Starting at King and Berkeley and walking a little bit north and a bit farther west.
below: This wall, at King and Berkeley, used to have a large painting of a black chair on it. Now it has two boys on the run with an Afghan flag.
below: It was painted by Mahyar Amiri a few months ago in an effort to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
below: In front of the Alumni Theatre on Berkeley Street.
below: Also on Berkeley Street, the old Christie Brown stables are now the lower floors of a condo building.
“This building was once a stable that housed horses and wagons for one of Canada’s largest biscuit manufacturers. From here, Christie, Brown & Co delivered baked goods prepared at its Adelaide Street factory across Toronto.”
“Designed by the architectural firm of Sproatt & Rolph, the building’s Beaux-Arts Classical style was popular at the turn of the 20th century for its appearance of stability and grandeur. With elements such as the contrasting stone trim and arcade windows, it was built to reflect the appearance of the nearby Christie factory. The state-of-the-art stable included two floors of wagon storage with a purpose-made elevator, stalls in the back for the care of sick horses, and a central horse shower underneath a large skylight. “
“Founded by Scottish-born businessman William Christie (1829-1900), Christie Brown & Co manufactured over 400 types of baked goods at its peak. In 1928, Nabisco acquired the company. The stable was later used as a garage, seed plant, and film production office. It is now part of a residential complex. “
below: Christie Brown biscuit factory on Adelaide street in 1902. The building still exists and is part of George Brown College. It takes up the whole block between George and Frederick streets.
below: This neighbourhood advertises itself as “Old Town, since 1793”.
below: But a lot of it is starting to look shiney and new (what? a new parking lot in downtown Toronto?)
below: A copy of a late 1890’s lithographic poster advertising bicycles from Fernand Clement & Cie Cycles Paris. The original artist was Jean de Paléologue (1860-1942). This version is a large mural on Worts Lane.
below: Mother of God of Prousa Greek Orthodox Church on Richmond East
below: Old and not so old. The taller grey building is the Chapter House for the Greek Orthodox church that is immediately to the east.
below: Apparently everything ends here on Ontario Street
… and around the corner
below: This street art faces a parking lot between Brigden and Queen East that is now fenced off. It is one of 4 or 5 paintings along that wall.
below: This is one of the street art pieces on the same wall. The photo was taken in 2012 when the site was accessible and before the vines and shrubs took over.
below: A very large empty building and vacant lot that used to be a car dealership. This is part of a large section of land that has been under redevelopment for at least five years (includes the parking lot in the photos above).
below: … The original proposal back in February 2016 was three towers of 39, 45 and 39 storeys, on top of two base buildings ranging from 3 to 11 storeys within a site bordered by Queen Street East, Ontario Street, Richmond Street East and McFarrens Lane. That was turned down by the city. Since then there has been various modifications, appeals, and litigation (ongoing?).
below: On what was once a Honda dealership there is now an art installation with words…
below: … and pasteups from jumblefacefoto aka Jeremy Lynch
below: On the same wall: In the line of fire – urban ninja squadron‘s t-bonez takes aim with very heavy firepower. It looks like spudbomb has already been hit by an arrow and is bentoghoul providing the target?
below: Looking west on Richmond from Brigden Place. Richmond Street jogs to the right at Jarvis – it doesn’t dead end like it looks in the photo.
below: Looking north on McFarrens Lane to Queen Street
below: About 1910 this is what the northeast corner of Richmond and Sherbourne Streets looked like. Not surprisingly, this is all long gone.
below: From biscuits to hot dogs…. Soloways Hot Dog Factory Outlet, in business since 1927. They sell a wide range of bulk meat, meta products, and plant based meat products both wholesale and to the public.
below: Richmond and George, with the bright red of the George Diner dominating the intersection.
below: The windows have been painted.
below: Old newspaper articles taped to the window. The top one is a review of the restaurant (with apologies for it being too small/fuzzy to read). The bottom one has a headline that reads “Don’t be like Dick”. With an image like that I immediately think of Dick and Jane (yikes, those of us who remember Dick and Jane from our childhoods are dwindling in number!).
below: At Richmond and Jarvis, northeast corner
below: Mystic Muffin on the southeast corner of Jarvis and Richmond.
below: Richmond Street bike lanes are now separated from traffic by a low kerb that has been decorated by a number of street artists. This section is the work of AndreaCataRo aka Andrea Rodriguez
below: Another view of the bike lane barrier, this one at the intersection of Richmond and Berkeley and looking west towards the city center.
as I walk Toronto 