as I walk Toronto

I had heard about a mural at Lawrence and Orton Park so this morning I thought I’d check it out.   I ventured out Lawrence Avenue to just east of Markham Road.  As I drove I was reminded of how big this city really is.

below: This is the community mural that started my adventure this morning.  It was painted in nine sections and then assembled on the wall.   It is the work of Ted Hamer, Rowell Soller and Skratch Wonder.

below: As I left Orton Park, I saw this mural from a distance.  Of course I had to stop and take a picture.  I got some strange looks.  Tourists are probably not too common in this part of the city.

below:  While I was looking for the best angle from which to take the above photo, I noticed some markings beside the road.

below: As it turns out, these are from the summer of 2011.  Lawrence Avenue is 6 lanes wide and at this point it crosses Highland Creek and Morningside Park – a long bridge, a rather barren stretch of concrete and pavement.

below:  Bridges were meant for going under, right?   Luckily there was an entrance to Morningside Park right there, and luckily I left my toboggan at home  🙂   Morningside Park is part of a network of parks that follow the Highland Creek.  It starts near Markham Road and the 401 and runs south to Kingston Road near Guildwood station.    A search for an answer to the question, “How many ravine parks does Toronto have?” has yielded no results yet.  I’ll keep looking.

below:  The answer to another question, “Is there graffiti under the bridge?” was more easily found.

below: The bottom of the pillars were painted back in 2010 and 2011.

below: Hope takes flight over the city.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to see but the word hope is written on the city at the bottom of this small mural but it is behind the weeds.

below:   Personified Hope, from the picture above, wraps around to another side of the pillar as he/she moves upward.  Also seen here is one of the feet from the upside down man.

below:   Another pillar has a painting by elicser.

below: There were also a couple of paintings on the other side of the creek. There was water in the creek. Too much to cross safely.
Or at least, too much for me to cross safely!

It was a very quiet place to be this morning.  I saw a couple of people on the path, including Batman, but they were silent.

One last photo, taken as I was driving home across Lawrence.  I guess it’s somewhat appropriate for the time.  Not sure why one would be sporting such a sticker in Ontario though.   C’est la vie.  To each their own.

I saw many people at bus stops waiting for the 34 Lawrence bus and I wondered how long it took them to get to the subway.  Lawrence is 6 lanes wide and I tried to picture it with an LRT running down the center.   (but that’s a whole other blog post, perhaps another day).