Posts Tagged ‘machinery’

True Love fades

Posted: January 3, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings
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and other little observations along Dundas Street East – a street that has seen intensive redevelopment in the central core.  These changes are slowly moving east with the consequent mixing of old and new.

Once there were large red hearts on the sign, as well as on the building, but they have disappeared.

sign on True Love Cafe, a bright purple building

The True Love Cafe opened at the corner of Dundas East & Sherbourne back in 2004.  The outside was purple and apparently so was the inside.  Before that (since the 1950s), the space was George’s Spaghetti and Jazz Bar.

Once there were messages like, “I love you” on the walls as well as menu items written inside heart shapes, but these too are no more.

gate across entrance to true love cafe, red door, purple building, painted over window,

man on a bike cycles past true love cafe, a purple building with red awning over door

attached to side of purple building, empty frames that once held signs.

graffiti on a pole with two people with arms upraised, lone has written love, love, love, on it in black marker

below: South side of Dundas at Sherbourne.

church on southeast corner of dundas and Sherbourne, Lahore Hakka Chinese restaurant on the south west corner of same intersection

below: Also at Dundas and Sherbourne are the most famous telephone boxes in the city – or at least most photographed

exterior of front of hair salon with pictures of men and women with their hair cut

West of Sherbourne, some of the original large old brick houses still stand. Some converted to commercial uses long ago; some are still residences.

upper level of bay and gable house on Dundas East

front of old convenience store, bars over windows and gate across entrance, faded coca cola sign, green trim, magenta painted bricks,

jumble of items in a store window, metal bars over window, red coca cola boxes, potted plants, reflections of buildings across the street,

old brick houses on Dundas East

old yellow brick house behind a metal fence, green frontyard

part of lower floor of old brick building painted white

part of older white brick house, two storeys, each with one window, small part of house that juts out and is near back of yard

below: (Dundas and Pembroke) Another blue and white development notice – with another very tall condo.  Yet again, all these residences but only 6 car parking spots compared to parking for bikes; Doug Ford screams about closing bike lanes while the city actively discourages car parking.  Great for the developer as car parking costs more money to build than bike spaces.  The sign says 49 storeys, the latest Toronto paperwork on the site says 55 storeys).  The facades of the 4 heritage houses that the condo replaces will be saved.

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign on front yard of a house on dundas east

below: Nearby, another closed restaurant.

looking through window into empty and permanently closed restaurant. some reflections of buildings across the street in the window as well

below: North side of Dundas, just east of George Street.   It’s looked shabby for years but it’s still in one piece.  George’s Pizza, George’s BBQ, and  Piassa Injera and Takeout (Ethiopian).  The sign in the window of the pizza restaurant says “open” but the whole building is for sale.   No price given on the realtors’ website, but its 6000 SF with 3 retail units and 10 residential apartments.  It’s probably a candidate for demolition?

old brick houses on Dundas converted to businesses awhile back, George's Pizza, George's BBQ

below: Looking westward at Dundas and George

looking westward along dundas at george, new condos, one old second empire brick building on the southwest corner, now a King Place BBQ and curry restaurant

below:  King Place BBQ and Curry stands its ground

King Place BBQ and Curry restaurant, painted orange, in an old second empire brick building at Dundas and Dalhousie,

below: The Filmore Hotel still stands at George and Dundas East

filmore hotel at the corner of george and dundas east

dundas street looking east towards george street, old filmore hotel can just be seen behind newer condo development

below: Looking east along Dundas

dundas street east, looking eastward towards george street, new condos on both side of dundas, window reflections on the right hand side

below: Southeast corner of Dundas and Mutual

southeast corner of dundas and mutual

cyclists at the corner of dundas and mutual

below: Dundas and Mutual, northeast corner

two men talking, at the corner of Dundas and Mutual where old building is now behind scaffolding

upper storeys of older building, second empire style, mansour roof, brick, painted yellow, ground floor has addition for a store front, now cannabis store

below: Old City of Toronto Archives photo from 1978 showing the northeast corner of Dundas and Mutual back when the building was pale bluish grey and not yellow; it was home to Denys Barbecue and not a cannabis store.  The Warwick Hotel (built 1910) is long gone.

City Archives 1978 colour photo of northeast corner of Dundas and Mutual, Warwick Hotel,

below: Where the Warwick Hotel once stood is now part vacant lot and part parking lot. This concrete building (partially seen in the photo above too) was built for Sears Canada, completed in 1971.   It features cantilevered blocks to form an upside down ziggurat.   What is a ziggurat?  It is a building where each subsequent floor is smaller than the one below it with the result being a pyramidal shape.

wrought iron fence in front of a large parking lot which is front of a modernist concrete building in upside down triangle shape

below: Reflections at Dundas and Jarvis

reflections in a large window at dundas and jarvis, showing 222 Jarvis, inverted ziggurat building being renovated,

man walking along dundas at jarvis

below: Dundas and Dalhousie

looking east along dundas from dalhousie street, construction traffic cones, tall buildings,

tall condos, new development, downtown

side of an old red brick smaller building in front of a wall of new condo glass and steel with many reflections in the windows

machinery with giant drill, at a construction site

digger in vacant lot at dundas and mutual, old red brick structure with new condos in the background

old smaller red brick building on dundas, with brick taller building behind

below: Church and Dundas – closing in on Yonge Street and TMU

vacant lot at church and dundas, now a construction site

cyclist rides past construction site at Church and Dundas, looking east, with many new condos rising in the background, yellow construction machinery

new building clad with wood tones and dark blue, with orange bollards outside door

below: Birdo mural on Church Street.

birdo mural

below: A squirrel with a nut (or other edible) on the ramp to one of TMU’s buildings on Church Street.   He’s not waving goodbye, but perhaps he’s thinking “Gotta run!”

black squirrel on concrete ramp entrance to glass fronted building, a bright blue building beside it

As this has turned into the first post of January 2025…  Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year with many walking and/or photographic opportunities!  Have a good one!

when the cat’s away

Posted: April 20, 2020 in construction, graffiti and street art
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orange and black traffic cones and a lane closed, orange sign with black arrow telling traffic to move to the right

There’s a video on the internet of a kangaroo hopping down the street in deserted downtown Adelaide Australia and there are photos of other animals that have taken to roaming urban streets now that many people are staying at home.   I thought of these things as I drove downtown today.  Not because I saw animals.  Not because the streets were quiet and empty.  No, instead I wanted to compare these animal sightings to the proliferation of orange and black traffic cones as well as dump trucks and other machinery.  It seems like the city has taken this time to block more lanes for construction than usual – I may be imagining things but I doubt it.

below: Driving east on Adelaide

looking east on Adelaide

below: Demolition on Jarvis

partial demolition of an old house on Jarvis street, facade is left standing, no glass in the windows, can see other high rise downtown buildings through the window holes

below: Maud Street

workman with stop sign directing traffic in front of a construction site

below: Lombard Street

street, downtown Toronto, with traffic cones

below: I think that they are looking at me but how can I be sure?

paper paste up graffiti of faces and eyes by Jeremy Lynch on metal boxes on the sidewalk, with construction workmen in the background

My destination this morning was Graffiti Alley.  There were no tourists there today but there were trucks blocking the alley.  More construction nonsense.

a large semi truck is parked in Graffiti Alley and is taking up the whole width of the lane

below: In fact there were two trucks

a large white truck is parked in the narrow Graffiti Alley totally blocking it

construction site on Richmond street backing onto Graffiti Alley with lots of walls covered with street art and murals

below: A new Nick Sweetman mural – a purple rhinoceros

Nick Sweetman mural of a rhinoceros

below: This mural is not new but it is the first time that I have seen it with no cars parked beside it.

large mural by globe, smoky, and done of a bird house on purple background with green tag text

below: Graffiti Alley now tests positive for the novel coronavirus, the green variety.

part of a mural in Graffiti Alley, a silver tag with a green corona virus with open mouth, white teeth and yellow eyes

chainlink fence in front of a backyard with a bit of green grass, white building with a bright blue door

a person waiting beside a bus shelter on Queen West, seen from the back including reflections in the glass of the shelter

below: KFC sits empty.   That’s not a coronavirus victim – it was empty before we all started staying home.

empty KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Queen Street west

below: A message from 525 and 523, Stay Safe!  (actually it’s from T-bonez).

wall and doors to numbers 533 and 535 covered with street art including an urabn ninja squadron character with a face mask on with the words stay safe

Stay safe and
stay healthy!

Wynford and vicinity

Posted: April 20, 2020 in construction, locations, transportation, windows and walls
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bus stop and shelter on Don Mills Road at Wynford, Crosstown construction and high rises in the background

I’ve been keeping an eye on the old IBM building at the corner of Don Mills and Eglinton. It was built in 1951 as IBM’s Canadian manufacturing plant and head office.

It’s been empty for a long time but recently work has begun on the site.

east side of old IBM building at Don Mills and Eglinton, low rise yellow brick, horizontal windows, empty and ready for demolition

The IBM complex sits on 60 acres and the whole site will be redeveloped in the coming months.  The white tower in the background is also on the site, right beside the CPR tracks that mark the northern boundary.

piles of metal from demolition of building

below: A Canada goose struts near one of the entrances to the old IBM building that is being demolished.

solitary Canada goose walking on the grass beside the parking lot for old IBM building, demolition of one of the entrances in the background

an entrance to the IBM building on Don Mills Road being demolished

below: 1954

an old black and white photo of the IBM building on Don Mills Road in 1954

photo credit – taken from ‘Urban Toronto’ online article about this development

below: Apparently the plan is to build a mix of residential and commercial buildings on the site ranging from 3 to 44 storeys.  A new community centre and park are also included in the planned Crosstown Community.

corner of Don Mills and Eglinton during Crosstown construction, IBM building in the background

In terms of construction and development, this intersection is very busy as it is also the location of the future Science Centre LRT station.  It has been a mess for so long that I can’t remember how long it’s been.  There are  signs of progress starting to emerge from the chaos so perhaps there is hope for a 2021 opening of the Crosstown LRT.

below: The new bus bays on the northeast corner are starting to take shape.

west end of the new bus bays at Eglinton and Don Mills, under construction, glass walls and roof

below: More of the NE corner.

vacant lot on Eglinton Ave by Great Canadian Superstore at Don Mills, edge of Crosstown construction site

concrete barriers being stored on a vacant lot, one ornage and white cone too

below: Looking across Eglinton towards the Mormon church and other buildings on the south east corner.

construction on Eglinton at Don Mills, Mormon church in the picture - Church of Latter Day Saints

below: A sign of the times.  Covid-19 dos and don’ts.

signs re covid-19 on a green fence around a construction site

below: New tracks being laid where the LRT comes back to the surface east of Don Mills Road (looking east towards the DVP).  The Science Centre station is underground even though the tracks on both the east and west side are above ground.

construction of the Crosstown l r t, tracks being laid on the above ground portion of the line, near Eglinton.

below: From the NE corner (black building is/was the Ontario Federation of Labour) looking south.  All buildings are on the east side of Don Mills Road.

from the northeast corner of Don Mills and Eglinton looking to the south east corner, Foresters building, another older office building and two newer condos.

below: A sidewalk, temporary, lined with cones, along Eglinton.

line of orange and black traffic cones on both sides of the sidewalk along Eglinton through Crosstown construction zone

There are other buildings being torn down.  The building in the background is 1200 Eglinton Ave East.  It was an office building with a parking structure beside it.   This is the view from Wynford Drive.

two concrete buildings from the 1970s or 1980s, one behind has started to be demolished, a parking lot and large tree between the buildings

The same building a few days later when I went back to check on the demolition’s progress.  The parking structure is now just piles of rubble and more of the exterior walls of the other building are gone.

green machery demolishing a parking structure that is now just piles of rubble, beside another building that is partially demolished

lower levels of a building that has been partially demolished, all the exterior walls have been removed, leaving just the interior walls

below: The large, almost empty, parking lot behind the Bell building on Wynford.

large yellow arrow painted on the surface of a large parking lot, only a few cars

below: With a few exceptions, most of the buildings around Wynford are products of the 1960s and 1970s.

three storey white concrete building with the width of the floors increasing as you go upwards

low one storey building with two large windows with blinds closed, no cars in parking lot

two trees in front of a concrete building with lots of narrow vertical windows

a red brick one storey light industrial building

below: Another empty parking lot.  This picture was taken on a Saturday afternoon which might explain the lack of cars but as I drive around the city I see lots of empty parking lots even during the work week.   A sign of the times.

bent metal pipes as a railing, painted in yellow and black, empty parking lot beyond with a couple a buildings in the background

below: Looking across the Don Valley Parkway

tree silhouette (no leaves) in front of a glass building that is reflecting the blue of the sky

below: CPR tracks behind Wynford.

graffiti, tags, along the concrete embankment beside the CPR tracks, apartment buldings can be seen over the wall

below: Rusty metal spirals, tightly wound, found amongst the gravel along the train tracks.

a pile of rusted spiral pieces of metal formed from drilling into the sides of railway tracks, lying in the gravel beside the tracks

a set of three railway lights at 2042-1 pole, lights are arranged vertically, one on top of the other

edge of parking lot that it empty, with railway tracks behind, a wall with graffiti, and an apartment building in the background

below: Looking east along the tracks just before they cross the DVP.   If you follow the tracks, they lead you to the CPR marshaling yard at McCowan and Sheppard.   So, that’s where I went next…. (scroll down!)

a lone chair sitting in the grass beside the railway tracks, shrubs behind the chair, early spring, no leaves on the shrubs

along the railway tracks, shrubs, and an old wood utility pole with glass knobs

Ed’s deconstructed

Posted: November 22, 2017 in construction, landmarks
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Demolition of Honest Ed’s has begun.

sign on construction oardings that says warning: gentrification in progress

below: Sign of the times that says: “If you’re reading this it’s too late”.

part of exterior wall of Honest Eds with posters pasted on to it. One poster says If you are reading this

below:  Looking through the window to the rubble inside.   The staircases remain but the floors and walls are gone.

building being demolished, back wall gone, starting on the interior, looking through a window on side wall, to see the exposed insides, staircases, and rubble

below: Spray painted on the fence, “toujour dans mon coeur”.  Forever in my heart.

side of Honest Eds building, Markham street side, green fence around it, spray paint words on fence, toujours dans mon coeur

below: From behind. The section to the east of the alley is still intact and the alley is still accessible.

part of Honest Eds is still standing and part is demolished

below: The view from Markham street.

two front end loaders work to demolsh the back part of Honest Eds as well as sort and clear the rubble

sgn that says Sidewalk closed pedestrians use other sidewalk, beside Honest Eds on Bathurst street as they get the building ready to tear down

as it once was, The Ward

Posted: December 19, 2016 in history, public art
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Tucked into a space between City Hall and the Court House, is a construction site.  Up until recently it was a parking lot.  Soon it will be a new Court House.  Like all construction sites in Toronto, it is surrounded by hoardings to separate it from the streets and sidewalks.
a yellow digger, not working at the moment, sits in a vacant lot, slightly snow covered, the back of Toronto City Hall is in the background.

On two sides of the lot, the hoardings have been covered with a mural that was commissioned by Infrastructure Ontario.  It is “Picturing the Ward”and it is an exhibit about the area that once existed here, The Ward.  It was an area where many immigrants first settled.  It was roughly in the rectangle formed by College St., Yonge St., Queen St., and University Ave.   In the 1830’s it was home to Blacks escaping slavery, it saw waves of Irish, Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Chinese to name a few.

On the west side (along Centre Avenue), there are old photos, newspaper clippings, and stories of individuals who once lived in the area.   The content was collected and curated by the Toronto Ward Museum, a new ‘museum without walls’  in the city.   PATCH (part of The STEPS Initiative) designed and installed the mural.  The stories are in both English and French.

below: A segment of the mural with a story titled “Hungering for Success”.   It is the story of Edward and Donna Pasquale nee Bernardo.  Both were born in Italy and both were brought to the Ward by their parents.  They met here and married in 1918.  Edward and his brother Pamphilo founded Pasquale Brothers store on Elm Street.   During WW2 Pamphilo spent three years imprisoned in an internment camp in Petawawa along with other Italian, German, and Japanese Canadians that the government considered enemies of the state.  Edward remained in Toronto running the store.

part of larger mural, small tree branch in front, tall office building behind, mural has old photos in blue tones as well as a lot of words about the history of the area

below: The newspaper story from ‘The Toronto Star’ of 3rd October 1907 describes the death of Mrs. Hazleton, a widow with two children, who was hit by a car at Yonge & Bloor.  The car was driven by Mr. F.E. Mutton.  Yes, back then the driver of the car was named in the newspaper.

old photos in blue tones on a mural, along with a picture of an old newspaper clipping describing an automobile accident at Yonge & Bloor in which someone died.

below: The middle section is a collage of cyanotypes (an old photographic process which results in blue pictures) produced by PA System (aka Alexa Hatanaka and Patrick Thompson) .  The images are of artifacts uncovered during the excavation of the area along with some heirlooms contributed by former Ward residents.  A couple of CBC people were braving the cold that day too!

part of mural on a snowy corner, photos in blue tones, a CBC cameraman and reporter are standing on the sidewalk in front of the mural

below: The south side of the hoardings are along Armoury Street.  This section is called, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories. Old photographs of the area have been reproduced in shades of blue.  Orange ‘bubbles’ contain stories.  Most of the photographs are from the City of Toronto Archives although some come from private sources.

part of a larger mural in Toronto, blue photos, with words written in large capital letters, These Stories Are Not Unlike Your Stories

below: On one side, the pictures are printed in reverse and the accompanying words are in French.  The French stories are translations of the English ones.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: The people who lived in The Ward were poor and their housing was sub-standard.  In 1911 a report by the city’s Department of Health described how bad the living conditions were for the people here.  Largely because of that report, demolition of the area started soon after to make space for office towers and government buildings.  I’m not sure how long parts of The Ward survived, but it was in the 1950’s that the original Chinatown along Elizabeth Street was demolished to make way for Nathan Phillips Square.

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: Some of the orange bubbles contain quotes from descendants of former residents of the area.  The bottom quote is: “My mom use to say, ‘We were all poor.  No one had anything.  It was normal.  Everyone was in the same position so we didn’t worry about it too much.'”  by Brian Banks, grandson of John & Mary Colestock, former residents.

 

part of larger mural, reprints in blue tones of historical photos from city archives of ould buildings from the part of the city called The Ward that was demolished in the 1950's to make way for new City Hall

below: There is still a lot of work to be done on the site!   The mural will be on view until at least October of next year. If you are interested in the details of the mural, more about the people featured, or the events described, then the best place to start looking is the section of the Toronto Ward Museum website that is devoted to this project.

two red diggers on top of a pile of dirt on a snow covered vacant lot, large multirise buildings in the background

watching it come down

Posted: March 9, 2015 in history, locations
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Along with many other people, I have been watching the demolition on the southeast corner of Dundas & Sumach streets, part of the Regent Park redevelopment.  This 14 storey apartment building was designed by Peter Dickinson; it was built in the late 1950s.

 

January 31st, 2015

I first saw this building being demolished on a grey day at the end of January.
I’m not sure when the demolition actually started.

A large 14 storey brick clad apartment building in the initial stages of being demolished.

Looking north up Sumach Street.

 

View of the interior of some of the apartments that were exposed when the exterior brick was removed. Some of the rooms are painted in bright colours, purples, pinks and greens.

The colours of past lives.

 

 3 February

A workman dressed in orange coveralls works on the street in front of a building being demolished

It would have been a cold job, working outside during the coldest February on record.

 

Part of a 14 stprey apartment building that is being demolished. The exterior walls have been removed and some of the interior walls are buckling.

In the midst of demolition.

 

blog_demolition

 

10 February

Two very large cranes are being used to demolish a large apartment building on the corner of Dundas and Sumach streets. Some men in bright yellow vests are directing traffic as some of the debris is falling towards Sumach street.

Looking across the intersection of Dundas and Sumach.

 

A purple and yellow sign against a metal fence that says Regent Park Revitalization Phase 3 has started. Demolition of an apartment in the background.

A view from the south.

 

Hydraulic crane and truck and other machinery used in the demolition of the building.

Looking west from River Street.

 

Vacant lot in the forground with demolition of a building in the middle. In the background are the new buildings that have been built in that area

Another view from River Street.

 

12 February

Two large cranes are demolishing an apartment building.

 

17 February

A lot of rubble, concrete, metal and brick, from the demolition of a building lies in front of the partially demolished building.

Looking into the remains of a partially demolished building. The pipes that used to run between the walls vertically are now exposed.

 

23 February

Machinery is being used to sift through the debris and rubble from a building demolition

27 February

A man is taking a picture of a demolition in progress of an apartment building.

There were always a number of people taking pictures whenever I was there.

 

As part of the upper stories of an apartment are brought down, a cloud of dust forms as the debris hits the ground.

dust storm in the sunlight

 

28 February

vacant lot, truck, and remains of a building being demolished

… after 5 weeks, 6 March

A large hole in the ground where a building once stood, vacant land is around it. A street of houses in the distance, machinery to one side.

Just another hole in the ground.

Scarfo Lane

Posted: November 29, 2014 in graffiti and street art, locations
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Yesterday I came across some interesting colourful garage doors on Scarfo Lane that I have not seen before.   I didn’t see any signature on them so I don’t know who painted them.

Walking south from Herrick Street…..

a blue animal like creature is carrying a stick over his shoulder. three wood bir houses are at the back of the stick. A blue bird is sitting in front on the stick, and looking at the creature.

street art mural on an alley garage door. A red deer is seated in what looks like a computer lab, or factory.

street art mural on a double garage. yellow background. three floating logs with birds sitting on them are being pulled by a creature with a pink and purple head as well as a blue body.

street art on a garage door - paisley shapes in blues and purples
 

and then walking north from Herrick St…..

an alley with garages on both sides, also tall trees that have lost their leaves, small piles of dead leaves along the sides of the alley.

Looking north from Herrick St.

graffiti of a black and white dog's face on a metal garage