don River

Forks of the Don – where rivers come together, trails go in all directions, and even the railway passes through.

below: Stairs up to Don Mills Road and Gateway Blvd,

stairs leading up, to an apartment building, trees, winter

below: Or take the ramp that passes under Don Mills Road beside the tracks.

blue sign on a concrete pillar that says Don Mills Road, beside a metal ramp walkway under a bridge, Lower Don Trail

below: Looking southbound towards Union Station.

vehicle on train tracks approaching an underpass, where Don Mills Road crosses the tracks

below: From here the tracks follow the Don Valley east and then north.  They pass under Don Mills Road once more, just south of York Mills Road, before heading to Oriole GO station.

looking through gaps in a chainlink fence, a railway vehicle on the tracks below, looking eastward from Don Mills Road, apartment buildings in the background

below: This part of the Lower Don Trail really is a nexus, or hub, in the ravine path system.  Trails also lead northwest to the Science Center and Wilket Creek Park.

three people walking across a snow covered park towards highrise buildings

below: Choose kindness

colorful sticker on metal railing, lots of one eyed faces with big teeth on the back of a van with words choose kindness

heart painted on metal rail, graffiti, left side is red and right side is blue

a car drives over an old semi circular concrete bridge over the Don River, Gateway Blvd apartment building in the background

road bridge, concrete, above a river with a parth beside the river. Rusted metal railings on both sides of the path, green metal beams under the bridge, winter, sone snow, no leaves on the trees, Lower Don Trail, under Don Mills Road

below: “Passage”, an art installation by Labspace Studio under the Don Mills Bridge – part of the PanAm Path project.

public art under a bridge, halves of red canoes appear to come out of the wall, 8 of them in a line

below: Southward on the Lower Don Trail where you can walk all the way to Lake Ontario.

lower don trail, looking south, with DVP on one side and trees on the other, apartment building in the background.

below: If you are interested, this is a map of the PanAm Path, one of the projects from when the PanAm games were hosted here in Toronto in 2015.  The Forks of the Don is in the center by the pink X.  Something to consider exploring in the spring!?

city of Toronto map of the PanAm Path that crosses the city.

*****
plaque describing the elevated wetlands sculptures

“The elevated wetlands are functional sculptures, symbols of the integration of the plastics industry, art and environmental stewardship. The sculptures were developed through a partnership between the City of Toronto, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, and artist Noel Harding.”

“The sculptures draw attention to the importance of wetlands as an ecosystem. A solar powered pump lifts water from the Don River into a series of raised “planters” where native wetland plants and trees naturally remove pollutants from the water. Recycled plastics are used as soil substitute to promote vegetative growth. From the smallest container, water is emptied into a natural land based wetland, and flows back in to the Don River. The surrounding area has been naturalized through volunteer tree plantings to create a natural buffer between the sculptures and the Don Valley Parkway. “

 

beside and under the DVP

Posted: April 21, 2021 in history, intersections, locations
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below: Up beside the Don Valley Parkway and way off the beaten track this time.

up on a hill, level with a DVP overpass over York Mills Road, concrete barrier at side of parkway, signs for exit ramp to York Mills, also sign saying Lawrence Ave in 2 km,

But obviously some people with spray paint know about this little green corner of North York.

graffiti on a concrete wall beside the Don Valley Parkway just north of York Mills Road

below: More graffiti (text, throw ups) along the concrete barrier beside the southbound traffic

text graffiti on the concrete wall along west side of DVP, apartment building in the background,

below: A dead end on an abandoned road. This is part of the remains of an onramp for the southbound Don Valley Parkway from westbound York Mills Road.

text graffiti on a concrete wall, beside green space and the dead end of an abandoned onramp for the Don Valley Parkway, red brick apartment building, small trees,

below: This ramp was closed in 2005 and replaced with the present road configuration where all the on and off ramps are on the south side of York Mills.  Except for creating a mound of earth along the York Mils side, the site was left untouched.  Small trees are slowly taking over as nature gains the upper hand.

abandoned road starting to be overgrown with cracked asphalt, behind some houses, lots of trees with no leaves (early spring)

below: Still no parking

abandoned ramp to DVP,

Looking south along remains of an abandoned on ramp for the DVP at York Mills Road, later winter,

below:  Walking east on York Mills Road

A path crosses a large lawn in front of two apartment buildings

looking slightly uphill at a tree with a slight lean to the right in front of a tall yellowish grey apartment building

below: Any idea what this is? Something old and to do with water? At first I thought that it was sidewalk feature but now I suspect that someone ditched it here.

Small cylindrical metal object standing upright on the grass beside a sidewalk, rusty and old

below: Looking eastward on York Mills Road

Looking east along York Mills Road, just east of the Don Valley Parkway, some condo construction on the right, traffic, school bus, low rise apartments on the left

red and orange spray paint markings on a sidewalk by a construction site

below: Walking through Deerlick Park

View from a park towards a construction site with first few floors of a new condo built. Taller apartment buildings in the background

fence around a pile of dirt, construction site, with orange objects, apartment building in the background

below: Playground on Deerlick Trail

path leading to a playground

An orange kids bike lies on the grass outside a townhouse. Patio chairs are stacked up by the house along with round table and folded umbrella

below: CN Tower and the downtown Toronto skyline in the distance

Looking beyond a fence and some houses to see the CN Tower and Toronto downtown skyline in the distance

Part of a mural, outdoors summer rural scene with house in the distance, a fox by a creek and a girl in the foreground in a flowered dress and her hair in two pigtails, surrounded by a field of long grass and flowers

below: Trilliums under the Don Valley Parkway. Part of a mural on both sides of the underpass at Brookbanks. It was painted by Sarah J. Collard with help from Manny and Sonja Wiebe.

end of a mural on walls of an underpass, under the DVP. A field of white trilliums with tree trunks on the background.

Woman walking on sidewalk, walking past a mural by Start and City of Toronto, on DVP underpass concrete walls

part of a mural, a man cycling on a path, a sea gull lands behind him., path goes past field of flowers

3 valleys auto garage and full service gas station, a low one storey building with 4 bays for car repair

below: Church of Our Saviour with its large triangular stained glass window that was apparently designed by a local high school student.

Front view of Our Saviour Church, Anglican, with its A shaped roof line. Large triangular stained glass window

Construction site in residential area, house is mostly demolished, just footprint remains, fence around site, orange digger, backs of houses in next street, a tall apartment building in the background

blue dump truck backed into a construction site where a house has been demolished

split level semi divided house with cars parked in the driveway, a large tree in front of the one on the right, apartment building behind

From Three Valleys I tried to find a way to get back north to York Mills Road via parks and green spaces but I couldn’t do it. The next blog post was the result of a subsequent walk when I started farther north and attempted to find a path south.

below: No Eiffel Tower here!

blue and white toronto street sign for Paris Court, on a wood utility pole

tile pattern beside a glass door

north of the Keating Channel

Posted: March 10, 2021 in history, locations, old buildings, transportation, waterfront
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The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel.  I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side.  A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore.  This is some of what I saw that day.

below: At the bottom of Cherry Street

Cherry street railway building

below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.

old concrete silos as seen from Lakeshire and Cherrt, with Gardiner Expressway above

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

yellow fire hydrant in front, guard rails along the side of Lakeshore Blvd, with Lafarge silos in the background

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

Gardiner Expressway curves to the left

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

shadow on the grass beside the Lakeshore

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

Keating Channel, looking east

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

looking across the Keating Channel to a low rise building, square dock juts into the channel

old buildings still remaing on Villies Street as seen from across the Keating Channel

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

panorama - 1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo, also Port Lands before they were developed

below: Keating Channel, 1916

1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo
The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel.  But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea.  Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.

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

photo of Keating Street

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

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

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

Photo source: Library and Archives Canada, online

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

old rusty metal barrier between the Keating Channel and the road, with some weeds and gravel

below: There are still places to tie up your boat

a large metal piece beside keating channel, for tying off boats who want to park there,

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

old rusty large valve for a pipeline, beside Lakeshore Blvd,

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

old metal pieces of hardware, pipes and valves?, rusty, beside the Keating channel

lone building onthe other side of the water, surrounded by construction at ground level. boarded up, two storey building

construction in the background, blue digger, vacant land, and the Keating channel in the foreground, ducks in the water

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

Canary district development from the Lakeshore, looking north,

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

view from the Lakeshore looking up to the Gardiner Expressway and the underside of the ramp from the Don Valley Parkway to the Gardiner, 3 levels of concrete pillars and roadway.

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

view from the Don Roadway back to the new Cherry Street bridge, looking west, with the Gardiner to the right, Keating channel with thin layer of ice on it, docks and a few buildings on the Port Lands side of the channel

below: Intersection of Lakeshore and Don Roadway.

at the intersection of Don Roadway and Lakeshore Blvd, traffic cones and a blue sign that says sidewalk closed ahead

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

two tall metal hydro poles with lots of blue sky, power plant in the distance, and looking very small

below: From the Don Roadway, northbound and homeward

street art on the concrete bents holding up the ramp from D V P to Gardiner Expressway, walking path beside, with a man walking his dog,

close up of part of electrical station equipment, with water tower in the background with word Ponds written on it

chain link fence with a design woven into it with different colours, artwork, shrubbery with no leaves (winter time), billboard on an expressway in the background

from Brickworks to Corktown

Posted: July 11, 2017 in landmarks, nature, transportation
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A walk along the Don River.

The Don Valley Brick Works (or Evergreen Brickworks) is an old clay quarry and brick factory that operated between 1889 and 1984.  Today the site consists of 16 heritage buildings and an adjacent 16-hectare public park known as Weston Family Quarry Garden that includes wetlands, hiking trails, and wildflower meadows.

below: Interior of the kiln building.  Some of the kilns have been removed to create a larger open area and year round event space.

large ceiling pipes, exhaust system for old brickworks kilns, some of the old kilns as well

below: anser faces on the exterior yellow brick wall.

yellow brick wall with two large blue anser faces on it, as well as part of the word Toronto in yellow bricks

below: The Brickworks “living map” of Toronto is looking very healthy.  It is “Watershed Consciousness” by Ferruccio Sardella and it depicts the rivers and ravines in the city.    Some of the greens are looking a little tall (like they don’t belong there? a few strays?).

a pink chair and a yellow chair sit in front of a sculpture that is a metal relief map of Toronto, green plants grow in the areas of the map that are ravines and green spaces in the city

below: Bullrushes growing in the wetland area around the pond.

narrow brown bullrushes growing amongst the reeds in the wetlands at brickworks

below:  Ideas!  I’ve been meaning to find the end of this bridge and walk at least part of it – if I do, I’ll let you know!  It’s the bridge that you see beside the Brickworks.  It was built in 1928 and is 335m long.   It is part of the Don Branch of the CPR and it ran from Leaside Junction to the downtown core until the line was closed in 2007.

two people walk across an unused railway bridge

After a short visit at the Brickworks, including a quick bite to eat at the Farmers Market, we headed south.  The first part of the walk was back along Bayview to Pottery Road since Brickworks is on the west side of the Don River and the trail is on the east side.  I didn’t take any pictures – walking along a major road that doesn’t have a sidewalk needs all of your attention.   There is a bike path that parallels Bayview on the east side but getting to it was either a long detour or a dash across the road and over a barrier.   We made the decision to stay on the west side and cross with the lights at Pottery Road.

below: Although the path is through the ravine and it runs beside the Don River, it also runs adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway.  There are only a few places on the trail where you can see the highway but there is a constant rumbling noise from the cars passing by.

cyclist on a path, riding away from the camera, fence to the left of him/her, green signs on the Don Valley Parkway to the far left. exit sign for Bayview and Bloor.

below: This is the same railway line as the bridge shown above but farther down the valley.  A very makeshift bike crossing.

two cyclists walk their bikes across loose pieces of plywood over unused railway tracks

below: Standing at the same spot as the above photo, but turned around 180 degrees… You can see how overgrown the old tracks are.

looking along an abandoned railway line, overgrown tracks, trees on either side, apartment buildings far away in the distance

below: Two different railway lines run down the Don River Valley.   The line shown here, the CN Bala subdivision line,  is very active including use by GO trains that service the Oriole, Richmond Hill, and Newmarket route.   The Bala subdivision tracks continue all the way to Sudbury.

a cyclist walks his bike over a gravel travel under a bridge that has just been renovated, another bike rider is dismounting

below: A quiet spot by the abandoned tracks.

an old rusted side of a railway trestle bridge, lots of greenery from the trees growing around it, a man is standing at one end of the bridge, unused tracks
below: There are a few spots along the trail where there was damage from the high water levels in the spring.  Most if the problems are with the banks od the river.  The trail itself is in good shape.

an orange plastic fence runs between wooden stakes, danger, marking the parts of a riverside trail that got washed away or damaged in high water in the spring

below: Kayaking on the river.

a yellow kayak with two people in it passes under an old railway bridge that has graffiti on it. Don River

below: Keeping an eye on the water level.

surveillance camera on a tall pole, aimed at rulers and markers on the far side of a river, keeping an eye on the water level

cyclists on a path through the trees, a bridge support is beside the path

a big white happy face graffiti on a bridge support

below: Does anyone know what the 6 drum shaped things are?

two boys ride bikes past the Mill Street Junction hydro station, fenced in area with danger signs,

below: Standing on the old metal bridge across the Don River at Eastern Avenue, looking south.  When the Don Valley Parkway was built, it cut through Eastern Avenue.  Eastern was rerouted, swinging north a bit before crossing over the DVP and splitting into Richmond, Adelaide, and Eastern. (depending in which direction you’re travelling).   If you stand on the bridge and look directly east, there is still a road there that dead ends at the highway.  It is now Sunlight Park Road and it is provides access to the BMW dealership that you can see as you drive past on the DVP.

metal work of the side of a bridge frames the view of a river and trees and city buildings, Don River, abandoned bridge

I couldn’t see any park in that area so I decided that if there is a Sunlight Park it’s teensy tiny.  Luckily I didn’t stop there – I did some research and discovered that Sunlight Park was actually the first baseball stadium built in Toronto.   It was built in 1886 and was first known as the Toronto Baseball Grounds – four storeys, wood, and the home of the Toronto baseball team from 1886 to 1897.   And where is Sunlight in all this?  The stadium became known as Sunlight Park after the Sunlight Soap factory that was built by the Lever Brothers in 1900/01 in the same area.   The stadium was demolished in 1913.

below: The building in the background was the Lever Brothers (the Unilever) soap factory.  There is now a sign on the building that says firstgulf.com – they are the development company that owns the site.  NOW magazine published an interesting story about the building as it looks at the moment (with lots of great pictures!).  The path through the striped underpass joins the Don River Trail to Corktown Commons.

two men walk through a park towards an underpass under a railway track, factory in the background.

 Stay safe.  Protect the plants (and the humans!)

altered sign. Instead of saying Protect the Plants it now says Protect the humans.

movement in vibrant colour

Posted: August 25, 2016 in public art
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They aren’t easily seen from any street but there are now 20 colourful figures leaping and dancing their way along the west side of Bridgepoint Hospital.   You will encounter them if you walk on the path that runs between Gerrard East and Riverdale Park.

below:  Perched high above the Don Valley, they run, jump, leap, dance and celebrate movement of the human form.  They are sculptures by Canadian artist Bill Lishman (with help from Richard Vanheuvelan).

brightly coloured sculptures of figures in various active poses, made of loosely woven metal, a purple woman leaping, an orange man on his back about to catch of blue woman who is leaping head first through the air, and others as well, along the side of a building, the DVP runs beside in the background and the Bloor Viaduct bridge across the valley is in the distance

below: A yellow goggle-wearing snowboarder leaping over the bushes is the first sculpture you come across if you are walking up the path from Riverdale Park.

yellow metal sculpture of a young man in goggles

below: Two of the twenty different figures form ‘The Lambada’ (a dance style originating in Brazil in the 1980’s) by Richard Vanheuvelan.

a purple male figure in metal sculpture is dancing with a woman made of red metal, she is bending backwards while he supports her.

below: More dance, this time ballet in red, blue and purple.   Strength and grace.

sculptures of three figures in ballet poses, one in blue metal, one in red metal and one in purple. Dancing in a garden outdoors

below: ‘The Three Muses’ pose overlooking the city.

outdoor sculptures of three women dancing, one is red metal, one is orange metal and the last is yellow metal. Downtown TOronto skyline is in the distance

top part of a blue metal sculpture of a man, showing his head, with long hair flowing out behind, one arm raised. The glass windows of a building are behind him, outdoors,

The sculptures were a generous gift from the Tauba and Solomon Spiro Foundation and were originally designed in memory of businessman and philanthropist, Max Tanenbaum (1909-1983).

 

 

under the Millwood Bridge

Posted: May 14, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Millwood Bridge
also known as the Leaside Bridge

I first visited this site late in March.  For one reason or another I didn’t get around to adding the photos that I took that day to this blog.  I was back yesterday on another grey day.  There are now leaves on the trees and the graffiti on the concrete has been painted over.

looking along the length of the bridge from just underneath it at one end. Sloping ground in the picture, as are concrete supports and the metal steel girders supporting the road above.

below:  The Don River flows under the bridge.  In the distance, top right, is the Don Valley Parkway.

steel girders under the Millwood bridge with the train tracks and Don River below. Lots of bolts holding this bridge together!

graffiti on the yellow girders under the bridge. The concrete supports at the end of the bridge are also visible and also covered with graffit.

yellow girder in the foreground, the cat walk and metal structure of the bridge in the background. Graffit on the girder including the word 'scarey' in white letters.

Catwalk under the Millwood bridge, looking down almost the whole length of it. A person is on the catwalk in the distance.

yellow metal girder covered with scribbles in black, red, and green.
There was also some graffiti and street art on the concrete supports at the north end of the bridge.  These have now been painted over.  The graffiti on the metal portions of the bridge remains.

below: Two of the paintings that are now gone.

Street art painting of an eagle attacking a snake.

graffiti tag that says Mozie in large letters, blue on the top and a dark burgundy colour on the bottom

Lovebot didn’t want to stick to the paint on the girder but he hung around long enough to get a picture.

lovebot sticker on a yellow metal girder under a bridge