Posts Tagged ‘escalator’

Eglinton LRT to Keelesdale

Posted: September 24, 2026 in locations, stores, transportation
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The western terminus of the Eglinton LRT is Mount Dennis station (at Weston Road).

below: On the concourse level of Mount Dennis station is “Up to This Moment” which is an art installation created by artists Hadley + Maxwell.  It is made of words.

view through glass of Up to This Moment which is an art installation created by artists Hadley and Maxwell.  It is made of words.

below:  Phrases like “In one continuous poem”, “When Earth began”, and “In smooth and measured strains” appear here …. Apparently Ovid’s epic poem “Metamorphoses” was the inspiration/source for this installation and it functions “a meditation on creation, destruction, and community renewal”.  “Metamorphoses” was written in Latin about 2000 years ago and it chronicles the myths/history of the known world at that time.   It is long – there are over 250 myths in 15 books (and almost 12,000 lines of poetry).

Up to This Moment which is an art installation created by artists Hadley and Maxwell.  It is made of words such as In one continuous poem

people getting off train at Mount Dennis LRT station

below: Waiting for the driver at the end of the line.

looking out of the window at the front of an LRT station as it is parked at Mount Dennis station

below: The first part of the LRT is above ground.  Shortly after Mount Dennis, tracks diverges and one set leads to the TTC Maintenance and Service Facility for the Eglinton LRT.    After this split, the main line goes underground.

below: Up the escalator at the first station east of Mount Dennis –  Keelesdale at Eglinton and Keele.

below: The station entrance on the northeast corner of Keele and Eglinton follows the same architectural style (if you can call it style) as the other stations along that line.  York Memorial Collegiate is in the background.

below: Large sections of York Memorial Collegiate suffered extensive damage in a fire back in May 2019.  Reconstruction is underway but the school has not reopened yet.  Maybe in the spring?

reconstruction of York Memorial Collegiate, with red and yellow hoardings around the school

below: They don’t make them like that anymore – York Memorial was built in 1929 in memory of those who died in WW1.  A number of additions have been added over the years.

front of York Memorial Collegiate, built 1929, brick and sandstone

 

black marker drawings on red and yellow striped hoardings

below: “Sharing Stories of Migration” is a mural at Keele and Eglinton by Moises Frank.  It shows a West African drummer and educator  Saikou Saho, with a student.  A Canada goose flies behind them.  Those geese are everywhere!

below: It looks like a collage of faded and weathered bits and pieces left over from other projects.

weathered and faded street art on eglinton west

below: Eglinton, looking east to Keele and beyond.

Eglinton Avenue, looking east from Keele

below: Vybes be vibe-ing; Vybes be positive

glass door on store has circular green sign with picture of a tree and words saying natural vybes

below: Bright! …  red and white tiles

black mailbox on wall with red and white tiles in checkerboard pattern

below: Eglinton West gateway marker

eglinton west sign, large vertical post with a blue globe

below: Northside of Eglinton, looking west towards Keele.

in front of a coin laundry, northside of Eglinton Ave., looking west towards Keele, people sitting on a bench outside nails and spa shop, other people walking on sidewalk

below: Stores and businesses on Eglinton West including the Sun-Light Bakery with it’s Jamaican flag sign,  Emeye’s Injera and Mini Mart where you can buy spices and teff flour, and Caribbean Cuisine that announces that it’s jerk chicken is authentic Jamaican.

below: Tinnel’s Jamaican beef patties, Unique Fashion,  … and shopping is easy at Easy Shoping Discount,

two brick two storey commercial buildings on Eglinton west, one with a large billboard on the roof, Easy Shoping Discount and Variety, and Unique

below: Psychic Sada Guru, Indian spiritual healer and astrologer who is “young, dynamic trusted”.

below: “Se habla Espanol”

below:  The Moorish Science Temple of America has a presence on Eglinton West.  This religion believes  (among other things) that African Americans are descended from the “Moroccan Empire”.

signon outside of building, over door, that says Moorish Science Temple of America

below: More stores. Rose Discount & Variety (Have a KitKat!) and Elegant Spa & Studio.

below:   … and restaurants … Madras Curry, an Indian restaurant, as well as JJ’s Fried Chircken, a Korean restaurant

below: Jamaican touches in the window

merchandise in a store window

below: Two flags at the door, Granada and Jamaica

store on Eglinton West with Jamaican flag in the window

buildings on Eglinton West, one is an older small house, and one is a squareish commercial building, both two storeys

below: This lonely and forlorn looking building sits on the southwest corner of Eglinton and Keele.  The City of Toronto purchased this lot back in 2015 for $2.625 million.   Eleven years ago they bought it for the 12 parking spaces that it contains, plus potential for future development (source:  pdf from city online files).   It’s a dismal looking corner.

one small and empty building sits on the southeast corner of Keele and Eglinton West

below: Nothing is safe….. This isn’t on the old TD Canada Trust building in the above photo. It is across Keele Street from it.

blue and white redevelopment notice sign on the side of a red brick building

below:Lord Help Us beside a Kiss

store window with a large plant, also two hand written signs, one says lord help us and the other says kiss

below: Christmas greetings all year long.

sign on store window that says Merry Christmas from the Lord

below:Does anyone burn CDs anymore?

signs in store window advertising CD burning service, also fax machines,

inside a restaurant, view of kitchen area

below: Jesus House

sign in store window that says Jesus House

below:Lester Avenue, north of Eglinton, looking west.

Lester Avenue, houses, street scene

small older houses in front, larger apartment buildings behind them

below: A very small house!

below: This garage keeps an eye on the street, 24/7.

house with white garage, two small windows on garage that have been painted to look like eyes

alley behind Eglinton West, looking downhill, looking west

small window on a brown shingle covered shed, in an alley, back of stores on other side of the lane in the background

old gate, patched with pieces of plywood

bright red wood fence with top of mosque just showing over the fence

below:Masjid El-Noor

mosque

street art on a garage in an alley

below: Linda DeLellis (1964-1996) was a local resident who was an innocent victim of a drug-related shooting; she was standing in her driveway when it happened.

city street sign that says Linda De Lellis Lane

woman talking on her phone as she walks outside

below: Back into the LRT station and it is a LONG WAY DOWN!

steep and long stairwell down at Keelesdale LRT station

two women talking on LRT platform at the bottom of an escalator

two people on an LRT train, one is a young man standing by the door, the other is a TTC employee in uniform, sitting

people on an LRT train, TTC, 4 people standing and one woman seated

people waiting on underground LRT platform, waiting for a train

below: The austere, barren and boring (but maybe less expensive??) LRT station

concourse level, inside, LRT station on Eglinton line

Eglinton sign on walls of subway station where rust from pipes has stained the concrete wall

Well, Well, Well

Posted: November 27, 2023 in construction, locations
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Toronto’s newest downtown development is turning out to be a lovely surprise.  It can be described as a three level mall with four condo towers attached but that’s not giving it enough credit.   Fully pedestrianized inside – and that’s a very large city block (roughly between Wellington and Front, west from Spadina to Draper which is part way to Bathurst)  There are also an interesting variety of architectural features.   It is certainly a welcome departure from the usual “let’s see how tall we can make it” towers that are taking over the city.

interior view of the middle of the well, three storeys of brick mall with curved glass ceiling above

interior of the well

Looking straight up

Lower Level

covered walkways overhead, lower level of the well, small artifical christmas trees, workmen working, glass ceiling,

The “official opening” of the building was 17th November.  These photos were taken just before then when everything was being cleaned up and readied.

tall, vertical, but curved white roof supports at the well development in downtown toronto

brick and glass architectural details, interior, the well,

gold or brass coloured escalators from street level to lower level of the well, at spadina side entrance

stairs and escalator from lower level of the well to street level

By one of the Wellington Street exits, there is this sculpture.  This is “Emergence” by Dustin Yellin.  This picture is underwhelming I’m afraid, the piece is much much better in real life.   The general shape is human-like but it is made from many smaller scenes and details.  For instance, the head is actually a sphere that is being rolled up a mountain by two small figures.

sculpture, standing upright human shape

Reflections on the Spadina side

reflections in window of store at the well, downtown, with ttc streetcar, billboard with waving hand, mannequin in store, pedestrian walking past

a woman walks her dog through the well, towards exit on spadina, past large windows

workman finishing floor details in wellington market, inside the well, getting ready to open new store

Front Street

light and colour on the TTC

Posted: April 4, 2020 in public art, transportation, windows and walls
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We all need some light and colour these days. So I went through old files and found these colourful pictures of the newest TTC subway stations that I took back in February, on Family Day actually. It seems like a long time ago!

below: Escalators, Pioneer Village subway station

escalator and the wood wall beside it with windows with red frames, light coming in windows

below: From the outside looking in, Pioneer Village station

red walls, exterior and interior,

below: Hwy 407 station.  Artwork by David Pearl.

oval shape window at highway 407 subway station, painted in turquoise and oranges, escalator

light coming through coloured glass and bouncing colours off walls and reflective surfaces inside subway station

below: The pinks, yellows, and blues from the coloured windows shine and bounce off surfaces

subway station, ground level, lots of window and sunlight

below: Little lights dance around the ceiling and upper part of the walls.  This effect is caused by the artwork in the ceiling – a circular opening that you can just see in the upper left corner.

turnstiles

below: Looking straight up into the skylight with it’s many-sided walls that are covered with reflective material.

many sided opening in a ceiling, sides covered with reflective material so the light bounces around, many reflections,

below: ‘Atmospheric Lens’ by Paul Raff Studio is the artwork that is incorporated into the roof of the station. It features skylights and reflective panels.  Vaughan station.

 

reflcetive ceiling

shiny reflective ceiling at TTC subway station

below: Curved, reflective ceiling, Vaughan station

curved metal ceiling reflecting blue lights, entrance way to subway station, Vaughan

below: Finch West station with its very shiny red hexagonal wall tiles and coloured panes of glass.

escalator and levels of Finch west subway station, lots of coloured panes of glass, greens, and oranges,

 

below: No colours at York University station, but lots of windows and lots of natural light.

light shining through large windows into interior of York univeristy subway station, escalators, people coming up escalators,

I went to Bessarion for you

Posted: March 8, 2017 in public art, transportation
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This looks like an ordinary entrance into a TTC subway station.  It is.
It’s Bessarion station on Line 4, the Sheppard Line.

escalator down into Bessarion station

The red arrow points to one of a series of little photographs of hands that run beside the escalator to street level.

I’d be willing to bet that none of you have been to Bessarion subway station.  If you’ve heard of the station it’s probably in the context of complaints that no one uses the station so why did the city spend so much money building it.   One of the reasons for the low volume of traffic is that there are no bus routes (besides Sheppard) that serve this station.  Apparently in 2014 an average of 2380 people used the station on weekdays.  If true, then 2379 plus me where there today (although the stats may have increased since then).    I took some pictures for you – you will now have an idea of what the station looks like without having to go there.

photos of peoples legs and feet in black and white on tiles on a yellow tiled subway station wall, over the metal turnstiles for entry into the station, artwork by Sylvie Belanger

below: An art installation called ‘Passing’ dominates the yellow walls of the station concourse level.  It consists of a band of black and white photographs of legs and feet taken by Sylvie Belanger.  The little pictures of hands that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog are also part of this installation.

photos of peoples legs and feet in black and white on tiles on a yellow tiled subway station wall, over and beside two Bell pay phones, artwork by Sylvie Belanger

below: The pictures of legs and feet run around the whole concourse level of the station.

below: Down the escalator to the lower level.

looking down the main escalator at Bessarion subway station, the upper level has yellow walls and the lower level (track level) can also be seen.

below: I was not alone!

pillar covered in red tiles and with a black and white photo of the back of three peoples head, a man with a turban and a woman in a head scarf and someone with curly hair.

below: The artwork at track level is a continuation of the photographs by Sylvie Belanger.  This time the pictures are of the backs of people’s heads and they are incorporated into the red pillars.

close up of black and white photo of the back of peoples heads, one child's face turns to the camera and is slightly out of focus, Passing by Sylvie Belanger at Bessarion subway station

below: The outer walls are bare concrete and there are very few ads or posters on the walls.

from the subway platform at Bessarion subway station looking toward the concrete wall at the edge of the tracks, signs for the station, and direction signs.