This is a blog post full of people shots from Sunday of Pride week-end. Some taken during Church Street festivities and some along the parade route. There are posed shots, selfies, and a few candids. To me, Pride is about the people – the diversity of the crowd, the non-judgemental ‘come as you want’ attitude. Put on your party hats and join the celebration.
below: The sparrows around Balzacs Coffee shop are as brazen as ever. If you decide to lure them away by throwing crumbs elsewhere, the pigeons will join in the fun.
below: East entrance to the Distillery, on Cherry Street. I suspect that everyone who visits the Distillery takes this photo.
below: Part of a display of some of the products produce by the Gooderham and Worts distillery over the years. The distillery complex built by Gooderham and Worts started producing spirits in 1862. At one time it was the largest employer in Toronto. It also once produce half the spirits made in Canada.
below: There are now many old photos of the Gooderham and Worts distillery from years past scattered around the Distillery District. This one is ” The Office Entrance”. The door is still there, as are many other features seen in the photo.
below: Approaching Parliament, with the large heart painted in rainbow colours for Pride month (June).
below: Home is Toronto
below: Old millstone from the windmill that pre-dates the dsitillery.
“This millstone brought from England on the schooner ‘Kingston’ to the town of York 1832 was used for grinding grain in the historic windmill of Gooderham & Worts. The windmill stood 52 feet southwest by south of this point. It was the eastern limit of the famous ‘Old Windmill Line” on which the original plan of the city of Toronto was based.”
below: Note on the bakery door – Please make sure that the pigeon doesn’t come in with you! Patty the pigeon wasn’t there the time that I went in.
below: The line of painted head and torsos is back. The shapes are all the same but each has bee painted by a different artist. They are part of the ‘6ix Art Outdoor’ exhibit.
below: Two of the sculptures still under wraps. This is at 6least the second time that they have been on display. They were lined up in same place last August. If you want more information about them, I blogged about the 6ix Art Outdoor last year. (follow link).
below: The inflatable couches are there because through July there are night time showings of various movies, Italian movies for the most part I think.
below: Painting by Terran McNeely for Pride 2023.
below: Development notice sign on Mill Street.
below: One of the buildings on Distillery Lane is being refurbished. Yellow crane is for new development on Parliament.
below: There is now a hole on Parliament!
below: … a very big hole!
below: And I’ll end this post with a sigh…. some people
Because of COVID, the annual ‘Winter Stations’ art installation at Woodbine beach was cancelled. Instead, there is ‘Spring Stations’ now showing at two locations including at the Distillery District.
below: “The Epitonium’ by Iranian design team of Mojtaba Anoosha, as well as M., Shahed, Elaheh, and Alemeh Yenglabad. It looks like a large sea snail has landed in the Distillery District.
below: ‘ARc de Blob’ created by Austrian and UK team Aleksandra Belitskaja, Ben James and Shaun McCallum.
below: ‘From Small Beginnings’ by Jack and Charlie Leather behind the red heart. The original design called for small spruce seedlings growing on the timbers.
The general idea yesterday afternoon was to walk Oakwood, southbound from St. Clair. What I didn’t expect when I left my cosy apartment was a strong cold wind, so part of the adventure was dictated by which direction the wind was blowing and how to avoid it (if possible!). If some of these photos look a little blurry, it’s because of the snow that was falling all afternoon.
below: Pizza Pizza on the northwest corner of St. Clair and Oakwood.
below: I hadn’t gone far when I found a lane so of course I had to follow it… Looking back towards Oakwood Collegiate.
below: Old black and white photo of St. Clair Ave from 1911 just after construction of Oakwood Collegiate was complete. Oakwood Avenue is now on the other side of the school in this photo. It is interesting to note that St. Clair had streetcar tracks back in 1911 but was still a dirt road. Apparently the city started building these tracks when the school was open – the St. Clair streetcar line was open in 1913. I found this photo in Living Toronto – follow the link if you want to read more about the history of this school.
below: And that is where I spotted this man with a little red heart…
below: … and across the alley from him was this woman, also with another little red heart. It’s Valentines Day today, how sweet and how appropriate.
below: The hearts just kept on coming. I’d only walked a few minutes and already I had enough for a Valentines Day post! 🙂
below: At the end of the lane I spotted this too…. can you see the LOVE? It looks like it’s written in the middle of the pink and blue graffiti but it’s actually on the metal vent.
below: So much for walking down Oakwood. I circled back to St. Clair West where I saw the Yummi Cafe & Laundromat with it’s hand written sign in the window. Support Our Teachers! These are trying days for education in Ontario as the teachers lock horns with Doug Ford and his Conservatives who speak first and think later.
below: This is middle section of the Royal Heights village mural painted by Murals by Marg in 2019. It is on the side of 1006 St. CLair West (at Appleton Ave).
below: To the right is a small butterfly, child height. Choose to be kind.
below: The left side has a larger butterfly as well as a bright yellow door with a blue umbrella. Let love rain down!
below: Right across the street (on the northeast corner of Appleton & St. Clair) is this mural. I haven’t been able to find out who the artist was.
below: Looking west on St. Clair as you approach Glenholme.
below: A coin laundry as well as Glenholme Variety on the southwest corner of St. Clair and Glenholme.
below: In front of 98 Glenholme is this little sculpture, an old fashioned sewing machine on a pole. It marks the home of Marcello Tarantino Sartoria (tailor).
below: Another alley – the wind back here is not so bad!
below: An old green Chevrolet delivery van with Imperial Upholstering Co written across the side and above the front window in faded letters. Also fading is the text: Manufacturers of Individual Style(?) Furniture
Mural by Ross Bonfanti and Sandra Tarantino with hearts, stars, a flying car and superhero kids.
The alley ended at Dufferin and that is where I headed south.
below: The southwest corner of Dufferin and Davenport
below: A black and white photo from 1912 of the construction of Dufferin Street at Davenport. This photo is originally from the City of Toronto archives but I found it online in an article on the history of Dufferin Street in blogTO.
below: Mary looks down upon us, from a niche in the wall of St. Mary of the Angels church.
below: Remnants of an art project left to weather on a fence around a schoolyard.
below: A smiling happy mural on the side of a dental office on Dufferin Street painted by spudbomb (2017)
below: Just north of Dupont Street, the CPR tracks cross Dufferin.
below: This strange pillar (artwork?) is on the southwest corner of Dufferin and Dupont. It used to be the marker/sign for the stores in the Galleria plaza on that corner. Everything there is under renovation at the moment so instead of tearing down the sign, it was converted into this. Hence, “Love me till I’m me again”.
below: From a different angle – the neighbourhood wins no beauty contest.
below: The architecture on Dufferin, both houses and stores, is a mishmash of styles (or non-styles!) that have evolved over the years. The next few photos try to give you an idea of the variety. First, at Dufferin & Rosemount
below: Dufferin & Hallam
below: Dufferin & Auburn
below: Standing alone at 1432
below: 1452A and its neighbours
below: An ominous sign – a boarded up house on Dufferin Street. Is change far behind? Just in case, I like to document what’s there because in this city, you turn around and everything’s different. And you think to yourself, “What used to be there?” But you can’t remember because that is how our memories work and isn’t that disconcerting?
This year’s theme at the Yorkville IceFest was “Awesome 80’s” and the feature ice sculptures were all things 80’s.
below: Fabulous red heart embedded in the ice! The ice made the red shine. Needless to say, these two women weren’t the only ones who did this!
below: Leftover red balls from Christmas added to the festivities.
below: Posing with the rock ’em sock ’em robots (Cool hat too!)
below: A younger version of Elton John made an appearance at the Ice Fest
below: Posing with Garfield the cat
below: Walking on air, but so cool with the leg warmers on.
below: Driving the De Lorean
below: Most of the sculptures came already made and were set up on Saturday morning. Starting at noon, several artists began carving some sculptures – partially as a demonstration of their craft and partially as a contest for best sculpture.
below: Because it was a cold day, some time was spent warming up inside the nearby art galleries. I saw this little ski guy stuck in the snow outside Loch Gallery. Does it look like he’s shivering too? (artwork by Patrick Amiot).
below: Another wonderful creation by Patrick Amiot. I’m not sure that a hockey player (especially a Leaf?!?) should look frightened?
Presenting an eclectic compilation of images so
Have a seat!
below: But maybe not here, even if they are two comfy sofas! Comfy but wet.
Meandering on a day early in November
while the trees were still showing their last hurrah of colour.
This mural is on Roncesvalles is partially obscured but is still a welcome splash of colour and vibrance.
I love the raccoons! Pink raccoons
and blue raccoons on street art that I haven’t seen before.
Crooked lines,
tight spaces,
and old glass. All kinds of alterations.
Peeling paint on diamonds (once red?)
and water drops on leaves (definitely red).
One very pink car. Whiskey for Whiskers.
Uber 5000’s yellow birdies and friends are still on the side of Tommy’s Gift & Variety.
And next door you Coffee and breakfast at Tina’s while your tax returns are prepared.
Semi neighbours
at the edges of gentrification.
Lights over the train tracks
and graffiti beside.
A fine and dandy tractor
and a great idea
She’s gone green but she’s got the blues.
and Ontario’s now orange.
A family outing
below: The building with the giraffe pattern on top, at Bloor and Dundas West, is still there.
below: The murals painted by Wallnoize are still there. They were painted in the spring of 2015 and I posted a lot of photos of them shortly after that.
below: The murals run under the Bloor Street underpass (railway tracks overhead), on both sides of the street.
below: The new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is now open on Sterling Road. The renovations to the old Tower Automotive building aren’t totally complete; most of the area is a construction site. But the museum opened earlier this year. Access from the West Toronto Railpath is available.
But hey! Why stop here?…. more about the new MOCA follows ……
Sort of like window shopping but different….
below: Peering through the window at the remains of Yuk Wing cleaners on Gerrard St. East
below: Sometimes you can’t look in the window – something is in the way! It wasn’t until I was looking at the picture on my computer that I noticed that the newspaper is in a language that I don’t understand. I typed the headline to the left of the heart into google translate, “Niemiecka chemia zapanuje nad swiatem” and it told me that the words were Polish and translate to “German chemistry will dominate the world”. The article is about the purchase of Monsanto by Bayer.
below: A portion of the black cowboy silhouette remains in the now empty Tortilla Flats restaurant.
below: The effects of morning light shining into the Thai Luna restaurant.
below: More morning sunlight, this time it leaves traces of fried chicken.
below: Strutting in the window with miniature camels
below: Laundry day, with 24 hour surveillance
below: The chicken, and its head, really was that colour.
below: What little remains.
In a little lane that runs south of Graffiti Alley towards Richmond Street, I found four paintings that I don’t think that I have seen before. The first one is this very realistic eye that looks like it’s keeping close watch on the rat with the red heart. It was painted by @soortattoo aka Suren Davtyon, a Russian tattoo artist from Moscow. That is the ‘one’ in the blog title.
The ‘three’ refers to the fact that the next three that were on the same wall are by the same person, @inkcanon, who is also a tattoo artist. Portraits of three women. The first one is blowing bubbles, very big bubbles.
More of the bents holding up the road that passes over Underpass Park in Corktown are in the process of being painted. Back in 2015, the bents and pillars on the west side of Lower River Street were painted as part of the Pan Am games preparations. The latest mural project involves the bents closer to St. Lawrence Street.
below: Looking east towards Lower River Street, skateboarders in the park behind a mural by Chief Ladybird and Aura. In the background is a pink elephant by Christopher Ross.
Thirteen bents by seventeen artists have just been completed, or are in the process of being painted for this project. The artists are: Al Runt, Andrew Dexel, Annie Hamel, Aura, Chief Lady Bird, Carlos Delgado, FONKi, GAWD, Jill Stanton, Kalkidan Assefa (aka Drippin_soul), Lacey & Layla Art, Meaghan Claire Kehoe, OMEN, Ness Lee, Rob Matejka Anya Mielniczek
below: As Al Runt works on his mural, he is reflected in the mirrors above him.
below: Some faces by Carlos Delgado
below: A social gathering around the mural painted by Annie Hamel… although the youngest one seems to want to join the skateboarders instead.
below: I’m not sure why they would choose this location for their photo shoot when they are covering the mural with a grey screen.
below: A face in orange and purple tones by @drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa
below: One side of the bent painted by Lacey & Layla Art
below: And the other. The mural is accompanied by a Robert Browning quote: “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”
below: At the far west end, a gruesome spike being plunged into a heart.
The project is managed by Mural Routes and is part of the StreetARToronto Partnership Program in collaboration with the Corktown Residents and Business Association, the City of Toronto Parks Department, and Relay 2017 – Friends of the PanAm Path.
below: Just starting, background figures in white
***
This is the fourth blog post about the murals at Underpass Park. Others are:
First stage of the project (Pan Am games), in two posts:
Underpass Park July 2015
People Overhead July 2015
The next stage were the pillars along the sidewalk on the west side of Lower River Street
New neighbours at Underpass Park, Oct 2016
I started walking Graffiti Alley the other day but I didn’t stick to my plan. I meandered and wandered through other alleys as well as I generally headed west.
below: A bright, vibrant, wonderful piece by birdo in an alley north of Queen Street West.
below: Another birdo nearby
below: Only remnants remain. Was it a stikman? Or was it something else?
below: Auston Matthews already has his picture on T-shirts.
It can’t be easy having the hopes of all those Maple Leaf fans resting on your shoulders.
below: Of course normal is boring. What I need is a t-shirt that says “rather be walking”
below: This wall is not new but there is usually a car parked in front of it when I walk past. King Reign and Son of S.O.U.L. were two Toronto hip hip artists who passed away in 2016.
below: Stickers on a box
below: I love the juxtaposition of the car in the mural with the real cars parked in the alley. Also the alignment of the first two walls makes the painting look like one.
below: This is another painting that I saw in Graffiti Alley.
I think that it’s new, or at least I don’t remember seeing it before.
below: Your words of advice for today.
below: Fake. as in Fake news. Fake people. Fake money. Fake graffiti artist?
below: These grey paper paste-ups have appeared on top of a number of street art paintings in Graffiti Alley.
I’m not sure who did it or why.
below: Blowing bubbles. Looks irresistibly ready for someone to pop it!
It was painted by @wamurals aka WayneArt
below: Hidden houses. Being pushed out by the big boys.
below: Half of a lovebot in a doorway.
below: A whole lovebot mixing it up with another creature. I think it’s by grominator but I’m not sure.
I like to think of it as lovebot fighting his demons.
below: Look up, way up, to find the switch from love to fear.
Yikes!, it’s switched to fear now and it’s not going to be easy to change it.
below: Lucy and trouble and a weird looking face in a messy dimly lit doorway that assaulted my nose.
below: Many of the planters along Queen West have been painted including this tribute to Gord Downie.
below: A little astronaut floats away. But he’s not up in the air where you’d expect to find him. He’s way down low near the ground. Perhaps he’s not floating away, perhaps he’s falling back to Earth?
Don’t over think it though. Just keep your eyes open and ready for the unexpected!
as I walk Toronto 