Posts Tagged ‘people’

long awaited ride to Kennedy

Posted: April 22, 2026 in construction, public art, transportation
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As everyone knows, the Eglinton LRT took FOREVER to plan, build, and test. Way back in June 2021, I posted about going to Kennedy and Eglinton to see the first LRT trains being tested (On a mission to Kennedy station). Little did we know then that it would be almost five years later before the trains came into service.

little brown dog sitting in an Eglinton LRT seat

below: Some of the stations have artwork (six of them I think). This is the glass and mirror installation at Eglinton, “Light from Within” by Louise Witthöft & Rodney Latourelle  (Witthöft Latourelle)

man going down escalator at Eglinton station, wall in front of him has artwork made of pieces of glass and mirror that look llke something has smashed through the center of a mirror or window.

below: There is also some colour at Don Valley station (formerly known as the Science Centre).   “Total Luna Eclipse” by Sarah Morris is a series of circles and overlapping circles in bright colours.

Don Valley LRT station looking down to track level from above

below: This is the interior of the concourse level on one of the subway stations along the Eglinton line. I am not sure which one it is because they all look the same. White everywhere, with an elevator in the middle.

interior of Eglinton LRT subway station, upper level, with elevator inthe middle, white floor, white walls, and white ceiling

below: Waiting on the platform at Don Valley, the last underground station before the tracks surface on their way eastward towards Kennedy.

a man stands on the platform at Don Valley station waiting for an Eglinton LRT train

people sitting on an Eglinton LRT train, one is on her phone,

looking out the window of a streetcar on Eglinton at Bermondsey, Esso gas station and circle K store, gas at over 1.60 per litre

factory in the distance, vacant ground in foreground

black metal bench beside sidewalk on Eglinton Ave., with Hakimi Labovic station behind

below: My apologies Scarborough, but you are rather dull to look at from this angle….

below: But most of us don’t ride transit for the scenery

teenage girls playing games with phone onthe streetcar

a woman wearing a toque, sitting on streetcar with a large walmart bag beside her

Eglinton LRT train at station

Nothing really exciting but there is definitely a sense of relief that it’s finally open.  It took too long and cost too much but it’s running….

Eglinton LRT train about to enter a station, above ground, in Scarbrough

Eastbound Eglinton LRT train station in Scarborough, portion of line where tracks are above ground, Scarborough, rainy day, waiting for he streetcar

In a lot of ways, the tracks running down the middle of Eglinton Avenue create a wall, especially for pedestrians.  For better or worse though, this section of Eglinton has never been pedestrian friendly.  It has been designed for cars.  And that’s probably not going to change in the near future.

sin saying stay off tracks in english and in french, with a train passing behind the sign

Eglinton LRT train in a station, above ground, Scarborough

traffic lights, mirrors, traffic, along eglinton avenue in scarborough

But the coming of the LRT will affect development along Eglinton (or rather, has already started to affect development).

digger and construction equipment outside a 4 storey brick apartment building, rainy day, trees in front of building

below: 1900 Eglinton East – From shopping center with lots of parking, to four mixed use buildings up to 48 storeys high.  Will the slow down in the condo market affect this?   If you are interested in this, it is application number 19208733ESC21OZ and the link takes you to the relevant City of Toronto webpage (Good luck!).

blue and white city of toronto redevelopment notice on eglinton avenue in scarborough

below: At 1911 and 1921, out with the old and in with 8 buildings, 4 towers, a park, and 2 new streets.  This is almost  right across the street from the picture above  (between Pharmacy and Warden).  The application wasn’t completed until Nov 2025 so not much is going to happen here for a long time yet.

redevelpoment notice at 1911 elginton east

Redevelopment in Toronto is slow.  This plaza (strip mall) at Kennedy and Eglinton was already boarded up in 2021.  It looks a little scruffier and a little rougher now but otherwise, not much has changed in five years.

boarded up and tagged over, old lowrise strip mall at Kennedy and Eglinton Adult store, Eglinton Medical supply, and Hair Garden, cracked pavement in front,

Construction along Eglinton East continues as Metrolinx builds the Scarborough Subway extension.  This section of subway is an extension of the Bloor-Danforth line and will run from Kennedy station, east along Eglinton past Brimley before turning north.  It ends at Sheppard and McCowan.  Back in 2023 I visited that intersection and I posted some photos – Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard

below: Eglinton at Midland, looking northeast (on a rainy day).

looking northeast along eglinton ave at midland avenue, rainy day, apartment building on corner, bus, traffic

constant companions

Posted: April 21, 2026 in people
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Maybe it’s like shooting fish in a barrel – taking pictures of people on their phones as they are out and about in the city….  sometimes by themselves and sometimes with friends and family.  But always with a phone in their hand.   Ubiquitous.  Addictive.  Constant.  So for the past few months I have been taking a look at our relationship with those phones (and our surroundings) while we are out in public.  It’s still a work in progress and yes, some photos are not as interesting as the others.   This is a few of what I have so far…..

man wearing blue jays, baseball team, theme jacket, while looking at his phone, sitting in TTC subway car

man on phone, sitting on bench at art gallery of ontario, while others around him are looking at pictures on the walls

woman on phone, standing, leaning against display of fruits and vegetables for sale, St. Lawrence market, big bucket full of sunflowers by her feet

woman sitting in aroma coffee shop

man wearing red shirt and black pants, talking on phone, walking past a very orange building with two tall vertical windows

three people sitting around a small table in a coffee shop, on their phones

teenage girls playing games with phone on the streetcar

 

man at table with phone, inside at Starbucks, beside large window, another man with a leaf blower is working outside

men riding on TTC bus, on phones

workmen at construction site, one is on his phone

below: A book!

women riding on subway, one is reading a book and the other is on her phone

 

below: “Live and let live”

snow day scenery!

Posted: January 31, 2026 in alleys, nature, people
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Subtitle: Take the Long Way Home

three cars in a driveway beside a house, all cars are covered with snow

The snow started falling on Sunday morning and it just kept on coming.   In the end, there was a record amount of snow that fell in most parts of the city with a reported 46 cm at Pearson Airport and 56cm downtown.   Luckily Monday was clearer and the city had a chance to begin to shovel out.

Not surprisingly, there were TTC problems especially on the subway.

below: Waiting for a shuttle bus because there was no subway between Eglinton and Bloor.  Too any people and not enough buses!

winter day, people on sidewalk waiting for TTC shuttle bus on Yonge Street, cold, snowing, hats and scarves

So – Change of plan, back into Eglinton station to wait for a bus – let’s try heading west instead of south!

a man waits for a bus at Eglinton TTC subway station, outdoor bus bays,

vacant lot downtown, covered with snow, surrounded by fence with no trespassing sign, taller building in the background

lowrise stores on Eglinton, at corner, there is a mural on the side of the building, trees on a rock

Eglinton West station is now called Cedarvale.  There is a new subway entrance – actually it’s probably at least a couple of years old now but it’s never been used.  It was built for the new Eglinton Crosstown LRT that MIGHT open in February.  Rumour says opening 8th February, counter-rumour says that’s not true….

new Cedarvale subway entrance, glass, in winter

The old round concrete station is still in operation.

old original round low concrete building that is Cedarvale subway entrance

Interior shot – boring brown tiles on the wall, very 1970s concrete ceiling, and no people headed down to subway level…..

interior of Cedarvale subway station, concrete, stairs to lower level, glass walls on upper level, patterened concrete ceiling

… because there is also no subway here either!   This is the view northward up the Allen Road.  There are not a lot of cars on the road.  The center section, i.e. the train tracks, are still covered with snow.

looking north up Allen Road from Eglinton, winter, snow covered, very littl traffic, highrise buildings on the west side the the Allen

… So back on the bus to go south again!   At least I didn’t have a deadline to meet or an appointment to get too.  I was just looking for interesting snow pics.   Schools were closed and many people were working from home so there weren’t a lot of other people traveling with me.   Still, I am sure that there were many people who had a frustrating time getting around the city on Monday.

back of man sitting on a TTC bus, black hat and purple jacket.

What follows are some of the pictures that I took as I explored a few parts of the city.

below: Reggae Lane (near Eglinton West and Oakwood)

Reggae Lane from Oakwood side in winter, covered with snow

below: Looking east on St. Clair West at Oakwood.

St Clair west, looking east from Oakwood, winter, snowy

below: Not the best day for the Take-out Window!

snow bank in front of Tim Hortons take out window, also a Canada Post mailbox in the snow

below: Buried?!

a black glove is on top of an orange cone in a snow bank, looks like an arm reaching up out of the snow

below: Shoveling out – a scene repeated over and over again across the city.

a man shovels a snowy alley, between two stores

below: Buried trash

sidewalk plastic garbage bin in a snow bank

below: No school!  East Lynn Park was busy though…

people with sleds and inner tubes and other sliding devices on snow covered hill at East Lynn Park, adults and kids

below: And after sledding, what better than a visit to the local coffee shop….

a group of kids with inner tubes and sleds, walk on sidewalk

below: Others were out looking for employment opportunities….

girls in winter outerwear, and carrying shovels, walking on snow covered widewalk

man shoveling snow as people walk past, Danforth

people walking on sidewalk, snow banks beside them

kids on a sled being pulled along sidewalk

below: Plowed bike lanes!

below: But this bike isn’t going anywhere!

bike buried in snow

below: More Love (and orange snowflakes) at 981

house, in winter, large numbers on front door, 981, also a sign that says more love,

car parked on snow covered street, evergreens, as well as large bare trees, some houses,

city side street after snow storm, plowed sidewalk, cars covered with snow, snow banks

snowy toronto street, after the snow storm, winter,

below: Tana Printing and Toronto Coin Laundry, Oakwood Ave

brick store fronts, Tana Printing, and Toronto Coin Laundry, on Oakwood Ave

below: Peter’s Variety and the Primrose Bagel Company (with smoked fish and soups too!).

Peter's Variety store on Oakwood, beside a bagel store, winter, lots of snow

church, on snowy street, with cars parked but under snow cover, a woman walks past

Done Xing Market with a large painting on the side of the building which is an ad for Alberta Veterinary Services, painting of a large ginger cat, winter day, snow banks,

below: When you spend time on buses and in bus shelters you encounter some strange things, like this paper “What is the Mark of the Beast? Central bank digital currency payment through face or hand system to be implemented by Antichrist during Tribulation period.”  Do you feel more informed now?  A little wiser even?

small poster pasted to side of bus shelter with lots of words, titled What is the mark of the beast

below: Thank you to all the TTC bus drivers that kept the city moving that day!  By afternoon those buses were looking a little dirty to say the least….

people entering the back door of a very dirty mud and slush covered bus

interior of bus, winter day, wet floor with reflected light

Graffiti Alley – first visit of 2026

Posted: January 13, 2026 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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circular, concentric, calligraphy, stylized, street art painting with a profile of a person with eyes closed

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.

two murals, street art painting, graffiti alley, blue bird with open wins, but feet on pine branch, in background is a squat heavy set black and white dog mural

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

portrait of zelensky, ukrainian leader president, in blue and yellow, street art mural

below: Daisy, in rabbit ears

word daisy written on arm of girl in street art painting, graffiti alley, she has black 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.

graffiti alley, portraits on broken skateboard,

below:  Portrait by Bunso

black and white portrait, street art mural, graffiti alley, man in white t shirt and black cap, smiling,

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

black and white portrait of a man

below: In memory of Andre Campbell

blue trash bins and black garbage bags piled in front of street art mural, black and white portrait of a man with short dark hair and glasses, with text that says in memory of Andre Campbell

below:  Behind the Queen Street stores

parking areas and back yards of stores on Queen street, graffiti alley view, three storeys, with balconies across the back street art and graffiti on fences

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

tiger and dragon street art mural on hoardings in an alley in Toronto

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!

words on sidewalk that say find peace in your chaos, below a painting of a pink monster head with white eyes and big white teeth

squished face, monstrous, big eyes with orange pupils, big white teeth with gums bleeding above one tooth

monster faces, graffiti alley, street art, with snowman underneath

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

monster faces, graffiti alley, street art, big teeth, with a head shaped like a television screen

tree in front, looking across alley to side of building, completely covered in street art painting, graffiti alley

street art painting, graffiti alley, purple face, blue hands with thumbs up

street art painting, graffiti alley

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

street art mural in graffiti alley with green slime creature from Ghostbusters movie in center

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.

two garage door murals in graffiti alley

below:  Not all cats are cute?

ugly cat, yellow, with bulging green eyes, street art mural, with two monkey faces, graffiti alley

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

street art painting by Monk Yi, woman holding a blue fan, with her hair tied up and two little lanterns in her hair, big gold ear rings.

street art painting, graffiti alley, large red and yellow daisy by catchoo, wad of money bills with arms and legs and a face too

street art painting, graffiti alley, on a door, woman with black hair, red lips, and red clothing that looks a lit like flames, red hot

street art painting, graffiti alley, pink tiger, with pink hearts

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

purple naked person climbing a bunch of green onions a light blue duck with yellow beak that is diving downwards, street art painting by mixt paintz

below: There’s that snowman again, but on a different wall and surrounded by graffiti

a little white snowman with carrot nose and black buttons, street art painting on a wall covered with graffiti, graffiti alley

below: Ninos Libres, by Kalaruno

street art portrait of a child by Kalaruno, ninos libres

below:  Another Kalaruno painting

lumber and trash in front of a mural in graffiti alley, grey squarish character with human face by Kalaruno

below: At least it’s a step up from tagging…..

red, black, and white mural in graffiti alley

below: A green finger on the trigger.

side by side, two smaller street art painting, graffiti alley, on left is green hand and pink spray paint can while on right is a stupid round face with big oval teeth

behind store, graffiti alley view, pile of empty boxes and trash at bottom of stairs, with doors with street art in orange and blue

graffiti and street art under stairs, green turtle, mushrooms

below: Blue.  And strange looking.  He’s hanging out in the doorway.

street art painting, graffiti alley, in doorway, blue faced weird looking man

below: An introspective dragon

a street art painting of a greenish grey dragon with the word introspection in orange across its body

 

street art in graffiti alley

below: And last, many thanks to the usual Wednesday Gang!

people walking down a wet alley, puddles and reflections on the pavement, of the street art and graffiti on the surrounding walls

 

south from Liberty Village

Posted: October 26, 2025 in history, locations, old buildings, public art, transportation
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Liberty Village is the neighbourhood that is south of King Street, west of Strachan, and east of Dufferin. It’s southern boundary is a combination of the Gardiner Expressway and the railway tracks (CN, VIA, and GO)

a man holds a cup of coffee as he walks past a road sign with bump symbol, and a utility pole wrapped in red and white liberty village design

below: A temporary park has taken over a corner of the parking lot on Hanna.

artificial grass covering ground in new temporary park in Liberty Village, the word liberty in black on the green grass

below: The sign says Ontario Place straight ahead.

below: Dream Big

large pink mural with black letters that spell dream big

below: Allan Lamport stadium concrete

exterior side walls of Allan Lamport stadium, , concrete, peaks in roof make triangle shadows

below: Looking north from the goalposts in the stadium.

view across the field of Allan Lamport stadium, looking north to wall of condo towers

interior, seating, rows of concrete, sections 22 and 24 of Allan Lamport stadium,

triangular roofline of allan lamport stadium

lights reflected in glass windows, stadium lights on blue sky 

below: Once it was a carpet factory –  The Toronto Carpet Factory was spread over 8 brick buildings on a 4 acre site. It was built between 1899 and 1920.  The company was established by F. Barry Hayes in 1891 and was originally at Jarvis and Esplanade.  At the end of WW1, 1250 people were employed here.  The factory remained in production until 1979, although the number of carpets that were made annually was greatly reduced by the end.

part of old carpet factory, a brick building

part of old carpet factory, exterior,

part of old carpet factory, exterior

part of old carpet factory, exterior

below: Streetcars waiting at Dufferin Loop, Dufferin south of King.

TTC streetcars waiting at Dufferin loop at the bottom of Dufferin street

below: View from the bridge at the south end of Dufferin looking west along the Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga.

looking west from bridge over Gardiner Expressway towards Etobicoke and Mississauga

below: Eastern view

bridge over the Gardiner at northwest corner of CNE Grounds

a woman dressed in black walks a small white dog over a metal bridge

below: The arch marks the Dufferin Gate, the west entrance to the Exhibition Grounds.

two men walking across bridge by dufferin gate at the exhibition grounds

Part way between Dufferin and Strachan is Exhibition GO station.  The station has been designed to provide access from both sides of the tracks which in turn offers another walking route south from Liberty Village.    The area north of the tracks is a bit of a mess as the new Ontario Line will terminate at Exhibition and the completion of that project is still a few years away.

below: The pedestrian tunnel under the tracks.

interior, people walking through tunnel, lights, unfocused, fuzzy image

double decker green and white GO train at Exhibition station, wtih workman in orange work uniform waiting to get on train.

below:  Looking north under the Gardiner – Liberty Village provides that background in this image.

construction near railway tracks south of Liberty Village, near Exhibition station, under the Gardiner Expressway

workmen with digger excavator on construction site for ontario line subway

below: More Ontario Line construction as seen from Platform 4 at Exhibition station

ontario line construction site just north of Exhibition station, in liberty village

below: South end of BMO Field, looking east towards downtown and the CN Tower.

on Exhibition grounds, south end of BMO field, looking east towards CN Tower and downtown Toronto

below: BMO Field is home to both the Toronto Argonauts (CFL, football) and the Toronto FC (MLS – Major League Soccer). It has just undergone upgrades (think $$$) to make it ready to host some of the FIFA World Cup soccer/football games in mid 2026.

food building in background, as is CN Tower, entrance to construction site for renovations of BMO Field soccer
red seats that have been removed from BMO stadium, or are awaiting being added. stored outside

below: Some of the lights seen at the Exhibition – with the CN Tower in the distance.

lights and lamp posts at CNE, Exhibition, with CN Tower in the distance

below: rooftops

below:  One of the latest public art addition to the Exhibition Grounds is “Mino Bimaadiziwin”, an Anishinaabemowin phrase that translates to “Good Life”. The mural was developed in partnership with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation 50-meter-long artwork honors Indigenous history and culture and was unveiled in October 2024.
The installation is part of a plan to separate Exhibition Place from the Gardiner Expressway.

 

blue metal sculpture, behind 3 large trees, people walking past in silhouette

art installation at exhibition graounds,

below:  The McGillivray Fountain was designed by Canadian sculptor Gerald Gladstone and donated to Exhibition Place in 1968 by Gordon B. McGillivray in honor of his father, John A. McGillivray.

two women walking past fountain at the CNE

below: The Scadding cabin was originally built in 1794 by John Scadding on land that he owned east of the Don River.  He owned more than 200 acres and his property stretched from Lake Ontario to what is now the Danforth.  The next owner of the property used the cabin as an out-building.  In 1879 it was donated to the York Pioneer and Historical Society who arranged to have it moved close to its present site to celebrate the opening of the Industrial Exhibition (now the CNE).

below: The title printed on this image is “Log Cabins of the York Pioneers,Exhibition Grounds Toronto 1880.  Lithographed and printed at the Exhibition Building, Rolph, Smith & Co. Toronto”.  The cabin on the left is labelled Simcoe 1794 (i.e. the Scadding cabin) and the other is labelled York Pioneers, Lorne 1879.

old black and white photo of a drawing of two cabins, at an exhibition, in 1880

below: Shrine Peace Memorial

angel sculpture at shrine peace memorial

shrine peace memorial on exhibition grounds

below: There is a collection of twenty small sculptures representing Gods, heroes, and monsters of Greek mythology  in what is called the Garden of the Greek Gods.  They were created by Elford Bradley Cox (1914-2003) in the 1960s.

one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds

below: Hercules is the tallest of the sculptures.

one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds, back of naked man, with windmill in the background
one of the greek gods sculptures at exhibition grounds, bunch of grapes

Immediately south of the Exhibition Grounds is/was Ontario Place.  This pile of rubble is all that remains of what was on West Island – mostly the decaying amusement/theme park that hasn’t been in operation for years (death by neglect).

pile of rubble, remnants of demolition, on west island, part of Ontario Place, on Lake Ontario, as seen from the Exhibition Grounds

west island of ontario place after having been cleared of everything

below: The round Cinesphere is still there but everything west of it is gone.  Once it was the pride of Ontario – built in response to Montreal’s Expo ’67 – but slowly over the years many of its features have been altered or removed (Children’s Village, the Forum with its free concerts, and more).   Having said that, other sections have been renovated – Trillium Park on the east end for example.  I didn’t get that far on this walk but you can some of it in Ontario Place 2.0 from 2017.

what remains of ontario place

ontario place under renovation, exterior stair with workmen on it ontario place under renovation, digger working behind hoardings

graffiti on a metal railing near Lake Ontario

graffiti on a metal railing near Lake Ontario

two men stand beside street art painting at south liberty trail

market day

Posted: August 14, 2025 in general Toronto
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A few scenes from the St. Lawrence Market on a busy summer afternoon

red, yellow, and orange cherry tomatoes, grown in Ontario, for sale, also some mangos and bananas, saint lawrence market

bakery and sandwich counters at saint lawrence market - parmigiana on a country bun, or a pea meal bacon sandwich,

a woman peers over the top of a display case full of cakes and pastries as two other women decide what to buy

piles of pasta in different shapes, for sale, saint lawrence market

crab legs and salmon pieces for sale at st lawrence market

baskets of peaches, baskets of strawberries and little boxes of blueberries

people waiting for food at Yianni's deli counter in st lawrence market

pedestrians on market street outside st lawrence market

bunches of asparagus for sale, 2 for seven dollars

a woman in produce, fruit, section of st. lawrence market, looking at small baskets of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries,

a man in jeans and blue shirt, holding red shopping bag, is looking at a display case full of different kids of cheese

display case full of raw fish for sale, salmon, shrimp, and others, at fishmonger, st. lawrence market

a man reaches out to serve prepared food, st. lawrence market

different kinds of kebabs, uncooked, for sale at st. lawrence market, including mango salmon kebabs

bright yellow teddybear sunflowers for sale, in a bright green plastic bucket

a boy in a T shirt with bright colours and busy patterns, holds a drink, behind him is young man carrying containers of take out food, St. Lawrence market

St. Lawrence market man in shorts and sandals buying food from bakery, glass cases with other baked goods on display in the picture as well

St. Lawrence market, open top fridge for cheese, mostly brie cut in wedges, and wrapped in plastic, for sale

group of older people standing outside st lawrence market on a summer afternoon

Ontario Line – north end of Pape

Posted: June 22, 2025 in construction, locations, stores, transportation
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On a hillside along the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), there is a large construction project underway.  This is where the new Ontario Line subway will go underground after crossing the DVP by bridge.

construction site at north end of Pape, on hill overlooking Don Valley Parkway, workman leaning on fence, new entrance to Ontario Line being built here

From this angle it’s difficult to see the work that has been done on the north side of the DVP but the ground has been cleared for construction of the support pillars for the large bridge that will take the LRT from Don Mills Road to this point at the top of Pape.

looking across the DVP from north of Pape

It has altered the quiet East York neighbourhood at the north end of Pape.

sidewalk closed, cross left, new stop sign, at Minton Ave., make way for Ontario Line construction

top of Pape Ave., now a construction site

houses, red brick, two storey, on one side of the street, hoardings for construction on the other side

Ontario Line construction has also affected Pape Avenue.  Here at Cosburn, a long stretch of what used to be stores and restaurants are now behind plywood hoardings.   The main entrance to the station will be on the northwest corner of Pape and Cosburn.  The final decision on the look of the station is not yet made (according to the Metrolinx website) but at least some of the renderings show that Infrastructure Ontario is involved and maybe the site will include other uses such as housing or offices.

an older woman pushes her shopping under a passageway alonside plywood construction hoardings. Tops of old buildings about to be demolished can be seen on top

Demolition has started but it looks like this project is going to take a while.   The subway is going to run just west of Pape, under these buildings.  Construction will kill (has killed?) street life but traffic shouldn’t be affected as much.  Someone somewhere made that decision.

demolition of an old building, behind green hoardings

woman with a cane and pulling a shopping cart, walks past a construction site with green hoardings

below:  Some of the buildings from the back side, behind the plywood

back of buildings, alley view, empty and waiting for demolition, ontario line work, on pape,

 

big crane, construction site, apartment buildings in the background

below: There is a large Coca-Cola advert on the side of the building that is about to be demolished.
coca cola ghost sign on the side of a building about to be demolished

utility pole wrapped with pape village sign in red, beside plywood hoardings, mcdonalds in the background

below: Bethany Baptist Church

bethany baptist church on pape ave

looking west on cosburn at pape, construction of new subway station

looking west on cosburn at pape, construction of new subway station, with two red benches in the foreground

three young men sitting outside a coffee shop on pape avenue

payday loans, signs all over building on pape
below: There are little semi circular “ears” at the top of this building.  I doubt that they had a function but along with the 3-D pattern across the top of the building, it adds a little bit of interest to the street scene.

row of brick stores on pape including 1000 variety

below: Cat and dog at Floyd … while the crossing guard takes a break.

intersection of Pape and Flloyd, with cutout images of cat and dog high up on the brick wall of the nearest building, crossing guard is sitting on the bench

mural on the side of El Greco restaurant, a woman drinking a large mug of coffee

street art mural of an ancient Asian warrior

ghost sign on brick wall, auto mechanic ad,

large red vinyl arm chair with old fashioned hair dryer

Back in November 2024, I posted some photos of the changes around Pape station (at Danforth).  I ended that post just north of Danforth with the comment, “There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day.”  I guess that you could say that now is that day.

below: The top sticker is for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra and on the bottom it’s something about Kirby and Zaku and if you are into such things you might understand the reference.

graffiti stickers on a pole, including one for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra

graffiti stickers, catchoo and trp613

some Parkdale doors and windows

Posted: March 31, 2025 in doors, stores, windows and walls
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below: Have a seat!  Let me show you a few interesting and colourful doors and windows that I have seen along Queen Street West.

2 wood chairs outside a coffee shop

below: We’re all in this together. Recognize the font? the style?  It’s a throwback to Honest Eds.

sign in window that says we're all in this together

outside wall painted bright blue, window,

below: Passing in front of Bone & Busk store.

Front window with two corsets, one white, and one red, of bone and busk store on queen west

below: Art frames the windows

part of a street art mural that frames the windows in a store, reflections in the window

below: Facial time, with love from Pepe!

old black mailbox on a white wall, with poster above showing a woman getting a facial, black scrawl graffiti below the mailbox

below: An abstract painting of a musician in hot reds and oranges covers this door.

dark wood door frame, abstract painting in hot colors, reds, orange, and some yellow, covers most of the door.

below: Welcome, but closed.

metal gate in front of door of store with closed sign, also a sign that says welcome

below: Luigi plays Tetris

in the window of a store, a figurine of Luigi from Mario brothers, with a toy tetris game

below: Grocery Coffee

from across the street, front of Grocery Coffee with a table and two chairs outside

reflection of woman looking at pastries for sale in a bakery window,

two men talking outside a tattoo parlour on Queen West, both wearing toques

below: In a quiet niche, a guitar player finds a place to play.

man plays a guitar in doorway of closed restaurant and cafe, guitar case on ground, pictures in window

a woman walks past Lee's Variety on Queen West, store is painted red, with large window in front,

below: Advertising their wares, phone accessories, backpacks, incense sticks, cat dog food, ice, beer, and key cutting… and many more inside!

window of convenience store, key cutting, with ads on boards outside on sidewalk

below: T.dot Variety

t dot variety store with a tree growing in front of it

below: Gumby lies in the window of Tammy’s wearing white boots and pink thong.  Not the Gumby of your childhood!

rainbow coloured bench in front of Tammys window, Gumby with white boots and pink thong, holding a microphone,

below: Mailboxes and stickers

2 doors on a building, the one on the right is covered with stickers

below: A peachy scene

doorway alcove painted with abstract person's butt in the shape of a peach

green door, with 2 green milk crates sitting on the doorstep

below: Mary stands outside a window of Our Lady of Lebanon Church

part of a dark red brick church, with arched window, white statue of Mary in front of the church

looking in a restaurant window, plastic pink flower, with reflections of street

I have chosen to focus on the content or the character of the windows and doors at street level. There is at least one, and probably more, stories that could be told about the doors and windows of Parkdale from an architectural perspective (commercial, and then residential…). I will leave you with a couple of examples but I will have to save the rest of the subject for another post.

upper level of 2 storey building, brick, with six windows, and pattern of yellow bricks,

toronto city street sign, Queen Street West, Parkdale, showing the upper level of the buildings across the street

Light Years and Modernism

Posted: March 19, 2025 in galleries
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A quick, and very selective, look at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), focusing on two exhibits, “Light Years, the Phil Lind Gift” and “Moments in Modernism”.

below: Rodney Graham, “Media Studies ’77” . This large installation (lit from behind) will bring back memories if you are of a certain age!

below: Welcome to Vancouver

below: A series of images by General Idea (There are actually 4 pieces in this series).  General Idea was a group of 3 Canadian artists, Felix Partz (aka Ronald Gabe), Jorge Zontal (aka Slobodan Saia-Levy) and AA Bronson (aka Michael Tims).  The three men met in Toronto in the late 1960s; their collaborative work then continued until the mid 1990s. They were pioneers in the field of conceptual photography.

below: William Kentridge, “Drawing for Another Country, Flooded Street”, 1994.   Kentridge was born in South Africa in 1955)

below: “River Road” by Canadian photographer Jeff Wall. The photo was taken along the Fraser River in Richmond BC and was taken in 1994.  It is shown here as a transparency over a lightbox so that it is lit from behind.

The “Moments in Modernism” exhibit is a re-working of artworks owned by the AGO.  Some of you may have seen one or two pieces before.

below: “Delta Tau” by Morris Louis, 1960.

below: “Abstraktes Bild”, 1986,  by Gerhard Richter (b. Dresden Germany 1932).

below: I have seen this before (and possibly shown it here?) and I like it as much as ever.  It takes a certain amount of audacity or gumption to create a painting like this. Robert Motherwell painted this – title: “Open No.37A: in Orange”, 1971, charcoal and acrylic.

Robert Motherwell painting, orange, with three thin black lines, like an unfinished square, top open

below: Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), mixed media on panel, 1964 (only part of it is shown).   Rauschenberg made pieces like these that he called ‘combines’ and they were for stage decorations for performances by an experimental dance group (Merce Cunninham Dance Group).  In 1963 they did a world tour  called  “Story”where they made a different ‘combine’ for each performance.  This particular piece was made onstage at London’s Phoenix Theatre in August, 1964.

Robert Rauschenberg, combines, artwork,

The modernism exhibit is more extensive than I have made it seem.  I didn’t take many pictures of pieces that I had seen before which may or may not have been the right call.  Andy Warhol’s large silkscreen image of the 4 identical Elvis Presley’s holding a gun ready to shoot is on display –  the one where two Elvis’s are in bright colours and the other two are in black and white.     You can also see Alex Colville’s “Woman in a Bathtub” if you want (I think that it is the worst of Colville’s otherwise wonderful paintings).   In addition, there are works by Canadian artist Rita Letendre and Norval Morisseau, plus others.

Light Years continues until November 2025,
while Modernism continues until March 2026 (another year)

TTC riders at Runnymede

Posted: December 20, 2024 in public art
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More than three large murals by Elicser Elliott can be seen on some of the interior walls of Runnymede subway station.  Together, they form “Anonymous Somebody”

Elicser Elliot murals on walls of Runnymede subway station, riders on TTC subway train, some sitting, some standing and holding onto poles

They date from 2019 and are part of the TTC Public Art Program.

a couple hugging, in a mural on walls of Runnymede subway station, also a person sitting on red bench reading and holding a cup of coffee while waiting for subway train, two people on their phones,

There are a couple that I missed.  Like the ones shown here, they feature a diverse group of people that represent the people who use this Bloor West stop on a daily basis.

Elicser Elliot mural at Runnymede subway station, people walking, men and women, man in blue hoodie, woman holding phone, man in red hat and jacket

murals on walls of Runnymede subway station, riders on TTC subway train, some sitting, some standing and holding onto poles

Thankfully they are more cheerful, more positive, than the images at Union Station!

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