Posts Tagged ‘Maple Leaf Square’

a blustery winter day

Posted: January 23, 2024 in locations, public art, reflections, waterfront
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Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

below: A Porter flight approaches the island airport

porter airplane coming in for landing over Lake Ontario, with small dock in foreground

below: The Empire Sandy moored at the waterfront, with the Toronto fire boat in the distance.

the Empire Sandy, a three masted sailing ship moored at a dock at Toronto Harbour, in winter, foggy grey day

ice and reflections on the water, with ropes from a boat with snow and ice on them

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it’s rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today”

as sung by Winnie the Pooh

windows on a boat with snow on them, ropes,

below: A kraken is taking over the boat!

picture of an octopus painted on the side of a red and black boat that is tied up at the shore

below: A large photograph, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is  “These Times 2019” by Anique Jordan which has been on display since the CONTACT Photography Festival last spring.

large black and white photo displayed on exterior wall of art gallery, person lying down with back to the camera

below: “Kuumba”, Photography by Stephen Tayo is on display outside at Harbourfront

large photograph displayed outside, two Black men, one has his arm around the other

harbourfront parking pavilion and entrance building with two large photographs by Nigerian Stephen Tayo featuring black men, and black hair

large photo of two Black women with their hair in curved shapes made from braids, displayed outside in winter, Queens Quay, Ontario Square

below:  Also at Harbourfront, orange ties blowing in the wind.  These are remains, and a reminder, of Orange Shirt Day on 30th September.

2 rows of orange ties hanging from tress, winter, snow covered ground, in a park

CN Tower between two condos

below:  Looking east on Harbour Street, parallel to the Gardiner Expressway, toward York Street and the wedged shaped building that has been squeezed into the space.

wedged shaped building at York and Gardiner Expressway

below: Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story is a “temporary creative intervention” located under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe.  Crowd-sourced stories and memories of the waterfront each on a little blue square.  Making constructive use of a space that has been neglected for so long; adding colour and interest to what was grey and slightly foreboding.

under the Gardiner, pillars painted blue and purple

blue squares arranged in a grid as part of a public art installation. some squares have simple white pictures and some squares have words written in white

“Railways arrived on Toronto’s waterfront in the 1850s. To accommodate, a southward extension of the shoreline via infill was required. The ground where we stand now is close to the original shoreline of the lake.”

construction beside the Gardiner expressway, raised road, winter,

below:  On the north side of the Gardiner – still a little darkness lurking there.

under a Gardiner expressway ramp

below: City of Toronto sign says Tree Protection Zone.  I don’t think that I believe it.

City of Toronto tree protection zone sign on a fence around a construction supply site. no trees there, under the Gardiner Expressway

walking beside a Gardiner Expressway ramp, near York street, north side

concrete bent pillar under the gardiner painted blue with the work york, for york street,

glass structure south of the Gardiner on York

looking into entrance of 12 York, reflections in the glass

below: At this point I had had enough of the cold; it was time to check out a warmer route!  So underground I went, down into the PATH system.   The lobby of ICE at 12 York has this large circular skylight over the escalator.

skylight in roof over escalator to PATH system in ICE condos

 below: And then there is this long black, white, and chrome tunnel that connects the ICE condo and the PATH system.   The walls on both sides are reflective and it’s a bit disorientating.  Is this supposed to represent walking through a block of ice, or black ice?

tunnel from Ice Condos at 12 York to the PATH system, black and white and reflective surfaces

below: PATH, the underground rabbit warren of tunnels that connect downtown buildings to each other.  Usually I get lost down here.

on a white wall, PATH sign,

below: I found myself in a grocery store

view of shelves in grocery store

below: And I discovered that the PATH sometimes goes high, not low.  I found myself on the upper level of the Scotiabank Arena.

a man walks through the PATH system on the upper level of scotiabank arena, interior

below: There is a great view of Legends Row from up here – that’s the statues of all the Maple Leaf Captains from the past.

looking out window of scotiabank arena and seeing legends row, the line up of statues of former Maple Leafs captains

below: And inside, a collage of Leaf players hangs on the wall.

collage of Maple Leafs hockey players, framed picture on wall

below: There’s even a portrait of Justin Bieber, behind glass, wearing a Maple Leaf jersey with a Captains C on the shoulder.

framed picture of Justin Bieber in a Maple LEafs jersey, blue, with a C,

below: This is also good vantage point for all of Maple Leaf Square

Maple leaf square view towards union station with royal york hotel in background, snowy, grey day,

below: Including a close up view of the rusty metal things…  Actually it’s “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.

rusty metal conical shapes, art, maple leaf square, metal has star shaped holes and are lit from inside

At Scotiabank Arena, the PATH splits into two possibilities.  One route is through Union Station and the other is up the escalator towards the new GO Bus Terminal.

below: Four  (or five?) John Tavares’s to give directions to the new GO Bus Terminal.  Happy to oblige!

Picture of Maple Leafs captain John Tavares in quadruplicate, in uniform and helmet, photo on the wall behind a sign giving directions to the new GO bus station

below: There is now a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station Bus Terminal to the new CIBC SQUARE building. This is the view looking south on Bay

view south on Bay street from pedestrian bridge south of railway tracks that joins union station to cibc square

man using phone to take picture out a window from pedestrian bridge, another person watching him as he walks past

below: Along the north wall of the bridge is a work by Nicolas Baier called “Mycelium”.  It is a network of LED lights and it is visible from outside as well.

elevated enclosed walkway over street, with one wall made of glass with artwotk of LED lights running through it

reflection in mirrored glass with a network of L E D lights running through it

below: At CIBC Square there is a new rooftop garden/park that has a tall  skinny metallic tree, along with some real trees. There is no access to it yet but it will probably  be a more welcoming in a few months.

rooftop park, closed for winter and construction, cibc square

At this point I retraced my steps back through Scotiabank and then walked through Union Station where I learned that a small space has been set aside for a temporary roller skating rink.  Free rentals. Free entry.

two women roller skating, one has fallen and the other is helping her up

below: He still stands outside Union Station with the flock of birds flying around while the sun reflects off the gold tinted Royal Bank Building.

sculpture outside union station, man with birds flying around him in partial sphere shape, gold coloured rbc building behind him

below: Steamy Yonge Street on a cold day

Yonge street looking north at king on a cold winter day, steam coming from manhole, steam and fog above the street too

below: Development notice outside 69 Yonge Street.

blue and white city of toronto development notice outside door of 60 yonge street, orange and black traffic construction cones in front of the building

below: C’est tout. Fini. Time to go home.

a man stands on the platform at king subay station, talking on his phone

 

Union Station and beyond

Posted: August 19, 2023 in construction, locations, people, public art, transportation
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Welcome back!

one of the statues of Maple Leaf hockey players,

below: Posing with the men of Legends Row

people taking picture

below: The CN Tower peaks out from behind glass buildings on Bremner.

CN Tower peaking out from behind galss buildings on Bremner, reflections in the glass too

below: A slightly different angle, but still looking west on Bremner towards the Rogers Centre, which of course everyone still calls the SkyDome. The very east end of Bremner is also known as Raptors Way in celebration of the Toronto Raptors NBA Championship win in 2019 (that’s basketball for those of you who don’t follow such things).

Bremner street scene, Longos, people, Rogers Centre in the background

below: Maple Leaf Square.  The three rusted metal cones form  “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.  At night, light shines through the thousand star shaped holes in the metal.

3 large conical structures as public art, with star shaped holes in them, in front of Union Station

below: South entrance to Union Station.

south entrance of Union Station, at Maple Leaf Square, with tall office buildings behind,

below:  More public art with lights can be seen in the foyer at 25 York Street (enter at Union Station in photo above and turn left). Thirty thousand lights suspended from the ceiling and they are constantly changing colour.   This is David Rokeby’s “Pixel Cube”.

 

light art installation suspended from high ceiling, titled pixel cube,

below: If you had turned right instead of left into 25 York,  you would find yourself in the foyer of Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Pictured, larger than life on the wall, are 90 Ryan O’Reilly, 16 Mitch Marner, and 88 William Nylander.

picture on interior wall at one of the entrances to Scotiabank arena, showing portraits of 3 maple leaf hockey players

west entrance to scotiabank arena, interior shot, Canadian flags hanging from ceiling, reflections in polished floor, people,

a family of four with suitcases passes through entrance to Union station from scotiabank arena, with large picture of a Maple Leaf hockey player watching them

below: Russell Peters gives directions?

sign inside Union Station, on a large picture of comedian Russell Peters, directional signs showing York and Bay concourses as well as GO station and TTC

below: Although much of the Union Station renovation is complete, there are still mystery parts behind temporary walls and plastic barriers.

man walking with a cane, inside hallways of union station where there is still construction and renovation going on

people inside union station, at top of escalator for GO regional trains

union station, escalator, upper level with clear railing, advert on pillar

below: The walk from the railway side of the station to the TTC portion is now covered.  No more dodging the elements!

covered space between railway station at union station and entrance to TTC subway

construction and maintenence equipment like a wheelbarrow kept behind a green mesh fence, with danger due to construction signs on it

people walking down exterior stairs, union station

two men outside union station one in black pants, white shirt, and black tie standing and a construction worker in orange and yellow vest sitting on railing with back to camera

below: Construction on Bay Street, immediately north of the railway tracks.

construction of a tall building, steel frame of lower floors completed, tall crane, Bay street

below: A typical day in downtown Toronto?  Construction vehicles caught in the gridlock.

flatbed truck loaded with metal pipes, n Bay street, in traffic, with pedestrians waiting beside the road to cross over

pasteups and sticker graffiti on a red newspaper box with the word free on it

below: Intersection of Bay and Front (that truck is still there!).

a man on a scooter and other traffic at bay and front streets

below: At street level, something is happening with the gold tinted glass windows on the Royal Bank building.  No opportunities to play with reflections in the angled glass walls.   As an aside, if you want to discover how many plainclothes security people are lurking in the area, put your camera over the wall and aim it at the building.  Then smile.

construction zone around the base of the royal bank building at bay and front, a gold tinted glass building

below: Heading north, Bay and Wellington

people crossing wellington street on bay, pedestrians, tall buildings on either side of the street

teo men hugging each other in greeting as another man with bright blue sunglasses and pink shorts walks past

a workman repairs the large wide stairs on bay with passersby looking at him

a man in an orange and yellow work vests rests against a billboard sign for tangerine

a couple walk their bike on king street

three more on the team

Posted: October 18, 2016 in history, public art
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line of statues of hockey players in front of the Air Canada Centre, Legends Row in Toronto, a few people are standing in front of the statues.

Legends Row in Maple Leaf Square is growing.  Last week, three more statues of Leafs players were added to the line up of statues already there.  This is the fourth installment and now Turk Broda, Dave Keon, and Tim Horton have now taken their place outside the Air Canada Centre.

The unveiling of the latest statues coincided with the opening ceremonies for the 100th season of NHL hockey in Toronto.   That first year, the Toronto team was the Toronto Arenas and their only competition were the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.   The Arenas didn’t last very long; they folded because of financial problems.  For the 1919-20 season, the Toronto team was the St. Pats and their uniforms were green and white.   They remained the St. Pats until 1927 when Conn Smythe bought the team and changed the name to the Maple Leafs.    (The NHL was formed Nov 26, 1917 so technically we may have jumped the gun by a year, but we can fudge that and call it the 100th season!).

below: Goalies Turk Broda (right) and Johnny Bower (left) have a chat while George Armstrong stands in the background.  Broda (1914-1972) played goal and spent his whole NHL career with the Maple Leafs during which time they won the Stanley Cup five times.

three statues of former Toronto Maple Leaf players in Legends row in Toronto, goalies Turk Broda on the right and Johnny Bower on the left, are standing, George Armstrong is in the background.

below: Dave Keon, number 14, stands behind the bench with his teammates.   Keon (b.1940) pl ayed for the Maple Leafs for 15 years during a career that lasted from 1960 to 1982.  He won the Calder trophy his first year and he was the team’s top goal scorer for many years.

statues of hockey players lined up behind the boards as if they were in a rink, some of the players in the background are jumping over the boards. Number 14 for the Toronto Maple Leafs is in the foreground, Dave Keon.

below: It looks like Tim Horton may have to share his stick.  I suspect that he’s going to have the problem fairly often!  Tim Horton (1930 – 1974) was a defenceman who played for the Leafs during the 1960’s when they won the Stanley Cup four times.  Also during this period he set the record for playing in consecutive regular season games, 486.

a woman in a pink jacket stands in front of a statue of a hockey player, Tim Horton. She is holding onto his hockey stick. There are a couple of other statues in the picture too.

a woman poses for a photo with a line of statues of hockey players

Previous Legends Row posts

  1. Over the boards when the first three statues were installed. (Sittler, Kennedy and Bower)
  2. Leafs expansion, two Swedes, (Salming and Sundin)
  3. Two number tens (Apps and Armstrong)

over the boards

Posted: February 25, 2015 in history, public art
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Legends Row, Maple Leaf Square
in front of the Air Canada Centre

statues of  former Toronto Maple Leaf players,
Ted Kennedy, Johnny Bower and Darryl Sittler

Bronze statues of Maple Leafs Darryl Sittler and Ted Kennedy in front of the Air Canada Center.
below: Ted Kennedy played hockey for 14 seasons (1942-1957), all of which as a Toronto Maple Leaf. In those 14 years, the Leafs won five Stanley Cups.

Bronze statue of Maple Leaf hockey player Ted Kennedy, standing behind what is supposed to be the boards between the players bench and the ice.

below:  Sittler – One of Darryl Sittler’s claims to fame was in 1976 when he scored ten points in a singlemgame.  On 7 Feb 1976 the Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 11-4.   Sittler scored six of those goals and assisted on four others.

A bronze statue of Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player Darryl Sittler as he jumps over the boards and onto the ice, hockey stick in hand

below:  Johnny Bower was a Maple Leaf goalie from 1959 to 1978.  Often he was the oldest man on the team and at the end of his career he was the oldest player in the NHL.

bronze statue of Maple Leaf goalie Johnny Bower in his goalie uniform

Looking at the Legends Row statues from the side with Johnny Bower standing in the foreground. Ted Kennedy and Darry Sittler are in the background