Posts Tagged ‘hinges’

wandering the alleys

Posted: March 16, 2024 in alleys, construction, doors, graffiti and street art, old buildings
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….of Dovercourt and Bloorcourt (south of Dupont and east of Dufferin)

blue and white banner on a utility pole, dovercourt village

Apparently there are over 250 kilometres of alleys and lanes in Toronto.  I am not sure how many are in the Dovercourt Village neighbourhood, but here are some pictures of what I saw when I walked the other day.

looking down a laneway to where it dead ends at a residential street with two storey brick houses, there is ablack picket fence in the alley, the house on the left in the alley is being renovated and has scaffolding covering the side

In many ways there is a similarity to most lanes – the garages and fences, the two storey houses, mostly brick, a few old trees, and the pavement in rough shape but there is always some interesting things to be found.

looking down a toronto alley, no dumping sign, garages, back of brick house, glass and steel highrise condo in the background

below: Somehow the back part is still standing!

backyard of a two torey house, view from alley with fence down, wood addition on brick building is old and falling apart

backyards and rear of houses, view from the lane behind

below: A narrow, skinny house with an extra layer of blue tarp privacy.

blue tarp over a fence behind a house in an alley

below: Happy dancing in the streets of Toronto – or close enough!

on a white garage door in a lane, a black line drawing of the CN Tower, 3 people dancing, the sun, a tree and two dogs

garage in an alley with street art on door and on side of building. on the side is white throwup on exploding red, yellow, and orange background

parking space in alley with chain across it, garage,

below: Monsters romping and flying around the black and white city

white garage in an alley, with a red man door, drawing and painting on the wall

below: “I want a cup of chai from the former Pink Palace”.

graffiti in an alley, black animal (cow?) on brown, with text, I want s cup of chai from the former pink palace

brick tower, perhaps steeple in the background, brick house in the middle, and a small garage with graffiti on door, large tree in the foreground

view looking down an alley to where it ends at a street with houses, large tree in the foreground, tall white apartment building in the background

below: An infill house in the lane.

black clad two storey house, dwelling, infill in an alley

below: And another infill….

black clad two storey house, dwelling with a large window facing the alley on the upper floor, infill in an alley

below: Large blue bear mural on a garage door by Jeff Blackburn

mural by Jeff Blackburn of a large blue bear face with maroon nose and mouth, white teeth, furry,

view of adjacent houses from the alley behind

chainlink gate between two garages in an alley, with view into backyard

upside down street sign that says no parking in the alley, backs of houses in the background

below: Falling apart.  Fake brick.  Asphalt based siding such as this bit here became a popular  alternative to painting  wooden structures as early as the 1930’s.  It was very popular in the 1940’s and the 1950’s in North America where it was used both for low-cost housing (and garages) and for covering the deteriorated exterior walls of older homes.

old fake brick asphalt tiles broken, on a wood garagebelow: A few simple flowers

a simple mural of flowers on a garage door in an alley, with house next door under renovations

below: and a garage in need of some paint and TLC.

view from an alley, an old wood garage in peeling teal paint, two storey brick house with a small wood balcony on the upper level

below: “We are all sacred”.  Scared might work too.

words scrawled on a wall that say we are all sacred

below: Art before dishes – a wonderful sentiment that I hope you agree with!

on a brown garage door in black marker, a line drawing of a person holding a light, and text that says art before dishes

below: Another garage door, some more peeling paint, and a faded face with pointy ears.

paint peeling on a reddish brown metal garage, old line drawing in yellow paint of a face, splotchy where bare metal can be seen

in a lane, looking at the back of a house with a yellow door and a dark green garage

below: Building back and up

alley view of the back of a house that is being updated and renovated, most of the back is covered with plywood

below: An oldie, a Lovebot the robot

an old red and white lovebot sticker on a no parking sign on a garage in an alley

below: A surprise find, and another oldie – I didn’t realize that any of these old Rob Ford portraits by Spudbomb still existed. This one dates from 2011.  Remember those days?

black paint on a white garage door, an old spud bomb painting of Rob Ford, ex-mayor of toronto, painted in 2011

below: Bastards in rust

rusty hinge on wood gate, with word bastards scratched into the metal

concrete wall under metal window frame, rust has stained the concrete, two white eyes have been drawn on the rusty part so now it looks like a face

below: I am going to pretend that it says “Tag here”.

graffiti on a wall that says tag here

low view of alley showing mostly the pavement, cracked with dirt and wet spots, some garages along the sides

below: One more garage door

garage in alley, white door with street art on it

below: Someone’s lurking above us

small alley

below: One large iguana, or perhaps a chameleon.  Whichever it is, it doesn’t look very happy.

large green iguana in a mural, looks unhappy

below: The brick building is on Dovercourt, just north of Bloor…. which is as good a place as any to end….  until next time that is.

whit truck parked in a lane with construction on both sides, on dovercourt, just north of bloor

banner on a utility pole, bloorcourt,

alley doors

Posted: May 10, 2018 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art
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I know that this isn’t the first time that I have blogged about alley doors (previous alley post, Nov 2017) and I know that I tend to take a lot of pictures in alleys so I hope that you aren’t rolling your eyes right now.  I’m not sure that I’ve found anything “wow” or anything completely new, but here we go with a little bit of rust, a splash of paint and a dose of weathered …..

below: A dead end alley with three levels of doors.

looking down an alley to the back of a triplex (three storeys high) with fire escape stairs and balconies with railings

below: Lots of rusty hinges and peeling paint

rusty hinge on wood door with paint peeling

below: Not an inviting place to sit and chat!

door in an alley with a chair in front of it as well as bags of garbage and two bright red and yellow cushions

below: Something to catch an eye – a bright red door amidst the greys and browns.  If you look closely, there is a bird roosting on the door.

below: Look up!  And watch your step.

below: An alley with some colour in blues and greens…. and even a few straight lines.

below: Are you wondering if something’s missing?  Where are all the graffiti covered doors?

mural of a black man in purples and reds on a concrete block wall, with three signs posted on his face

Ahhh…. here we are. 

below: Part of Graffiti Alley.   A birdo eye peeping over a wall.

alley with low buildings, lots of graffiti and street art

below: An eagle’s head

street art painting of an eagle's head

below: Another birdo, this time a rooster head and a ??? tail.   Cock tail?

birdo mural of a rooster on a garage door

below: There really is a door under there.  A very narrow door.

old wood door in an alley covered with tags and graffiti

below: Another narrow door.  This one is adorned by something purple, something that looks like a head but isn’t a head.  More heads, as pasteups on either side of the door.

door in an alley with street art in purple and teal, two paste ups, on on either side of the door

below: A solitary bird on a shadowy tree.

below: I think that there was once a red heart on that door.

yellow building (shed? garage?) in an alley painteed white with light teal door with graffiti on it

below: Mass confusion on the wall, the door, and the window.  Many people have left their mark here…

closed door in alley covered with graffiti

below: …. and here too.  The door as a canvas that comes already framed.

closed door in alley covered with graffiti , framed by other street art and murals

below: Maybe the Pink Panther is suffering from writer’s block, pacing back and forth waiting for inspiration.  Or he can’t find the doorbell?  He forgot his key?  No one’s home.   Abandoned.

painting of the pink panther cartoon character standing beside of real door covered with a metal grille

This is another Thursday Doors post inspired by Norm 2.0’s blog.  You can check out Thursday Doors  for links to even more doors that other people have blogged about.   Take a wander over!

wall compositions made in an alley

Posted: September 25, 2017 in abstract, alleys, doors, windows and walls
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Sunny September days make good walking in the alleys days.   Here are some of the walls I saw and the compositions that they make.  The textures of wood and metal, bright colours as well as subdued ones, the effects of light and shadow, as well as shapes and patterns – these are some of the things that catch my eye and make me stop.  Throw a little nature into the mix and the following photos are the result.

part of an old wood door that is part dark turquoise and part blue, with a rusted latch holding the two doors together and closed

a vine with two red leaves hangs in front of a grey wall, sunny day so there are shadows on the wall fromother plants that aren't in the picture

three small windows in a wall, the top part of the wall is brick and the bottom is plaster that has been painted white

old rusty downspout with part of a wire coat hanger wrapped around ut, in front of a grey shingle covered wall that has been partially covered with purple spray paint

trunks of three trees growing in front of an old white building with a green door. windows in door are covered with plywod and a piece of plywood is nailed over parts of the lower half of the doors to keep them closed.

a bashed up grey metal door with splotches of light and shadow

part of a bright red double metal door in a brick building

a bright turquoise door in a building that has been painted white - some of the old brick shows throw the peeling paint.

part of a brick wall that has old windows bricked over in a different brick, an old window with old wood frame, unpainted, some graffiti on the wall

corrugated plastic panels on angle in front of concrete block wall with window covered with plywood

white drips of paint on a wood garage door, metal door handle

chainlink fence in front of rows of construction equipment

a grey plaster attempt to patch a broken rusted metal panel on the side of a garage - rust in shades of yellow and brown, a painted green stripe

red, white, and blue spray paint on three wood slats of a fence, tied together with string, some nails sticking out

paste up of a man's face over a wood door, door and wall have blue and red splotchy spray paint on them

finding green in the alleys

Posted: November 30, 2014 in abstract, general Toronto
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The other day I walked a number of lanes and alleys, Max Hartstone Lane, Ken Lai Lane,   and Oscar Ryan Lane, to name a few.

I’m not sure if it was the greyness of the day or the preponderance of ugly tags but I was feeling rather uninspired as I walked.  An interesting green wall caught my eye so I started searching more out green things.  This is the result of that search.
Close up of a green wall and door, showing the hinge which is also painted green

streaks of greenish discoloration as well as rust on the side of a corrugated metal wall

An old boarded up window on a wood wall, all painted green

A greenish coloured figure of a girl with the word Cloth written beside her

A green garage in need of paint. A window frame is sitting on the ground beneath the window. Dead leaves on the ground.

A brick wall painted in two shades of shiney green paint. There is a large crack running diagonally across the wall.