Posts Tagged ‘Eastern Ave.’

Captain Hawley and others

Posted: September 12, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, stores
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below: This lane was recently named for William Hawley, a retired Toronto firefighter and Leslieville resident.

sign for Captain Hawley lane, with new third and fourth floor additions to a building in the background

Captain Hawley lane runs north from Eastern towards Queen St East.  It is west of Leslie Street.  There are a few other little alleys in the vicinity all of which seem to be unnamed.  This blog post shows some of the things seen in these alleys as well as on the major streets around them, Queen, Leslie, and Eastern.

below: Elicser Elliott’s Leslieville mural still looks great at Queen & Jones.

young man crossing Queen Street near Leslieville mural, and beside a TTC streetcar

Leslieville mural

below: “Community” by Candace Bell on Queen East

painting on sidewalk traffic box, in front of store, on Queen Street East

below: Who is the photographer?

a camera is set up on a tripod, on the sidewalk outside a cafe, man sitting on chair nearby, another man sitting too

workman in hard hat and work boots, spray painting a line on the pavement, street,

below: Stores on Queen East.

stores on Queen Street east

below: Northeast corner of Larchmount and Queen East.

intersection of Larchmount and Queen Street East , northeast corner

queen street east, north side

below: Photo taken on a day when gas was $1.43 a litre, albeit full service which you don’t find everywhere these days.

sun gas services station on queen street east

below: An afternoon break on a patio.

woman on patio of duke tavern, red building with mural on the side, white umbrellas,

below: Waiting to get into the Duke, Men’s Entrance

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern, men's entrance, plus a boy sitting on the steps outside

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern

below: Leslie and Queen East south side,

glass of bus shelter, with Leslie St sign on it, people walking on sidewalk, front of Shish restaurant on Queen Street, construction on southeast corner of Leslie and Queen in the background

below: Construction on the east side of Leslie – one of countless large holes in the ground.

workmen talking, construction site, Leslie street at Memory Lane

below: Houses on Leslie, south of Memory Lane.

houses, Leslie Street and Memory Lane,

below: A house with a bright turquoise front door and another that is now taller and skinnier.

row of houses on leslie street, one has a bright turquoise front door and the one beside it has had a third storey added to it

below: 27 Leslie Street

small blue building at 27 Leslie Street

below:  Non-believers on top – “No Truth to it!” over “Jesus saith unto him…. “.

Note on pole that says, but someone ha written over it, no truth to this

toronto street sign for eastern avenue, on a pole covered with vine and ivy

below: On Eastern, the AMCO gas station is now closed because of a recent fire.

gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire

men boarding up burned out gas station
AMCO gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire, with backs of houses beside it

below: “Navalny” and “Text” by Nigel Smith

text street art by Nigel Smith, on old office building, two signs, one says text and the other says Navalny

below: There is still a large vacant lot on the south side of Eastern Avenue (with views towards the Port Lands)

temporary building structures on a large vacant lot
no trespassing sign on fence surrounding a large vacant lot on Eastern Avenue

… and now the laneway scenes …..

below: Starting with the now  ubiquitous laneway garden suite

new infill house development in a lane

low burlap barrier draped across an alley, repairs being made to the concrete and pavement behind the barrier

a large billboard on Eastern avenue, with advert for second cup coffee shop, summer drinks

below: These  houses  with the square-ish shapes at the back are disappearing as more and more home owners renovate and/or expand upwards.  Brick is no longer the cladding of choice (and hasn’t been for a long time).

back of house, alley view, square red brick two storey house, one window, wood fence

alley views, back of two semi detached houses, that share a chimney, one green siding and one one white siding

white camper of RV parked behind house, goldenrod weeds growing by the back door.

back of house, alley view, painted wood fence, lots of trees

vines growing on overhead wires, over a lane, with garages along the sides of the alley

back of house, alley view, wood fence, white sun umbrella, grey cover on barbecue

back of house, alley view, white house, white van parked behind, green wood fence

backyard alley view, back of newly renovated house, expanded, fence down at back, bags of yard waste

backyard alley views, old tire, trash bins, rooftop terrace with umbrella

small red car parked in a lane, line of garages, tall trees,

backyard alley view, overgrown grass and shrubs, hard to see the house, chainlink fence and gate

backyard alley view, lots of stuff, including a shopping cart full of basketballs and soccer balls, chairs, sheets and clothes hanging from a yellow rope clothes line

chainlink fence, old painted wood, rusty metal, latch, gate in an alley

red gate in an alley, with black line drawing on it, locked, latch,

old plywood on a fence, once painted red, now faded to slightly orange red, with dirt splotches and worn areas, texture, pattern, abstract

 

Queen East and a little bit Eastern

Posted: September 23, 2023 in construction, doors, intersections, old buildings, stores
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These are some of the photos that I took the last time that I walked along Queen Street East – with a diversion or two down to Eastern Avenue.  It was a wander around parts of the Leslieville and Riverside neighbourhoods.   In no particular order….

below: Leslieville mural painted by Elicser Elliott, Queen Street East

large Leslieville mural by Elicser, man wearing a brown hat

below: Queen Street shops

stores on Queen St East, including LIttle Peeps

below: Hebrew letters, part of a project called “Welcome Back to Main Street” from back in 2021.  The Riverside Neighbourhood and Leslieville BIA collaborated with STEPS Public Art as part of the I HeART Main Street Challenge. The painting was done by local artists Bareket and Curtia Wright

in pink, Hebrew letters spelling welcome

below: … and nearby, “welcome” in Polish, witamy.

pink letters on sidewalk spell witamy which is polish for welcome, part of welcome back to main street project

below: At 744 Queen East, the old white Bank of Commerce building with its bowed front facade, dates from 1905.  The architects who designed the building were Darling & Pearson who were responsible for a number of bank buildings in Toronto and other Canadian cities.

large old bank of commerce stone building with pillars in front, police man writing a parking ticket for white car parked in front of building

below: Blessed Love Caribbean Grocery and Take Out.

signs for stores on Queen East including Blessed Love Caribbean

below: A frenzied backdrop to a sidewalk patio.

mural on wall beside sidewalk patio

below: Ghost sign at Queen and Coady.

ghost coca cola sign on side of old store, now a Spanish restaurant, with red umbrellas on patio

 

below: More details from the past trying to hold on.   The “blue box” has obliterated the old gabled roof structure that has probably been there for more than 100 years.

a row of buildings on Queen East with different architectural styles, some bay and gable, some modern square

below: Canadian flag motifs on planters

tree planters on queen street, painted in red and white maple leaf flag motifs
below: Strange ducks on posters, a form of graffiti?  Or just weirdness?

paper poster graffiti on a cement utility pole

below: Sax player at the Duke

street art painting of a saxophone player on yellow background, at the Duke tavern

below: Mediah on Queen

mural by mediah on queen street

mural

people walking past Samairas, with a street art painting on one of the exterior walls, large hand

Leslieville meat market, with street art image on door, a cyclist in front, women waiting at bus stop

below: on Broadview

mural on the side of a building on Broadview

below: Gales Snack Bar, Eastern and Carlaw.

Gales in old house on corner

below: Old row houses on Eastern – 4 in a row, 3 blue but 545 is in its original brown.

two storey old rowhouses on Queen St West

below: Something else that is old – an old style bus shelter close to an old metal Queen Street street sign affixed to the brick building.

old bus shelter with curved roof and brown metal supports,

below: And one last “you don’t see many of these anymore” – old parking meters.   Anyone got coins?

old grey metal parking meters, two on one stand

below: Snapdragons

pink, red, and yellow snapdagons flowers growing in front of a grey house

below: Lilies and hostas

small city frontyard with some grass and some red lilies and a hosta

below: More flowers, and a baby pram too.  Did you know that pram is just a short form of perambulator?  How British is that!  Even better, the second meaning of perambulator is, “a person who walks, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way.”

porch of house with hanging baskets of flowers, chairs on the lawn,

below:  More than flowers!

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

below: Perambulating on Queen West!

some people walking on queen east, another person sitting on a bench

Queen Street east street scene

below: Traffic on Eastern Ave, headed downtown.

westbound traffic on Eastern Ave., moving towards downtown

below: No trespassing sign on one of the many vacant lots on the south side of Eastern.

black and yellow no trespassing sign on chainlink fence

faded warning signs on a locked gate and chainlink fence

below: This is one of the vacant lots on Eastern; it’s just west of Leslie.  The containers are offices (?) for GM as in General Motors.  They are sitting on a seven acre site that is otherwise empty.  Starting back in 2016 there was talk that this site would be developed as a GM Mobility Campus but approval from the city was never granted.   The previous buildings (film studios) were demolished and the lot lies vacant.

container offices in large vacant lot with chainlink fence around

below: Another space is for storage of old buses and trucks, movie props and other remnants of film productions.

trucks and school bus behind fence

below: … which happened to be unlocked the day I walked past.

CN Tower in the distance, a parking lot with old trucks and buses in the foreground

looking through upper windows of two buses, with reflections

below: On Leslie Street, at Eastern, this whole building is for lease because….

three storey industrial building with billboards on the side

below: .. as the letter states, the last tenant was locked out. They abandoned the premises leaving behind more than $100,000 in rent owing to the landlord.

letter on door stating that tenant was kicked out of arrears in rent and for abandoning the premises, dutch love cannabis is no more at this location

below:  The former Consumers Gas Company (now part of Enbridge) has had a large presence on Eastern Avenue for many years.  This stone on the exterior of the building names all the Consumers Gas directors in 1907 (presumably when the building was built?).  J.L. Blaikie was the president and A.W. Austin was the vice-president.  The mayor of the city, E. Coatsworth, was also a director.   There was a Sir W. Mortimer Clark on the list and, to no one’s surprise, the other names were all very anglo.

engraved stone with the list of Consumers Gas Company directors in 1907. on exterior of the building

below: Queen West at the CNR tracks

woman in long black skirt and white hat walks on Eastern Ave

below:  Little red picket fence

small red picket fence in front of a house

below: Renovations

large third storey addition on a house, juts out over front yard

two new renovations of family houses in leslieville

below: Note the many hydro meters all in a row – six units in what was once a single family home.

large new multiunit residence being built beside older smaller grey house

back of a house that has been painted orange, an old garage with graffiti on the door

below:  So far so good

front door steps of empty house that has been boarded up, with sign on it that says so far so good

below: Nice

green sign with white letters that says nice on brick wall on old industrial building

below: You never know what you will find written on the concrete.

quotes supporting cannabis availability stenciled onto a concrete barrier

on a TTC bus stop sign, a black marker drawing of a star with a happy face in the middle of it, with the words be kind

below: In memory of Karolina Huebner-Makurat who died on a Friday afternoon in August because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was caught in the crossfire during an altercation outside a supervised injection site.  Senseless.  Horrible.

flowers, memorial

Stay safe.

a tale of two bridges

Posted: September 15, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings, transportation
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Traffic on Eastern Avenue near Broadview has faced construction and traffic delays over the past few months.   The slow downs are ongoing as work on the railway bridge progresses.  This work is because Metrolinx is adding tracks to make room for the new Ontario Line.  Like many parts of the city, there are many changes occurring in the area.

Demolition on the north side of Eastern, and poof,  gone, one large 5 storey Self Storage facility at 356 Eastern. Removed to make way for new tracks.   The beige house faces Lewis Street.

an orange bin sits in a vacant lot where a building has just been demolished

empty bucket of a front end loader sits on the ground beside a man on a ladder who is inspecting roof of building

… and now sitting gutted on the south side is another not old building (South side of Eastern Ave between Broadview and the railway tracks).

by a street construction zone, taller narrow building gutted, empty windows, brick on bottom, black cladding on top

South side of Eastern, from another angle.

empty group of buildings on south side of Eastern Ave., between Broadview and the railway tracks

West side approach to the Canadian National Railway bridge

orange and black traffic cones as well as black and orange signs with arrows directing traffic as Eastern Ave approaches railway bridge at McGee St., from west side of the bridge

west side of Canadian National Railway bridge on Eastern Ave

Along with the new railway line, Metrolinx is building what they are calling the East Harbour transit hub.  This involves a new Ontario Line station as well as a new GO station on the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO lines. Eventually, plans are to have TTC streetcars or LRT link here (it is directly south of Broadview and there is a plan to extend Broadview).

below: Construction along the railway line, south of Eastern Ave

construction site south of Eastern Ave., west of the train tracks, a man with a red shovel is clearing a now vacant lot

text graffiti in blue and white on the side of a railway bridge, water tower in the background

below: One side (the east side) of the railway tracks has been demolished.  Ultimately the whole bridge will be replaced but it is being done in stages to allow GO trains and VIA rail trains to continue running throughout the process.

bridge on eastern avenue with west side of railway track demolished

white folding chair sitting on sidewalk under railway overpass

A constant flow of dump trucks back and forth, in and out, of the construction site south of Eastern (on both sides of the railway tracks).  The 38 acre site that includes the old Lever Bros (Ponds, Sunlight etc) soap factory is being redeveloped at the same time – it extends south to Lakeshore and west to the Don River.

red dump trucks entering and exiting a construction site

Looking west on Eastern Ave, back towards downtown.

looking west on Eastern Ave., back towards railway bridge that is half demolished, traffic on the streets

green and white double decker go train on tracks, passing by a construction site

red dump truck being filled up with dirt

405 Eastern Ave, immediately east of the railway bridge, is also under construction.  It has nothing to do with transportation as it is a new Enbridge building.   A large 3 storey building with both offices and industrial (computers?) will probably be built here.

new concrete building being constructed on eastern ave

Makes sense, gas pipelines on site.

behind a chainlink fence, no trespassing sign, enbridge property

CCTV sign warning, on a chainlink fence, natural gas pipeline

Just north of Eastern Ave, the railway tracks cross Queen St East., crossing over a bridge of the same style and vintage.   Once upon a time this was a level crossing with a railway station on the northwest corner, the Riverdale station on the Grand Trunk Railway.  This is soon to be the location of the Riverside Leslieville station on the not yet built Ontario Line.

plaque describing history of riverdale railway station beside a concrete wall, with drawing of street map of part of toronto

So far the bridge is still intact but it too will be completely changed by the time Metrolinx is finished.  The station itself will be on the bridge (if their drawings & plans are to be believed).

Here there will be 6 tracks – 4 for GO Transit and 2 for the Ontario Line.

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

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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

another day, another demolition

Posted: September 21, 2021 in construction, locations
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McDonalds drive-thru with demolition…. yes, I’ll have fries with that.

Mcdonalds drive thru lanes with a black car, in front of two apartment buildings now empty and getting ready to be demolished

The demolition hasn’t really started yet but the buildings are empty and the grounds interiors are being cleared out.

blue construction fence around a pile of rubble outside of an apartment building getting ready to be demolished, old concrete, twisted metal, red bike,

empty apartment building at 1555 Queen East

pile of rubble outside of an apartment building getting ready to be demolished, old concrete, twisted metal,

below: Sidewalk along Eastern Avenue, looking east towards Lower Coxwell

sidewalk along Eastern Avenue, green grassy boulevard, empty apartment buildings behind chainlink fence

below: At Lower Coxwell and Eastern there is a gap in the old fence and overgrown bushes that leads to what once was a parking lot. The building in the background is one the ones being torn down.

path through old rusty fence and overgrown hedge to vacant lot that used to be a parking lot, empty building in the background

below: There are some cool old parking meters still standing

a pair of old coin fed parking meters still standing on their metal pole in an abandoned parking lot

below: The old parking lot is behind a row of businesses on Queen East

beind the buildings on the south side of Queen East, near Coxwell, Subway, Canadian Dry Cleaners,

below: Looking northeast towards Queen East and Coxwell

view from a vacant lot at Lower Coxwell and Eastern, looking northeast towards Coxwell and Queen East intersection

brick apartment building with balconies, empty, some broken windows, some white debris in a pile in front, blue construction fence

yellow arches mcdonalds sign pointing to drive thru, open 24 hours, in the background, 2 brick apartment buildings that are empty. blue construction fence between, buildings are about to be demolished

building a church

Posted: October 27, 2020 in construction
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Except it’s not a real church.
It’s part of a film/movie set on a studio lot. The unusual part is that it is right on Eastern Avenue in full view of passers-by.  I’m not sure what production it’s for but maybe keep your eyes open in the coming months!

the shell of a ground floor of a brick church with a brick and stone porticao front entrance, fake glass for stained glass window, workmen still constructing it, a film set,

a woman pushing a stroller and holding a cup of coffee, walks past the shell of a ground floor of a brick church with a brick and stone porticao front entrance, fake glass for stained glass window, workmen still constructing it, a film set, being built right beside the sidewalk

graffiti – anti Rob Ford

Posted: August 18, 2012 in graffiti and street art
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anti Ford graffiti words and pictures can be found

on dumpsters ……..

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anti Ford poster on a red dumpster

Seen on a dumpster in Renfrew Place,

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on fences…..

Stencilled onto a fence on Eastern Avenue in Leslieville. October 2012. Not the best quality photo I’m afraid. As of December 2012, the fence is gone.

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on walls….

anti Ford poster with a Rob Ford quote that is anti cyclist

“My heart bleeds for them when someone gets killed. But it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” Rob Ford quote from March 7, 2007.

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We can’t afFORD painted on a wall on Augusta Ave., Kensington

I am not sure if this started life as an anti-Ford piece of street art, but the placement of the sticker has made it one.

Ford gives and gets in this one. Seen on “Graffiti Alley” behind Queen St. West

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Rob Ford on Spadina near Baldwin

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Ford for ex-mayor. On Spadina near Baldwin

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and on garage doors……

Rob Ford lurking in an alley.

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