Posts Tagged ‘houses’

Queen East and a little bit Eastern

Posted: September 23, 2023 in construction, doors, intersections, old buildings, stores
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

These are some of the photos that I took the last time that I walked along Queen Street East – with a diversion or two down to Eastern Avenue.  It was a wander around parts of the Leslieville and Riverside neighbourhoods.   In no particular order….

below: Leslieville mural painted by Elicser Elliott, Queen Street East

large Leslieville mural by Elicser, man wearing a brown hat

below: Queen Street shops

stores on Queen St East, including LIttle Peeps

below: Hebrew letters, part of a project called “Welcome Back to Main Street” from back in 2021.  The Riverside Neighbourhood and Leslieville BIA collaborated with STEPS Public Art as part of the I HeART Main Street Challenge. The painting was done by local artists Bareket and Curtia Wright

in pink, Hebrew letters spelling welcome

below: … and nearby, “welcome” in Polish, witamy.

pink letters on sidewalk spell witamy which is polish for welcome, part of welcome back to main street project

below: At 744 Queen East, the old white Bank of Commerce building with its bowed front facade, dates from 1905.  The architects who designed the building were Darling & Pearson who were responsible for a number of bank buildings in Toronto and other Canadian cities.

large old bank of commerce stone building with pillars in front, police man writing a parking ticket for white car parked in front of building

below: Blessed Love Caribbean Grocery and Take Out.

signs for stores on Queen East including Blessed Love Caribbean

below: A frenzied backdrop to a sidewalk patio.

mural on wall beside sidewalk patio

below: Ghost sign at Queen and Coady.

ghost coca cola sign on side of old store, now a Spanish restaurant, with red umbrellas on patio

 

below: More details from the past trying to hold on.   The “blue box” has obliterated the old gabled roof structure that has probably been there for more than 100 years.

a row of buildings on Queen East with different architectural styles, some bay and gable, some modern square

below: Canadian flag motifs on planters

tree planters on queen street, painted in red and white maple leaf flag motifs
below: Strange ducks on posters, a form of graffiti?  Or just weirdness?

paper poster graffiti on a cement utility pole

below: Sax player at the Duke

street art painting of a saxophone player on yellow background, at the Duke tavern

below: Mediah on Queen

mural by mediah on queen street

mural

people walking past Samairas, with a street art painting on one of the exterior walls, large hand

Leslieville meat market, with street art image on door, a cyclist in front, women waiting at bus stop

below: on Broadview

mural on the side of a building on Broadview

below: Gales Snack Bar, Eastern and Carlaw.

Gales in old house on corner

below: Old row houses on Eastern – 4 in a row, 3 blue but 545 is in its original brown.

two storey old rowhouses on Queen St West

below: Something else that is old – an old style bus shelter close to an old metal Queen Street street sign affixed to the brick building.

old bus shelter with curved roof and brown metal supports,

below: And one last “you don’t see many of these anymore” – old parking meters.   Anyone got coins?

old grey metal parking meters, two on one stand

below: Snapdragons

pink, red, and yellow snapdagons flowers growing in front of a grey house

below: Lilies and hostas

small city frontyard with some grass and some red lilies and a hosta

below: More flowers, and a baby pram too.  Did you know that pram is just a short form of perambulator?  How British is that!  Even better, the second meaning of perambulator is, “a person who walks, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way.”

porch of house with hanging baskets of flowers, chairs on the lawn,

below:  More than flowers!

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

below: Perambulating on Queen West!

some people walking on queen east, another person sitting on a bench

Queen Street east street scene

below: Traffic on Eastern Ave, headed downtown.

westbound traffic on Eastern Ave., moving towards downtown

below: No trespassing sign on one of the many vacant lots on the south side of Eastern.

black and yellow no trespassing sign on chainlink fence

faded warning signs on a locked gate and chainlink fence

below: This is one of the vacant lots on Eastern; it’s just west of Leslie.  The containers are offices (?) for GM as in General Motors.  They are sitting on a seven acre site that is otherwise empty.  Starting back in 2016 there was talk that this site would be developed as a GM Mobility Campus but approval from the city was never granted.   The previous buildings (film studios) were demolished and the lot lies vacant.

container offices in large vacant lot with chainlink fence around

below: Another space is for storage of old buses and trucks, movie props and other remnants of film productions.

trucks and school bus behind fence

below: … which happened to be unlocked the day I walked past.

CN Tower in the distance, a parking lot with old trucks and buses in the foreground

looking through upper windows of two buses, with reflections

below: On Leslie Street, at Eastern, this whole building is for lease because….

three storey industrial building with billboards on the side

below: .. as the letter states, the last tenant was locked out. They abandoned the premises leaving behind more than $100,000 in rent owing to the landlord.

letter on door stating that tenant was kicked out of arrears in rent and for abandoning the premises, dutch love cannabis is no more at this location

below:  The former Consumers Gas Company (now part of Enbridge) has had a large presence on Eastern Avenue for many years.  This stone on the exterior of the building names all the Consumers Gas directors in 1907 (presumably when the building was built?).  J.L. Blaikie was the president and A.W. Austin was the vice-president.  The mayor of the city, E. Coatsworth, was also a director.   There was a Sir W. Mortimer Clark on the list and, to no one’s surprise, the other names were all very anglo.

engraved stone with the list of Consumers Gas Company directors in 1907. on exterior of the building

below: Queen West at the CNR tracks

woman in long black skirt and white hat walks on Eastern Ave

below:  Little red picket fence

small red picket fence in front of a house

below: Renovations

large third storey addition on a house, juts out over front yard

two new renovations of family houses in leslieville

below: Note the many hydro meters all in a row – six units in what was once a single family home.

large new multiunit residence being built beside older smaller grey house

back of a house that has been painted orange, an old garage with graffiti on the door

below:  So far so good

front door steps of empty house that has been boarded up, with sign on it that says so far so good

below: Nice

green sign with white letters that says nice on brick wall on old industrial building

below: You never know what you will find written on the concrete.

quotes supporting cannabis availability stenciled onto a concrete barrier

on a TTC bus stop sign, a black marker drawing of a star with a happy face in the middle of it, with the words be kind

below: In memory of Karolina Huebner-Makurat who died on a Friday afternoon in August because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was caught in the crossfire during an altercation outside a supervised injection site.  Senseless.  Horrible.

flowers, memorial

Stay safe.

starting at Queen and Sumach

Posted: July 15, 2023 in construction, history, intersections, locations, old buildings
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

a small Canadian flag has been stuck into a poster notice on a TTC bus stop pole

First, let’s get our bearings….

below: This was, until recently, the Dominion Pub. It is on the northwest corner of Queen St East  and Sumach. It was a popular spot with a decent patio.  When I saw that the Dominion was closed and the property for lease I decided that I’d better document the area.  There is just so much happening, or about to happen, here in terms of development.

northwest corner of Queen and Sumach, Dominion pub, old brick building, now covered with green, building for lease, once part of Dominion Hotel and Brewery

below: Directly opposite, on the northeast corner, is this row of buildings – 502, 506, and 508 Queen Street East. The buildings appear to be empty but there is no development notice sign.  Only 502, Sweet Marie Variety, is considered of any historic value.

row of three old buildings, two storey store fronts, all empty. Sweet Marie convenience store on the left, at corner of Queen and Sumach

below: Just to the east, more of the same.   One is for sale – It’s just over 1600 sq ft,  and can be yours for $1,800,000.  These pictures were taken on the 1st of July and as I write this almost two weeks later, it is still on the market.  Care to be a commercial landlord?  Or maybe hold onto it in hopes that a developer wants to buy you out?

two old 2 storey storefronts on Queen St. East, one is for sale, the other is a barber shop

below: One more change of viewpoint…   South side of Queen, looking west to Sumach Street

south side of Queen st east, looking east towards Charry Street, vacant lot, then a bright green building,

below: Stepping back in time (can anyone date the cars?), to the same intersection but from the other side, Queen Street looking west at Cherry Street.

black and white vintage photo of Queen street, looking west, at Cherry street

City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1488, Series 1230, Item 2285, plus some enhancing with Photoshop

below: The building on the corner with the mansard roof is still there.  The bright green part of the building lost its roof in a fire a few years ago.  Both buildings date from before 1884.

looking south on Sumach, west side, from Queen, renovations at Dominion pub on the right, two older buildings on the south side, one with black mansard roof, and the other painted bright green

below: The fire also destroyed one of the row houses immediately beside, leaving a vacant lot in its place.  469 Queen is a terrace house built in 1877.  The ivy covered building (the Magic Building) faces Sumach Street.

old brick house beside a vacant lot, building in next street behind can be seen, it is covered in ivy

below: The brick warehouse/factory at 489 Queen Street East was built in 1884.  This building has been renovated and turned into office space.

renovated post and beam brick building, three storeys high, once a warehouse and now office space

below: Just east of the old warehouse is another short row of terrace houses from the same time period.

a row of two storey brick terrace houses, row houses, built in the 1880s, Queen St East in Toronto,

below: A little further east

old brick semi detached house, red brick, with black roof, central peak, on Queen East, heritage property

below: And a little more…. a row of flat roofs on two storey brick store fronts.  They also all have three narrow windows on the upper floor.

a row of two storey brick store fronts, one has a lot of light blue trim,

Jumping back to the start, the Dominion Brewery opened in 1878 and was in operation until 1936.  The original owner was Robert T. Davies who bought the site in 1877; he had worked previously at his brother’s brewery, Don Brewery which was only about two blocks away.  A large part of this structure still stands, especially the part facing Queen Street.  The lower right corner of this image shows the Dominion Hotel which was attached to the brewery but wasn’t part of it.

image of an old painting or drawing of the DominionBrewery complex on Queen Street East in the late 1800s or early 1900s

below: The Dominion Hotel as it appeared in 1945.  The little tower and fourth floor no longer exist.  The hotel was built in 1889 by Robert Davies (same as first owner of the brewery).

An older black and white photo of the Dominion Hotel. Once upon a time it had a tower.

This image was found on Wikipedia but is originally from the City of Toronto Archives, listed under the archival citation Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 520. (public domain).

below: Painting by Rowell Soller on Queen Street

a small painting by Rowell, blue background, person head and shoulders,

below: From under the scaffolding in front of the Dominion Pub.

looking through scaffolding covering sidewalk to bus stop and people on the other side of the street

below: The front entrance of the Magic Building on Sumach Street, south of Queen (that’s the ivy covered one a few photos above).

front entrance to a building, words over door say The Magic Building

below: Not only does the building have a lot of ivy on its walls, it also has a painting by Elicser Elliott with a red-capped man at ground level.

on the corner of a building, tall vertical mural by Elicser Elliott, a wizard in a red cap with white stars all over it.

below: The box on the sidewalk across the street from the wizard painting has also been decorated by Elicser Elliott.

at Queen East and Sumach, a sidewalk box painted by Elicser Elliott of a man in a blue shirt, short dark hair. A man walks by, another man is sorting out his scooter while waiting for a traffic light

If you walk south on Sumach, it is a short block to King.

below: Looking down the alley to another street of row houses, Ashby Place, with newer Corkdown developments behind that.

 

two white houses with black trim, semi, with an alley beside, looking down the alley to row houses on another street

below: A closer look at a couple of the houses on Ashby Place – they’re small!

small row houses on Ashby Place, dormer windows on upper floor,

below: This is the northeast corner of King and Sumach. This intersection has more than 30 of poles, or at least I lost count at 30. Most of them are for the 504 streetcars.

newer low rise apartment building, or row houses on the northeast corner of King and Sumach

below: Southeast corner of King & Sumach… a mix of old and new

southeast corner of King and Sumach, newer 4 storey apartment building, 2 older square roofed family homes beside that

below: On the northwest side of the intersection are a couple of old brick houses that still survive.

two houses in a row, one is light blue with a large rose bush in front, to the right is a mechanic shop, Central Auto

below: When I looked for old photos of the area, I found this one…. If I am not mistaken, it is the same location as the photo above but from a different angle.  The building that looks like it’s going to collapse any minute has been replaced by Central Auto.   On the right hand side of this photo there is a striped brick building in the background.  This is a church at the corner of King and Bright.

old vintage black and white photo of housing at King and Sumach

Housing – Nov 3, 1936, 472 and 474 King St. and 42 Sumach.   City of Toronto Archives, Series 372,

South of King Street, Sumach curves to join Cherry Street at Eastern Avenue.  As you travel south, Inglenook School is on your right. Between 1834 and 1890 this site was the home of Lucie and Thornton Blackburn, refugee former slaves from Kentucky who started Toronto’s first taxicab company. The school was designed by William George Storm (1826-1892) as Sackville Street School.  Storm also added the tower to St. James Cathedral and designed the wrought iron fence around Osgoode Hall amongst other things.

white car parked in frontof an old school building, brick, two storey, with condo development going on behind, is now Inglenook community school.

Inglenook School’s claim to fame is that it is located in the oldest continually-operated school building in the Toronto District School Board.

From here Sumach Street becomes Cherry Street.  The Distillery District is the next attraction on the route before Cherry crosses the Lakeshore (closed at the moment) and heads through the Port Lands to Cherry Beach.  But all that excitement will have to be found in other blog posts!

graffiti wheatpaste on the side of a Canada Post mailbox, words that say the more you feel your feelings the easier it gets

rusty mailbox at 504

greenish colour door in brick building, side door of old Dominion Pub

Marlee Ave

Posted: July 12, 2023 in construction, doors, locations, stores, windows and walls
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

two toronto street signs on pole covered in ivy and other vines, Marlee Ave and Belgravia

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.

southeast corner of Marlee and Viewpoint, Toronto, strip mall, highrise in background

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

looking north at Marlee and Lawrence to shopping center

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

intersection of Marlee and with a plaza of stores,

stores on the lower level of three storey concrete building, offices above, parking lot below

metal sidewalk box painted with birds, a blue jay and a cardinal

line of two storey brick store fronts on Marlee Ave

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

front window of Filipino variety store

below: Odessa Russian (Ukranian) Market

window of a Ukranian grocery store

below: Seen in a convenience store window

signs in the window of a convenience store, photocopy, drumstick ice cream advert, winning tickets for lottery sold here,

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

sign saying that the barber shop is now open, black sign, beside sidewalk

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

laundry on the balcony of a small apartment building

small brick bungalow with a blue and white development notice in the front yard

a few houses on a side street with taller apartment buildings behind

in a vacant lot with a blue metal fence around it, blue and white development notice sign on the ground, daisies growing up beside it

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

at an entrance gate to construction site, beside a covered sidewalk, hand written sign says gate xxx

looking into a construction site, cranes lifting heavy object

low rise apartment building, brick,

rooflines houses, lowrises, and taller condo building

the back of a TTC bus on Marlee Ave by Ridelle Ave stop, a woman crosses the road, two storey brick houses

looking down a driveway between two small apartment buildings to the back of another residential building

a woman pushes a stroller past a small house on Marlee Ave

below: Mural painted for Kirsch Cosmetics by Jasnine

mural on the side of a white building, a grey tone portrait of a young woman in profile, long dark hair, with pink and purple blobs and floral shapes

hand written signs and posters on a utility pole, two of them are pray the rosary to end abortion, jesus is god

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

side split house from the 1960s or 1970s, now empty with a sign on the front hedge that says that it is about to be demolished

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

empty brick house, boarded up and painted black, all black

a balcony with a bike on it, also a garland of Canadian flags strung across the railing

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.

looking south along the Allen Expressway with the subway running down the middle, at Glencairn station TTC

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

below: A community garden on the Belt Line

a chainlink fence in front of a vegetable garden, spring, everything is beginning to grow
back of apartment building with concrete balconies, as seen from the Belt Line trail

Marlee ends at Eglinton Avenue

northeast corner of Eglinton and Marlee, empty building for lease on the corner, small apartment building in the background
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.

stores on Eglinton Ave West in Toronto, Spences Bakery, seafood, pastry,

double window shot, some reflections in the window, some seeing through the glass., empty storefront at Eglinton and Marlee

Express Car Wash, red building, on Eglinton West

looking inside the window of a plant store, a white table with plants on it

door to small apartment building, 5 steps up to door, potted plants on the steps

pink roses growing by a chainlink fence

bell telephone box on Eglinton Ave west

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

TTC bus stop pole, with graffiti, I love U Andrea

Senlac Road

Posted: June 21, 2023 in construction, locations, nature
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

The north end of Senlac Road is at Finch Avenue. It runs south through the middle of York Cemetery and the Lansing neighbourhood towards Sheppard Ave.   .

an old wood bench on a patch of grass in front of shrubs and trees

below:  Addington Greenspace (or Addington Greenbelt) is a small park on the west side of Senlac, or rather it is an access point to the city’s ravine system.  In this photo, the trail back up the hill to the street ends by a bus stop.

looking uphill along a path through the woods and ravine, Addington, to a TTC bus stop pole at the top of the trail

below: The greenspace follows a creek and passes under Addington Street before it meanders southwestward towards the Don River close  to Sheppard and Bathurst.

concrete wall on bridge, has a black happy face spray painted on it

below: Protest signs on lawns.  Back in May City Council tried passing a new bylaw that would limit what signs you put on your lawn and how many.  There were more than 30 amendments to the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693 (Signs).  Most of them were adopted on the 14th of June except (if I am reading it correctly) for all amendments concerning “advocacy signs”.   The council agenda item history is online.  If you check it out and find that I am wrong, please let me know!

sign beside sidewalk that says stop privitization of public hospitals

below: Although the main part of Senlac ends at Sheppard, there is a small two block section south of Sheppard slightly to the west.

utility poles and hydro wires, street signs for senlac and sheppard avenue

below: Beware of the zombies!!

no parking signs, one says zombies on duty

 

low rise brick building

below: Most of the area is residential – 1950s and 60s suburbia.

old white convertible with top down parked in driveway in front of a house

side view of a house, wood fence in front of it, roofline is barn shaped

lots of plants growing in blue and grey pots in front of the porch and beside stairs of a house

pink lilac bush in full bloom, by a wood fence

2 storey brick house on sheppard aveune, beside a vacant lot

old red car in driveway of a house

below: Like all older neighbourhoods in Toronto, many smaller houses are being upsized.

renovation and enlargement of a house, smaller older house beside

2 houses on a residential street

…. or torn down and redeveloped totally.

blue and white city of toronto development notice

below: An empty house.  As I was taking these pictures, a woman passing by remarked that they had been empty for seven years.  I hadn’t meant for this walk to turn into yet another redevelopment story but even here there are blue white signs along with boarded up buildings.

front porch and front door of old brick house now empty

below: This development dates from 2016.  It proposes townhouses along Sheppard but 5 multistorey (11-25 storeys) buildings behind.  Part of the reason for the delay is that the project also involves tearing down existing rental accommodation.  In June 2022 the City Planning Division recommended that City Council approve the Rental Housing Demolition application that accompanies this development.  It is 14 pages long but if you are interested in what happens when developers want to tear down rental units, click on this City of Toronto link

blue and white development notice in front yard of a house

below: Hiding behind a massive shrub, both a house and a development notice

a large green shrub obscures a house that is awaiting demolition

boarded up doors and window of an empty brick house, wood porch has rotted away

old brick bungalow with boarded up windows and door

small brick house with boarded up windows

below: This bungalow is actually on Sheppard West.  The proposal here is not for a condo, but for a 38 room hotel (in 6 storeys).

small brick bungalow with development notice in the front yard

below: Also Sheppard West.

black metal construction fence around a building site

mm

Dupont Street scenes

Posted: June 10, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
6

part of a blue and white sign, with the words this way and an arrow pointing left

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!

pictures and signs on the wall inside a coffee hop, First Last coffee, including a sign that says coffee please

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

Dupont subway station, entrance on northwest corner of Dupont and Spadina, transparent structure with dome shaped curved roof

two women waiting outside Dupont subway station, red and white TTC sign,

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.

blue sky with chain from crane (not in picture) hanging in the foreground, a large metal utility tower in the middle, and the top of Casa Loma roofline in the distance

below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Shaw

corner of an intersection that is one big construction site

below: Someone’s comment on the construction….

Construction site entrance sign that says gate 2. someone has added the word hell so that the sign now says gate to hell

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

black and orange construction sign with figure of man holding sign, happy face added to head and a machine gun put in his hands, altered sign

rebar sticking out the ground, construction site, as building begins to rise from the ground

shiny hoardings around a construction site reflect the bright orange signs and cones on the street beside it

a workman in a blue hardhat cleans the street between hoardings with large photos on them and orange cones blocking traffic

workman cutting pavement on dupont,

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.

workman helping a concrete truck back up into a construction site, traffic waiting,

construction reflections in a window

vacant building beside a grassy space, red brick, tagged on the side, old grey shingle roof, boarded up lower level window, construction fence around it

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.

a woman with a backpack walks by a window with many reflections in it

below: No energy today (all sold out?)

looking into a large warehouse interior with lots of windows, nine window panes

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.

old building, three or four storeys high, made of many small panes of glass, on the northeast corner of Dupont and Dovercourt

below: View through the window

looking through a window to young men playing basketball inside

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.

billboard with image by Maggie Groat, part of Scotiabank COntact photo festival, bottom part has been tagged

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.

silver Star car wash on dupont street with a blue and white development notice in front

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

cranes for rent, all parked outside a rental store

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

tall blue crane on construction site next to glass industrial warehouse building from 1921 at 888 Dupont street

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.  old sign on the side of a building in an alley near Dupont street,

four houses on Dupont street

below: Looking along Dupont from Delaware Ave

Dupont street looking west from Delaware Ave

three two storey houses on dupont street

below: Probably the most affordable house on the street!

a small playhouse surrounded by leaves, in the side yard of a house

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

lone two storey house on Dupont, with large rose bush in front of it

below: … and some people have horses.

sculpture in a front yard of a horse up on its hind legs

below: A seaside Nova Scotia scene by Megan Oldhues.

mural on the side of a garage of a Nova Scotia waterside scene, sailboats, dock, flag,

grey car parked beside a garage with street art mural painted on it. Lots of red, orange, and yellow, blob-like characters

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

older Lovebot paste up on a grey brick wall, part of top of head has worn away

below: A pinkish red portrait of a young woman.

red stencil of a young woman's portrait

paste up graffiti on a metal pole, beside a wood pole full of old staples, black ink on paper paste up that says gewn 2020 squid

 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.

4 paste ups on a box, all black on white. One is an urban ninja squadron collaboration with ave rage, and three are inky blotty drawings

 

old window in an old brick bilding, with street art that is peeling around the bottom part of the window

scrawled graffiti, happy face

pink rose on a large rose bush

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

small blue car parked on Dupont, with Ontario licence plate that says unfocused

Changes at Broadview and Eastern

Posted: May 27, 2023 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

This row of old two storey row houses has been vacant for years. Recently the developer that owns the properties provided a couple of Toronto artists the opportunity paint the exterior.  This is the result.

large street art painting by nick sweetman and luvs aka moises on a row of empty houses at Broadview and Eastern

If you look carefully, you can see that Nick Sweetman and Luvs (aka Moises) have painted the word CHANGE across the front of the buildings.   As a theme for a mural on a redevelopment site in a city bursting at the seams with such sites, change seems very appropriate.

below: I’ve played with the colours a bit to highlight some of the letters.  You should be able to see C, H, and A across this image.

part of a street art mural with the word change written in gold and yellow on a multi coloured background, on old houses with boarded up windows

But the mural is more than colour and letters.  There are three animals featured here – pigeon, raccoon, and coyote  – all of which have adapted to changes and now thrive in urban environments.

below: A blue pigeon

street art mural of a large blue pigeon on the side of an empty old house

below: A pinkish marroonish reddish raccoon

a large street art raccoon on an old house, part of a mural by nick sweetman and luvs moises

below: A coyote with a dead leaf and new buds.

large mural with a coyote face, a large dead orange leaf,

Funding provided by Streetcar Developments

a row of old brick houses with boarded up windows has been covered with a large mural

upper window of an old vacant house now covered in many colours, mural

below: The houses to the north….

row of houses on the east side of Broadview near Eastern, two story, peaked roof,

poster on a boarded up window that says so far so good

Photos taken 25 May 2023

a little piece of Weston

Posted: February 5, 2023 in graffiti and street art, history, locations, old buildings, public art, stores
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

This blog post is the result of a walk around the vicinity of Lawrence Avenue West and Weston Road.  The latter was once Main Street in the village of Weston.

mural on a wall, I red heart weston

below: Approach to the Weston pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.  The Grand Trunk Railway was built here in 1856 (now Canadian National Railway, CNR).

western approach to pedestrian bridge over train tracks, with display of cyclists over the decades painted by elicser elliott

below: Elicser Elliott’s paintings of cyclists over the years line the ramp to the bridge.

paintings by Elicser elliott of people on bicycles, displayed outside, winter,

below: Looking back to the west

weston pedestrian bridge over railway, looking back over bridge from east to west

below: Looking south towards Weston UP station (Union Pearson Express) at Lawrence Ave.

view from weston pedestrian bridge over train tracks, looking south

below: A young girl outside on a sunny day in a bright and cheerful painting on a lone house.   Next door is an Islamic Association and Masjid. Like so many other places in the city now, a larger and taller building fills the background.

house with mural on the side, also a sign that says Mike Sullivan constituency office, beside it is , behind is a large apartment building

below: Street scene and evolution – The oldest buildings are in the row of two storey commercial establishments that line Weston Road (by the traffic lights).  Behind them are apartments that are a few decade old. Last, the most recent development is in the immediate foreground, right hand side.

street scene with apartment building, shops, and a parking lot

below: Jerk Hut, Desserts, Juices, and Candy Cakes all squeezed into a little building beside (behind?) CashWay.   And while you’re there, you can get your palm read upstairs.

Weston Road businesses, Cashway money and Western Union office, very small building for Jerk Hut - desserts

below: Southeast corner of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue East.

Southwest corner of Lawrence Ave East and Weston Road

below: For all your vegan leather and faux fur needs – Honeyy dripp (I had to look it up!)

stores on Weston Road, honeyy dripp with a large window with reflections, restaurant across the street

below: There is a series of pictures on these windows that was painted by Bryan Bermudez, Jim Bravo, Niel Yee, and Rowena Kizito in 2014.  It depicts young people from three different eras.

three images, murals, in a series, history

below: ‘Weston Streetscape circa 1900’ by Mario Noviello, 1997-1998. Original concept by Eric Lee.  A streetcar passes in front of Weston City Hall.  On the right is the Central Hotel with the brick steeple of Central United Church just visible behind it.

On side of 2 storey brick building, a large historic mural by Mario Noviello, Weston Streetscape circa 1900, streetcar, Weston City Hall, Central Hotel, and a church

part of Weston Streetscape mural showing old streetcar and Weston City Hall,

painted metal sidewalk box, purple on one side and blue on the other, white people doing things painted on the purple and blue background

below: Another bike

sidewalk box painted with image of old fashioned bicycle

a woman walks down the sidewalk pushing a cart, walking past stores

below: I think that someone is a Maple Leaf fan!

entrance to Peter's Barber Shop, with Toronto Maple Laf theme, in winter, range cones in front of door, planters in red, white, and blue stripes

below: Peter’s Barber Shop is now on Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.  In fact, the street was named after Peter back in 2012, just after the 50th anniversary of the shop opening (which was in 1961).

Toronto street sign for John St in Weston, also called Pantelis Kalamaris Gardens.

below: And nearby is Johnny Bower Blvd.  Bower (1924-2017) was a Toronto Maple Leaf goalie in the 1960s, a great decade for the Leafs as they won the Stanley Cup four times…. 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.   Bower and his family lived on this street at the time.

Toronto street sign, blue and white, Patika Avenue, also called Johnny Bower Blvd., in Weston,

a street of bungalows in winter, lots of trees,

side entry to a house, small green and yellow awning over the door, decorated for Christmas

I also saw many wonderful older brick houses, the kind that we aren’t building any more.  Some of the styles were common to Toronto while some were more unique.

appliance store in red brick building in residential neighbourhood

single family houses, winter scene, large trees, Weston

large square brick house, winter

below: All decorated for Valentines Day.

entrance to house, front door, decorated for valentines day, red hearts, love words

house by a level railway crossing

old house in weston

two storey brick house, green shutters

houses with big front porches and balconies, snow, big tree

winter residential street scene, older brick house, snow, trees, blue sky

old brick house, with lowrise apartment building behind it

older brick house with slate roof, trim is painted a dark pink colour

two storey single family house, winter

houses on a residential street, one has a white turret in the front,

two people standing in a bus shelter facing each other, another man is standing outside

painting by elicser elliott of a man with beard and moustache and wearing shorts, standing by his bike

The next blog post, ‘Out and About in Weston’, features a mural in Weston that was painted by Christiano De Araujo.

And after that is, Que Rock and Bacon in Weston, with even more murals on Lawrence Avenue East

farther west on Gerrard

Posted: February 4, 2023 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, reflections
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

mural, purple letters on black and orange background, word says broadview

traffic signal, red light, on pole with many street signs, plus 40 kmh sign, Broadview and Gerrard

A short while ago, I posted some pictures from Little India which is centered on Gerrard Street.  If you travel farther west on Gerrard you come to what has become known as Chinatown East (as you approach Broadview).

construction infill on Gerrard, building behind the stores,

below: Nappa, Chinese cabbage, and White radish,

on display outside, for sale, chinatown, veggies,

below: Scenic Aqualium Co., Exotic Fish and Bonsai (yes it has an ‘L’).

a woman walks down gerrard street, past scenic aquarium store with exotic fish and bonsai for sale

window of a chinese restaurant, orange walls inside, copies of the menu taped to the window, open sign is lit

sushi restaurant, a fruit and vegetable store, and other shops on Broadview

below: Shoes, boots, and umbrellas.

small shoe repair shop on gerrard, umbrellas for sale, red chinese lantern hanging from ceiling

piles of taro root and butternut squash for sale

below: Carrots and tomatoes

carrots and tomatoes for sale, chinatown

vegetables for sale in chinatown

below: Pomegranates in boxes and forks on the wall

interior of fruit and vegetable market in chinatown

outside display boxes painted green and full of citrus fruits for sale, chinatown store, awning overhead, people walking by

stores on gerrard, in chinatown east

under a blue awning, shelves of plastic wrapped fruits and vegetables for sale

hung hair salon on gerrard street

faded menu board on the sidewalk, chinese restuarant, also a van from orkin pest control parked there

xray and ultrasound sign in chinese, also law office, and other businesses

below: Aging price list

an old weathered sign outside a hair salon on Gerrard Street, red lettering on white but moldy grey

a woman walk spast mi mi restaurant on gerrard street

below: Old Lumberking ghost sign on the southwest corner of Logan and Gerrard

building at the southwest corner of Gerrard and Logan, has a yellow ghost sign for Lumberking

below: Broadview and Gerrard – looking east along Gerrard

looking east from Broadview, Scotiabank on the north side of Gerrard and A & W burger restaurant fast food on the south side, both in old brick buildings, rainy day, wet pavement

below: Streetcar stop on the southwest corner of Broadview and Gerrard

people getting on and off TTC streetcar at Broadview and Gerrard

an ad for boba boy bubble tea in an old window, surrounded by street art mural

bike rental stand in front of a vacant lot with a large mural to one side, mayan temple from central america

below: Square and orange on top.

row houses, square roofline, two storey, orange brick upper, bay windows, stores on ground level,

below: More stores  –  Jiahua Trading Company with its assortment of goods beside the Dai Kuang Wah Herb Market.

stores in Chinatown East, Jiahua Trqding Company and an herb store

late afternoon in the rain, a person waits with a black dog for the traffic light to turn green

below: One Plus One Hair Salon, Tung Hing Bakery, and Sing Sing BBQ House – all adding to the eclectic mix of store fronts in the area.

businesses and stores on Gerrard Street, Chinatown East,

below: House reflections

reflection of a house in a window surrounded by street art

below: No more ‘Epoch Times’ in front of this store.

window in front of a store in chinatown, western union ad, lotto 649 ad, empty newspaper box, other goods behind glass

below: A get together of paper characters – The Incredible Raffa, Las Mujeres Vampiro, Life (that’s the one-eyed daisy), T-bonez got knifed in the back.

pasteups in a group on a brick wall, urban ninja squadron, mask, daisy with one eye,

below: Peace, in red

red urban ninja squadron t bonez sticker on a grey metal utility pole, giving peace sign

below: White roses to heal with

large painting in white on black brick white roses, and text that says here to heal, a woman's face is partially hidden by the white roses

below: Homer Simpson with 64 slices of cheese!

painting by Chris Perez on the side of a cheese store, Homer Simpson in his underwear sitting at a table and eating cheese

a sign outside a store that says repair unlock and then words in mandarin

below: Santa Claus and a skeleton – covering more than one holiday at a time.

a skeleton halloween decoration is on the railing of a porch, in front of it, on the grass is a small santa claus in a red sleigh on a small pile of snow

alley behind Gerrard St., large old garage, leaning, covered with grey shingles, old tree‘

below: Old mural street art painting in the alley (from 2016)

part of a mural in an alley, on a wood fence, nose and open mouth of a furry animal with big teeth and fangs

close up of a monkey or ape face with bright red nose, mural in an alley

looking down an alley, with houses on the street at the end of the lane, garages, winter but no snow, fences, old trees,

below: Infill – new housing being constructed in the alley

plywood covers a new building, infill housing being constructed in an alley,

backyard on a laneway that is all mud and puddles
looking down a lane with an orange jeep parked by a green garage, a brick building at the end with blue doors

in a driveway or parking lot, with a white metal gate, along one side of a store, a mural of many flowers

part of a painting on the side of a store, a blue fish and some lotus leaves

Dundas Street runs parallel to Gerrard, just a bit to the south…. and that is where you’ll find this dog sitting outside in rain or shine.

a small dark brown brick house with a window, some stickers in the window, and a large paper paste up of a dog beside the window

below: The Dundas Street Public School class of 2022 left their mark on the fence with their messages of love and peace.

chainlink fence by a school has many little square paintings attached to it, each one was by a student from the class of 2022.

below: As did the the class of 2021

chainlink fence by a school has many little square paintings attached to it, each one was by a student from the class of 2021.

This blog post may be getting too long so I will start to end it here with a brief survey of the older residential architecture on Gerrard and Dundas and the streets in between (for those of you who are interested in such things).

below: A semi with a shared central peak.

red semi detached house on gerrard with pointy roof in the center, one side has built an enclosed porch by the front door

below: Little diamond windows

flat roofed seim detached house in fake brick, two small diamond shaped windows in the front, both sides with white porch

old brick two storey rowhouses with black mansour roof with upper windows in roof

bay and gable row houses on gerrard street, painted in different colours, grey, white, maroon, one with a bright red staircase and railing.

below: Details made with contrasting colours of bricks

a row of brick houses, most with yellow brick contrasting detail near the roofline

below: Another semi detached house with a shared central peak.

white two storey plain semi house with shared central peak

below: Flat roofed houses with blues and reds.

below: Shapes – rectangles on top, rounded windows,

square roofline brick building with green trim

below: Cameras on the corner…. and a megaphone too?

on the northeast corner of Gerrard and Logan is a pole with security cameras and a loud speaker, looking diagonally across to southwest corner, TTC streetcar stopped there

And lastly,  a shout out to Lamoon Thai Cafe where I stopped for a hot drink (great Thai tea!) and to get out of the rain for a few minutes.

side of a building, window, with interior lights on, illuminated sign of a cup of tea in the window, Lamoon Cafe, Thai drinks and food

Bayview intensification

Posted: January 21, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1

a person walks on a sidewalk on a foggy day, large trees and a park on the right, lots of traffic and red rear lights on the left

The temperatures this January have been warmer than usual but that means more grey skies and dreary weather days.  I spent one of those grey afternoons in the fog on a stretch of Bayview Avenue near York Mills Road.  It seemed like an appropriate time to see how many abandoned houses I could find.

 

remains of a concrete wall, about 3 feet high, with number 2769 on it, with vacant lot surrounded by chainlink fence in the background

Once upon a time, and not that long ago, Bayview Avenue in this part of the city was lined with large houses on big lots, often hidden behind trees.  Slowly, each house is being replaced with 4 to 6 townhouses in line with a revised city plan.   Toronto has many housing issues including a shortage of family homes.

a branch has fallen off a tree and landed on the yard of an abandoned house, leaves and some snow on the lawn as well

below: Five years ago I posted a photo of this house in a post about empty Bayview houses.  It was empty at the time too.

wire construction fence in front of a driveway with snow on it, a house about to be demolished, red brick, two storey, large house

below: This house appeared in the same 2017 post.  At that time it still had a red front door.

wood barricade across a snow covered driveway in front of a bungalow ready for demolition

abandoned and empty bungalow with low white fence in front of it, driveway blocked, snow, fog,

below: Development is rarely a quick process and things can often get convoluted – the sign on this property is for one of the newest plans – it was filed in 2022.  There are websites advertising the 4 townhouses at 2621 Bayview for sale preconstruction.  There is also a website that claims that 2621 Bayview is included in a block, 2617-21 Bayview that is/was for sale for $14,800,000.  (MLS number C5438385).

blue and white development notice for Behar planning and design co to redevelopment a section of land on Bayview Ave the involves demolishing a few houses, including large bungalow house behind a large trees still there, sign in the front yards.

below: This is 2019 Bayview, included in the 2017-21 block.     At 14.8 million just for the land to get 11 units…..  Toronto may have a shortage of units but it also has a shortage of affordable housing.   What price is affordable these days?  A quick search of properties for sale on Bayview shows that a vacant lot is priced above $4,000,000 (1/2 an acre) and that a newly built townhouse with 3000+ square feet  is above $2,000,000.

blue and white development notice for Behar planning and design co to redevelopment a section of land on Bayview Ave that involves demolishing a few houses, including two storey beige house still there, sign in the front yards.

below: Another house that has sat empty.

old white fence and broken gate post at 2595, house in the background

below: With an application filed in 2017. Five years. Is the process that slow? The city wants this intensification to happen and there doesn’t seem to be a lack of potential developers circling like vultures.   Does a  backlog of files that are 5, 6, or more years in the making suggest a flaw in the system somewhere?

blue and white development notice sign for wilket park developments to demolish house and rebuild townhouses on the lot

a bungalow behind trees, some snow, empty house waiting to be demolished

below: Preparations for a new access road/driveway have begun where 2673 and 2675 Bayview once stood.

chainlink fence in front of a vacant lot covered by a bit of now, black and yellow no trespassing sign posted on fence, some orange and black cones behind the fence, foggy day

vacant lot on bayview ave surrounded by metal fence

large house waiting to be demolished, behind fence

front entrance of house with old vines covering walls and part of windows

from Highland Creek Village to West Hill

Posted: November 20, 2022 in graffiti and street art, history, locations
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Going east to Scarborough again….   You can find Highland Creek village at the east end of Old Kingston Road while the West Hill neighbourhood is at the other end of Old Kingston Road.  This short stretch of road winds down to the Highland Creek and then back up the hill on the other side.  It was bypassed when a new wider and higher bridge was built over the river.

scarborough blue and white street sign for old kingston road, highland creek

Although this area was one of the first parts of the city that was settled, there are still lots of signs of the rural nature of the area.

split cedar rail fence between autumn leaf covered sidewalk and trees

There are plenty of signs of changes too…. but there are no glass and steel highrise condos being built out here (in Highland Creek) where the developments are just as likely to be single family homes.

development imagining of housing in large picture beside a new development, large single family homes with large trees, with real trees and grass surrounding the picture

There is a mural on the side of one of the stores, it also happens to be beside the cemetery. This is Mural 8 in the Heritage Trail by Mural Routes. “Community Spirit in Early Highland Creek, Winter 1867” the building of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.   It was painted in the summer of 1994 by John Hood, Alexandra Hood, and Zeb Salmaniw.  For more information, see a previous blog post from 2017 Heritage Trail, mural 8

The tombstone in front of the mural is for Nelson Hawkins and his wife Susan Cornell who were married in 1877. Nelson was a farmer and he and Susan raised 6 children in the area (not all lived to adulthood).

part of a mural routes mural on the side of a building, beside a cemetery. some old tombstones, autumn scenery,

old small tombstone in a cemetery with a wall behind it, mural on wall of a woman sitting by grave stones in a cemetery

Also in the cemetery is a plaque to commemorate the life of Cpl. Michael William Simpson (1948-1974) who died in Syria while on a UN peacekeeping mission – all nine Canadians on UN Flight 51 died that day.

blue plaque in Highand Creek cemetery for cpl Michael William Simpson

below: Deer by the creek in “Creekside” designed by Emily Harrison and painted by a group of youth and local volunteers in 2014.

vehicles parked in front of a large mural of a forest scene with deer, a creek,

The Scarborough Historical Society website tells the story of William Knowles who purchased land in Highland Creek in October 1802 and moved his family from New Jersey. …  “Knowles was a blacksmith and built the Township’s first smithy, making the nails for the first frame barn in Scarborough and planting one of the first orchards. His son, Daniel, kept the first store in Highland Creek, was a Commissioner for the straightening of Kingston Road in 1837 and was a prominent member of the Scarborough, Markham and Pickering Wharf Company which did an excellent business in shipping grain, timber and cord wood from Port Union to Oswego, New York and other Lake Ontario ports.”

below: Shadows on the door of St. Josephs Church.   This Roman Catholic church first served the influx of Irish immigrants who started arriving at the time of potato famine in 1847.  It was the first RC community in Scarborough.

shadow of a large tree on the wall of a church, pattern of crosses in the brickwork, steps up to the door

front of St. Josephs Roman Catholic church, including steeple

The early history of these communities is dominated by families with roots in England, Scotland, and Ireland but like the rest of Toronto, it has become much more multicultural.

below: On a quiet corner in Highland Creek, Baitul Afiyat Mosque

Mosque in Highland Creek village

below: And another mosque under construction in West Hill

behind a black wrought iron gate, construction of a new mosque

below: A short walk through St. Margarets (Anglican) cemetery reveals a more multi-cultural side of the neighbourhood.   This is just a small sample of the diversity of surnames found there.

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter, two with veerasingham surname, a zimmerman, and a de nobrega

monument stones in St. Margarets cemetery in winter with surnames quail, thoss, and nikolic

a row of old cars and trucks parked beside a road
two old red trucks

below: Another Highland Creek mural.

part of a mural, a couple walking their dog beside a creek, with trees

mural in Highland Creek, painted grey brick wall, the front of a vintage red truck has come through the wall, pile of bricks beside, a young boy in blue cap and brown overalls sits with his dog in another hole in the wall

part of a mural, a parent raccoon and a young one peer out from a hole in a stone wall

part of a mural, a young girl in blue top and blue shorts, arms upraised, like she is asking to be picked up

below: Centennial Community Scarborough consists of the southeast corner of Scarborough and includes both Port Union and Highland Creek Village neighbourhoods.

stop sign at all way stop with a toronto road sign for Ivan Road, with top part that says Centennial Community

below: This is the intersection of Kingston Road with Military Trail and Morrish Road, looking southwest towards a wide bridge over the Highland Creek.  There is an entrance to Colonel Danforth Park on the other side of Kingston Road (off the left side of the photo) but getting there is very difficult.  In the background, right side of photo, are hoardings.   Construction has begun on two 8 storey buildings, Highland Commons.

intersection of Kingston Rd., Military Trail, and Morrish Rd, large wide roads, one sign, low traffic levels, sidewalks, no people

Military Trail is a remnant of Scarborough’s first “highway built in Scarborough in 1799 by American Colonel Asa Danforth Jr.  It was a highway to connect the new town of York (i.e. Toronto) to Kingston.  The story is that the finished road was considered substandard and Danforth didn’t get fully paid.   Or maybe it was a backlash against American entrepreneurs trying to make a quick profit in Upper Canada.  Whatever the truth was, Danforth returned to the USA shortly after.

Kingston Road became Hwy 2 and was the main route to Kingston until the 401 was completed in the 1960s.

below: High And Plaza.   Strip malls or strip plazas are still plentiful.  There is talk of an Eglinton East LRT and many TTC express buses serve the area but cars still rule.

sign in a strip mall in Highland Creek, listing and advertising the businesses there such as CIBC, Scarborough Bitcoin, a pharmacy, By the Lake Dental, The Kilt Pub,

below: Proposal for a 9 storey building with 143 residential units plus retail at street level.  City infill on major routes…. and no Greenbelt is affected.
blue and white development notice in front of a strip mall on Lawrence Ave East in West Hill

below: Sign in the window: “This store is operated by Sovereign People on Sovereign Land.  We are exercising our constitutional and inherent rights.”

iroquois cannabis store in a strip mall plaza in west hill

below: Wine and yoga! Note the poster in the window about Metrolinx LRT plans on Ellesmere (just to the north).

looking in the window of In the Spirit a yoga studio and wine lounge with the motto wellness meets wicked in joyful harmony
exterior, strip mall, outside Creek Coffee Company on a sunny day

below: Morningside Ave with its red bus lanes. Looking north towards Ellesmere

Morningside Ave., looking north, from north of Lawrence to Centennial College, and U of T Scarborough. The red lanes are for buses.

below: Another stretch of Morningside, closer to Kingston Road.  Certainly not designed with pedestrians in mind. It’s scene like this that give credence to Scarborough’s nickname Scarberia.

morningside avenue, north from kingston road, some apartment buildings and trees, 4 lanes of traffic

below: Looking northeast at Galloway Road and Lawrence

2 rows of townhouses at Galloway road and lawrence in West Hill, intersection of two major streets, lots of lanes of traffic

below: Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road.  It was built in 1852.

Melville Presbyterian Church on Old Kingston Road, red brick building with black and white steeple, on a hill, winter time, snow,

below: Very few traces of old West Hill remain.  The village got its own post office in 1879 (prior to that it was part of Highland Creek).

old two storey brick house on a hill surrounded by large trees, in the snow

below: West Hill suburbia.  There must be thousands of houses like these 1960s bungalows in Toronto and the GTA.  This street could be in Richmond Hill, Willowdale, or Rexdale.  West Hill must have had a major growth spurt in the 1960s and 1970s.

suburban street in winter, single car garages and 1970s bungalows, some trees, one car parked on the street, driveways,

tall horizontal murals on the sides of apartment buildings at Overture Blvd, on Lawrence

below:  On the southeast corner of Morningside and Lawrence is a mural painted in 2018 by BEHIND the Lines in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough.

mural at the corner of two walls, a person is peeling back a white curtain to reveal a planet and a phoenix with other things in the mural too, in front of an apartment building in Scarborough

mural in front of an apartment building at Morningside and Lawrence

below: Northwest corner of Morningside and Lawrence

intersection of Morningside and Lawrence, northwest corner, no frills grocery store, part of Morningsde commons retail

large deciduous tree with autumn gold and orange leaves towering over a fence with a street art throw up tag on it

below: garbage overflowing.  In the recent municipal elections there was a lot of talk about how something as simple as garbage collection was messed up in the city.  Although it is outsourced, it has always been problematic.  Bins get broken and never repaired.  Bins get filled and never emptied.  Now when I walk around I see how much of an issue this is.

overflowing city garbage container between sidewalk and street

below: Mayday SOS alert for a love emergency. Whoever scrawled this message probably had a more personal reason but I will use this image as my little prayer to the city. Do better. We can be more. The potential is there if we are willing to reach for it.

on a metal pole, a small painted white heart and three letters, S O and S.

Older Entries
Newer Entries