Posts Tagged ‘Queens Quay’

walking towards the Pinnacle… and beyond

Posted: November 21, 2025 in construction, locations, old buildings
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….with a group of friends on a grey November morning.

below: From Union Station, there are now plenty of routes to take indoors and we explored some of them (some for at least the second time but there are always changes or points of view that you miss the first time around).

legs and feet of people walking inside

below: Union Station has connected to Scotiabank Arena for a few years now.

large Canadian flag, and many people walking, inside Scotiabank arena foyer area between arena and Union station

below: And within the last year or two a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street has connected Scotiabank Arena with the new CIBC Square development on the other side of the street.  This picture shows the exterior stairs of that new CIBC building as seen from the south side of that bridge.  That’s a lot of climbing!  So glad for escalators.

exterior stairs on new CIBC building, Bay street

people on escalator inside CIBC building

below:  There is quite a view from the new CIBC Square park area including this one looking mostly southwest to the top of Scotiabank arena.  The architectural details (some sort of overhang?) are on the new CIBC building top of Scotiabank arena, view from CIBC park above tracks, looking southwest across Bay

below: Looking north up Bay past the shiny sparkly gold RBC building to Old City Hall that’s almost hidden behind the newer towers.

from new CIBC park above railway tracks, looking north up Bay street towards old City Hall.

below: You can also see the Royal York hotel on the other side of the railway tracks.

Royal York hotel seen through group of small trees in autumn colours, some leaves gone, at the new CIBC park over the railway tracks

below: Cranes and the CN Tower make for a very downtown Toronto photo.  Again, this is the view from the new CIBC Square.  If you are interested, a year ago I posted more photos from this new park – Above the railway tracks at CIBC Square.

CN Tower in the background, crane and its reflection in a building in the foreground

below: Work continues on the Union Station expansion and upgrades on the south side of the station.  This work will provide the infrastructure needed for increased GO train service (more trains, more often).  Comparing this photo to one taken a year ago there don’t seem to be many changes so I hope that most of the work has been inside (or else it’s going to be a very long time before this project is completed).

construction on the south side of union station

below: It is also possible to continue walking indoors through to the new GO Bus Terminal.  This is the glass wall at the south entrance of the terminal on Lakeshore Blvd.

wall of glass at south entrance to new GO bus terminal on Lakeshore Blvd

man wearing yellow and orange high viz jacket waits in line at a Second Cup coffee, Toronto Maple Leafs theme image on wall behind him

below: This is the view southwest from the corner of Bay and Lakeshore. Just beyond the exit ramp from the Gardiner is the Toronto Harbour Commission Building on Harbour Street – named as such back in the day when this was close to the shore of Lake Ontario.   It was built in the Beaux-Arts style and was completed in 1917.

looking southwest at the intersection of lakeshore and bay, old customs house on Harbour St is there as is the large parking lot beside it , also ramp from the Gardiner.

below: Harbour Commission Building, 1923, just over a hundred years ago.  Photo from the Toronto Public Library, found online in their digital archives. Harbour Street was right on the shore!  Everything that exists toady south of Harbour Street is built on landfill.  That includes most, if not all, of the developments on Queens Quay.

1923 black and white photo of the Toronto Harbour Commission Building, and its reflection in the water of Lake Ontario. From the Toronto Public Library website and was once used by the Toronto Star newspaper

 

below: A few steps later as we walked down Bay – this photo is now looking northwest back towards Scotiabank Arena and the Gardiner Expressway.   So many new towers!   The Telus building on the right is on York Street and immediately south of the tracks. On the left are twos tall building with an almost round structure on the top (with holes in it) – these are the ICE condo towers at 12 and 14 York.

looking northwest towards scotiabank arena and downtown skyscrapers, from Bay street, just south of the Gardiner

a couple on the sidewalk, walking past a hot dog and sausage vendor in front of the Westin Hotel

below: On Queens Quay, a contrast between the Brutalist type of architecture of the textured concrete Westin Hotel and the newer glass and steel condo tower beyond it.

looking east on Queens Quay in front of the Westin Hotel

Alexandros fast food Greek style on the waterfront, with construction cones and equipment around it.

below:  Also on Queens Quay (on the north side of Queens Quay between Bay and Yonge) there is a water feature at the horribly named Residences of the World Trade Centre

water feature in brownish colours on the wall of part of the residences of the world trade center at bay and queens quay and yonge

below: The same complex is also home to this mis-shapen peanut thing that is a sculpture, ‘Between The Eyes’, by Richard Deacon.   Also, the brown building on the left is the old Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street.  It was to be redeveloped into a condo tower but the market for condos is trash at the moment.  The owner/developer, Pinnacle Group, has announced that they might try to convert the building into a hotel instead.

large metal sculpture that looks like a stretched and twisted peanut, by Richard Deacon at Queens Quay and Yonge,

people walking past a bus shelter on yonge street

below: Now under construction is Sky Tower at Pinnacle One Yonge (on what was the parking lot behind the Toronto Star building).

new condo tower under construction, pinnacle, large podium at first few floors

below: 106 floors!!  Final height will be 352 metres. May they never have elevator issues.  May the underground garages never have water issues.  The tallest completed building in the city is Aura at Yonge and College at 272m.  A couple of others at Yonge and Bloor are under construction but even once they are finished, this Sky Tower will be the tallest.   Remember that picture of the Royal York Hotel – when it was built in the late 1920s it was the tallest building in the city, and the first one over 100m.

new condo tower under construction, pinnacle, large podium at first few floors with large sign advertising the fact that it is 106 floors high

workman working on exterior ground level finishes in front of Sky Tower condo development

below: When I was looking for older pictures of this area, I found this intriguing photo from 1984.  Not that long ago, right?  The Gardiner Expressway runs across the top and you can see the Toronto Harbour Commission building in the top left corner.   The Westin Hotel is there (the two towers on a triangular base, bottom left).  The rectangular tall building is the Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge.  In other words, this is almost a map of part of our walk.  A couple of things of note – first look how much surface parking there was! And second, what is that circular thing in the middle (and top) of the picture!!!  On closer examination, it’s just an old ramp for the Gardiner and all the wasted space in the center. Harbour Street follows the curve on its south side.  An incredible amount of space is devoted to the car.

1984 black and white aerial photo of westin hotel on queens quay, plus toronto star building at 1 yonge street, waterfront, from Toronto Public Library

below: Walking up the west side of Yonge.  The blue building with all the diamonds and triangles is the back of CIBC Square – we have almost completed a circle.

walking north on the west side of yonge between queens quay and harbour streets

below: More redevelopment and construction to the east of Yonge on Harbour.  Harbour then merges with Lakeshore Blvd.

construction on Harbour street

below: You should recognize the purpose of the exterior bracing on the brick building.  The facade of this 1950s brick LCBO headquarters and warehouse is being saved during its transition to ‘Sugar Wharf’ with new towers, a hotel, a park, and more.   A very familiar story that seems to play in a never ending loop.

construction on Harbour street

below: North on Yonge

tops of buildings on yonge north of the gardiner

below: Under the Gardiner

man walking a dog under the gardiner expressway

below: Bird in flight but stuck to the concrete –  a paper paste-up on a Gardiner Expressway pillar

man in brown jacket is about to walk under the gardiner expressway, past a concrete pillar with a black and white picture of a bird in flight, street art,

looking north on yonge from under the railway bridge, road repairs construction

below: I don’t think that this is Finch West.

on yonge street, near The Esplanade, a sign saying sidewalk closed use other side, but it also says Finch West LRT

below: Another bird in flight is ‘Eagle’ by Dean Drever, 2018.  His beak is pointing to another new pedestrian bridge over Yonge Street that hasn’t opened yet.  It is part of the CIBC development and will become part of the PATH system.

relief sculpture of an eagle head and wings in flight on the side of a building on Yonge street

below:  CIBC Square, north side construction.  In the distance is Union Station; we have come close to walking in a circle.  It wasn’t a very big circle but there were many changes and quite a few things happening.   The CIBC Square development includes two towers on the east side of Bay, one on the south side of the tracks and one on the north.  In case you didn’t realize it, the  one acre “park” that they have developed is actually over the railway tracks.  It’s a wonderful use of the space.  I hope that the city sees that it is feasible to create public space this way.  There has been a lot of chatter about how the city should create a park over more of the tracks and I hope that this spurs them on.

This walk was the 16th Anniversary walk for the Toronto Photowalks group.  It was a rather large group of us that started from Union Station last Saturday morning.

group shot, in great hall at union station

  Toronto Photowalks have walked twice a month since November 2009 with some exceptions during Covid lockdowns and restrictions.  I first walked with them in early February, 2012.  There have been 334 walks and most streets and alleys in the city (and sometimes beyond) have been covered at least once.  Some weeks the group is small while at other times the numbers are a bit overwhelming but all in all, it’s a great group!

 

below: I am sure that the Bearded Prof is saying “Thanks for joining us!”

a sticker graffiti slp by bearded prof, of a bearded man in a baseball cap, holding a folded umbrella

another downtown loop

Posted: May 12, 2025 in construction, locations, people, public art, transportation
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Good morning!  The weather forecast said that there was a chance of drizzly rain and they were right but it wasn’t that much and it didn’t last for long.  Not the best day for sunny blue sky photos of the city, but since when has that held us back?

below: You probably don’t recognize where this photo was taken (unless you are familiar with the Victoria Hotel).  This is Yonge Street, just south of King subway station, and it is also where I started walking the other day….

below: Contrasts of old and new at the corner of Yonge and Wellingon.  Architectural trends as well as the material used are a product of their time.

Yonge at Wellington, east side.

below: The old stone entrance with a large circular window over the door and an arch that matches those over the other windows.  There are also little details in the stonework that you just don’t see in modern buildings.

entrance, doorway, to old stone building on Yonge St., arch with round window under arch and over door

below: The more recent development to all glass buildings with oversized (i.e. extra tall) ground floor levels.

entrance to new highrise building on wellington with very high ground floor level

below: But such extensive use of glass is not entirely new. Downtown skyscrapers have been built using steel frames and glass since the 1960s. I think that the TD bank tower was one of the first, if not the first, in 1967. But that’s not this building… this is part of the large RBC complex on Bay Street between Wellington and Front. The bright pink plants along the sidewalk are wonderful!

dark steel and glass building at Bay and Wellington, planters along the sidewalk with bright pink plants in them

below: The south part of the RBC building is very photogenic! Its gold coloured glass as well as its angles and nooks make for some interesting pictures.  The older stone Union Station is hiding in the bottom left corner.

Bay Street, looking south across from gold glass building, royal bank building, Union station in the backround

below: A recent addition to the streetscape in front of Union Station are these bland blocks of concrete. Such imagination! So much thought went into their design! Really? That’s what someone thought would be a great addition to Front Street?

Front Street, between Union Station and the Royal York Hotel, new concrete barriers, boring off-white blocks ,

below: There were some complaints about the older ones… the Jersey barriers that were meant to be temporary but then never went away…. in fact, many of them are still here….

people with suitcases walking towards entrance of Union station, along Front Street

There are 2 art installations in the West Wing at Union Station.  The first is a group exhibit, “A Transit Through Time” featuring six Black artists – Destinie Adélakun, Pixel Heller, Segun Caezar, Heritier Bilaka, Rico Poku and Camille Kiffin.   Each artist is responsible for one panel…

below: The picture in the foreground, the woman with a red head scarf and blue blouse, is the work of Segun Caezar.

pillars in large open hallway at union station, each with a large artwork displayed on them. Transit through time installation

below: “Gelede Queens” by  Destinie Adelakun – people in ornate costumes pose in front of a large fireplace and mirror.  According to UNESCO, “Gelede  is performed by the Yoruba-Nago community that is spread over Benin, Nigeria and Togo. For more than a century, this ceremony has been performed to pay tribute to the primordial mother Iyà Nlà and to the role women play in the process of social organization and development of Yoruba society. “

large vertical picture of people in ornate costumes posing in front of a fireplace and large mirror

below: “Self Knowledge” by Heritier Bilaka

a large picture on display, self knowledge by Heritier Bilaka, a black woman with orange head scarf, and blue dress, sits beside a wood mask

below: This large butterfly, by Jordan Sook, is part of another installation called, “Nothing More, Nothing Less”.   Apparently there are more butterflies around Union Station.  Have you seen any?

a large image of a butterfly, by Jordan Sook,on display at Union Station

below: Ontario Square between Queen’s Quay and the waterfront where a large image from Alex McLeod’s “Liquid, Gold” can still be seen.  I wrote a blog past about this picture and others from this series a year ago, “Liquid, Gold and other matters“

a person walks across Ontario Square near the waterfront, condos in the background, square structure is a parking garage entrance, and there is a large photo on display on the side of it

below: This “Carnavale Amulet” basket is made of glass and was created by Laura Donefer.  It is on display at Harbourfront along with several other of her pieces.

carnavale amulet basket, on display behind glass, by Laura Donefer

christmas theme red glass basket by laura Donefer, on display in a gallery

below: A few boats are docked in the harbour.  The bridge over the harbour is no longer just blocked, but is now severed.

Toronto highroses, condos near the water, marina and yacht club in the foreground with a couple of boats, pedestrian bridge over the water has been cut, impassable

below: Protecting the young trees

CN tower in the background, newly planted trees in green grass covered mounds in the foreground

below: Dead and not alive; dead and dead. Patio season on the waterfront hasn’t begun yet.

a wooden patio structure on the waterfront, with wood roof, hanging from planters are dead plants as well as fake pink flowers

below: On the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery a very large photograph by June Clark still hangs.  This is left over from last year’s CONTACT Photography Festiva.

large black and white photo by June Clark, exhibited outside, Untitled by from "The Whispering City" series from 1994.

below: Getting ready to clean up the city?!

inside, a cleaning cart with mops and brooms, stands beside a large black and white photo of the skyline of Toronto

man sitting at large table with Tims coffee, large TV in the background

two women sharing photos that they have on their phone, sitting at TIms

below: Still quiet now, but getting ready for summer…. water taxis to take people to Centre Island.

along the waterfront, yellow water taxi for Centre Island, red building for tourist store, downtown skyscrapers

below:  Patriotic red and white, but a very sad Canadian flag.

white lamps overhead on a red building, bedraggled Canadian flag on one of the lamps, a sting of smaller Canadian flags beside

a red and white TTC streetcar on Queens Quay, traveling east past small red building that sells tourist stuff

a woman pushing a stroller stops to wait for two TTC streetcars as they pass byher in opposite directions, queen's quay

below: Love Park on the southeast corner of York and Harbour is now complete.  This public space was created when the exit ramp from the Gardiner to York Street was removed.   It is difficult to see from ground level photos, but the pond is heart shaped.

two men walking their dogs on a path into love park, large glass building behind, red low wall around the pond in the middle of the park

below: A beaver has made its home in the pond.

sculpture of a beaver on a small rock in the middle of a man made pond in love park, downtown

below: There is also an owl that has a great birds eye view of the park.  Someone else has a great view too!

small sculpture of a realistic looking grey owl sits perched on a roof overlooking love park. a window washer works on the building behind the owl

a large tree, no leaves yet, grows in front of a large glass building, lots of reflections of other buildings as well as blue sky

below: Looking north on York from Harbour Street towards the Gardiner Expressway and beyond.  Love Park was behind me to the right when I took this photo.

Looking north on York from Harbour Street, green Gardiner Expressway crosses York

 The old multi level parking garage at Lower Simcoe and the Lakeshore is on its way down.  Demolition is well underway.

below:  Dwarfed by the new condos around it, the stairwell and elevator shaft from the garage stands on its own.  Whose picture is at the top? Someone blowing a giant bubble – must be quite the wad of gum!

demolition of a parking garage

below: The other stairwell.

remains of an elevator shaft

crane with claw at end is demolishing a multi level parking structure. mass of tangled steel parts in the foreground

below: “Don’t trespassing”!

red and white danger sign with due to written in as don't trespassing

below: The demolition as view from the other side of Lakeshore Blvd.

looking under gardiner to site of demolition of multi level car park

below: A lot of concrete! Under the ramp to the Gardiner

concrete supports, called bents, under the gardiner expressway

on the right, the on ramp to the gardiner expressway from york street, and on the left, a new glass and steel condo building, small tree with spring blossoms beside the path

below: The northeast corner of York and Lakeshore

looking past tall stilt like supports for a roof, looking east across york street, just north of lakeshore to a new glass and steel condo building

reflections in the glass of a highrise building

below:

looking north on York Street from Lakeshore towards Bremner.

below: York Street at Lakeshore Blvd where the old green Gardiner Expressway travels directly above the Lakeshore

people waiting to cross Lakeshore Blvd., at traffic lights at York St., Gardiner Expressway passes over Lakeshore

below: Just after taking the above photo, there was much noise from the honking of horns, as this black car decided to take a short cut to the ramp by going north in the southbound lane on York Street.

black car going the wrong way on York

 

sidewalk scene on Lower York St., man sitting on concrete bench, a line of small leafless trees, people walking on sidewalk outside greenish glass building with Longos, Sports Chek, and other stores inside

And last, a shout out to the Toronto Maple Leafs as I walk through the Scotiabank Centre back to the subway.   As I write this, the Leafs tied at two games apiece with the Florida Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Go Leafs Go!

below: Carlton in his regular blue and white attire as well as in his St. Pats costume.  Love the curly wig and the clover leaf shaped glasses!  You can catch Carlton in the store at Scotiabank arena (along with a lot of other Toronto team paraphernalia!).

Looking in the door of the MLSE store at Scotiabank arena, and its Toronto Maple Leafs display, Carlton Bear in blue and white as well as in St. Pats white and green sweater, with green curly hair wig and green heart shaped glasses

sign at Union Station, with arrow pointing down towards stairs down to Yonge Line on TTC subway,

Canada Day on the waterfront

Posted: July 1, 2023 in locations, people, waterfront
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front of restaurant, patio, canadian flag, happy canada day sign, rainbow umbrella

a couple stand together at the edge of the waterfront, by Lake Ontario

looking west along waterfront towards boats docked and silos at the foot of Bathurst street

Empire Sandy tall ship with three masts is moored or docked in Toronto harbour

William Lyon Mackenzie fire rescue tug, red, boat, in Toronto harbour

people on the back of a large boat, looking at man working on smaller boat moored beside it

on the waterfront, people walking past small lake cruise boat

young girl walking a dog while looking at her phone, on the waterfront, walking past a boat

a woman in bright orange shorts jogs along the waterfront in front of a green park and wood bench

the words life is beautiful written in yellow on the concrete walkway on waterfront

two people putting a red kayak in the water while a third person is in a blue kayak already on the water

kayak on Lake Ontario

looking through a rack of upside down kayaks towards the rest of the waterfront

a woman site by herself on a bench

a mother and daughter sitting on a bench eating ice cream

a man in a pink shirt takes a selfie in front of the Empire sandy boat on the waterfront

rigging, ropes and chains from a boat in the foreground, kayaks on the water in the distance

people walking past

cyclists on the Martin goodman trail

a bored looking woman witting on a concrete barrier, holding her bike in front of her, by the waterfront

a man in a white hat holds his bike, while standing

gift shop selling canada day souveniers

queens quay at waterfront, red beaver tails store and gift shop, condos, people,

three people talking, standing in a park

two young men sitting by waterfront, each reaches his hand towards the other

man sitting in red muskoka chair under yellow umbrella, toronto waterfront, sand

kids playing in a splash pad at sugar beach

kids playing in a splash pad at sugar beach

woman in thong bikini laying prone, sun tanning, sugar beach

standing by Lake Ontario, a father holds a young child while another stands beside

woman on bicycle with a trailer full of furniture

two women, one on a bike by a blue truck, on in red head scarf and black and white polka dot skirt,

humanity and a kraken

Posted: October 31, 2021 in locations, public art
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The results of a walk on what was probably the last warm evening of the year….

people walking on Queens Quay at night

below: In Sir John A. Macdonald Plaza (that’s the space in front of Union Station by Front Street) is an art installation by Masai Ujiri, “Humanity Movement”.  There are 35 words that represent what humanity means to Ujiri – words such as compassion, love, selfless, collective that are repeated as they cover the eight foot high installation.  A light in the center makes the words appear on the sidewalk and on the structures (and people) around it.

Humanity movement art installation in Sir John A Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station, by Masai Ujiri. metal cylinder with words cut out, a light shines through from the middle and the words show as lights on the sidewalk

well lit Sir John A Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station, at night, with lit clock, sculpture and an art installation by Masai Ujiri

below: Inside the Great Hall at Union Station is an image titled “House of Baby” that is the result of a collaboration between Camille Turner and Camal Pirbhal.  It is a image of people in the Great Hall that includes portraits of 18 Indigenous and Black people who were enslaved by the Baby family.

a few people standing in front of an image called house of baby, a collage of people who were enslaved by the Baby family all gathered in Union Station

Francois Baby (1768 Detroit – 1852 Windsor Ont) and his brother James (1763 Detroit – 1833 Toronto) were politicians, businessmen and land owners.  Francois stayed in what was then the Western District of Upper Canada (around Windsor).   His biography is long and I’m not going to go into details here but he did have slaves.  James moved to York in 1815 and was part of the establishment – between 1792 and 1830 he held more than 115 appointments or commissions of varying degrees of importance.

In 1793 John Graves Simcoe, then Lieutenant Governor, tried to abolish slavery in Upper Canada but many of the ruling class, including James Baby, were slave owners and outright abolishment failed.  Instead there was a compromise made (how Canadian!) and restrictions were put on slave ownership such that by 1833 there were none left.  A much more complete history of slavery in Upper Canada can be found in an article at Upper Canada History.

close up of part of an image called house of baby, a collage of people who were enslaved by the Baby family all gathered in Union Station

below: On the York Street side of Union Station

York street side of Union station

below: On the PATH system at 25 York Street there is a mural that is 25 metres long (or 100 feet long); it is “Entire City Project” by Michael Awad, 2009.  It is a warped panorama of commuters outside Union Station.

part of a mural by Michael Awad of people moving together, most walking, one man with a bicycle

below: The lights hanging from the ceiling are another art piece.  “Pixel Matrix”, is a large cube of 30,000 individually controllable LED lights on strings, with constantly changing lighting effects.  It was a collaboration between Michael Awad and David Rokeby

 

interior of 25 York street with 2 art installations, the hanging glass and lights, and a long mural by Michael Awad

detail of Michael Awad Entire City Project mural of people walking in commute

lights shining through exterior glass walls, blue lights on a staircase

below: Making a kraken.  One tentacle can be seen in the foreground.

below: The kraken’s eye is a video that plays on a screen bulging from the container that can barely hold its contents.  Will the kraken escape?  Is Queens Quay safe?

making a Kraken art installation out of a metal container

below: Lights in motion

a man riding a bike at night with blue LED lights all over it. his helmet has lights too

below:  The art installations at 10 York Street look much different at night!

art installation in the lobby of a condo building on York street

below: Lights over the harbour, Queens Quay

bridge over harbour on Queens Quay, at night, with lights and reflections of light in the water

a couple, at night, standing outside on one of the wave decks on Queens Quay

the back of a large boat, at night, one light on the boat, ladder, blue ropes

entrance and exit to a parking structure at night

2 small plastic orange pylons sit on a ledge in a broken window with a green staircase behind inside the building

two men walking in lit passageway, inside, blue wall on left, carrying photo equipment and tripod

January once again.

Posted: January 25, 2020 in waterfront
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It’s been a while since I posted here mostly because I’ve been away.  But I’m back in Toronto and back to walking.  The other day didn’t start as planned!  A locked gate stood in my way.

winter scene, base of Bathurst street by old Canada Malting Co silos, black gate to Ireland Park path is locked, snow, bench,

Shortly after, I saw a sign …. I’m not sure that it references locked gates specifically, but at the minimum it’s a reminder to remain flexible.

an art installation on the exterior wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, words in pink letters written over an river landscape scene. the words say If you end up with the story that you started with, then you're not listening along the way.

As anyone Canadian city dweller knows, winter in the city rarely means white snow – the brown slush quickly takes over.   Here, at Spadina and Queens Quay, the road has been painted red to alert drivers to the fact that this is a streetcar lane.

new TTC streetcar turning left from Spadina to Queens Quay, slushy streets after snowfall, people waiting at bus stop,

Lake Ontario has only begun to freeze, and only in quiet protected places.  The first part of January was warmer than usual.  Even as I type this it is raining and all the snow is melting.  There probably isn’t much of this ice left this afternoon.

a couple of boats docked at wood docks, lakefront, waterfront, some thin ice in patches on the water between the shore and the boats. Lake Ontario

below: A “Danger due to” sign that has blown in from somewhere else but is just as relevant here as it is at any construction site.

Toronto red tug boat in the water with brocken bits of ice in the water, also a red and white danger due to sign that has fallen onto the ice of Lake Ontario

below: The Music Garden hibernating for the winter.

along the waterfront, view of CN Tower, with sculpture and dead or hibernating plants at Music Garden

below: Kayaks at Harbourfront resting for the winter months.

red, orange, and yellow kayaks on the ground for the winter, mostly covered with snow

below: The fire rescue boat was out and about the other afternoon.

yellow umbrellas and painted muskoka chairs in the snow at H T O beach, with red fire rescus boat just offshore

a large flock of sea gulls take flight beside Lake Ontario and in front of H T O beach

three people skating at an outdoor skating rink

Now on at the Harbourfront Centre is “Future Retrospectives” which is a group exhibition of works by artists and designers who use the past as a lens to look at the future (until 29th March).

below: The coloured shapes with the words, are the work of Hannah Claus.  They hang on a clear background so the installation on the wall behind shows through (also the work of Hannah Claus).  In fact, the two go together.  At first I thought the coloured shapes represented tombstones but in fact they are a replica of the plaque on Hochelaga Rock. This rock commemorates the village and people encountered by Jacques Cartier in 1535; it is on the McGill campus in Montreal.  It is also featured in the photos on the far wall. The English words (bottom half) start with “Near here was the…”.  More information.

Near Here was art installation or Harbourfront Artport gallery

below: Will we be able to understand a future time?  Also part of Future Retrospectives.

will we understand future time, video art with some other bits and pieces, Harbourfront Artport gallery

below: Timeless.  Eternity. Waiting for the bus.

three people at a bus shelter waiting for a bis, two are standing and one is sitting. They are underneath a large photo of stars and the night sky

below: This is ‘Loop’ an interactive “Winter Station” public art installation.  In past years, there have been 5 or 6 different art installations along Queens Quay as part of the Winter Station project.  This year, there is just this one which is located at York Street Park.   The circles are large enough for two people to sit face to face.  There is a metal bar which can then be moved back and forth between the pair.  This movement makes an inner circle spin and activates some lights.   It is the creation of Olivier Girouard ; it is scheduled to remain here until the 9th of February.

black circular structures that are part of an interactive art installation called Loop, arranged in a semi-circle at Yor Street Park, snow on the ground, trees with no leaves, no people there

below: Harbour Street, looking east towards Yonge Street from the elevated walkway that runs north from WaterPark Place, over the Lakeshore and under the Gardiner.

view east on Harbour Streeet from the walkway between Waterpark Place and Scotiabank Arena, construction of new high rises in the background, traffic,

below: Reflections on the walkway.

reflections of people walking in glass walled elevated walkway om downtown Toronto

below: After passing under the Gardiner, the walkway wraps around the west side of the second floor of the Scotiabank Arena (originally the ACC).

interior, Scotiabank Arena people on elevated walkway between Waterpark Place and Scotiabank Arena

below: The south entrance to Union Station, from the walkway.  This is also a good view of the new glass platform over Union Station (train shed roof?) – this is something that I need to check out in more detail.

Union Station entrance, a couple of people walking in front, Royal York hotel in the background, taken from elevated walkway beside Scotiabank arena

below: Also under renovation is the Bay Street exit of the Scotiabank Arena.  A new walkway between it and the building being constructed across the street is almost complete.  It is on the same level as, and immediately beside, the railway tracks.  This walkway will connect to the new Union Station bus terminal

from the inside, looking out, construction of the new exit, and new elevated walkway to building being constructed across the street

below: Exit onto Bay Street and look up!  Upward.  And to the future…. wherever that leads us.

looking up towards the sky at the Bay Street entrance to Scotianbank arena, wall of old arena, top of new building being constructed across the street,

Ice Breakers 2018

Posted: February 10, 2018 in public art, waterfront
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Ice Breakers returned to the Toronto waterfront once again last month.   In mid-January five interactive art installations were built along Queens Quay West between the Harbourfront Centre in the east and the Music Garden in the west.

 

below:  Appropriate for a space called the Music Garden, is a large structure supporting many wind chimes.   This is “Ensemble” by Joao Araujo Sousa and Joana Correia Silva of Portugal.

the back side of two red muskoka chairs in a snow covered park with a large art installation of wind chimes in the background

a man is touching and pushing a series of wind chimes that are part of an art installation at Toronto Music Garden as he walks by it. Snow covered ground, red muskoka chairs, park, large tree,

There are two installations in H2O Park.

below: On the west side of the park is “Winter Fanfare” by Thena Tak of Vancouver.  It is made from painted layers of wood.   After I had walked past this installation I happened to look back to see a group of boys using these wood forms as protection as they had a snow ball fight.

6 or 7 large wooden forms in convex and concave shapes in a snow covered park with highrises in the background. An art installation that is part of Ice Breakers 2018 on Toronto waterfront.

below: Also in H2O park is “Through the Eyes of the Bear”.  This giant bear, or rather parts of a bear, is the creation of Tanya Goertzen of Calgary.

a large red head, and four red paws of a bear arranged to look like its on its back and that the bear is partially covered by the snow covered ground.

below: The large head of the bear is open at the back.   With a little crouching you can go inside and look out through the bear’s eyes.  It’s got a great view of the CN Tower!

the CN tower with bright blue sky, as seen through the hole in a sculpture, the eye of a large red bear.

below: Close to the Simcoe Wave Deck (at the bottom of Simcoe Street) is a structure called “Black Bamboo” that you can walk through.   It was designed by Bennet Marburger and Ji Zhang of China.

a tunnel like structure made of black bamboo poles loosely intertwined and joined together on the sidewalk beside Queens Quay, snow on the ground, condos in the background.

below: Last is “Root Cabin”, a small hut constructed from large tree roots.  The day that I walked past these Ice Breakers was early on when they weren’t quite complete.  The roots were being arranged, like a puzzle being put together.   The pink frame was being used as a guide and the plan was to remove it once the roots were in place.   This installation was designed by Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson from Winnipeg.

pink wood forms a frame in the shaipe of a small cabin with a pointed roof, it is being covered with large tree roots.

For more information, Ice Breakers

These installations remain until the 25th of February.

waterfront in the grey of winter

Posted: January 13, 2018 in waterfront
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It’s been a while, I know.   Part of my excuse – the holidays got in the way.  But more importantly, it’s been very cold with bitter winds adding to our discomfort.  The very cold days are beautiful with their bright blue skies.  Although I have walked once or twice in -20C weather, the pictures here are from a warmer day when it was possible to take pictures without freezing my fingers off.  Unfortunately, in the winter warmer often means greyer.  I thought of calling this post “In Search of Winter” but that would be silly as no search is needed, it hits you in the face and it surrounds you.  Everyone is talking about the cold.

below: Winter in the city isn’t always picturesque.  Salt and sand and snow mix together to form slush.   Brown ugly slush, especially on the roads and sidewalks as seen here on Queens Quay West.  Of course, if you live in Toronto you are already well aware of this!

dirty slush along the streetcar tracks on Queens Quay

below: H2O park now has a pink #TOwaterfront sign (sculpture?) to go with its yellow umbrellas and white Muskoka chairs.  The weakened winter sun tried to break through the wall of clouds.

H 2 O park on Toronto's waterfront with yellow umbrellas over white Muskoka chairs on what is a beach in the summer but is covered with snow in the picture. A pink sign that says #TOwaterfront made of pink wood that is supposed to look like pieces of driftwood

below: The other morning there was a small group of Toronto firemen all dressed for the icy water as they practiced winter rescue procedures.  Both men were tethered to the shore.

two Toronto firemen in their yellow cold water suits, life jackets on, and tethered to ropes, practicing breaking through ice and then recovering by makng their way to stronger ice, practising ice rescues

below: Just a few footprints in the snow. I wasn’t the only one walking this way but there certainly weren’t any crowds.

a few footprints in the snow on a bridge

below: A cold and lonely barbecue, as well as one under wraps, waiting out the winter on the dock.

barbecues under tarps on snow covered docks in partially frozen harbour

below: Access to the docks along the waterfront was discouraged. It was easy to get out there but I suspect that if I’d fallen in I would have gotten in trouble, and not just from being wet. I wonder how thick the ice was there?

a danger do not enter sign and yellow caution tape across a dock on the waterfront, windswept snow, old railing,

below: Instead of comic relief, we have colour relief!

close up of porthole and red wall on boat in the harbour, railing and rope knotted, both with snow on them

below: Ducks on ice.  Have you ever seen a duck land in the snow?  It looks exactly like a landing in water but with a much shorter skid at it comes to a stop.   Or maybe that was obvious because how else would a duck land?

ducks onthe ice on Lake Ontario in the foreground, Canada Malting Co silos in the backgrounds

below: More ducks… ducks swimming in the small patch of open water.  There can’t be much food for them these days.

snow covered docks with one small snow covered boat, harbour, some ice and some open water

tall ship in harbour, with condos along Queens Quay in the background

snow covered boats on snowy docks, bottom of larger boat is in the background.

ice covered ropes that are holding a boat tied to the shore

below:  Lake Ontario with the Port Lands and the Toronto Islands in the background.  Windswept snow on the ice.

frozen harbour, Lake Ontario, with some snow covered docks

Stay warm everyone!

And don’t lose your gloves!  There are so many lost and lonely gloves out there… I hope that this one isn’t yours because if you’re like me, you lose at least one every winter.  I wonder they end up? In landfills?  … where archeologists of the future will dig up all these single gloves and mitts and wonder what it says about our society?  [smile!]

one black wool glove that has been dropped on a slushy wet sidewalk in winter

banners on Queens Quay

Posted: September 18, 2015 in public art
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 Waterfront Outdoor Photo Exhibit

For the past four years, the Waterfront BIA has organized a photography contest.  East year fifty finalists are chosen.  This year they have organized a photo exhibit of a different kind.  One hundred and fourteen images were chosen from the 200 finalists from their previous photo contests.  These images were used (and cropped!) to make vertical banners, 5 ft x 2 ft in size.   The banners are made of vinyl and the same image is on both sides.

below: You can see many of the banners on Queen’s Quay between Yonge and Bathurst.

Looking west on Queens Quay towards Bathurst street. New TTC streetcar is in the photo as well as a number of condos and other buildings on the north side of the street

Picture of round orange life ring on the edge of the waterfront in Toronto.

Three pictures in one. Each of the pictures is of a banner hanging from a pole outside. On the left is a picture of seagull, in the middle is a picture of two houses and on the right is a winter waterfront scene

A pole with a vinyl banner with a colourful picture of boats. Also on the pole is a street sign that says Yo Yo Ma Lane

looking towards the waterfront. A banner with a picture of the Canadian flag is on a post by a tree in the foreground. The old silos for Canada Malting Company are in the background as is a boat moored beside the silos.

A banner with a picture of a seagull on it. In the background of the banner picture is the CN Tower. In the background of this photo, there is also the CN Tower.

 

below: Sometimes it’s difficult to see the banners amongst all the other things along Queen’s Quay

TTC streetcar on Queens Quay

below: There are also some banners on Lakeshore Blvd between Bathurst and Spadina.

A woman is walking on a sidewalk, away from the camera, beside the Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto. There are a few cars on the road. There are skyscrapers in the background. The elevated highway, the Gardiner Expressway, is also in the picture.

A composite of three pictures, each of a vertical banner hanging from a pole outdoors along a street. One banner is a kayaker in the harbour in front of the Toronto skyline. Another is a sunset over Toronto skyline on a cloudy day

Best Beach, and others, on Bay

Posted: April 21, 2015 in locations, public art
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The last block at the south end of Bay Street is closed to traffic at the moment because of the continuing, i.e. never ending, construction on Queens Quay.  In that block there are now three pieces of public art.  The most recent addition is a large photograph by Sarah Ann Johnson that covers a large portion of the west wall of the Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre.

Very large photograph of a beach scene with sailboats out on the horizon and trees on both sides, superimposed with whimsical drawings of circles and swirls in blues, purples, greens, reds and yellows . It is mounted on the side of a two storey concrete building, the bunker like Westin Hotel and Conference Centre

‘Best Beach’ is a welcome addition to the bunker-like structure of the Westin Hotel.  It is part of this year’s CONTACT photography festival and it is scheduled to remain here until the end of December.  StreetARToronto and Partners in ART also played a role in bringing this project to life.

close up of the lake in a Very large photograph of a beach scene with sailboats out on the horizon and trees on both sides, superimposed with whimsical drawings of circles and swirls in blues, purples, greens, reds and yellows

UPDATED: There is now a youtube video on this installation, produced by the City of Toronto.

 Two small sculptures are also on this block, one on the SW corner of Harbour and Bay and the other on the NW corner of Queens Quay and Bay.  Both are difficult to take photos of!

First, ‘The Wave’ by Ivan Kostov

Public art on a corner called 'The Wave' by Ivan Kostov. curved pieces of coloured metal on top of a greenish pedestal.

Looking up from underneath a sculpture, Public art on a corner called 'The Wave' by Ivan Kostov. curved pieces of coloured metal on top of a greenish pedestal. A highrise condo building is behind.

Second, ‘Nautilius’ by Judith Schwarz

Looking upward from below at a public art installation called 'Nautilius' by Judith Scwarz which is a two dimensional cut out piece of metal of a snail-like spiral, mounted about ten to 12 feet off the ground on square sided metal poles.

Toronto has a habit of cluttering up its sidewalks and public art like this one tends to become just another part of the mess. There is no overall plan. Placement of public art might look great on paper but does anyone take into consideration all the other stuff? Stuff that doesn’t appear on architects’ drawings – the garbage bins, newspaper boxes, TTC signs, phone booths, no parking signs, hydro poles, and such things like that.

Public art installation called 'Nautilius' by Judith Scwarz which is a two dimensional cut out piece of metal of a snail-like spiral, mounted about ten to 12 feet off the ground on square sided metal poles. It is an a sidewalk amongst a lot of other things, TTC sign, condos, construction fences, a parked bike, construction signs etc.

And lastly, I couldn’t resist this little guy who’s stuck on a Bell payphone.

A sticker of a one eyed creature, black drawing on white, is on the blue part of a Bell payphone.