murals | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘murals’

Intersections – Kingston Road and Victoria Park

Posted: November 9, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art, intersections, nature, stores
Tags: alleys, autumn, autumn foliage, Coca-Cola signs, graffiti, halloween, lanes, leaves, Love is Here, murals, Phillip Saunders, privilege signs, Rocky and Bullwinkle, stores, uber5000

…. a walk around some of the streets near Kingston Road and Victoria Park Ave on an unseasonably warm November afternoon.

below: “Love is Here”, a couple under a red heart in a mural painted by Phillip Saunders. There are a few trees in front of it so you might have to look a bit harder for this one.

below: Another mural is one by Uber5000. It’s on its way to becoming an oldie! Back in 2013 I posted more pictures of it – uber Pizza Pizza – because at that time it was a Pizza Pizza restaurant not Heffys Fried Chicken.

below: Little yellow birdies are enjoying their day at the beach – eating popsicles, playing frisbee and lazing in the sun.

below: This cat’s got the tunes!

below: Hold on tight!

below: These birdies are hanging out at number 205 including one perched on a branch of birch tree and strumming away on his guitar.

below:

below: Kingston Road Market, with its distinctive bright red Coca Cola circles, is at the corner of Scarborough Road and Kingston Road. These are what are called Privilege Signs. Brands (such as Coca-Cola) supply these signs to independent store owners for free in exchange for prime advertising space. Coca Cola started producing these red signs in the late 1930s. They were common in the 1940s and 1950s but are rare now.

below: Newer white apartment buildings just east of Victoria Park (or new cladding on older buildings?)

below: A touch of Art Deco in the alley albeit a bit rusty and in need of some TLC

below: Kingston Road looking east towards Victoria Park

below: 1922, Kingston Road west of Victoria Park – Kingston Road had a tram! The hydro poles and wires looked just as bad back then as they do now.

black and white photo, 1922 of Kingston Road, looking west from Victoria Park

Photo from City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 1607

below: Rocket J. Squirrel, better known as Rocky, and his friend Bullwinkle are the good guys! But look out! Boris Badenov and his partner in crime Natahsa Fatale are up to no good!

below: Purple faced

below: Giving

below: Mural by The Half Decent… a white swan? a white goose? The angle makes it difficult to tell.

below: An elephant approaches…

below: Uber 5000 also painted one of the sidewalk boxes. Another cat with a ghetto blaster but this time a little yellow bird is taking advantage of a comfortable place to sit (and sing along?)

below: Just south of Kingston Road, Victoria Park makes a sharp turn left because of the geography of the area. There is a large cliff, or ravine, that Vic Park has to detour around. At the bottom is Neville Park Blvd which can only be accessed from the south at Queen Street. You can just make out the rooftops of the houses – and there is at least one swimming pool down there.

below: Peak autumn colours have passed but a few reds, yellows, and oranges linger on.

below: Pumpkins! Or at least the remains of some. Cast out after Hallowe’en.

And last, a nod to Hallowe’en and those who keep their lawns decorated into November.

from Mirvish Village to Koreatown

Posted: November 5, 2026 in general Toronto
Tags: Allan Bender, bearded prof 416, BTS, Imoogi Dragon, John Nobrega, Korean restaurants, Kung Fu Tea, mops, murals, painting, posters, reflections, restaurants, sailordude, signs, Stacey Kinder, stores, The Alley, Ube, Udon, urban ninja squadron, windows, Yuppduk restaurant, Zui beer bar

October 2026 turned into a wonderful month for walking! Today’s blog post is the result of one of those walks, on a day where the only clouds I saw were on this man’s sweater!

below: This is Bloor and Bathurst. Those tall buildings in the background are ALL part of Mirvish Village, the new development that replaced Honest Eds store (and empire).

below: In the beginning, there were two buildings that refused to sell out to the developers. One has since fallen and is completely gutted – the facade is covered with yellow bracing which means that it is being saved. I am going to say that saving it is a very good thing because the street level of the rest of the development is awful. It is bleak – boring and unimaginative.

below: Interior of the building above as seen from the back.

below: What you are looking at here is a small street of retail spaces between two tall buildings between Markham Street and Bathurst. In this picture, Bloor Street stores are in the background. Right now most of these spaces are empty and the signs are just for show. A bit of confusion because you can’t tell what is a real store!! The “It Takes a Village” sign (top left) is typical of an approach that the developers have taken – bringing in ideas and icons from Honest Eds.

below: Another example of the Honest Eds theme – “Still Honest. Still Here. Still Yours.” Still cringe.

below: A familiar sign from long ago. But at one point I began to wonder why. One one level it’s nice for the developers to acknowledge the history of the location but at the same time the large amount of depressing grey swamps the brightness of the Honest Eds sign.

below: Facing Markham Street

below: Markham Street may redeem the development. Renovations are still underway…

below: …. but there is now a small park and Blackbird Baking Company seems to be thriving.

I had hoped to make a whole blog post about Mirvish Village but maybe it’s just too soon. Maybe all it needs is more time and more people.
So…. Instead of more Mirvish Village, let’s continue walking west on Bloor… right into Koreatown.

below: … But wait, a little diversion for a plaque near Bathurst and Lennox

historic plaque for Contrast Community Newspaper

CONTRAST Contrast newspaper – the “eyes, ears, and voice of Canada’s Black community” – was published at 28 Lennox Street for 22 years. Founded by Alfred Hamilton in 1969, Contrast covered stories about Black life in Toronto including the arts, community life, as well as racism, discriminatory policing, and other issues facing Toronto’s Black communities. The first issue of Contrast covered the Sir. George Williams affair in Montreal. Major stories included the deaths of Albert Johnson in 1979 and Lester Donaldson in 1988. Both were shot by Toronto police…. “

Back to Koreatown….

below: Imoogi Dragon Mural – The Imoogi (“Great Lizard”) is a hornless ocean dragon or sea serpent. According to Korean legends, Imoogi is a dragon in training who needs to survive 1000 years to convert into a fully grown dragon. In some variations of the legend, the sun god transforms human girls into Imoogi on her 17th birthday. You can tell which girls because they are marked with the sign of a serpent on their shoulder. The mural was designed and painted by: Allan Bender, John Nobrega, and Stacey Kinder in 2019.

below: “Imagine your Korea” / Korea Town Mural (in two images). It was commissioned by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Consulate General of Korea and features several South Korean landmarks and cultural elements.

below: Bloor and Manning Ave

below:: The most photographed fruit market along Bloor West if not in the entire city – Bloor Fruit Market

below: Palmerston and Bloor

below: Clinton and Bloor

below: In the window of a store across Bloor Street from the Green Pharmacy there was a poster for Jujutsu Kaisen which is a Japanese manga series. Except here, four characters from the series are promoting four different drinks from The Alley which is new spot for teas and coffees.

below: Another store window, another poster, but this time it is for BTS, a Korean boy band. Stay calm, we’ve already missed the event (it was back in August). BUT apparently BTS love corndogs (“BTS + Corndogs = Perfection”) so remember that the next time you have a corndog! I’m not sure it matters, but BTS is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan which translates to Bulletproof Boy Scouts.

below: Fashion has become Fasion

below: A French newspaper beside a sign in Korean with a few English words. Topped with a pair of sunglasses.

below: Neatly stored, brooms and mops – all lined up outside a restaurant.

below: Kung Fu tea isn’t just tea…. there’s Kung Fruit Tea…. or you can try a Green Tea with Cheese Milk Foam…. or even a Brown Sugar Pearl Latte. Cheese milk foam?? – there are lots of recipes online if you want to try making your own which is essentially cream cheese with milk and/or cream.

below: Looking for lunch or snack ideas? This storefront features Katsuo Udon, Seafood Udon, or Black Beans and Noodles. Any takers?

below: After Udon, try some Ube! Ube is a purple yam (like a sweet potato). Nerd moment… Ube is the Tagalog word for Dioscorea alata which is the Latin name for this plant. Just in case you need to know, Tagalog is from the Philippines.

below: Zui Beer Bar with its large glass of Sapporo (Japanese) beer and a play on the words East & West. “Where East meets Bloor West”.

below: Pinks, blues, and three dimensional shapes

below: Beast Mode

below: Newspaper boxes and pay phones, once upon a time they were found everywhere, now they are almost obsolete.

below: Gas mask in the alley

below: Someone’s guarding the fire exit

below: As the world turns and everything changes… an abstract painting in blues now covers an older piece (by Kizmet?) on a wall that has seen many changes.

below: A Private Property No parking sign has turned into a declaration of love.

below: Graffiti and a political advertisement on the back of a traffic sign. On the right – Logan Choy was a registered mayoral candidate in the recent municipal election (Oct 26, 2026). On the left – T-bonez has a little feathered friend, or has the bird just found a convenient place to poop?! Below them, in blue, is Sailordude from trp613. He’s fully tattooed but can still wear a heart on his chest.

below: The Urban Ninja Squadron and all its friends. Sailordude is wearing a bear costume and carrying a crossbow – maybe he’s going bear hunting? In Koreatown?

below: Bearded Prof 416 with the CN Tower in the background and Urban Ninja Squadron in purple and orange. I’m not sure who T-bonez’s lady friend is though.

On the Move

Posted: September 1, 2026 in general Toronto
Tags: Adrian Hayes, ambsoul, Andrea Manica, artistic perception, bear, bees, bikes, birds, BJR, Bloor St., Bloor st. west, Bradley J. Reinhardt, bubzart, Bunso, butterflies, Caitlin Taguibao, Chris Perez, Colin Tea, Danilo Deluxo, Drippin' Soul, EGR, faces, flowers, Frannie Potts, getso, GO train, hands, hearts, Isabella Fassler, Jeff Blackburn, Jim Bravo, Just J. Art, Medeio, murals, Muys, Nick Sweetman, Night Owl Drawings, On the Move, Opola Karim, Phillip Saunders, portraits, Rage Williams, railway, Reboser, Rowell Soller, SKAM, StART, Stephanie Avery, streetARToronto, The graffiti studio, timmifuk, underpass, Visible Noise, Waskwane Designs, Wenting Li, WEnting Things

If you walk east on Bloor from Dundas West, you will encounter a railway bridge.

man pulling a suitcase as he walks on the sidewalk on Bloor street, eastbound, with GO train on railway bridge in the distance.

A section of the walls of this underpass have recently been painted by 40+ artists. The south side is now covered in new murals.

cyclists in bike lane on Bloor West, traveling eastbound and about to go under the railway tracks just west of Perth. Street art on the walls of the underpass

This underpass has been painted previously – back in 2015 both the north and south walls were painted in a Wallnoize project (see post from 2015). Some of the same artists appear on this updated version. This time it was StreetARToronto that sponsored the artworks. Let’s take a look at some of the murals (in no particular order)….

below: Stay young! An old man on a bike that he outgrew years ago! by Adrian Hayles

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painted by Adrian Hayles - an old man in yellow suit and hat, riding a very small yellow, or gold, bicycle

below: Opola Karim painted this Toronto skyline scene, a view that is well known to anyone who has visited the Toronto islands.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painte by Opola Karim, showing Toronto Harbour and Toronto skyline in a very stylized design, loon in water, beaver on a rock, Canada geese flying overhead

below: Peaceful, loving hands joining together by Phillip Saunders aka Loveishere

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Phillip Saunders, a k a Love is here. Four hands in shades of beige and brown, 2 with peace sign, one holding a round object with a red heart on it,

below: Close to the west end of the underpass is this colourful section. The collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists, Just J. Art (the hummingbird and the hibiscus flower) and Ambsoul Art

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. On the right side is collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists Just J. and Ambsoul. BJR painted the let side, first nations symbols and objects like a bear with a fish in its mouth,

below: The left part (of the above image) BJR aka Bradley J. Reinhardt

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, byBJR, or Bradley J. Reinhart, bear with a blue fish in its mouth and a red heart on its side

below: Ambsoul Art’s feathery bird.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, bird head, part of a larger mural, by Ambsoul

below: From under the bridge, glimpses of colour between the steel girders and concrete barricades.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West as seen from across the street metal girders supporting bridge, traffic on the road,

below: Three of the artworks

three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. Artists were Curtia Wright, Phillip Saunders, and Artistic Perception.

below: Curtia Wright – a portrait with yellow flowers

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Curtia Wright, portrait of a brown woman with yellowy brown eyes, yellow flowers on either side of her

below: More women’s faces – some with no mouths? – have they been silenced? By Artistic Perception aka Kanisha

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Artistic Perception. three black women with short curly black hair, clothes in grey shades, with a garland of daisies

below: The Toronto Railpath runs beside these tracks.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West where it joins Wallace street entrance to the Toronto Railpath

below: By Getso – it’s green, it has sharp teeth and a tail, and it can stand on two legs (he’s standing in a boat)….

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Getso, a green crocdile, standing, with tail wrapped around a brown pole, beside water

below: EGR (with the help of some high school students) painted these cool glasses …. and the young woman on the skateboard.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, woman with sunglasses that reflected Toronto skyline and a person cycling past, red rims and blue glass

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, a young woman skateboarding

below: Precious cargo in the old milk crate in a mural by Wenting Li aka Wenting Things.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Wenting Li, A cyclist riding a green bicycle past a stylized blue neighborhood skyline, transporting a growing branch with clusters of red fruit in a bright orange milk crate.

below: Another cyclist pedaling along, this time by Isabella Fassler

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica created a mural of people and flowers.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a mural of people and flowers created by Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica

below: A boy on the water and a blue jay watching him by Bunso, aka Night Owl Drawings

below: Adrian Hayles’ man in yellow again, with a 26 cent stamp by Frannie Potts.

below: A closer look at the bird and flowers on the stamp.

below: Part of the Nick Sweetman mural showcasing fish.

below: Visible Noise, aka Andrew Patterson

below: A pink cat with spots is the result of a collaboration between Muys and Chris Perez. Or is it a leopard?

below: Timmifuk removing not one mask, but two.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Timmifuk, young man with green face is removing two masks, one is blue and the other is a demon red

below: Rowell Soller

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Rowell Soller

below: StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West cartoon llike characters by StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery<

monsters having a tea party, mural by Stephanie Avery, including three eyed orange guy and purple furry guy

murals on wall of Bloor street railway underpass by , Isabella Fassler, Caitlin Taguibao, Andrea Manica, and Stephanie Avery

below: “Water is Life”, Bubzart

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, water is life, pregnant woman

below: A peace dove in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West A peace dove with an olive branch in its beak, in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio, monotone grey

below: Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

below: Facing each other, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin’ Soul

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin' Soul

below: Using shades of black, teal and magenta, Drippin’ Soul has created a very metallic looking profile

below: That’s one creepy red eye! Or is it two red eyes? Ahhhh…. the red eye and brass (bronze?) pieces are part of a mask and the design was apparently “inspired by the taotie motifs of the Shang dynasty” (Quote is from MonkYi’s instagram page). The Shang dynasty dates back to between 1600 BC and 1050 BC; it marked the beginning of the Bronze Age in China. A taotie was a mythological creature that represented greed and gluttony.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Monk Yi, woman wearing a mask that has one red eye

two men walking past street art murals on the wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Ghazaraza‘s ladies are sharing a pot of tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Ghazaraza, two ladies are sharing a pot of tea, seated on the ground facing each other. Pink flowers in the middle

below: Flowers in her hair, flowers everywhere… Oh, I don’t know just why She simply caught my eye…. Or you can all it by its title, “Wildlife in Bloom” by Lula Lumaj.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Lula Lumaj, woman with long dark hair, flowers in her hair, monarch butterfly, bee, other flowers around her

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a butterfly and a bee by some small pink flowers

below: A cute little grey cat with green eyes.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a grey cat with green eyes and a little pink nose

three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. an image of a GO rain engine is in the middle

below: GO train – definitely On the Move!

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, image of a GO train engine

below: “The Lookout aka the Fruit Bandits” not letting a fence get in the way! by Jim Bravo

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Jim Bravo, a group of children is picking fruit from trees that are on the other side of a fence, title is fruit bandits

below: Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea, girl is called Violet

three muralon a railway underpass, bloor street , street art, urban art,

below: Greetings from West Toronto by Rage WIlliams

Greetings from West Toronto is the text in this white, gold, and pink mural by Rage Williams.

below: Reboser’s athlete – a football player sprinting down the field.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, football players by reboser

below: From the The Graffiti Studio ….

below: Jeff Blackburn‘s young person on the move with drink in one hand and backpack in the other.

below: Two dogs and a stack of old tires, a painting by Megan Oldhues

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, two dogs and a stack of old tires, by Megan Oldhues

below: Hummingbird by an orange flower.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, hummingbird

below: Three animals by a river from Waskwane Designs – beaver, bear and wolf (with a few bees and butterflies too)

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, beaver beside a river

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Waskwane Designs, bear with a butterfly

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, wolf in black and white

below: Not for Sale, letters and flowers in a small square of concrete at one end of the wall.

below: A lone pigeon watches me as I pass by.

below: The wall of the underpass peters out by the time Bloor Street reaches Perth.

Link for more information on StART – StreetARToronto

Photos taken August 2026

checking in to see what’s new…

Posted: August 17, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: 50 shades of greatt, Adam McKnight, bear, BikeDeSuro, Billy Creekwater, catchoo, ceramics, DivadogLA, Elicser Elliott, Ezpektro, faces, Fiigueers, FreshPaintDaly, Graffiti Alley, horus, MonkYi, Mopsi, murals, neem, paint, paste ups, Pokemon, Posts Collective, sentient cookie, slaps, So schoen immer weider, stencils, Sticker Eddie, stickers, Trevor Goodwin, trp613, uber5000, urban ninja squadron, visual noise

… another walk down Graffiti Alley

below: Part of a monochrome mural by Nicolas Araneda aka niko.volts that has a lot of very American feet walking all over the faces of other people as lay on the ground…. ‘Trampling’ might be a better verb than ‘walking’

below: Some walk in heavy boots, and others swim with open mouth ….

below: Looking crazed and demented, “Lobo” by Horus (aka Trevor Goodwin)

below: Not quite so crazy or so demented but certainly not cuddly and warm either.

below: “Bring your green hat” by FreshPaintDaly aka Billy Creekwater

below: Two (and a bit) of six panels, drawings by Hartshorn (or posts collective).

below: “Not today Satan”. There’s a lot going on here – the Silly Sausage Gang being front and center. 33wallflower33 in her white coat with the fuzzy collar and little decorations by catchoo . There is also a T-bonez (of urban ninja squadron fame) wearing a green shirt and a necklace with a pendant – that’s Sticker Eddie he’s wearing, apparently. The red-hearted pug’s name is Mopsi. Mopsi has something in his mouth but the donut is in the way (for more Mopsi see the Instagram page of his creator, So schoen immer weider)…. And the other dog is a collaboration between TRP613 (check out the reflections in the sunglasses!) and DivadogLA

below: “Get me out of here” and a dose of Instant Karma.

below: Free Iran

below: This painting of a woman with her headphones above and yellow birdie walking a dog below was one of the first murals in Graffiti Alley – the work of Uber5000. Not many originals still exist!

below: Elicser Elliott’s contribution to a larger mural that has been painted below the pink Poser bunny, “Don’t watch me cry”

below: Half a face. He only needs one eye to stare at you.

below: Gold… With a garland of white and blue flowers.

below: A very large and very purple bear is at the door.

below: He or she looks rather cramped in there. Signature says Neem?

below: Another flower garland and another Neem head squeezed into a box.

below: Scowling and smoking with ace in his cap.

below: Skydome forever and ALCS, as well as Vladdy’s number 27 shirt and World Series 2025…. little blue and white pieces of ceramic that celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays that someone lovingly made.

below: One Inch? … And other stickers crammed together.

below: “We are the colours of corn”

below: More stickers and pasteups including catchoo’s dumpster fire that t-bonez from urban ninja squadron is using to dry his socks and underwear.

below: A couple of contributions from Dogmaslaps here (they’re all about dogs in case you haven’t guessed yet).

below: More pasteups, some of which are quite intricate and detailed … especially the top two (vulture and jaguar?) which are both the creations of Ezpektro.

below: Sharing space with the Ezpektro pieces are a few smaller pasteups, some of which were made by artists that are new to me. There is a pink bike in the top right, the same bike that is in the Make Art Not War poster in the above image… BikeDeSuro creates stickers and wheatpaste featuring bikes. From the left, a woman by Fiigueers and then a young girl with the Spanish words, “que nunca se apague la llama de la autonomia” which translates to “may the flame of autonomy never be extinguished”… The collection is rounded out with a guitar player from Sentient Cookie and a cute little green guy from Catchoo.

below: MonkYi cat with a very real looking heart in his claws. Two carp swimming on the pavement in front.

below: Charmander, a Pokemon character.

below: Alfred E. Neuman makes an appearance in a couple of places – he’s the dude from MAD Magazine.

below: By 50 shades of greatt aka Adam McKnight – It looks a lot like Sponge Bob… maybe it’s his cousin? But what’s with that tongue? It looks like a slug is trying to slither out of his mouth.

below: Verity and a happy face.

below: Someone is not impressed…. Lame

below: Green guy says: “In one year’s time, strike your blow, I shall return.”

below: “These days will define us”

Dundas East garages

Posted: July 6, 2026 in graffiti and street art
Tags: Adrian Hayles, apples, Bareket, blazeworks, Chrissy Kuiack, dogs, emily may rose, flowers, Golden Butter Murals, hotsnackz, hummingbird, Jarus, Jeff Blackburn, Julia Louise Pereira, Julia Prajka, La Pupila, murals, Nick Sweetman, Phillip Saunders, Que Rock, raccoons, red cardinal, Ryan Dineen, skamoney, streetARToronto, timmifuk, trash pandas, Vudu, Wade Benedict

All of the pictures in this post were taken on Dundas East, just west of Jones Avenue. Along this stretch of Dundas, garages and backyard fences line the street. Most of them have been painted with bright and cheerful images of flowers, birds, animals, and other living things.

below: There is only one person who would paint a mural with these cute but mischievous raccoons, Emily May Rose

below: Sadly, unsigned and unknown. Two snakes slithering through pink flowers and green grass.

below: La Pupila (aka Valentina) has painted rosy red apples with faces, and even a bite taken out of one of them.

below: Two dog portraits by Jeff Blackburn

below: Red hearts and laughter in a mural by Phillip Saunders

below: A young child with bond curly hair holds a very large pink flower in a painting by Wade Benedict.

below: Picking oranges and watering flowers, working together in the garden in a mural by Golden Butter Murals

below: Making hearts. Long necked ducks or geese beak to beak.

below: White flowers by timmifuk

below: More garage door flowers – this time pink peonies in a vase.

below: Orange lilies by hotsnackz (aka Chrissy Kuiack)

below: Black on colour.

below: Ryan Dineen painted this little bird

below: A young looking loon swims as the sun sets in a mural by Julia Prajka

below: Two red cardinals in flight by Adrian Hayles.

below: A ruby throated hummingbird flies among the fireflies, by Blazeworks.

below: Close up of an abstract mural by Bareket (bkez)

below: Que Rock, butterfly

below: “I’ll be here until you arrive”, a portrait of an older man with a beard, in shades of red, by Jarus

below: Nick Sweetman – a pelican and a flamingo splashing in the water

below: On the right, covering two garage doors, is an aquatic scene by Jarus.

below: This spider painting is signed “Vudu” (Christine Mazzulla?)

below: Another bird flying over a garden full of flowers on a fence painted by Julia Louise Pereira (aka ohlordyitsjulia)

below: A very Toronto sight, by Skamoney

This was a StreetARToronto project

Photos taken June 2026

intersections – Bathurst and Wilson

Posted: June 23, 2026 in construction, history, locations, stores
Tags: 401 hwy, architecture, bathurst st., commercial, ensaymada, filipino, housing, Ian Leventhal, murals, Nick Sweetman, redevelopment, residential, signs, sixplexes, stores, vacant, Wilson Ave.

A look at another intersection (and its surroundings)…….

below: Swimming by the 401 highway – You might recognize this image as Georges Pierre Seurat’s 1884 pointillism painting, “Bathers at Asnières”. Man in hat lying with his dog, sailboats in the distance, people sitting on the shore and people playing in the water – these are all elements in that famous Seurat painting.

It appears as part of a large mural that Ian Leventhal painted in 2006; it covers the wall that helps support the 401 as it cuts across the Bathurst and Wilson intersection. The large triangle created by this wall and the two streets is a park with the very unimaginative name of Bathurst-Wilson Parkette.

below: Looking east on Wilson at Bathurst.

below: Both Bathurst and Wilson pre-date the building of the 401 highway. This old photo (1950) is taken from an excellent article in the Toronto Star written by Shawn Micallef, (28 Sept 2019) that details the history of the 401 highway development around Bathurst Street. The brown lines show the original layout of the highway and the on/off ramps. Not all of these ramps exist now. I have added a bright red line to show the present day on-ramp from Bathurst (northbound) to the EB 401. You may have noticed that the original on and off ramps were residential streets!

But changes are always happening. Now it is the southwest corner of Bathurst and Wilson that is about to be transformed…. or at least it was. At the moment the property is under court ordered receivership as the developer is having “financial issues” to the tune of at least 28 million dollars. The property is for sale. Tims is open but everything around it is vacant. Condo development was booming in Toronto until it wasn’t. I don’t have an exact number, but there are a lot of vacant/abandoned properties like this around the city.

below: Brooklyn Furniture Emporium – boarded up and forgotten. They started business in 1958 and survived for more than 60 years.

below: Gone is the gas station that was here.

below: Looking north up Bathurst.

The development property that is on the market also includes a couple of addresses on the next street west, Richelieu Road whose properties back onto Bathurst.

below: Another proposal includes the remaining houses on Richelieu (across the street from those backing onto Bathurst). I am unsure of its status, but it makes for a rather sad looking little street.

below: This area was originally developed at a time when the 2 storey brick mini plaza (or strip mall) was popular. A line of stores/restaurants/businesses with some parking in front became a feature of large segments of Toronto’s main streets. Will we mourn their loss once it is their turn to be replaced? They may be ugly but they provide a space for local businesses.

below: Bathurst and Wilson has become predominantly Filipino. This place specializes in ensaynadas which is something that I had never heard of. It’s a Filipino bun with different flavorings/toppings such as cheese, or almond (or many others). Filipino, but from Mallorca (Spain) too … and possibly with a Jewish origin.

below: Beaver Cleaners – where to go when the beaver needs a good scrub. More importantly, just beyond it is The Inside Scoop which sells fabulous ice cream!

below: You can also find a mural by Nick Sweetman nearby. It lines both sides of the Bathurst underpass at the 401. I have blogged about it previously – in fact, it was the previous post: Animals under the 401

below: A banner to advertise a production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in Yiddish with English subtitles that was playing at the Elgin Theatre (downtown).

Coxwell and Soller

Posted: June 12, 2026 in doors, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations
Tags: Al Runt, Bowmore Road school, Coxwell Ave, doors, Emdaabiimok Ave., Flips, houses, ice cream truck, murals, residential architecture, Rowell Soller, the 6ix, trees, windows

A walk down Coxwell Avenue with a few diversions along the way…..

below: Part of larger mural painted by Al Runt that covers most of the exterior of a building on Gerrard near Coxwell.

The “Soller” part of the title of this post is a direct reference to artist Rowell Soller. As it turns out he was touching up one of his murals on Coxwell when I walked past.

below: This large painting is on the same building as the mural in the photo above. It is a collaboration between Soller and Flips. If you see a painting in Toronto that has those curls and swirls, it was probably painted by Flips.

below: “The choice is yours”

below: Coxwell and Gerrard (south part), looking southeast. A quirk in the map, a jog in the street. For reasons no longer clear (probably something to do with the history of the area), Gerrard is divided by Coxwell into a southern and a northern section. This is the southern part where it is Gerrard to the west of Coxwell but Eastwood Avenue to the east.

below: The sign says Fairford Avenue, which is partially correct as it is Fairford to the west of Coxwell, but Gerrard Street to the east. Confused yet? The 506 Carleton streetcar runs on Gerrard as far east as Main Street and west all the way to High Park… but it has to make two turns at Coxwell to stay on Gerrard.

below: Signs of summer!

below: Bowmore Road Junior and Senior Public School is just east of Coxwell. It was built in 1923.

below: Does anybody still refer to Toronto as ‘The 6ix’? It was popular ten years ago when Drake used it in a song but I haven’t heard it much recently.

below: Another Coxwell mural, another collaboration between Rowell Soller and Flips (from 2022).

below: … and yet another, this time with yellow curls

below: More Soller painting, this time on Queen East close to Coxwell, a woman in blue.

below: Emdaabiimok Avenue is now the name of the lower part of Coxwell, south of Queen. In Anishinaabemowin, Emdaabiimok translates to “where the road goes to the water”

below: There are a lot of tiny houses on Coxwell!

below: There is also this tall skinny house that has a footprint of only 16′ x 16′ (just under 5m x 5m). It has one bedroom and is built on stilts. It is accessed from the sidewalk by a bridge. Originally it was painted in blue, red, green, and yellow squares and rectangles and really did look like it was made of Lego blocks. If you hear of someone referring to it as the Lego House, that’s why. This pale blue and dark grey mix looks much better!

below: Like most other places in the city, there are always changes to be seen whether it is a complete reno of a house or the addition of a rooftop terrace.

below: If you walk (or drive) slightly farther north on Coxwell, you might see this car. Its collection of colourful and sparkly decorations has slowly grown over the years to the point where there isn’t much room left!

intersections – Dufferin & Queen

Posted: May 11, 2026 in construction, graffiti and street art, history, intersections, old buildings, transportation
Tags: catchoo, CN rail, construction, D7606, development, donuts, Dufferin St., feelings boi, geekypet, GO Transit, graffiti, Grow Up Art, history, Milky Way, murals, Queen Street West, raccoon, railway tracks, sentient cookie, sketchrat, stickers, The Turd Reich, trp613, TTC, urban ninja squadron, visual noise, vivvy, zonr

The intersection of Dufferin and Queen Street West is dominated by the CN railway & GO transit tracks. Large underpasses to the north and to the east define the character of the streets here.

Between 1881 and 1891, the population of Toronto more than doubled, from 86,415 in 1881 to over 181,125 ten years later (numbers are from census data). As the city expanded, infrastructure struggled to keep up as it usually does. It was decided that Queen Street needed an underpass instead of a level crossing. In 1896 the first bridge was built. At this time, Dufferin street ended at Queen to make room for the tracks. Dufferin was now divided into a north and south section.

below: This is a 1898 photo from the City of Toronto archives showing the new railway bridges over Queen Street West. The view is westward. Dufferin is difficult to see in this image but it ends under the railway bridge that is farthest away. Parkdale train station would have been just outside the picture on the left side. It was closed by 1970.

below: Still on Queen Street and still looking west but from farther back from the railway bridge which is now in the distance. The big square-ish building on the right is a Veterinary Surgeon’s office. The ad on the side of the building is for ‘The Sun’ where you could find the highest grade of bicycles, manufactured by G. T. Pendrith. The photo was taken in November 1896.

black and white photo from late 1890s, Queen street looking west towards railway tracks and Dufferin Street

source: There are many places to find this photo on the internet. This copy came from Wikimedia Commons.

below: Looking east along Queen from Noble Street, past Dufferin to the railway tracks, 1954. The Gladstone Hotel in the distance. There is a Shell gas station on the southwest corner, and although it’s difficult to see, a policeman is standing in the intersection directing traffic.

black and white photo from Toronto Public library digital archives

source: Toronto Public Library digital archives. Photographer – James V. Salmon

below: Southwest corner today …. that Shell station is long gone. A newer condo development fills that corner (built since 2010).

below: The stone wall along the east side of Dufferin looks very similar to that of 1954. The buses have been modernized though – we now have new shiny red hybrids.

The “Dufferin Jog” was fixed in 2010 when another railway bridge was built.

below: Looking north up Dufferin during the construction of the bridge, 2010. This is another image from the City of Toronto archives.

construction of the bridge for CN rail and GO transit, to eliminate the dufferin jog, 2010, from city of toronto archives

source: Fonds 601, Series 2860, File 4, Item 1 (City of Toronto archives)

below: North on Dufferin today (not exactly the same view as above). Bus lanes, or rather transit priority lanes, have recently been painted red. The red brick building on the east side of Dufferin still remains.

below: There are changes coming to the northwest corner of the intersection. This photo was taken from the corner of Noble and Queen and is generally north looking.

below: Hoardings on the north side of Queen

below: The view behind the hoardings

To the west of the tracks is the Parkdale neighbourhood with its colours and idiosyncrasies.

The Milky Way runs parallel to Queen on the south side. There has been lots of street here and I have blogged about it before, 5 times before as it turns out. The first time was back on 2015 (Walking the Milky Way) and the most recent was in 2023 (Aging on the Milky Way)

below: On the north side of the railway tracks, there is a pedestrian crossing and bike path. There is also a quiet corner with a couple of benches. The rest of the images in this post were taken on that pedestrian crossing.

below: The Turd Reich – a wonderful series of paste-ups of our “favourite” men in uniform. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, British MP Nigel Farage, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, JD Vance, and Vladimir Putin have been dressed up as World War II Nazi soldiers. This collection first appeared in London, England about a year ago. They are they creation of Grow Up Art.

below: A hole in the fence, with a well worn and muddy path!

below: Thing 1 and Thing 2, right out of the Cat in the Hat.

below: A little red X marks the spot

below: We are all connected

below: Every man needs a muse. Who is your Venus?

below: “Always remember you’re Heart & Soul, you are Loved 4 ever. Trust me.”

Graffiti by: Catchoo, D7606, Feellings Boi, Geekypet, Sentient Cookie, Sketchrat, TRP613, Urban Ninja Squadron, Visual Noise, Vivvy, Zonr (and others)

Biscuit Lane

Posted: April 18, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: alley, Bert, cartoon characters, cartoons, city, CN Tower, downtown, Garfield, graffiti, Inspector Gadget, Jessica Rabbit, lane, murals, Ness Lee, pink panther, pop culture, roadrunner, Rogers Centre, Thomas the Anonymous, Tweetie bird, Wiley Coyote, Woody Woodpecker

Biscuit Lane runs behind the east side of Yonge Street for one block, running south from Charles Street. It was named Biscuit in honour of William Christie (1829-1900), the man behind Mr. Christie cookies. A young William Christie started his career working for another baker, William McConnell whose shop was on Yonge Street in this area. According to Wikipedia, Christie was paid $4.00 per month plus given room and board – he baked at night and then delivered the baked goods by handcart to customers in nearby Yorkville. After two years he left McConnell to work at another bakery in the same neighbourhood.

It is a short, narrow lane with street art murals now on both sides.

below: A Toronto mural in a Toronto alley.

below: More Toronto, painted by Thomas the Anonynous

below: “I’ll always be here with you!”

below:Cartoon characters & Pop culture references! Bert doesn’t look too comfortable!

below: Inspector Gadget, one of the Smurfs, Betty Boop, Tweety Bird looking angry, Goofy isn’t sure what’s happening, Launchpad McQuack, and Droopy Dog.

below: Marge Simpson with her enormous blue hair, Yogi Bear, Jessica Rabbit, Bert, Woody Woodpecker, Little Hiawatha, The Mask and Huckleberry Hound.

below: Along one wall is a large mural by Ness Lee – women with long hair

below: Looking north on Biscuit Lane

below: Wanted poster for what looks like the Pink Panther in black hat and shades. Wanted for “harbouring stool pigeons near sanctuary”

below: “Wanted for keeping it 2 real”. Marvin the Martian?

below: …. and even more (with some repeats)….. A smug Pink Panther and a concussed Sylvester…. Beep! Beep!

below: It’s the alphabet all jumbled up in many colours, many ‘fonts’, and many sizes.

below: Superhero time! Superman, Spiderman, and more.

Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Posted: January 13, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
Tags: big teeth, blue face, bluebird, Bunso, Dewucme, dogs, doors, faces, Graffiti Alley, Kalaruno, Kelcy Timmins Chan, Mixt Paints, murals, paint, people, portraits, skateboards, snowman, spray paint, tiger, words, Zelensky

This blog post is a quick look some of the “art” that can be seen in Graffiti Alley at the moment. There is lot on display even though I only walked between Spadina and Portland so this post focuses on the murals and larger paintings that I saw. The smaller stickers and paste ups will be in a subsequent post (sooner rather than later I hope!).

below: Blue birds and big ugly black dogs.

below: A portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours.

below: Daisy, in rabbit ears

below: On one of the corners, there is a long grey mural with bits of red….

below: “A lone samurai known as Ghost stands on watch”. A story and a mural by Dewucme

below: Portraits painted on skateboards – there has been a collection of such portraits hanging here for at least a year. I am not sure if these three are newer, or if I just forgot them last time. (Link to blog post of skateboards from 2025). I have updated the 2025 post to include a few photos that I took last week of other skateboard portraits that I didn’t see a year ago.

below: Portrait by Bunso

below: Other part of the above mural, but painted by a different artist (I think)

below: In memory of Andre Campbell

below: Behind the Queen Street stores

below: Painting on hoardings as downtown redevelopment (and subway construction) slowly encroaches on the Queen and Spadina neighbourhood.

below: “Find peace in your chaos” Plus, it seems to be wearing shirt and tie but it’s also drooling and looking just a little unhinged!

below: Monstrous television screen head with bloody gums and matching tie.

below: “Who you gonna call?” Ghostbusters green slimey thing!

below: He’s got one big eye and a scowl on his face. There’s a burning cigarette in his mouth and the Ace of hearts is tucked into his hat band. Quite the character.

below: Not all cats are cute?

below: A woman with her purple hair tied up with little glowing (but ghostly) lanterns in a mural by MonkYi

below: Climbing green onions (scallions?)? An upside down blue goose? … And in the middle, yellow siu mai (Chinese open-topped steamed dumplings, a dim sum favorite), all images from the imagination of Mixt Paints aka Kelcy Timmins Chan