graffiti | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘graffiti’

the word about town

Posted: January 4, 2024 in general Toronto
Tags: blood in the water, brawn, game over, graffiti, nice, signs, so far so good, text, think, true to form, wish you were here, words

Many thanks to Sarah Serata who emailed me a few days ago with some photos that she had taken while out walking around the city. The photos were of some of the graffiti signs that have been appeared in the past couple of years. She wanted to know if I knew the name of the artist(s) responsible for the signs. But unfortunately I don’t know the answer. Instead, I have added a few of my own photos from the past few months and put them all together in this post. If you can enlighten us as to who has posted these signs, please let us know!

below: Sweet Marie Variety on the corner of Queen and Sumach has been in decline for years. Now it is also “Too Little” and “Too Late”.

text on posters, graffiti, on boarded up windows

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below:“Wish you were here”, Regent Park buildings before they were demolished.

painted sign posted outside old brick regent Park building before it was demolished

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: “Text”. Words have always been a part of graffiti. You see them hastily scrawled in marker or paint, or carefully stenciled on walls, signs, fences, or sidewalks. Sometimes the text is silly or profane; often it is a protest. But not usually do you just see the word ‘text’ like this sign that is mounted on the exterior of the old Consumers Gas Office building on Eastern Ave.

below: “Gameover” was seen on the same building as the above.

below: … and so was “Nice” which is a little fancier, and dare I say, nicer?

below: Another “Nice” in blue and white. All of these signs have obviously been painted/printed elsewhere. You can’t call them paste-ups because they are more permanent than paper. This one looks to be nailed to the plywood below it.

text on posters, graffiti, on empty buildings

photo credit: Peter Mickelson

below: The circle within a square motif seen above also appears here – “Brawn” in the grass beside Eastern Avenue. There was once a similar sign that said “Think” posted nearby.

below: “Untitled” on River Street. Does untitled = unowned (as in holding a title on a piece of property)?

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below:“True to Form” – the next few are of a similar style and are probably by the same artist(?)

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: “Blood in the Water”

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: The downside of hanging your signs on abandoned buildings is that the weeds and shrubs grow freely there and your message gets lost.

printed sign obscured by many green leaves

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: Money is no …? I like that fact that a sign about money is printed in gold on a green background.

printed sign, gold letters on green that say money is no, but then last word is hidden behind green leaves

photo credit: Sarah Serata

below: Previously posted – located on the same row of boarded up houses on Broadview where Moises and Nick Sweetman painted a large mural with a raccoon, pigeon, and others (see Changes at Broadview and Eastern)

below: Around the time that Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, this sign appeared on the old foundry building near the Distillery District. True, it’s a symbol not a word but the word “Ukraine” was also posted on the same building (and in the same blue and yellow). I have a photo of it somewhere!

below: The one thing that all of the above signs have in common is that they are in the east end. So far, I have only found one exception and that is this sign that was hung by the north side of the railway tracks on Front Street (near Bathurst).

below: A final note – as I was putting together this post, I remembered this wall. A few years ago (2014?) if you were on Queen St. East near Church street you could see this wall on the north side beyond a parking lot (now a condo).

If you are interested in words written on walls, try “Positive words are never wrong!

Never tired of walking Yonge Street.

Posted: January 2, 2024 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: 33wallflower33, Albert Paley, be a hero, Bloor, Christmas, Church of Scientology, condos, decorations, development, graffiti, Kenneth Lavallee, Lillian McGregor Park, reflections, Rocky Zenyk, Ryerson, slaps, stickers, tips it up, towers, Yonge, Zanzibar tavern

This is a walk that started with the Sherlock Holmes wall behind the Toronto Reference Library that I noted in a prior post. After a brief stop at Balzacs, we continued south on Yonge to Dundas. With all the new development on Yonge there was a lot to see. For the most part this is a documentation of the changes on Yonge Street and perhaps one day it will be part of “A history of” the area.

below: Asquith Ave, looking towards Yonge with the Toronto Reference Library on the right. New condos rise above the old brick facades from the 1880s.

below: Looking south on Yonge Street from just north of Bloor. Bloor Street West now gets lost in the canyon between tall towers. The one on the southwest corner of Bloor and Yonge is planned 91 storeys but is now between 1.2 and 1.6 billion dollars in debt. The ONE. Now with an uncertain future. The project was taken over by a court-appointed receiver back in October.

below: Looking east on Bloor from Yonge.

below: What was once new is now old.

below: The old Church of Scientology building remains empty and derelict. It’s boarded up at street level and many of the windows are cracked. The building has been empty since 2010. Back in 2014/5 there was talk that the organization was going to totally renovate the interior and exterior of the building; there are renderings online of the proposed changes. At that time they owed the city close to $100,000 in back taxes. “This building is designed in the International Style, with a clean facade and balanced proportions ” is the beginning of a description of the property on the ACO (Architectural Conservancy Ontario) website as it apparently has a heritage designation.

below: Vapes, vibes, and cannabis. A brief summary of downtown Yonge Street?

below: The northwest corner of Yonge and St. Joseph Street. Bake Code, Sacred Seed, and Pay2Day. Richmond Hill’s number one cake store is coming to the store on the south end. The pictures look yummy!

below: Southwest corner of Yonge & Wellesley

below: Same corner as the photo above, but from a slightly different angle to show the new curvy condo on the south side of Wellesley.

below: More condo development. This time on the north side Wellesley just west of Yonge. Centre Court.

below: A new park on Wellesley, Lillian McGregor Park, named for Dr. Lillian McGregor (1924-2012), of Whitefish River First Nation, who was a nurse and a community leader. She received many awards including the Order of Ontario and she was the first Indigenous woman to be awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto.

below: Artwork by Winnipeg artist, a crane by Kenneth Lavallee in Lillian McGregor park.

below: Spotted along the way, two shiny small pieces of graffiti – shine shoes sir. By Rocky Zenyk.

below: But does it work?

below: Kiokii And, Unicorn Beauty, and ABC Books.

below: Menu in the window – potato noodles and ramen and more.

below: If Chinese cuisine is not your thing, there is always tandoori chicken or palak paneer nearby. “Come and enjoy your festive season with our specials”.

below: And then for something different…. for dessert you can try ‘chilled mango sago cream with pomelo’ or ‘the bath teddy bear’, or many other different taste sensations. I think that I need to start stopping at more of these places and actually sample some of these foods!

below: Kobi Korean restaurant and Metro Cigar along with one industry that is booming along with Toronto’s construction craze, the toilet rental business!

below: At the intersection of Gloucester Street and Yonge is this new red creation, a sculpture by Albert Paley

below: 33wallflower33 graffiti

below: Available…. one shiny red Christmas elf costume complete with silly hat. She doesn’t look very happy having to wear it!

below: A cheerful little bear welcoming you to College Park

below: Construction, and one lane blocked, near College

below: Looking north on Yonge towards College Street.

below: Different architectural styles.

below: .. with a closer look at some of the brick and stone details

below: More old architectural details seen on exterior walls along Yonge Street

below: Southeast corner of Yonge & Gerrard, now an empty shell surrounding a hole in the ground.

below: Reflection of the old Charles Tavern tower, now part of a new condo development.

below: More construction, northwest corner of Yonge & Elm where the facade of a building on Elm is being preserved.

below: The Zanzibar remains standing amid all the changes happening around it.

below: Reflections at Yonge and Gould (looking north)

below: Another view from Yonge and Gould, this time looking south to Dundas Street.

below: If you look closely at the photo above, there is a store on very right that looks like the name starts with Fun. This is Funduk, and if you look in the window, this is what you might see… Top row closest to the window is Special pomegranate with hazelnuts. Beside it is almond paste with raspberry. What choices!!

I’ll end this post with a selection of the small graffiti that I saw

below: Be a hero … or

below: Ride a broomstick … or

below: Comment on Republicans …

below: …. And wash it all down with an ice cream cone.

Clarence and Draper

Posted: December 2, 2023 in history, locations, nature, public art, waterfront
Tags: Clarence Park, Clarence Square, Draper Park, Draper St., encampment, fountain, graffiti, The Well

Almost 200 hundred years ago plans were made for a new park in a very new city.

old painting of Clarence Park in Toronto in winter, trees around a small fountain, a line of houses at the top of the picture

Colorized print, Clarence Park with houses on north side and a fountain in the middle. Image found on a Heritage Assessment document for the park, no credit given there.

The park, named Clarence Park for the Duke of Clarence, was part of a planned community conceived of in the 1830s that included a church, a market, and building lots for houses. The land that it was on was part of a military reserve (i.e. it belonged to the British). In 1860 ownership of the land, already developed as a park, was transferred to the city by means of a Crown grant containing a restrictive covenant to maintain it as a public square.

below: A map of the area circa 1833. Lake Ontario to the south is at the top of the map. Fort York, on the right was actually on the waterfront at the time. On the left are some of the original streets – Peter St. and John St. being two of them that are still with us today. The red square on the map is the location of the present day Clarence Park.

below: Clarence Park fountain these days. I have mentioned before that I think that Toronto does a horrible job with fountains but this one probably wins an award for worst maintenance job ever. And you say it’s been this way for at least four years? Is the original fountain (see the painting at top) hiding under here?

below: So nice of the city to provide more canvas space for graffiti. Public art at its finest!

below: Not that long ago, this type of picture was not that common in the city. Now, this layered look is everywhere. The houses of Clarence Square, north side, built 1879 – 1885.

below: Part of the homeless encampment of Clarence Square. Since this picture was taken (mid-November) some of the other encampments in the city have been cleared, specifically Kensington and St. Stephens church on College Street. Yes, we have a housing problem. No, we haven’t got any solutions, or at least none that we can agree on or are prepared to pay for. Are tents in parks a good idea? Probably not. But they are there because it’s an “easy” solution that costs the city nothing.

below: Does anyone recognize this view? There are a view clues that suggest this is just another view of Clarence Park. But when did those towers appear? Turn around and someone alters the landscape while you’re not looking, playing tricks with your memory.

below: Now turn 180 degrees, and the view changes…. sort of. The new LCBO on Spadina that replaces the one at King & Spadina (that building is still standing and still vacant by the way). Also, across the street is The Well that I blogged about previously.

below: Looking south on Spadina at Front Street – I love the way that Spadina seems to disappear into the distance. Into the great beyond.

below: If you walk through The Well, at one point this is the view to the north with an interesting jumble of roof lines, window styles, and brick patterns.

below: Front St., putting the finishing touches on the sidewalk outside The Well development.

below: Front Street, walking west towards Bathurst.

below: “Dance all night till you can’t feel your legs”

below: So many possible captions! Tossing happiness aside … Empty promises of happiness…

below: In the midst of all the new development along Front Street and the railway corridor, Draper Street remains. It is one block of old houses, many of them heritage row houses.

below: Draper Street houses – a smaller version of the houses seen on Clarence Street (see above). They are of a similar vintage with almost identical rooflines and window shapes. The Empire Style.

City of Toronto historic plaque for Draper Street

“DRAPER STREET – Draper Street’s Empire-style cottages were built in 1881 and 1882, while its larger homes were constructed between 1886 and 1889. The street – a Designated Heritage Conservation District – is unusual because its residential character survived the overall industrialization of the King-Spadina neighbourhood in the twentieth century. Draper Street has been a haven for people of many backgrounds, such as Lincoln Alexander, who was born here in 1922 to West Indian parents, and who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario from 1985-1991. The name of the street honours William Henry Draper (1801-1877), a pre-Confederation lawyer and Conservative politician, who was the virtual “Prime Minister” of the United Province of Canada from 1844 to 1847. He subsequently became a judge, eventually being appointed Chief Justice of post-Confederation Ontario in 1869. “

The new condos at The Well loom over a new park (2021), Draper Park. It’s small, the equivalent of two housing lots; numbers 19 and 21 once stood here. The original owner of 19 Draper Street (1881) was George Hickey, a railway manager. It was demolished in 1942 and was replaced by a small factory owned by Farrell Plastics. At that time, a factory would not be out of place as the area was more industrialized. The building was destroyed by fire in 1969.

below: Draper and Front, looking east

Since I mentioned the fact that this land was once owned by the British military, and the fact that Fort York was once “in the middle of nowhere”, I’d like to add a couple more photos that show much development has occurred in the area.

below: New development along Front Street. The bridge is at Bathurst. Draper Street is just outside the photo on the righthand side. All the railway corridor and the lands to the south were not there in 1833 when Sir. Richard Bonnycastle drew his map – but that’s a whole other story for another day!

below: View from Bathurst – the white buildings here are part of Fort York while the new condos are just beyond, closer to Strachan Ave.

Dupont Street – the western end

Posted: October 26, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: bull, construction, cranes, Davenport Diamond, Dufferin, Dupont, emily may rose, graffiti, halloween, houses, industrial, Jacquie Comrie, Jesus graffiti, Lucky Convenience, murals, Sovereign Smoke, St. Ephrasinia church, Wallace Ave.

For the whole length of Dupont Street, from Avenue Road to Dundas West, the street runs parallel to, and south of, Canadian Pacific railway tracks. The proximity to the railway was a major reason that the street was home to many industries. Back in June I walked a section of Dupont east of Ossington (see Dupont Street Scenes).

A couple of weeks ago I explored west of Ossington and I’d like to show you a few pictures from that walk. The last part of the walk was a wander through some of the streets and alleys south of Dupont.

below: There are still a few reminders of Dupont’s industrial past…

Dupont has always been a very mixed street with residences

and businesses side by side. A working class street.

below: A more recent addition to the street – Sovereign Smoke (cannabis) sits beside the tire store (or mechanic).

below: Looking west along Dupont towards Dufferin – where the Galleria Mall used to be there is now a wall of glass.

Same site, different angle

below: On the west side of Dufferin, the street is being reconstructed.

below:Re-routing the sidewalk on the south side of Dupont at Emerson

below: Looking west on Dupont at Emerson. The two tall buildings on the right are on the north side of the railway tracks. The apartment building in the center of the photo was built in the 1960s or 1970s.

below: A colourful mural by Jacquie Comrie

below: Under the tracks near Lansdowne.

The “Suitman” Mural was first painted and funded with $2000 received from the City of Toronto’s Clean and Beautiful program. But after Rob Ford was elected mayor of Toronto in 2010 and began his own “clean up” campaign, it was painted over with dull grey paint. Not a bright move considering that Joel Richardson was paid by the city to paint it in the first place. Late in October 2011 it was replaced with a similar mural as seen here. It took six weeks to repaint, 25 gallons of paint were used along with 100 large cans of spray paint. Photos of the whole mural (on both north and south sides of the street) from 2011 and 2013 are on a previous blog post.

below: “And do thy duty even if it be humble, rather than another’s even if it be great. To die in one’s duty is LIFE: to live in another’s is death.” [quote from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700 verse scripture that part of the Hindi epic ‘Mahabharata’]

below: A GO train passes over the new elevated section of the tracks as it crosses Dupont Street. This is the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation project on the GO line to Barrie.

below: Looking north from Wallace Ave (towards Dupont) at the south end of the 1.4 km of elevated track. Although the tracks are functional, the streets and paths below are still a work in progress.

below: (On Wallace by the new elevated tracks) A bull and a maze makes me think of the story of the Minotaur, a creature in Greek mythology with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The maze, or labyrinth, was made for King Minos of Crete to hold the Minotaur.

below: Around the corner from the bull is a mural by Emily May Rose. It faces the tracks on what is now a vacant piece of land – shall see what becomes of it.

below: An old “Stop Harper” sticker – topsy turvy but still hanging in there. Almost as old and worn as the railing below it.

The “Strength in Numbers” mural at the next underpass to the west (by the West Toronto Railpath) has been tagged over. The link leads to a blog post from July 2016 if you are interested in what it looked like when it was newer.

below: Dovercourt signs with a maple leaf in the center. “Since 1985” refers to the founding of Dovercourt Village which is south of Dupont to Bloor between Christie on the east side and Dufferin on the west.

below: Alley infill – a tiny house!

and other small houses too.

below: Santo Antonio Coin Laundry

below: The red brick building was built in 1909 and it’s shape suggests that it was once a store. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, these stores were very popular and could be found in most neighbourhoods. With changing lifestyles (cars, larger grocery stores) and laws (only residences in residential areas) these old stores became houses. Last year Toronto City Council passed a new by-law allowing small scale retail and service businesses in residential areas.

below:Lucky Convenience Store

below: St. Ephrasinia Orthodox church (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox).

below: Development notice – what appears to be an older building with three apartments might disappear to become a three storey building with ten units. Nice to see higher density without the ego of the developers vying to see who can build the tallest building.

below: Making use of the tiny yard space – melon vines covering the fence and running along the walls.

below: Another use of a front window! Whenever I see a house like this I always wonder if there are sentimental reasons why it is those particular items that sit there. The roses with their purple ribbon were probably important as Mary now watches over them. But one of these ducks has a dead plant – why? What is on your front window sill?

It’s getting close to Halloween so don’t be surprised if there are some creepy folks lurking around!

But not everyone is scary… Fatima and the scarecrow

A shout out to Cats Eye Coffee where we started that day. Also, a thanks to Nancy who was my tour guide and walking partner!

in the alley after dark

Posted: October 13, 2023 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: birds, D. Terra, Doug Ford, drecks, FP Monkey, graffiti, murals, one eyed daisy, political, portrait, raccoon, skulls, stencils, tags, tweet streetart, Tweetie bird, uber5000

A walk down Graffiti Alley on a rainy night.

below: Unfortunately, one of Uber5000’s large Toronto/Canada themed murals has been defaced (the one on the north side of the alley).

below: Doug Ford running away with the money, stencil graffiti by D. Terra. Our Premier seems rather happy with his haul. Accurate?

below: A dope piece that bears some resemblance to Homer Simpson.

below: A yellow one-eyed daisy standing tall.

below: This portrait has hair!

below: For some reason, a section of one of the side lanes (McDougall Lane? or Rush Lane?) was lit by a red light. Here there was a collection of pasteups and stickers including one with an abundance of flowers in her hair, a skater figure by drecks. She is joined by a bare breasted woman with even more flowers on her head as well as a Snoopy look alike and a cat on the telly.

below: On the same wall as the above – Tweetie bird, from Australia, along with some friends. Because of the red light, this photo is very low contrast and difficult to see. Best to see this wall in the daytime! Second best, would be to check out the instagram page of tweet_streetart

below: Another selection of slaps, mostly birds this time.

below: A little raccoon

below: Mortus figure – his hands are almost big enough to hold all those skulls.

below: On the pavement

below: FP Monkey (aka Julia H), Skamoney, Monster Fan Club, and PP Spray

below: Poser bunny

below: Making a rap music video

below: The east end of Graffiti Alley, the part closest to Spadina, was very dark.

below: As it turns out, the buildings at this end (north side) are now behind a metal construction fence. Darkness equals empty I suspect.

below: Yes they matter but was there no where else to paint this? There’s so much junk in the alley that no one would miss.

below: I am going to end this post with a bit of a rant. Yes, to some extent the art in this alley has come somewhat commercialized especially with the newer buildings on Richmond that back onto the alley. Uber5000 has benefited from some of this as he has painted a few large (and very good) murals here. I understand that street art by its nature is prone to “disappearing” behind the work of others but I reject the notion that one person’s tag is as good as another person’s mural. Anyone can destroy. Anyone can paint their “name” but if you are proud of writing it over someone else’s more talented work then you haven’t progressed beyond the preschooler phase of life.

This post also appears in eyesonthestreets.blog

Silhouettes on the door
Posted: October 9, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
Tags: apartment buildings, art, condos, graffiti, Helen Porter Lane, houses, Kenwood, laneway, laneway housing, paper, paste ups, Raglan Road, redevelopment, residential, robin, St. Clair, TTC, urban ninja squadron, Vaughan Road, visual noise

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I heard about these silhouettes that have painted on the plywood used to board up the doors and windows of five empty houses so I went to see them for myself. They are on Raglan Road which is close to St. Clair and Bathurst.

“Took a walk and passed your house late last night
All the shades were pulled and drawn way down tight
From within, the dim light cast two silhouettes on the shade
Oh, what a lovely couple they made”

I am not sure how long these houses have been empty but there is graffiti in the back too.

As I was in the neighbourhood, what else is there to see here? Anything new? Back in 2015 I posted a few pictures from the St. Clair and Vaughan Road area (see Intersections). This time I stayed within the northwest quadrant of that intersection. Like most places, somethings have changed while other things remain the same.

Back to early October 2023 … many other houses were empty and boarded up

… and many other houses have already been demolished.

In the above picture you can see that this area has some older smaller apartment buildings. Raglan Road runs parallel to Vaughan Road, home to many mid-sized older buildings.

below: Linked buildings

Once it was the Happy Family Restaurant. Now someone (a happy family?) lives there.

…. other businesses are boarded up. This was the Dutch Dreams Ice Cream shop before they moved farther south on Vaughan Road. While it sits empty it is a space for graffti. Dutch Dreams had moved out before December 2015.

below: Just wait – Not sure what we’re waiting for but I see an alpha and an omega on a death moth?

below: Peeling and faded. Sailor dude and some colourful designs.

below: Elaborate probably female form with gown and hat beside a not so elaborate wine bottle. The label on the bottle says Lutte Libre Bruht.

below: They’ve been here a while – Urban Ninja Squadron’s T-Bonez in various poses including dressed as Robin, the Boy Wonder.

below: Give Love and be a Hero

In the summer of 2020 there was fire in the adjacent building that impacted the old Dutch Dreams building too. That was three years ago. It is a pity that empty buildings sit for so long especially since nothing good comes of it.

More people – Street musicians playing on the sidewalk.

As I walked around the neighbourhood I noticed a mix of architectural styles and building sizes.

From single family….

Through midsized apartments like the older ones shown above as well as some newer ones….

… To massive apartment buildings

below: Southwest corner of St. Clair and Vaughan Road

below: The bright yellow building of Hercules Automotive and Tire Service in an alley behind St. Clair. The top of St. Alphonsus R C church can be seen above it.

below: Walking westward on St. Clair approaching Wychwood Ave with yet another vacant lot.

below: St. Clair Avenue Baptist Church, on this site since November 1924.

below: Beside St. Alphonsus RC Church at Vaughan Road and St. Clair.

below: Kenwood

below: A Jack Layton quote: “Love is better than hate; Hope is better than fear.”

“AND people stayed home and read books and listened and rested.
… and learned new ways and stopped and listened more deeply
… and people began to think differently. And people healed
… AND when the danger ended and people found themselves, they grieved for the dead … and made new choices … and dreamed new visions… and created new ways of living… and healed the earth as they were healed.”

below: “My Blue World – I know a place where the world is still where time and space have no hold” Painting by Elly Dawson 2020. Poem by Lanna M.

below: A large Canadian flag hangs over the Toronto skyline.

Also in Helen Porter Lane, someone has taken advantage of the space here to build new housing.

The orange sign on the streetcar stop says that the 512 St. Clair streetcar stopped running early in September 2023 and will be out of service until summer 2024. The whole line from Yonge to Gunns Loop

below: Westbound TTC buses on St. Clair

While we’re on the subject of the TTC, one very dirty bus shelter!

Stop – Take a Breath

bits of paper in Graffiti Alley
Posted: July 19, 2023 in graffiti and street art
Tags: 33wallflower33, catchoo, Dorians House, dragon, faces, graffiti, paper, Praxis, sentient cookie, slaps, stickers, Tips, tips it up, Tips the artist, urban ninja squadron, wheatpaste

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Another visit to Graffiti Alley to see what’s changed…..

below: Collage on the back of a sign with contributions by many.

below: An orange dragon graces a utility pole.

below: Sentient Cookie with “The words you’ve said to me a decade ago still echo in my brain”.

below: Another section of wall covered with the remains of stickers and slaps.

below: Truth, It’s that simple. Consume daily. “Free through an earnest volition. Side effects include decreased stress and increased mental clarity…. ” Dorian’s House.

below: Who do you love? Apparently someone loves his/her girlfriend while someone else loves, and misses, Stephanie Ann.

below: More ink additions, this time on a bird. Someone has written, “no phone no wife” – either he thinks that without a phone he can’t find/attract a wife (no tindr?) or he has neither a phone nor a wife (lucky man?). Interpret as you want. Also, there is Kone x Roc on his wing as well as Sari D. declaring her love forever.

below: Someone left their shoe behind… and that’s quite the reaction from Tips

below: 33wallflower33 whetpaste – My body my choice

below: … and another

below: Urban Ninja Squadron running away with an angry bird…. and Adopt by Praxis in bright pink

below: An angry white cloud seems to hover hover a drawing by catchoo

below: More catchoo

below: What’s this chef serving up?

below: L S and Z

below: A skull and Noah forever.

Photos taken June 2023

Marlee Ave
Posted: July 12, 2023 in construction, doors, locations, stores, windows and walls
Tags: barber shop, belt line, doors, Eglinton Ave West, filipino variety store, Glencairn, graffiti, houses, Jasnine, Marlee Ave., residences, stores, street, ukranian grocery market

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Marlee Ave runs parallel to the Allen Road, one block west. It is like a lot of streets in Toronto – it’s a place where people live, shop, and/or work but it’s not a place where you’d visit otherwise. As it turns out, it is also a street in the midst of many changes… and that too is true of so many streets in the city.

It’s north end is at Lawrence Avenue where there is a large shopping center.

below: Marlee is a mix of residences and commercial buildings such as this small plaza.

below: DGA Filipino Variety store – Imported Beauty Products, Homemade Kakanin, Special Halo-Halo & Gulaman Sago, Money Remittances, and much much more!

below: Odessa Russian (Ukranian) Market

below: Seen in a convenience store window

below: As you can see, the barber shop is now open

below: Laundry on the balcony of one of the many sixplexes (six apartments in the building) on Marlee.

below: Someone has a sense of humour – Gate XXX. It must be restricted.

below: Mural painted for Kirsch Cosmetics by Jasnine

below: Another house waiting to be demolished (demolition notice on the fence).

below: One developer has painted all the houses that are empty and boarded up – they are all black

below: Glencairn subway station on the University Line, midway between Lawrence and Eglinton. This section of the subway runs above ground down the center of Allen Road.

A few blocks south of Glencairn, the Kay Gardiner Belt Line crosses Marlee

below: A community garden on the Belt Line

Marlee ends at Eglinton Avenue

This section of Eglinton Avenue West suffered through years of construction mess – lane reductions and sidewalk closures – while the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was being built. The whole process started in 2011. It’s still not running and no one really knows when (if??) it will become operational. The different groups involved in this fiasco are arguing amongst each other and the lawsuits have begun. Until recently, there was a website where you could get updates on the Crosstown, thecrosstown.ca, but it has disappeared.

below: Someone loves Andrea! … and on the lovely note I will end this post. Love to all!!

Dupont Street scenes
Posted: June 10, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings
Tags: altered sign, Ave Rage, Average Art, basketball, boom lift, construction, Dupont station, graffiti, guns, houses, Joe's convenience, lovebot, Megan Oldhues, murals, redevelopment, reflections, rose, signs, stores, T-bonez, TTC, urban ninja squardon, windows, workmen

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Another sunny spring day and another walk in the city. This time we walked along Dupont with the occasional diversion to an alley or side street. First stop? First Last Coffee. Always start with coffee! In general, this blog covers Dupont between Spadina and Ossington and as usual, there may not be much order to the photos!

below: The transparent domed Dupont subway station at the northwest corner of Spadina and Dupont

below: Because of the redevelopment along Dupont (some buildings have been demolished but their replacements are still holes in the ground), Casa Loma can now be seen from the street.

below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Shaw

below: Someone’s comment on the construction….

below: … And another comment – he’s so happy to have a gun that he’s drooling.

There are quite a few construction photos, maybe more than you’d like, but construction plays a large role in the scenery along Dupont these days.

below: Joe’s Convenience chaos.

below: Reflections in a restaurant window

below: Dispensary of a different kind

below: Cyclists waiting for the lights to change.

below: No energy today (all sold out?)

below: Looking at the northeast corner of Dupont and Dovercourt. The interior of this old industrial building has been renovated and part of it is now a basketball school.

below: View through the window

below: The billboard at Dupont and Dovercourt features an image by Maggie Groat and was part of the CONTACT Photography Festival. More of her work is on display at Ontario Square (on the waterfront) and can be seen in a blog post, Double Pendulum, from a few weeks ago.

below: Silver Star Car Wash – I could say that it’s all washed up but considering the time that it takes for the development process – especially in a case like this where the application involves an amendment to the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law.

below: Although it looks like a gathering of praying mantises, it’s really a symbol of a booming construction industry, boom lifts for rent.

below: 888 Dupont (at Ossington) is one of the next buildings to be redeveloped but that is for another story on another blog post.

below: An old rusty sign on the side of a building in an alley just off of Dupont tells us that J.F. Spencer, Sheet Metal Worker, once worked there.

below: Looking along Dupont from Delaware Ave

below: Probably the most affordable house on the street!

below: Some people have rose bushes in their front yard…

below: … and some people have horses.

below: A seaside Nova Scotia scene by Megan Oldhues.

I’ll end this post with a few photos of the graffiti that I saw starting with this old Lovebot.

below: A pinkish red portrait of a young woman.

below: Voodoo Ninja, brought to you by Urban Ninja Squadron along with Ave Rage (or maybe it’s Average) who gets to play the victim.

until next time…. stay focused! … if possible….

888 Dupont
Posted: June 7, 2023 in construction, history, intersections
Tags: 33wallflower33, Aked, car, construction, daisy, doors, Dupont St., graffiti, life, Ossington, pasteups, posters, protest, redevelopment, slaps, windows

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below: 888 Dupont Street is at the northeast corner of Dupont and Ossington. The building was designed by Canadian architect William George Hunt and was built in 1921. The first owner was Thomas Oswald Aked whose company Aked & Co (or Aked Worsted) was in the yarn spinning business.

After World War I, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind established a broom, brush, and mop-making business to provide employment for servicemen who had lost their vision in combat. In 1952 this business, Blindcraft, moved into 888 Dupont.

below: The entrance to 888 Dupont is now behind a construction fence.

In recent years the building became home to many artist studios. Although the building was never deemed residential, some artists used it as a place to live. They have now been evicted to make way for condo development by TAS Design.

below: Through a gap in the window…

The building has also become a canvas for some graffiti including some protesting redevelopment in general and condos in particular.

below: Toronto vs Condos

below: “I told you that… with guns get what they want”. Some of the words are covered but the meaning is still clear.

below: Poster – Who can afford to live here? Which one of you can afford this?

below: Large one-eyed daisy by Life© (life in the streets)

below: Liars – Doug Ford (Ontario Premier) and John Tory (ex-Toronto mayor).

below: Happy little family? Pasteup by 33wallflower33