people | as I walk Toronto

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Eglinton LRT to Keelesdale

Posted: September 24, 2026 in locations, stores, transportation
Tags: Eglinton Ave West, escalator, Keele St., Keelesdale station, LRT, Moises Frank, Moorish Science Temple, mosque, mural, people, restaurants, stores, Tinnel's, tracks, trains, York Memorial Collegiate

The western terminus of the Eglinton LRT is Mount Dennis station (at Weston Road).

below: On the concourse level of Mount Dennis station is “Up to This Moment” which is an art installation created by artists Hadley + Maxwell. It is made of words.

below: Phrases like “In one continuous poem”, “When Earth began”, and “In smooth and measured strains” appear here …. Apparently Ovid’s epic poem “Metamorphoses” was the inspiration/source for this installation and it functions “a meditation on creation, destruction, and community renewal”. “Metamorphoses” was written in Latin about 2000 years ago and it chronicles the myths/history of the known world at that time. It is long – there are over 250 myths in 15 books (and almost 12,000 lines of poetry).

below: Waiting for the driver at the end of the line.

below: The first part of the LRT is above ground. Shortly after Mount Dennis, tracks diverges and one set leads to the TTC Maintenance and Service Facility for the Eglinton LRT. After this split, the main line goes underground.

below: Up the escalator at the first station east of Mount Dennis – Keelesdale at Eglinton and Keele.

below: The station entrance on the northeast corner of Keele and Eglinton follows the same architectural style (if you can call it style) as the other stations along that line. York Memorial Collegiate is in the background.

below: Large sections of York Memorial Collegiate suffered extensive damage in a fire back in May 2019. Reconstruction is underway but the school has not reopened yet. Maybe in the spring?

below: They don’t make them like that anymore – York Memorial was built in 1929 in memory of those who died in WW1. A number of additions have been added over the years.

below: “Sharing Stories of Migration” is a mural at Keele and Eglinton by Moises Frank. It shows a West African drummer and educator Saikou Saho, with a student. A Canada goose flies behind them. Those geese are everywhere!

below: It looks like a collage of faded and weathered bits and pieces left over from other projects.

below: Eglinton, looking east to Keele and beyond.

below: Vybes be vibe-ing; Vybes be positive

below: Bright! … red and white tiles

below: Eglinton West gateway marker

below: Northside of Eglinton, looking west towards Keele.

below: Stores and businesses on Eglinton West including the Sun-Light Bakery with it’s Jamaican flag sign, Emeye’s Injera and Mini Mart where you can buy spices and teff flour, and Caribbean Cuisine that announces that it’s jerk chicken is authentic Jamaican.

below: Tinnel’s Jamaican beef patties, Unique Fashion, … and shopping is easy at Easy Shoping Discount,

below: Psychic Sada Guru, Indian spiritual healer and astrologer who is “young, dynamic trusted”.

below: “Se habla Espanol”

below: The Moorish Science Temple of America has a presence on Eglinton West. This religion believes (among other things) that African Americans are descended from the “Moroccan Empire”.

below: More stores. Rose Discount & Variety (Have a KitKat!) and Elegant Spa & Studio.

below: … and restaurants … Madras Curry, an Indian restaurant, as well as JJ’s Fried Chircken, a Korean restaurant

below: Jamaican touches in the window

below: Two flags at the door, Granada and Jamaica

below: This lonely and forlorn looking building sits on the southwest corner of Eglinton and Keele. The City of Toronto purchased this lot back in 2015 for $2.625 million. Eleven years ago they bought it for the 12 parking spaces that it contains, plus potential for future development (source: pdf from city online files). It’s a dismal looking corner.

below: Nothing is safe….. This isn’t on the old TD Canada Trust building in the above photo. It is across Keele Street from it.

below:Lord Help Us beside a Kiss

below: Christmas greetings all year long.

below:Does anyone burn CDs anymore?

below: Jesus House

below:Lester Avenue, north of Eglinton, looking west.

below: A very small house!

below: This garage keeps an eye on the street, 24/7.

below:Masjid El-Noor

below: Linda DeLellis (1964-1996) was a local resident who was an innocent victim of a drug-related shooting; she was standing in her driveway when it happened.

below: Back into the LRT station and it is a LONG WAY DOWN!

below: The austere, barren and boring (but maybe less expensive??) LRT station

play things

Posted: September 18, 2026 in galleries, people
Tags: Claire Greenshaw, Colourful Parachutes, erasing, Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld, Leisure, Meredith Carruthers, people, playing, portraits, power plant, Power Plant Contemporary Art, Rivane Neuenschwander, Robin Rhode, Sassa Linklater, shadows, Susannah Wesley, waves

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery recently had an exhibit, “Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play” (now finished). From the Power Plant website:

“A key theme underlying Colourful Parachutes is the relationship young people have to the future. Many of the works in the exhibition touch on the vital importance of fostering a relationship to the natural world during childhood, the increasing sense of eco-anxiety carried by young people, and how to advocate for child-led environmental activism.”

“The title is borrowed from Ailton Krenak’s book Ideas to Postpone the End of the World (2019), in which the Brazilian Indigenous philosopher and environmental activist suggests using creativity and dreaming to create colourful parachutes that might slow our fall. Krenak asks: “What sort of world are you boxing and wrapping for future generations? You keep talking about another world, but have you asked the generations of tomorrow if the world you’re building is the world they want?”

below: Kids playing in ‘Chrysalis and Butterfly’, an installation by Leisure (aka Meredith Carruthers & Susannah Wesley).

below: Climbing frame that kids were allowed to play on. Created by Sassa Linklater.

below: Part of “A Decision Between Us” by Claire Greenshaw. This started as a large pencil (graphite) drawing of the Athabaska Glacier that covered an entire wall. What you see lying on the floor are partially used erasers. People were invited to erase parts of the picture.

below: This is the top left corner of the drawing where some of the detail of the original still remains.

below: The next few images are from “Dream Lab” by Rivane Neuenschwander which is full of lights and shadows. It wants us to look at a world of dreams – do your dreams tap into your innermost wants and fears? The shapes used to decorate the installation were taken from children’s drawings of their dreams. Some of these silhouette/shapes were available as shadow puppets to play with. Some of the walls were a chalkboard for people to draw on.

below: This is 0ne of the many little ships that were created by Robin Rhode and then silk-screened onto the gallery walls. A group of school kids were then given the opportunity to draw the blue waves.

below: Outside of the Power Plant, in Ontario Square, is this large portrait. Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld (1904-1969) was one of the first Canadian women to compete in the Olympics. In 1928 she won two medals in track and field. Arthritis limited her athletic career; instead she became a journalist at the Globe and Mail where she wrote about women’s sports. This portrait is one in a series called “The 52” as there are 52 Toronto women being featured. It is a Museum of Toronto project. Two other portraits hang near this one (Phyllis Bomberry – softball and Angela James – hockey). All three women helped to transform women’s sports in Canada.

Also outside of the Power Plant (where there used to be a pond) is an area covered in mist. Many places have splash pads where little water fountains erupt out of the ground. Here it is mist, not water. It is still fun to play in and you don’t get as wet!

picture getting old

Posted: September 17, 2026 in galleries
Tags: Dr. Benjamin Spock, Gloria Swanson, history, Image Centre, Lee Friedlander, people, photographs, photography, portraits, Richard Avedon, TMU, TMU Image Centre

This is a blog post about a exhibit at TMU Image Centre by American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004) titled “Immortal: Portraits of Aging, 1951–2004”. This is just a small sampling of the almost 100 portraits hanging in the gallery.

Richard Avedon (1923-2004) was both a fashion and a portrait photographer. He produced thousands of portraits over his lifetime. He worked for many magazines including ‘Harpers Bazaar’, ‘Vogue’, and ‘The New Yorker’ and he was involved in many advertising campaigns for companies such as Calvin Klein (think of Brooke Shields in 1980) and Revlon (“The most unforgettable women in the world wear Revlon”). There are numerous books that feature collections of his photographs.

below: Lee Friedlander, photographer, 2002

In this exhibit most, if not all, of the portraits are of older people (hence the title of the exhibit) and many of them are well-known names.

In the 1960s Avedon started making studio portraits of civil rights workers, politicians, and cultural dissidents/activists. As his reputation grew his studio work expanded to include many other public figures and celebrities.

below: Dorothy Day, activist, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, 1969

below: Portraits of three men with American political connections, from left to right: Arthur Schlesinger, Clark Clifford, and Dean Rusk all taken in 1993.

below: W.H. Auden, poet, in a New York City snowstorm, 1960

below: Robert Flaherty, director, 1951

below: Avedon didn’t always center his subjects in the picture and in this case, even chopped off part of his face.

below: Souer Emmanuelle, nun, Paris, 1998

below: Vicente Escudero, flamenco dancer, 1955

below: Gloria Swanson, actor, 1980

below: Michelangelo Antonioni, director, and his wife Enrica, Rome,

below: Dr. Benjamin Spock and his wife Jane Cheney, 1969

Until 5 December 2026

looking for art on a Saturday morning

Posted: September 16, 2026 in construction, galleries, graffiti and street art, locations, public art
Tags: Ailene Vrana Macdougall, art, Ballooms, David Altmejd, dogs, Figure Catching a Fly, fountain, heart, inflatables, Lu Luo, Michelle Hoogveld, Ola Volo, painting, people, Stefan Sagmeister, Stikki Peaches, The Living Atelier, Uno Prii, Yorkville

A Saturday morning walk through Yorkville.

below: Southwest corner of Yonge and Yorkville where the original brick buildings lining Yonge Street have been saved (or at least the facades have been).

Once upon a time Yorkville, and its neighbour, Cumberland, were quirky little streets. Joseph Bloor and William B. Jarvis started development here about 200 years ago as a place to escape the city. Yorkville as suburbia. It was able to hold back the developers for a while, but even Yorkville has to succumbed; glass and steel towers have arrived.

below: Looking east on Yorkville, back towards Yonge Street where the Toronto Reference Library is.

below: Redevelopment along Yorkville isn’t finished yet…..

below: Yorkville Fire Hall, Station 312, is the oldest active fire station in the city. The original station was built in 1876 back when Yorkville was a village and not part of the City of Toronto. The building has been rebuilt and updated since then but the five storey clock tower remains as it was originally built.

below: There is a large reddish fountain beside the Four Seasons Hotel (the building to the left of the fountain

below: Part of Yorkville Avenue was closed to traffic for the third Yorkville Murals event. YorkvilleMurals was presented by Taglialatella Galleries and INK Entertainment, and held in partnership with the Bloor-Yorkville Business Improvement Area

below: Typing, and creating, poetry

below: Sewing on the street, part of an exhibition of design and fashion.

below: She is posing in front of a large inflatable heart designed by Michelle Hoogveld

below: “Every day is a new beginning” and a new chance for selfies and Instagram photos.

below: “The Oxley – Adult daycare done right”

below: This Toilet Paper Magazine creation was an interactive art installation. The exterior of this shipping container structure had a mirror to encourage selfies and other photos. One could also walk through the center of it.

below: The main attraction was a large mural covering many walls that was painted by Ola Volo. It surrounded the courtyard where other art installations or activities were on display.

below: A bouquet of balloons from Ballooms,

below: That same courtyard is home to the Taglialatella Gallery where artworks by The Connor Brothers (aka James Golding and Mike Snelle), “The Story You Tell Yourself” were hanging on the walls. This “I drink to make other people more interesting” is one of them.

below: On the far right is “Fugetaboutit,” a marble sculpture of a Star Wars Stormtrooper wearing a suit and tie by Montreal-based street artist Stikki Peaches (it was one of a few of his sculptures there that day). On the wall behind him is “If you haven’t got anything nice to say come sit next to me” which is another Connor Brothers creation.

below: The other exhibit at the Taglialatella Gallery was Stefan Sagmeister’s “Before We Forgot Things Were Worse”.

below: “La Misma” 2023, Stefan Sagmeister

below: “Purple, Then Green, Then Red”, 2023, another by Stefan Sagmeister

below: Close up of part of an artwork by Zhuang Hong-Yi at Galerie LeRoyer. It is make with painted pieces of rice paper

below: “A Gentle Gesture – Thread Series 237”, 2026, by Lu Luo at Galerie LeRoyer

below: Bronze sculpture, “Figure Catching a Fly”, 2019, by David Altmejd on Avenue Road

below: Glass and sky merge and blend together.

below: ‘North Rustico, Tied to the Tide. ‘ part of the exhibit “What’s Next” by Ailene Vrana MacDougall at the Ruth Upjohn Gallery, Women’s Art Association of Canada

below: “Edinburgh – Hidden Courtyard” also by Ailene Vrana Macdougall.

below: On Prince Arthur Street, across the street from the gallery mentioned above is this mid-century apartment building. One of the architects was Estonian-born Canadian Uno Prii (1924-2000). He designed a number of buildings in the city back in the 1960s. Out of curiosity I went looking for a list of them but so far the closest that I’ve come is this article in Spacing magazine from 2013 (Mod Toronto)

below: “Austerity kills”

below: They almost had it right….

below: Ending this with a little silliness, a TTC temporary stop. A pit stop for the TTC?

… and the CNE rolls back into town…..

Posted: August 24, 2026 in events, people
Tags: Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, Ex, flags, food, gambling, games of chance, Himalaya ride, ice cream waffles, laughing, midway, people, phone, reporters, rides, ring of fire, screaming, Skyride, swings, The Ex, zero gravity ride

Like every summer, the end of August means that it’s time for the Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE. For two weeks the Exhibition grounds come alive with games, rides, food, exhibits, concerts, and other events. Here are some photos from opening day last Friday.

long awaited ride to Kennedy

Posted: April 22, 2026 in construction, public art, transportation
Tags: construction, Eglinton Ave East, Louie Witthöft, LRT, Metrolinx, people, redevelopment, Rodney Latourelle, Sarah Morris, Scarborough, streetcar, trains, TTC

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.

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)

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.

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.

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

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

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….

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.

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

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!).

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.

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.

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).

constant companions

Posted: April 21, 2026 in people
Tags: buses, coffee shops, looking, people, phones, sitting, subway, talking, TTC

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…..

below: A book!

below: “Live and let live”

snow day scenery!

Posted: January 31, 2026 in alleys, nature, people
Tags: Allen Road, buses, Cedarvale station, East Lynn Park, Eglinton Ave., Eglinton station, Ossington, people, Reggae Lane, snow, subway, TTC

Subtitle: Take the Long Way Home

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!

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

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….

The old round concrete station is still in operation.

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

… 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.

… 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.

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)

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

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

below: Buried?!

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

below: Buried trash

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

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

below: Others were out looking for employment opportunities….

below: Plowed bike lanes!

below: But this bike isn’t going anywhere!

below: More Love (and orange snowflakes) at 981

below: Tana Printing and Toronto Coin Laundry, Oakwood Ave

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

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?

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….

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

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

below: Ninos Libres, by Kalaruno

below: Another Kalaruno painting

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

below: A green finger on the trigger.

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

below: An introspective dragon

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

south from Liberty Village

Posted: October 26, 2025 in history, locations, old buildings, public art, transportation
Tags: Allan Lamport stadium, BMO Field, condos, construction, cranes, Dufferin Gate, E.B. Cox, Elford Bradley Cox, Exhibition Place, Gerald Glastone, GO trains, Greek gods, Lakeshore Blvd., Liberty Village, McGillivray Fountain, Mino Bimaadiziwin, Ontario Place, people, Scadding cabin, sculptures, Shrine Peace Memorial

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)

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

below: The sign says Ontario Place straight ahead.

below: Dream Big

below: Allan Lamport stadium concrete

below: Looking north from the goalposts in the stadium.

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.

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

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

below: Eastern view

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

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

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

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

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.

below: Some of the lights seen at the Exhibition – with the 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.

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.

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.

below: Shrine Peace Memorial

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.

below: Hercules is the tallest of the sculptures.

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).

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.

as I walk Toronto

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