Posts Tagged ‘pedestrians’

around Oriole station

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

sign pointing to GO station, in park,

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

below:  Under the 401 highway

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

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

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

below:  Caged!

cage enclosing top level of metal pedestrian bridge

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

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

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

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

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

highway 401, east from Leslie Street

below:  At track level

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

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

sign for Oriole go station

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

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

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

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

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

Oriole Go station platform under the 401 highway, with construction

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

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

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

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

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

Not everybody walks to IKEA!

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

looking northwest across railway tracks just north of oriole go station

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

leslie looking south at 401, construction and Oriole GO station

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

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

4 different tall lights,

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

leslie street, south of the 401

below: Making sidewalks.

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

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

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

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

light and shadows between portions of highway being constructed and renovated

construction site light and shadows, and small orange cone

construction of new ramp, 401 and Leslie

no entry sign on pole, overgrown with shrub,

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

from Bay to Christie

Posted: May 20, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings, people, stores, transportation
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… a walk along Bloor Street on one of the rare warm days in May.

  With respect to the weather, it’s been a crazy May – first cold, then warm, then cold again.  As I write this, my windows are closed and the furnace is on.  These are the coldest days in May since 1967 they say.  I was going to make jokes about Hell freezing over but the Leafs didn’t win.

smaller Bay station entrance, beside The Momo House, with people walking past

One of the Bay station exits is at Cumberland Terrace.

view from Cumberland Ave., into the glass wall of Cumberland Terrace, people sitting at tables for lunch, reflections of tall buildings behind

The lower level of Cumberland Terrace, especially along the north side, sits mostly empty.

empty fast food stalls in the basement level of cumberland terrace, korean food, and falafel places,

the basement level of cumberland terrace, with lots of mirrors and square ceiling lights, but no people, mostly closed

From Cumberland Terrace, I headed to the corner of Bay & Bloor Streets and then westward from there.  This is some of what I saw (and, for a change, I managed to keep the photos in the order that I took them).

looking down an alley downtown, with tall glass and steel buildings

mannequin in a window, with reflections, behind metal bars from scaffolding

young man carrying a ladder, under scaffolding on sidewalk

 

A woman in a green t shirt and blue shoes sits on a circular bench on Bloor Street, with a laptop, outdoors

Many people crossing Bay street on north side of Bloor. intersection of Bay and Bloor. TD bank on the southwest corner

intersection of Bay and Bloor. building on the northwest corner has cladding removed for renovations, man sitting on corner begging, other people walking by, traffic,

below: Cladding changes at Bay and Bloor.  The older concrete window frames are disappearing.  Does anyone know if this type of recessed window feature has a name?

architecture of windows and cladding, two buildings downtown

people walking past st laurent store, large black off-white coloured building with no windows

woman in beige sweater and orange pants walking abong bloor street

below: People watching from behind glass

2 white mannequins in a window, one in dark glasses and the other in tight fitting cap, looking out a window, with reflections of trees and traffic

bloor street, reflections as well as street scene,

below: From Avenue Road, looking west, where the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) dominates the south side of Bloor.

looking west on bloor from avenue road, past the front of the art gallery of ontario, crane in the distance, cement truck on street

below: Renovations now underway on part of the “crystal” structure at the front of the AGO.

in front of the art gallery of ontario where renovations are occurring, hoardings, looking east on bloor

construction and renovations of part of the crystal structure at the entrance to the art gallery of ontario

workmen and equipment, renovations of part of the crystal structure at the entrance to the art gallery of ontario

people walking on the sidewalk, bloor street, in front of the art gallery of ontario

below: Red car….

a bright red car parked on bloor street, in front of new condo building, and a building with a black and white striped awning in the front

below:  … and red maple leaves

sign on brick wall at varsity stadium, arrow pointing right to varsity pavilion, witn lots of red maple leaves on blue background above the sign

below: The OISE building (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) was controversial when it was built in the late 1960s but it has aged into a good example of classic late modern concrete architecture.   As an extra note – if you are interested in Toronto’s concrete architecture of this period, check out “Concrete Toronto: A Guidebook to Concrete Architecture from the Fifties to the Seventies”, edited by Michael McClelland and Graeme Stewart (many people contributed chapters to the book).

man on electric bike in bike lanes on bloor in front of OISE building

people waiting for traffic lights, before crossing St george, at bloor, by the bata shoe museum, reflections in the window of the building beside them

below: Reflections in the windows of the Bata Shoe Museum at Bloor and St. George.

people crossing bloor at st george, by the bata shoe museum, reflections in the window of the museum

reflections in the window of bata shoe museum on bloor, showing buildng across the street, blue sky, clouds, and people passing by

below: Looking west on Bloor at Huron Street where the old church on the northwest corner is being renovated and expanded.  Bloor Street United church was built in 1880 and was originally a Presbyterian church.  In 1925 it was one of about 70% of the Presbyterian churches that merged with the Methodists to form the United Church of Canada.

looking west on bloor at huron, north side of the street

below:  The Bloor street facade of the church is being retained and updated while maintaining the church itself intact.   A new condo tower is being built on the site, set back from the church building.

conversion of church into condos, northwest corner of bloor and huron

below: Looking east on Bloor Street.  This view also shows the new building to the west of the church that is also part of the same project.

looking east on Bloor street, north side of street, traffic, new construction, church being turned into condos,

below: Tartu College building – another example of concrete architecture; it was designed by Elmar Tampold.  Tartu College is a not for profit student residence and was named after the city Tartu in Estonia.

front, and entrance of, tartu college, a highrose student residence on bloor street, made of concrete in the 1970s

a group of people standing on the corner or Robert and Bloor as a red car turns right beside them

old black and white graffiti stickers on a one way arrow sign

side of a woman in a navy blue sress, god watch, and holding a phone case, as she walks along bloor street,

below: Red dress to symbolize missing and murdered Indigenous women.

red dress hanging in a garden outside a church, as a memorial to missing indigenous women

below: Heart Garden at Trinity St. Pauls church at Bloor and Major.  There are many of these gardens across the country and they are all dedicated to victims of the residential school system.

a woman in a head scarf walks past a small memorial garden, that has a large rock in the middle, heart garden

poetry, on wood, on a wood wall in a garden, heart garden,

Words on the first panel – by Katherena Vermette  An other story this country has an other story one that is not mine or yours but ours

 

below: Colourful Annex mural by Planta Muisca

shrubs and a tree in front of a mural for the annex in bright colours, houses in blues and reds, by planta muisca

below: Bloor at Bathurst, southwest corner.  This is what replaced Honest Eds – one had character and the other doesn’t and I think you know which one is which.

Mirvish village development on southwest corner of bloor and bathurst, glass and steel with some concrete, standard new condo street level design

a woman sits on a low concrete wall around a planter, on bloor, two cyclists pass by, another woman is pushing a stroller on the sidewalk

below: Markham Street is still closed as it is part of the large construction site on the old Mirvish property.

looking south on Markham street from Bloor. Still a construction site while Mirvish village makeover is underway.

below: Little wavy curled features on the roof

two storey brick building on bloor, market on lower level, language school, CCLCS, on the upper. roofline has two little wave-like curly features

below: From Sammie’s to Jimmy’s, with Real Nails in between.  Square buildings, flat rooflines.

upper levels of a row of three storey brick stores along bloor, the two in the middle are painted yellow.

below: Gold Leaf Fruit Market at Palmerston and Bloor

Gold Leaf Fruit market on the northeast corner of Palmerston and Bloor.

below: Northwest corner of Palmerston and Bloor

northwest corner of palmerston and bloor, 3 storey red brick row of buildings,

four young women standing on a street corner, al with a drink in their hand, with traffic going by and street scene behind them.

looking out the window of a coffee shop, word coffee is in window, but reversed, street scene with stores and traffic.

two women in a coffee shop, one is working at a table by the window, the other is seated at another table

below: Todays Specials

outside a book store, on a table, books for sale, with sign that says Today's Specials, prices as marked

below: Bloor Fruit Market

bloor fruit market, west side, two street art murals on the side of the building, lots of produce for sale outside, red brick building,

man in grey shirt is choosing berries from the bloor fruit market where there are lots of berries in plastic containers, blueberries, strawberries, and black berries,

below: Table for two

on the sidewalk, two small red plastic chairs wth a table between them, a man walking past, street scene in the background, Bloor Street

below: Just a little monkey sunbathing in the window!

little stuffed grey and light purple monkey sitting in the window of a store with 3 mannequin feet behind it.

pedestrians on sidewalk outside clothing store on bloor street, mannequin in the window

signs on the sidewalk for stores along bloor street in koreatown including a restaurant ad for Sapporo premium beer, pictures of plates of food in the restaurant,

below: Koreatown, mailbox

older black mailbox with lid open, on a white wall beside a door on Bloor street, also on the wall, Korean lettering in blue and red

below:  Waiting for the green light.

two cyclists in the Bloor Street bike lane, stopped and waiting for a green light, traffic on the street including a school bus.

woman walking alone on sidewalk with purse over her shoulder and wearing a navy blue sweatshirt that says talentless but connected on the front of it

below: Christie subway station

entrance to Christie subway station, TTC, sidewalk in front, blue bins,

subway stopped at Christie station, one man isgetting off, can be seen through windows, while a woman sits by another window

three men on a subway train, two are standing by the door, looking at their phones. the third is sitting with arms folded and eyes closed

And last, a shout out to Alternity Cafe where my smoothie was a fabulous pale bluish turquoise colour, thanks to the addition of “blue magic”.

fork in salad bowl with avocado dressing, drink beside bowl is a pale turquoise coloured smoothie in a glass

It’s a mess!

Posted: January 27, 2024 in construction, intersections
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Queen Street is now closed to all traffic from just east of Bay Street to Yonge Street and again between Yonge and Victoria Streets…. for about four and a half years (any bets on 5 years? or more?).  The new Ontario Line subway is being built here.  There will be 4 stops along Queen –  Moss Park which is between Sherbourne and Parliament, then Yonge, Osgoode, and finally a stop at Spadina & Queen before the line heads south to King Street and then the Exhibition.

Because of the existing infrastructure in the area there wasn’t much room for construction, hence the takeover of the street. 501 Queen streetcars and buses are diverting along Richmond and Adelaide streets.

It all makes for a complicated mess for pedestrians.

below: The first warning sign of changes ahead, a little orange sign that says that the sidewalk on the north side of Queen Street is closed between Victoria and Yonge.

street scene, Queen St. East in front of Metropolitan United Church,looking west towards Victoria Street.

below: Queen and Victoria, looking west towards the construction

Queen Street East at Victoria. Street to the west towards Yonge street is closed, green and metal fence blocking traffic and pedestrians, construction site for new Ontario Line subway

below: Looking south on Victoria from Queen

looking south on Victoria Street, west side,from Queen, winter, some snow on ground, green fence blocking off Queen street for construction of ontario line subway

below: Ontario Line hoardings.

two people walking on sidewalk on Queen Street between Victoria and Yonge, fabric hoardings advertising construction of the Ontario line subway on their right

looking through metal construction fence, workmen on a construction site talking to each other

below: Northeast corner of Yonge & Queen

below: Looking east from Yonge

below: Westward view past concrete barriers and wobbly green and metal fencing

below: Crossing Queen Street

below: From the Eaton Centre looking east past Yonge Street.

below: Entrance to the Queen subway station

hoardings create a path across Queen street to provide access to Queen street subway station

below: A break in the construction zone for pedestrians.

hoardings create a path across Queen street to provide access to Eaton Centre

below: Barricade across the sidewalk on the south side, by the Eaton Centre

below: Queen Street is closed in front of Old City Hall

tower of old city hall with road construction in front of it

evening, Spadina and Front

Posted: September 8, 2019 in construction, locations, people
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One part of the city that has changed immensely over the past few years is the area near Spadina and Front streets.  I was in the area last night and had a few moments to spare so I thought that I would take a look at what’s there now.

below: Waiting for the 510 streetcar

back end of a new TTC streetcar, at a stop on Spadina, people waiting, a man is on his phone as he waits, condo behind

below: Looking south on Spadina approaching Front Street.

looking south on Spadina near Front, streetcar stop and shelters in the middle of Spadina, some people waiting for streetcars, 2 small trees, tall condos in the background

below: Many cranes working at the site of the old Globe & Mail buildings on the north side of Front Street, just west of Spadina.

3 cranes at construction site on Front Street where Globe and Mail used to be

below: Intersection of Spadina & Front, looking southwest

looking southwest at intersection of Spadina and Front, condos

below: Looking west from Spadina as it crosses the railway tracks.

yellow metal pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks, looking from Spadina bridge, condos in the background, lots of tracks, no train

below: City Place, south of the tracks.  Red sculpture is ‘Flower Power’ by Mark di Savero.

red sculpture in front of condo buildings

below: On the south side of the railway tracks, east side of Spadina, part of Northern Linear Park.

trees in a small park along the side of the railway tracks, condos behind

below: There is still a parking lot on the northeast corner of this intersection. This image is the view across the parking lot to City Place.

looking across parking lot at north east corner of Spadina and Front towards the traffic and lights at the intersection, billboard, people

below: Reflections in the clear and green glass of a new building on Front Street, just east of Spadina

reflections in clear and green glass

below: Waiting for the light to change

a young man sits on his bike and checks his phone while waiting at an intersection for the traffic lights to change

below: And once we started walking across the intersection, I loved how her skirt moved as she walked.

a woman's long red skirt moves as she walks across the street

a food truck

another Saturday afternoon

Posted: July 29, 2019 in general Toronto, locations, people, public art
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Summer in Toronto.  Those days where it doesn’t matter where you walk, you will always encounter something interesting.

This weekend is the Taste of the Middle East festival at Yonge Dundas square, one of the many ethnic based festivals in the square over the summer.  As usual, there were performances, activities, and food.

woman in a pink top and sunglasses turns her head towards the camera with a big smile, behind her is a performance on a stage and a man in an orange baseball cap clapping with his hands above his head, at Yonge Dundas square Taste of the Middle East festival

Products like date syrup were also available.

a man stands behind a display of bottles of date syrup that are for sale at an outdoor event

4 women watching a performance on an outdoor stage, three are wearing head scarves, and two are laughing

below: Young artist at work at Yonge & Dundas.

a young black boy sits on a chair at Yonge and Dundas and paints small pictures while people stop to watch him

below: Adelaide Street was blocked between Yonge and Bay all weekend for a film shoot involving a large number of police cars, police officers, and dummies that look amazingly like real police officers.

part of a film set on Adelaide, a red pick up truck with propane tanks in the back, with another tank wired to the back of a white panel truck

below: When the Netflix series ‘Zeus’ comes out, you can play spot the Toronto locations!

looking through the window of a restaurant with two empty tables, to a scene where a film set is setting up to shoot a scene involving exploding buses and police cars

blurry picture of peoples' legs and feet and shoes as they walk on a sidewalk

below: In the Allan Lampert Gallery at Brookfield Place is an art installation “Into the Clouds”, four large, happy inflatable clouds created by ‘Friends with You’, a Los Angeles based group.   They bring a positive message of light, love and happiness.

art installation in Brookfield Place of 4 large white clouds, three of which have happy faces on them, suspended from the ceiling over the escalator from the lower level,

below: In front of the RBC building at the corner of Front & Bay.

three people in front of the R B C building on Front St.., with its gold coloured reflective windows, An Asian couple stopped to look up and a black woman taking a picture, reflections of other buildings nearby. All people are wearing shorts

below: Relief sculpture on an exterior wall of the Scotiabank Arena (formerly ACC).  A series of these sculptures were made by Louis Temporale Sr. in 1938-39 on what was then the Toronto Postal Delivery Building.

relief sculpture in concrete on exterior of wall, cavemen scene, with palm trees, three people dressed in animal skins. One is cooking - stirring with a stick in a large pot over a fire, one is standing and shouting with hands cupped around his mouth. A ladder made of wood pieces lashed together leans against a rock

below: At the foot of Bay Street, a TTC bus stops beside the Westin conference centre.  The top part of the concrete building is covered by a large photographic art installation – “Milky Way Smiling” by Elizabeth Zvonar.

a red and white TTC bus stops beside a concrete building with a very large photograph pubic art installation on the upper part of the building,

below: Sitting on Jack Layton’s shoulders

a boy in an orange T-shirt, grey shorts, and black crocs sits on the shoulders of Jack Layton sculpture by the ferry terminal, holding onto Layton's head, and smiling at the camera

below: Broken. A gigantic bubble.

a young boy breaks a very large bubble that a man has made, outdoors

below: An oversized picnic table

a group of people sit on an oversized picnic table painted in camo colours in a park

below: 25 figures in bright orange clasping onto black inner tubes – an art installation by Ann Hirsch and Jeremy Angier call SOS (Safety Orange Swimmers)

two small boats on Lake Ontario, Toronto harbour, pass by the art installation S O S or Safety Orange Swimmers

below: Ahoy matey!  We be rainbow pirates!

a pretend pirate ship, as a harbour cruise boat passes by the public art installation, SOS, or Safety Orange Swimmers

below: The spotlight seems to shine on a sleeping body.  The location is Harbour Square Park inside the large concrete sphere that is “Sundial Folly”  created by John Fung and Paul Figueiredo and installed in 1995.  Whether it’s because of high water levels, or for other reasons, access to the interior of the structure is closed to the public. 

a person is asleep, on back, under a maroon sleeping bag, inside a spherical art installation with a slit in it that lets in light such that sleeper is spotlit

waterfront beside Harbour Square Park, walkway, trees, and boats

below: Queens Quay at the foot of Yonge Street is not my favorite intersection.  It’s not uncommon for cyclists to not realize that there is a red light and for pedestrians not to realize that just because they have a walk signal doesn’t mean that there won’t be a bicycle whizzing past.

woman on a bike cycles through a red light at Yonge and Queens Quay

below:  … and that shape on the sidewalk across the street? That is “Between the Eyes” by Anita Windisman.

cars, cyclists, and pedestrians at an intersection

below: Future buskers

two young girls pretending to make music with large plastic inflatable guitars while a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair look on.

below: The public art at Pier 27 condos on Queens Quay East lies in an elevated garden between two condo buildings. This sculpture is the work of American artist Alice Aycock and it consists of a whirlwind (or tornado) form and what looks like whorls of paper.   Litter blowing from the lake?  It’s title is “A Series of Whirlpool Field Manoeuvres for Pier 27”.

a long white sculpture in a garden in front of a condo

part of a large sculpture, sheets of white material curve and join together like the shape of a rose

white sculpture that looks like a very large whirlwind or tornado in front of a condo building

below: Basketball players on the Esplanade.

a group of boys playing basketball on a court that has a mural of two hands forming a heart shape with their hands, the heart is under the basket, mural is on wall

Open streets on Yonge and Bloor.

Posted: September 19, 2018 in events, people
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two young women holding signs that say, Love Open Streets, prove it. #openstreetsto

Open Streets – the second, and final, Open Streets for 2018 was held last Sunday.   Large sections of Bloor and Yonge Streets downtown were closed to traffic leaving lots of room for cyclists, pedestrians and a number of activities.

below: Axe Capoeira

a man is flipping upside down in front of an audience on the sidewalk

below: Mayada’s Belly Dance at Yonge & Bloor

the intersection of Yonge and Bloor at Open Streets, belly dancers performing for an audience, Nordstroms Rack store in the background

below: And other dancing in the street too – or rather, a very active fitness session!

four young people dancing in the street, two male and two female.

below: It looks like animals can dance too… this dog seems to be having a great time!

people in life size animal costumes including heads, dance along in a fitness session on Yonge street during Open Streets

below: Little drummer boy on a fancy Home Depot drum set!

a young boy uses wooden drum sticks to bang on upturned orange plastic buckets from Home Depot, outside, activity at Open Streets

looking east on Bloor past the Royal Ontario Museum, no traffic, for Open Streets, some cyclists, tall buildings in the background

below: Decorating bikes and scooters

close up of hands decorating a scooter with flowers and foam shapes

below: Sharing a hammock in the middle of Yonge Street.

a young couple share a hammock strung between two trees on a diving strip own the middle of Yonge Street, their bikes are parked beside the hammock

a woman with flowers in hair in profile

below: Trumpet lessons

a man teaches a boy to blow a trombone, outdoors, activity on the sidewalk during Open Streets

a couple cycles together up Yonge street, on rented Bixi bikes, holding hands

below: Yoga in the park

doing yoga on grass laid down on the street, Bloor Street, temporary park for Open Streets

below: And for those who were looking for something less active…

a man has fallen asleep on the grass beside the OPen Streets Park sign,

below:  Yonge Street was also on the route of the 2018 Toronto AIDS walk

a policeman on a bike leads an AIDS walk up Yonge Street, people holding a banner follow him and then many people wearing red T-shirts

people wearing red T-shirts and carrying signs, walking in a walk to raise funds and awareness for AIDS, on Yonge Street.

below: A Lamborghini.  0 to 60 in how many seconds?

turquoise Lamburghini bike locked along with other bikes

two women sitting on the steps of a building having a discussion, a yellow bike is in the foreground

two women walk with their young children, strollers, down Yonge Street during OPen Streets, downtown Toronto in the background

it rained last night

Posted: October 24, 2017 in people, reflections, transportation
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people walking past a window, dark outside, reflections of the traffic in the window

It was a rainy commute home for many people last night.  Not too miserable though, just enough drizzle to bring out a few umbrellas and create some wonderful reflections to play with.

woman with umbrella in the foreground, traffic on a rainy night in the background

two white cars in front of a stopped streetcar, 514 Cherry, new streetcar, in front of the Elephant and Castle bar on King Street, people sitting on the streetcar are visible, dark outside, wet and rainy evening

city street on a rainy night, pedestrians on the sidewalk, traffic, trees with autumn foilage, dark blue sky, lights in highrises

lights reflecting on a wet street, crosswalk

refugees outside the Italian Consulate

Posted: May 7, 2016 in events
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Refugees in a State Apartment, Jens Ullrich,
Photo exhibit, on a fence outside the Italian Consulate, Dundas West at Beverley.

Part of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival

photos mounted along the exterior of a wrought iron fence around the Italian Consulate, right beside the sidewalk. The consulate is on old brick house (mansion) from the 1800's - 3 of the photographs, people walking past

Ullrich has taken found black and white photographs of the interior of a large home near Bremen Germany.  The photos were taken in the late 1920’s.    Each photograph is of a different room in the villa and to each picture Ullrich has added  one person.   If you knew nothing about the series, you wouldn’t know that the subjects were refugees.

In each photomontage, singular individuals are depicted—usually with their faces hidden from the camera—within empty yet elaborately fashioned spaces that emphasize their solitude and unstable status. “

photos mounted along the exterior of a wrought iron fence around the Italian Consulate, right beside the sidewalk. The consulate is on old brick house (mansion) from the 1800's - phot by Jens Ullrich of a woman refugee with her face obscured by clothing, sitting on a chair in the bathroom of a large bathroom. also a photo of a male refugee in another room, looking in a large mirror

One of the concepts behind this series of images was the desire to

respectfully capture the disparate emotions of these individuals and their precarious situations.”

photos mounted along the exterior of a wrought iron fence around the Italian Consulate, right beside the sidewalk. The consulate is on old brick house (mansion) from the 1800's - as seen from across the street with pedestrians walking past and cars driving past

photos mounted along the exterior of a wrought iron fence around the Italian Consulate, right beside the sidewalk. The consulate is on old brick house (mansion) from the 1800's - the photos are of refugees that have been photoshopped into old photos of the interior of the apartment of a wealthy person from the 1920's
#CONTACT16

playing in the streets

Posted: August 16, 2015 in events
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Open Streets,
Yonge and Bloor Streets,
Sunday 16th August 2015

 

looking south on Yonge St. from Bloor street on a morning when no cars allowed. There are people walking on the street. There are also two kids with pink balloons.

Two men wearing red T shirts are riding their bikes on Yonge street, passing a woman who is using chalk to draw a floor on the street

A young boy is playing with a hula hoop in front of a sign that says Give It a Try

below: Slow bike race

A man is riding his bike as slowly as possible and still stay within a narrow path as part of a slow bike race. Other people are standing beside their bikes and watching him

A man is skateboarding on the street

A group of adults and kids are doing the limbo with a long rope on the street on a day when the road is closed to traffic.

A couple is pushing a stroller up Yonge St. past some of the stores. No cars on the street

A few people walk on the streets, two bikes also, the bikes have pink balloons attached to them, they are on Yonge Street, just south of Bloor in front of the construction on the west side of Yonge, the lower storey of old brick stores is boarded up, the upper storeys are still visible

A young man is standing in a doorway beside a hair and nails shop on Yonge Street.

Two women are jogging, and other people are walking, on Yonge street on a Sunday morning at Open Streets Toronto so there is no traffic.

#OpenStreetsTO

kissing in traffic

Posted: July 26, 2015 in events, locations, people
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The intersection of Yonge and Dundas as a location for a few wedding pictures!

A quick google search shows that it’s not the first time a couple has chosen this location to shoot a few wedding pictures but it’s the first time that I have encountered it!   Yesterday afternoon….

The bridegroom in his black suit dips the bride in her white wedding dress in the middle of a pedestrian crossing across Yonge St. at Dundas in TOronto.
A bride and groom are standing on the corner of Yonge and Dundas streets in Toronto. They are talking to a woman in a white dress who is organizing the wedding photo shoot.

A bride is standing in the middle of an intersection in downtown Toronto, wearing a long white wedding dress, she has her arm up and is beckoning to the groom.

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