Street art and murals
close to the intersection of Niagara Street and Graffiti Alley.
below: A mural on the side of a house on Niagara Street.
Some of the paint is starting to peel but otherwise it is in good shape.
Signature at the top right seems to be Robert Rian Cruz. Other names are written on the bottom left: doz, nose, cora, anto, wizwon, flur, and markis
below: Make It by Aaron Li-Hill
In Graffiti Alley but visible from Queen St. West at Niagara.
Honest Ed’s
In 1948 Edwin Mirvish opened his ‘Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House’ on the southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets. Honest Ed’s was not only one of the first department stores in the city but also one of the first to offer discount prices on its merchandise.
below: Honest Ed’s, from across the intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets.
photo taken 25 March 2015
below: The same intersection in 1948 when Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House opened. As you can see, the exterior was covered with signs with humorous sayings from the beginning.
photo from Honest Eds store via a 2013 article in The Grid TO
Along with the discount merchandise, Ed Mirvish filled his store with pictures and posters, especially movie posters. The stairwell walls are covered.
You can buy almost anything at Honest Ed’s! Clothes, shoes, toys, household items, groceries, hardware, prescriptions, souvenirs, … and so on.
There are hundreds of pictures of actors and other famous (and no so famous!) people.
All of the signs in the store are hand painted. In March 2014, Honest Ed’s had a sale of all their signs and the profits ($17,000) from this sale were donated to Victim Services Toronto.
Another sign sale is scheduled for 11 April 2015 starting at 8 a.m. If you want to buy a sign, arrive early and expect to wait as it is a very popular event.
In October 2013, the property was sold to a developer but as you can see from the sign in the photo below, the store is still open. It will remain open until the end of 2016. It’s been open for 67 years and will remain open for another 21 months.
AIDS Walk, 13 September
Beginning at Yonge Dundas Square…..
Getting dressed and ready to walk.
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Making posters to carry in the walk.
….. north up Yonge Street…..
Test. Treat. Defeat.
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The walk made its way to the AIDS Memorial in Barbara Hall Park on Monteith Street (near Church and Wellesley).
Here, each walker was given a red carnation to leave at the memorial.
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Winding their way past the names of those from Toronto who lost their lives to AIDS.
The memorial was opened late in 1992 and dedicated during Pride Week in 1993.
There are about 2700 names now engraved on the plaques. New names are added once a year.
Enthusiastic volunteers cheer on the walkers.
A cheerful Team Miss Canada Globe stopped for me for a few moments.
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Money raised in the walk goes to support act (AIDS Committee Toronto).
The lead group in the walk.
Link to the official Toronto AIDS walk website
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The march finally got underway…..
Here is the first sample of the photos that I took as it passed by.
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Saturday, 5th October
downtown Toronto
This is only a small selection of the art installations and exhibitions that were on display that night.
Bones, leg bones? Part of the ‘Indicator’ installation at Gareth Bate Art Projects, 401 Richmond St.
“Birds, bats, bees. Indicator species tell us when ecosystems are in peril. Bones, sugar, dripping honey – a meditation on catastrophe and connection.” The bones hung from the ceiling and the honey dripped down the walls.
Artists: Karen Abel, Jessica Marion Barr, Gareth Bate
A timeline of the life of Conrad Black in black & white woodcut prints as shown at a gallery at 401 Richmond Street. Artist, George Walker
silhouettes
at Much Music, Queen Street West
phones lifted skyward
Black & white art made using electric currents & little wires that spun in circles.
401 Richmond Street
bkies, bikes, bikes
spraying in the spotlight
On Dundas West near Beverley Street
‘The rose is without why’ by Boris Achour.
This is a short poem written by Johannes Scheffler aka Angelus Silesius, in the 17th century. The words are written with fluorescent lights and is more than 300 feet long. It was bright enough to light up the square.
upper level, Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square
On the left – ‘Forever Bicycles’ sculpture by Ai Weiwei lit in pink and purple. There are 3144 bicycles.
On the right – ‘Crash Cars’ by Alain Declercq consists of two driverless cars.
posing
These metallic figures were not part of Nuit Blanche. They are part of a sculpture close to the Court House on University Ave., just north of Queen St. West.
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Behind the south side of Queen St. West, starting at Spadina and heading west. At Bathurst there is a slight detour because someone built a Loblaws grocery store and a condo in the way. But just turn south to Richmond and walk a short distance west. On your right there is a small alley; follow this lane to almost Dufferin street – if there is no construction in the way!
I have walked this route many times. Sometimes there are new things to see, or changes have occurred. Sometimes I just notice things that I missed on previous visits.
Larger than life. The woman on red has been there since the first time I walked this way a couple of years ago. The aquatic scenes on the building across the alley are a more recent addition.
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Tom and Jerry and their never ending chase scene.
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The alley changes with the seasons. Even here there is greenery.
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Sunshine and shadows in the lane.
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Above the alley. She now appears in a few places.
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Tag, baker, inserted between two windows
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I just want people to like me. A sticker in McDougall Lane, a good use of US Priority Mail labels.
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I resurrect the destructed poster with a few tags added accompanied by a girl with a broken heart.
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He evolves. First his face was added – with googly eyes and his tongue stuck out. Now he seems to be anatomically correct as well!
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Starting to fray at the edges
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Garbage bins guarding the door.
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I’m not sure what he’s drinking, but apparently he’s grain fed. He looks a bit grubby because he’s sitting on the ground next to the dust and dirt in the lane.
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A smiling Cheshire Cat and a few other creatures.
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Taking photos of people I don’t know has never been my forte. Kensington is one place in the city where it’s easy to practice!
two smoothies
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Faces on posters and faces on the street
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Kensington has its regulars
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and Kensington has lots of visitors.
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as I walk Toronto 