Posts Tagged ‘Leslie St.’

around Oriole station

Posted: October 17, 2025 in construction, transportation
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Oriole GO station is on the Richmond Hill line.  It is located at Leslie and the 401 highway and for many years the parking lot for the station was under the 401.  With the recent changes to the Leslie/401 interchange, and all the construction that that entails, this parking lot is gone.   Also, the old station building is no longer in use and the platform has been moved slightly north.  A new metal pedestrian bridge has been built over the tracks south of the station to replce an older wood structure – this provides access to the residential area to the south.

sign pointing to GO station, in park,

graffiti on concrete on the side of elevated portion of 401 highway. green space between concrete and chainlink fence and gate

below:  Under the 401 highway

behind chainlink fence, graffiti on concrete pillars holding up the 401 highway

below:  Access to Woodsworth park involves getting over the tracks via a new pedestrian bridge.

looking across tracks at oriole GO station, near new pedestrian bridge over the tracks

below:  Caged!

cage enclosing top level of metal pedestrian bridge

below:  The bridge is high! The top of it is level with the traffic on the ramp between the eastbound 401 and Leslie Street.  This is the view north and slightly west from the bridge.

cars on ramp between eastbound 401 and Leslie Street, highrise glass and steel condos behind, GO train tracks under the ramp, view from pedestrian bridge over the tracks

below:  Another view from the bridge, this time looking northeast

looking northeast from pedestrian bridge over GO tracks at oriole station, looking over the 401 to highrises in the distance

below:  Looking east over all the lanes of the 401, including the new Leslie Street on-ramp on the south side.

highway 401, east from Leslie Street

below:  At track level

track level, platform for oriole GO station, under the 401,

It was very quiet here.  Oriole station is the first stop north of Union but trains only run during rush hours.  There are four trains that run southbound in the morning and five trains for northbound trips in the afternoon.  No trains stop here between 8:35 a.m. and 4:14 p.m.  There don’t seem to be any stats online re the number of people who use this station.

sign for Oriole go station

below:  Old station building in the background that is no longer is use (i.e. there are no washroom facilities here at the moment).

construction of new off-ramp from the 401 eastbound at Leslie Street, with old GO station building in the background

construction of new off-ramp from the 401 eastbound at Leslie Street

below: You may have seen this giant billboard if you have driven past on the 401.  It stands beside the Oriole station platform.  Recently, the platform was under under the 401 and therefore, protected from the rain.  It has been moved slightly north to bring it closer to Leslie subway station (TTC)

massive billboard on large metal support, at the side of GO station tracks, highrise condos in the background, Oriole,

Oriole Go station platform under the 401 highway, with construction

below: All pedestrian access to the old station as well as the parking lot has been closed.

danger do not enter signs, no pedestrians sign, blocking sidewalk passage under bridge at oriole GO station

workmen, construction of new off-ramp from the 401 eastbound at Leslie Street

below: There is another entrance to the station at the north end where the tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd. [extra note: Esther Shiner was a North York municipal politician who was first elected in 1972.  She served as councilor, as well as a short stint as Deputy Mayor until her death in 1987.]

north end of Oriole GO station platform, with sign pointing to exit at Esther Shiner Blvd

Not everybody walks to IKEA!

IKEA store and flags, on Esther Shiner Blvd, beside GO railway tracks,

looking northwest across railway tracks just north of oriole go station

below: The tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd, but the sidewalk doesn’t and all pedestrian traffic is routed to the south side.   If you want to transfer to the TTC (Leslie station), there is a walk involved.   It takes about 10 minutes I think.

pigeon sitting on railing overlooking esther shiner blvd, TTC bus in the background, looking east towards Leslie street

esther shiner street, looking west towards ikea, under train tracks,

two signs with arrows, TTC Leslie to the left and GO Oriole to the right

below: Turn left at Old Leslie if you are looking for the TTC subway.  Straight through gets you to Leslie Street (at North York General Hospital, north of the 401 highway and south of Shepard).

Old Leslie Street sign on post along with other signs for TTC and GO,

below: The signs still direct you to the GO station via under the 401….

leslie looking south at 401, construction and Oriole GO station

below: …. but the road is actually closed to traffic.

workman under the 401, by sidewalk, a couple are walking towards him

4 different tall lights,

below: Looking northwest across Leslie, south of the 401 (towards Yonge & Shepard).

leslie street, south of the 401

below: Making sidewalks.

workmen pouring cement for new kerbs and sidewalk, along Leslie street at 401

below: Old and faded, rules and regulations for prevention of the spread of COVID-19

old COVID 19 rules and regulations poster, weathered, on fence at construction site
red lines spray painted onto sidewalk, beside a crack in the cement

concrete support, and part of rusty metal train bridge over Leslie street

light and shadows between portions of highway being constructed and renovated

construction site light and shadows, and small orange cone

construction of new ramp, 401 and Leslie

no entry sign on pole, overgrown with shrub,

brown pigeon sitting on a grey metal round hand rail overlooking city street

Captain Hawley and others

Posted: September 12, 2025 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art, stores
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below: This lane was recently named for William Hawley, a retired Toronto firefighter and Leslieville resident.

sign for Captain Hawley lane, with new third and fourth floor additions to a building in the background

Captain Hawley lane runs north from Eastern towards Queen St East.  It is west of Leslie Street.  There are a few other little alleys in the vicinity all of which seem to be unnamed.  This blog post shows some of the things seen in these alleys as well as on the major streets around them, Queen, Leslie, and Eastern.

below: Elicser Elliott’s Leslieville mural still looks great at Queen & Jones.

young man crossing Queen Street near Leslieville mural, and beside a TTC streetcar

Leslieville mural

below: “Community” by Candace Bell on Queen East

painting on sidewalk traffic box, in front of store, on Queen Street East

below: Who is the photographer?

a camera is set up on a tripod, on the sidewalk outside a cafe, man sitting on chair nearby, another man sitting too

workman in hard hat and work boots, spray painting a line on the pavement, street,

below: Stores on Queen East.

stores on Queen Street east

below: Northeast corner of Larchmount and Queen East.

intersection of Larchmount and Queen Street East , northeast corner

queen street east, north side

below: Photo taken on a day when gas was $1.43 a litre, albeit full service which you don’t find everywhere these days.

sun gas services station on queen street east

below: An afternoon break on a patio.

woman on patio of duke tavern, red building with mural on the side, white umbrellas,

below: Waiting to get into the Duke, Men’s Entrance

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern, men's entrance, plus a boy sitting on the steps outside

mural, line up of men wanting to enter the duke tavern

below: Leslie and Queen East south side,

glass of bus shelter, with Leslie St sign on it, people walking on sidewalk, front of Shish restaurant on Queen Street, construction on southeast corner of Leslie and Queen in the background

below: Construction on the east side of Leslie – one of countless large holes in the ground.

workmen talking, construction site, Leslie street at Memory Lane

below: Houses on Leslie, south of Memory Lane.

houses, Leslie Street and Memory Lane,

below: A house with a bright turquoise front door and another that is now taller and skinnier.

row of houses on leslie street, one has a bright turquoise front door and the one beside it has had a third storey added to it

below: 27 Leslie Street

small blue building at 27 Leslie Street

below:  Non-believers on top – “No Truth to it!” over “Jesus saith unto him…. “.

Note on pole that says, but someone ha written over it, no truth to this

toronto street sign for eastern avenue, on a pole covered with vine and ivy

below: On Eastern, the AMCO gas station is now closed because of a recent fire.

gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire

men boarding up burned out gas station
AMCO gas station on Eastern ave, scene of a recent fire, with backs of houses beside it

below: “Navalny” and “Text” by Nigel Smith

text street art by Nigel Smith, on old office building, two signs, one says text and the other says Navalny

below: There is still a large vacant lot on the south side of Eastern Avenue (with views towards the Port Lands)

temporary building structures on a large vacant lot
no trespassing sign on fence surrounding a large vacant lot on Eastern Avenue

… and now the laneway scenes …..

below: Starting with the now  ubiquitous laneway garden suite

new infill house development in a lane

low burlap barrier draped across an alley, repairs being made to the concrete and pavement behind the barrier

a large billboard on Eastern avenue, with advert for second cup coffee shop, summer drinks

below: These  houses  with the square-ish shapes at the back are disappearing as more and more home owners renovate and/or expand upwards.  Brick is no longer the cladding of choice (and hasn’t been for a long time).

back of house, alley view, square red brick two storey house, one window, wood fence

alley views, back of two semi detached houses, that share a chimney, one green siding and one one white siding

white camper of RV parked behind house, goldenrod weeds growing by the back door.

back of house, alley view, painted wood fence, lots of trees

vines growing on overhead wires, over a lane, with garages along the sides of the alley

back of house, alley view, wood fence, white sun umbrella, grey cover on barbecue

back of house, alley view, white house, white van parked behind, green wood fence

backyard alley view, back of newly renovated house, expanded, fence down at back, bags of yard waste

backyard alley views, old tire, trash bins, rooftop terrace with umbrella

small red car parked in a lane, line of garages, tall trees,

backyard alley view, overgrown grass and shrubs, hard to see the house, chainlink fence and gate

backyard alley view, lots of stuff, including a shopping cart full of basketballs and soccer balls, chairs, sheets and clothes hanging from a yellow rope clothes line

chainlink fence, old painted wood, rusty metal, latch, gate in an alley

red gate in an alley, with black line drawing on it, locked, latch,

old plywood on a fence, once painted red, now faded to slightly orange red, with dirt splotches and worn areas, texture, pattern, abstract

 

searching for the end of the trail

Posted: December 5, 2024 in construction, history, locations, nature, transportation
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… but finding many other things instead.

This is a follow-up to my last post about the Don Mills trail.  Remember that I mentioned that it came to a dead end just north of Eglinton?  I thought that surely someone somewhere in the city government would have looked into options re connecting the Don Mills trail to a street or another multi-use path.  The dead end is just east of Leslie, so off I went to check it out (and I wasn’t going to walk all the way to a dead end just to turn around again) .

Hey look!  There is a vacant lot at approximately where the trail ends.

cracked pavement with weeds growing up in them, vacant lot,

Did I wander back there?  Sadly not….. I didn’t have any lock cutters with me….  This was once a Sony Music building but it was demolished in 2016.  There was no development notice sign at the site (9 acres).

blue metal fence and gate, locked closed, vacant lot beyond the fence

below: This is the Sony Music (or CBS) building, built in 1959.  They don’t make them like this any more – so spread out and only one storey high.   Land must have been much cheaper back then!

older colour photo of sony music building on leslie street (demolished in 2016)

Photo credit: by Bob Krawczyk, found on ACO Toronto website (Architectural Conservancy Ontario)

When I was researching the Sony Music building online, I came across the Phoenix Centre.  That’s the name of the planned private club being developed at the old Wrigleys site next door to the now vacant lot.  If I had realized that when I was out walking, I would have taken more photos.  As it is, this is the best I’ve got:

southwest corner of old Wrigleys building on Leslie street, now OTT, low rise modern building

This building, built 1962, was included in North York’s Modernist Architecture, first published in 1997. In addition, The former Wrigley property has cultural heritage value as it is historically associated with the 1950s planning and development of Don Mills by E. P. Taylor and Don Mills Developments Ltd. (if interested, more info at ACO website).  The Phoenix Centre plan retains most of the office space architecture but completely remakes the factory space.

  There is also talk of a bridge (pedestrian & bikes?) over the CPR tracks to the Crosstown developments.   Makes sense to connect the Don Mills trail, Crosstown, and Leslie Street!

Part of the reason I didn’t take any photos of the old Wrigley building is that I had chose to walk south the day….  just south is a fire station as well as some condos.

on Leslie street, white building that is a fire station, parkland in beside it. to the south are condos, older red brick buildings plus newer glass and steel condos behind

And there is a well worn path that accesses the back of the properties.

large trees in foreground, dead leaves on the ground, autumn, new condos being built in the background, cranes,

This road doesn’t actually lead to those new condo towers.  The CPR railway tracks are in the way.  Those towers are part of the Crosstown development on the old IBM and Celestica property (access from both Eglinton & Don Mills)

long driveway, access road, with new condos under construction in the background

The road didn’t lead to the end of the Don Mills trail either… but it did lead to the back of a parking garage.  No dogs allowed and no trespassing.  No luck here.

path that runs behind beige concrete building (parking garage) with no trespassing sign)

I got a better view of the neighbourhood though….

highrise apartment buildings and condo towers

Black and white on a grey day.

two chairs, one black and one white, in a vacant lot, grassy, one tree,

As I walked back out the path, I noticed this sign.  I took it to mean the property behind the blue fence, not the property the path is on… probably?

no trespassing sign, metrus private property

It stopped munching and stared at me, trying to decide to sit and watch or to run away….  it scampered away before I could get any closer (I don’t pretend to take good pictures of animals but it looked so cute, all puffed up to stay warm).

a grey squirrel sitting on a fallen tree trunk, dead leaves on the ground, a nut or something edible between its two front paws

A very short walk farther south on Leslie brings us to the Inn on the Park site on the northeast corner of Leslie and Eglinton.

below: Inn on the Park as it once was (about 1969)  I have ‘borrowed’ this photo from another website – Jamie Bradburn’s Tales of Toronto.  Follow the link if you are interested in the story of the hotel – it’s an interesting read.  Did you know that in 1962 North York had a ban on cocktail lounges?

below: The site today. It’s now a Toyota/Lexus dealership and home to a few new condos.

old Inn on the Park site, northeast corner of Leslie and Eglinton, now a Toyota and Lexus dealership, also new condo development, still lots of green space in front

new condos being built at inn on the park site

artwork on exterior wall, solid colour shapes inside squares, 3 D, but mostly flat, shades of orange

But there are more changes coming….. (surprised?)…. more glass and steel towers by the looks of it.  The notice also states that parking is planned for 845 cars and 1860 bikes.  Does Doug Ford approve?

blue and white development notice on the corner of leslie and eglinton, with inn on the park site in background, auberge on the park condo development

sidewalk closed sign and barrier, on eglinton, northside, east of leslie

below: A sad sight, Sunnybrook Park LRT station all ready to go but no trains running. One of the Toronto mysteries, when will the Eglinton LRT open?

looking east at Sunnybrook Park LRT station on the Eglinton LRT line, no trains running yet but station is somplete, yellow barriers across the entrance

Standing by the LRT tracks and looking south. Wilket Creek park and the Thorncliffe trestle railway bridge can be seen.  I crossed the road because I had seen stairs down to the park….

looking south from the end of leslie street, across lanes of Eglinton to WIlket creek park and thorncliffe trestle railway bridge

A big new set of stairs!…. But. Not shown – the locked gate that blocked the entrance.   There is still no entry to Wilket Creek/Sunnybrook Park from this side of Eglinton.

long set of stairs downhill from eglinton to a large parking lot at wilket creek park.

looking south from Eglinton towards thorncliffe trestle bridge, wilket creek park, and ravine system,

It’s getting to be crowded….

cars traveling east on eglinton, approaching leslie, many waiting to turn left, new condo developments behind, crosstown, as well as inn on the park site

below: Crossing Eglinton and looking westward

traffic turning left from eglinton onto leslie, looking west on eglinton

New pedestrian and bike paths that provide access to the park from the north side of Eglinton have been built but they too are locked closed.  It’s very frustrating to see this infrastructure built and then left unusable.  The signs says construction danger but there doesn’t seem to be any construction happening…..

new stairs and bike path infrastructure built at leslie and eglinton that are closed, gates and signs

new stairs and bike path infrastructure built at leslie and eglinton that are closed, gates and signs

Just in case I have confused anyone, here is a map of the area that Google maps created.   Near the top left it even says Don Valley Bike Trailhead… which is very wrong.  No trailhead here of any kind as we’ve just learned.  Also it was the Don Mills trail not the Don Valley trail (the latter is somewhere else!)

google map screenshot of leslie and eglinton and vicinity

New benches! Wilket Creek Park is one section of the string of parks that parallel the branches of the Don River in Toronto’s ravine system. I’ll leave you with a few pictures that I took the other day while I was in the area…

new seating area with wood benches beside wilket creek park sign

lots of trees growing on hillside, autumn, dead leaves on the ground and none on the trees, park, railway trestle bridge in the background

path through woods beside a river, autumn, leaves on ground, small trees

view from under thorncliffe trestle railway bridge, metal girders,

last few yellow leaves on a tree, blowing in the wind

west don river as it flows under eglinton avenue

benches and picnic tables in a grassy park with many trees nearby, condos in the background

leaves in a puddle, reflections of tree branches in the water too

graffiti stickers on the back of a sign, one with Mexican flag,

graffiti on the sides of a small concrete pedestrian bridge

graffiti, large capital M with a bright pink heart

crosstown to the east

Posted: March 31, 2019 in construction, intersections, locations, transportation
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looking through blue see through fencing towards an apartment across the street, a pedestrian crossing sign in front, a danger due to excavations sign on the fence.

Back before the winter snow had melted, I was at Yonge and Eglinton and noticed that the old bus bays at Eglinton station were gone. That structure had sat empty for a couple of years but now there is a big hole where they once stood. As I looked through the pictures that I took that day, I decided that it might be interesting to explore farther east to see what was happening with the Crosstown LRT construction that has messed up the traffic through midtown for so long now.

below: Southwest corner of Yonge & Eglinton.

large hole in the ground at a construction site, diggers and a crane onsite

below: There is still a lot of construction underway on Eglinton near Yonge.

holes in the ground on construction sites on Eglinton Ave for the new crosstown LRT, shoring, wood and pipes

below: A little father east and more holes in the ground. This is the intersection of Eglinton and Mt Pleasant taken from the SE corner looking towards the NW. At least the facade of the old Imperial Bank of Canada building on the NW corner was originally going to be used as the LRT station but have those plans changed? The building was demolished but apparently the facade was taken apart brick by brick and will be re-built later.

holes in the ground on construction sites on Eglinton Ave for the new crosstown LRT

below: This is the plan for the Mt Pleasant station as seen on the Crosstown website.

artists conception of a new LRT station with a re-purposed older building

below: Looking west from Mt. Pleasant.

cain link fence and gate is open, construction crew in the middle of Eglinton Ave (at Mt Pleasant) is working with a digger, hole in the ground

below: Between Laird and Brentcliffe (east of Bayview). See those low rise brick apartment buildings? How long until they’re gone?

red and white tim hortons sign with an arrow pointing left at a long grey fence around a construction site, sidewalk, street, and low rise buildings on the right, Eglinton Ave

two 3 storey red brick apartment buildings

below: At Brentcliffe. The LRT is underground here and there is no station at this intersection. Laird, where there is a station, is only one block to the west.

Eglinton Ave east at Brentcliffe

below: From Brentcliffe, Eglinton goes downhill because of the Don River ravine system

looking east on Eglinton, towards Don Mills Road in the distance, construction in the foreground

below: Part way down the hill there is a section of concrete. At first I thought that this was where the LRT was going to come to the surface.

concrete section of road, construction

below: But then I wasn’t so sure. There is a concrete wall blocking what would be the exit. It’s difficult to get a closer look because there are two layers of fencing in the way. Nobody was working here. In addition, there is another section farther along that looks like the actual opening. Maybe this is part of the supporting infrastructure?

two fences in front of a dug out section of road, with concrete wall at one end. One f the fences is orange, wire,

below: Still walking east along Eglinton…. Almost to the bottom of the hill at Leslie – looking east along Eglinton Avenue with E.T. Seton Park on the right and the railway bridge in the distance. Leslie Street, which ends at Eglinton, is on the very left side of the photo. There is talk that this intersection will be closed for two months this summer.

looking east along Eglinton Ave towards Leslie, on the right is the road to the park and beyond that, a railway bridge

below: I turned around and took a picture of the hill that I had just come down. Here the LRT surfaces and the tracks run down the center of the road, with lanes of traffic on both sides of the tracks. I am fairly certain that you can see the entrance to the tunnel, the east portal, near the middle of this picture. From here to Kennedy station the tracks are above ground (except for a portion of the route at Don Mills).

traffic drives west along Eglinton Ave., up the hill from Leslie, through the crosstown LRT construction

below: The sidewalk on the south side ends at Leslie street. Here, I chatted with a policeman while we waited for the light to turn green. Once he did, he escorted me across Eglinton as we had to pass through part of the construction zone. This is where I also discovered that there are no bus stops between Brentcliffe and Don Mills Road. That’s only 2 km but it feels a lot longer!

on the south side of Eglinton, where the sidewalk ends at Leslie street, looking east beyond that with construction on the right

below: A development proposal sign stands on the lawn of what used to be the Inn on the Park but what is now a Toyota dealership.

development proposal sign on the lawn of what used to be the Inn on the Park on the north east corner of Leslie and Eglinton

green netting and fencing on both sides of a narrow sidewalk running between construction and traffic.

below: The station at Don Mills and Eglinton will be called “Science Center” and it will be under the intersection.

LRT track path being constructed,

below: There will be a bus terminal on the northeast corner of Don Mills Road and Eglinton with underground access to the LRT station. This is what construction looks like on that corner at the moment.

underground sections of LRT being constructed at Don Mills and Eglinton, crane at work, metal frame over tunnel

Just east of Don Mills Road, the LRT surfaces again and remains above ground until Kennedy station. I took the bus from Don Mills Road to Victoria Park as there wasn’t as much to see in this stretch.

below: Looking east from Victoria Park Avenue.

shallow but wide hole in the ground where new LRT tracks are being laid. construction in prep for the tracks, green fencing separates construction from traffic on both sides,

shallow but wide hole in the ground where new LRT tracks are being laid. construction in prep for the tracks, green fencing separates construction from traffic on both sides, water tower in the distance

concrete utility pole with two ripped paper temporary bust stop signs, TTC, stops no longer in use

a drive by

Posted: November 27, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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“Terra Strat’aa” is a new mural by IAH Digital (Mediah) that now covers both sides of a railway overpass on Eglinton, just east of Leslie Street.  I have been meaning to take pictures of it for a few weeks now.  One of my excuses for not getting there sooner is that it is not convenient to get to by foot and once there, it’s in a photographic wasteland.

I hadn’t planned to drive past it today but I did….and I had my camera in the front seat with me….and believe it or not, the traffic on Eglinton was extremely slow, even slower than usual!   I think that these photos were meant to be.   🙂

geometric shapes, dynamic shapes, mural on three toned green background on a railway underpass, painted by a group led by IAH Digital (Mediah) on Eglinton Ave

geometric shapes, dynamic shapes, mural on three toned green background on a railway underpass, painted by a group led by IAH Digital (Mediah) on Eglinton Ave

geometric shapes, dynamic shapes, mural on three toned green background on a railway underpass, painted by a group led by IAH Digital (Mediah) on Eglinton Ave

geometric shapes, dynamic shapes, mural on three toned green background on a railway underpass, painted by a group led by IAH Digital (Mediah) on Eglinton Ave