Posts Tagged ‘restaurants’

Eglinton LRT to Keelesdale

Posted: September 24, 2026 in locations, stores, transportation
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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.

view through glass of Up to This Moment which is an art installation created by artists Hadley and 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).

Up to This Moment which is an art installation created by artists Hadley and Maxwell.  It is made of words such as In one continuous poem

people getting off train at Mount Dennis LRT station

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

looking out of the window at the front of an LRT station as it is parked at Mount Dennis station

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?

reconstruction of York Memorial Collegiate, with red and yellow hoardings around the school

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.

front of York Memorial Collegiate, built 1929, brick and sandstone

 

black marker drawings on red and yellow striped hoardings

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.

weathered and faded street art on eglinton west

below: Eglinton, looking east to Keele and beyond.

Eglinton Avenue, looking east from Keele

below: Vybes be vibe-ing; Vybes be positive

glass door on store has circular green sign with picture of a tree and words saying natural vybes

below: Bright! …  red and white tiles

black mailbox on wall with red and white tiles in checkerboard pattern

below: Eglinton West gateway marker

eglinton west sign, large vertical post with a blue globe

below: Northside of Eglinton, looking west towards Keele.

in front of a coin laundry, northside of Eglinton Ave., looking west towards Keele, people sitting on a bench outside nails and spa shop, other people walking on sidewalk

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,

two brick two storey commercial buildings on Eglinton west, one with a large billboard on the roof, Easy Shoping Discount and Variety, and Unique

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”.

signon outside of building, over door, that says Moorish Science Temple of America

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

merchandise in a store window

below: Two flags at the door, Granada and Jamaica

store on Eglinton West with Jamaican flag in the window

buildings on Eglinton West, one is an older small house, and one is a squareish commercial building, both two storeys

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.

one small and empty building sits on the southeast corner of Keele and Eglinton West

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.

blue and white redevelopment notice sign on the side of a red brick building

below:Lord Help Us beside a Kiss

store window with a large plant, also two hand written signs, one says lord help us and the other says kiss

below: Christmas greetings all year long.

sign on store window that says Merry Christmas from the Lord

below:Does anyone burn CDs anymore?

signs in store window advertising CD burning service, also fax machines,

inside a restaurant, view of kitchen area

below: Jesus House

sign in store window that says Jesus House

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

Lester Avenue, houses, street scene

small older houses in front, larger apartment buildings behind them

below: A very small house!

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

house with white garage, two small windows on garage that have been painted to look like eyes

alley behind Eglinton West, looking downhill, looking west

small window on a brown shingle covered shed, in an alley, back of stores on other side of the lane in the background

old gate, patched with pieces of plywood

bright red wood fence with top of mosque just showing over the fence

below:Masjid El-Noor

mosque

street art on a garage in an alley

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.

city street sign that says Linda De Lellis Lane

woman talking on her phone as she walks outside

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

steep and long stairwell down at Keelesdale LRT station

two women talking on LRT platform at the bottom of an escalator

two people on an LRT train, one is a young man standing by the door, the other is a TTC employee in uniform, sitting

people on an LRT train, TTC, 4 people standing and one woman seated

people waiting on underground LRT platform, waiting for a train

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

concourse level, inside, LRT station on Eglinton line

Eglinton sign on walls of subway station where rust from pipes has stained the concrete wall

Same same but different

Posted: July 23, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations, people
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in Kensington

sign on sidewalk made with pink fabric covered with yellow and white flowers, a big white circle in the middle with hi written in large yellow letters

Some places never change, at least not in the big ways. Although little things pop up only to be replaced by other tidbits, Kensington still looks like it has for a while now. I can’t say forever! Because nothing lasts forever.
In fact, there is a small photo exhibit on hoardings in the neighbourhood that features old pictures and there are definitely similarities to be found!

hoardings with an exhibit of old black and white photos of kensington

below: On the left, from 1940 a photo of a shop at Denison and Dundas West from the Jewish Archives.

two old black and white photos of the kensington neighbourhood, vintage

below: This is an enlargement of the the black and white photo on the right from the picture above. It is the Augusta Fruit Market and it was taken in 1961 by Vincenzo Pietropaolo

black and white photo from 1961 of Augusta Fruit market

below: Sixty years later the same building sits on the same corner only now it’s the Oxford Fruit Market. It even has the same green roofline and what looks to be the same hydro pole!

the Oxford Fruit Market, painted blue, on the corner of Augusta

below: An iconic Kensington sight gets a new paint job.

woman wearing an orange turban-like hat is painting a car in many bright colours, the car is full of plants growing inside it

below: Fix your hearts or die.

graffiti sign on a pole, covering an add for 35 mm cameras for sale, words that say fix your hearts or die

below: A mural on the side wall of Perolas, by Jeannie Priscila aka Dajenesis

two people walking past a mural of a South American woman on Perolas Supermarket exterior wall

below: Hands outstretched to passers-by

a woman in a coral coloured dress walks past a mural of an old woman with her hands outstretched, asking for something, a red and white shawl over her head

below: Hate has no home here, plus something that started with “Behind stained steamy glass, we’ll (and then your imagination can take over!)

signs on a wood utility pole in front of a painting on a brick wall of a cup of coffee. A poster with words Hate has no home here. An ad for a store that is partially obscured by the pole, and a fake street sign that starts with Behind Stained steamy glass, we'll... and the rest is blocked by many stickers

below: free Toronto Caribbean newspapers

below: Ricas Tortas, Elotes y Esquites are fading away

below: Eyes eyes and more by Jeremy

below: Walking past temptation – churros, empanadas, slushies and Birra Catrina

a couple carry their shopping in bags as they walk on sidewalk, walking past

below: Pour me into frequency – in triplicate

3 large graffiti posters in an alley, covering other street art, each with an anatomically correct heart in different colours (red, green and blue), and the words pour me into frequency

below: This little sock monkey not only shows his rainbow colours but also shows his support for the COVID-19 vaccine!

a sock monkey sits in a store window, wearing a rainbow flag scarf and a sticker that says I got my covid-19 vaccine

below: Uber5000 – yellow birdies in a helicopter on top and dogs playing cards on the bottom. Perhaps that yellow birdie on the ladder is dropping in on the card game?

below: A view down the alley towards more murals – a very big multicoloured chicken beside a face

below: A Rowell Soller close up

Close up of a face, eyes closed, mural by Rodwell Soller

below: A brighter than blood red beak looks rather creepy on this enormous chicken by Phillip Saunders

mural of a chicken's head and beak

below: Walking past one of the many patios now open in Kensington

A man with long hair and wearing a cowboy hat walks past a patio in Kensington

below: Carlos House of Spice

Carlos House of Spice in Kensington, with an alley beside it, murals on the walls in the alley, incense for sale in front,

3 pedestrians walking on a sidewalk, walking past a man struggling with a large package on his bike

below: Saved by the youth Can you imagine it? Beside Snacks Mexican style where Aguas Frescas (Jamaica, watermelon and mango) are $5. Also on the menu, Pina Coladas, as well as Elote, and Esquites (corn dishes I think)

black letters spray painted on white tile wall, says saved by youth can you imagine it? wall is beside a window of a coffee shop with words and numbers listing the prices of drinks, aguas frescas

below: a silver poser bunny

silver poser bunny on pink background

a large flag draped around a white picket fence, flag is yellow with a big happy face on it

below: Dundas West near Augusta

stores and signs on Dundas West near Augusta. Chao Chow Association of Ontario, Swiftronics, Royal Denture, and others, some people walking on the sidewalk too

below: Walking to Noras for a shawarma or a kabob?

below: Hoardings on Dundas West surrounding Alexandria Park redevelopment.

a woman on a bicycle rides past hoardings around Alexandria Park redevelopment, with a mural on it by Javid Jah and Danile Deluxe

below: A large mural that was a collaboration between Phillip Saunders and Luvs

large mural of a mans face in Kensington

below: Graffiti slaps, stickers, and paste-ups – Feelings Boi, Urban Ninja Squadron, TRP 613,

below: T-bonez in black and white

sticker of t bonez urban ninja squadron in black and white

below: A shiny red skateboarder zooms past a snake with its tongue stuck out

graffiti slap of a bright shiny red skateboarder on the move

below: stickers on boxes

below: Stickers on poles

graffiti stickers on poles in Kensington

below: A wise owl with curly hair and glasses plays the accordion

below: You are not your mistakes plus a summer time poem

on brown paper, a message that says You are not your mistakes, beside a red Tridel sign. on the latter, someone has written a poem in sharpie

The words are very small on the red sign; this is what they say.

Summer Time
Sundress
I feel India in my bones
I can smell sunlight
I can feel the high time
bless me
God bless me, goddess of forbidden love
I am she
I ___ one white candle
Maintain purity

go east … East York

Posted: March 9, 2020 in history, locations, stores
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Another blog post constructed from the wanderings around a neighbourhood.

below: A bronze plaque erected by the East York Historical Society is mounted on the stone fence of the Taylor Cemetery which is adjacent to Don Mills United Church.    The plaque mentions the Methodist Church – the Methodists became part of the United Church in 1925.

bronze plaque on a stone wall, Taylor cemetery, erected by the East York historical society gives rough outline of the history of the Taylor family here

The Taylor Cemetery – John Taylor (1773-1868), his wife Margaret Hawthorne and seven children emigrated from Uttoxeter Staffordshire in 1821. In 1839, three sons, John, Thomas, and George, purchased this land from Samuel Sinclair (1767-1852) except for a portion Sinclair gave to the Primitive Methodist Connexion in 1851. The Taylors gave the Connexion a brick church in 1859. The family operated three paper mills and a brick mill in the Don Valley, where they had considerable landholdings and were responsible for much of the development of East York in the nineteenth century.

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below: The present church building dates from 1950 when a smaller building was demolished.  This church was registered in 1819 and has been on this site since 1839 (as mentioned above, originally Methodist).

brick Don Mills United Church with bright red doors

below: Close by is Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church.  Established in 1928, it was the first Catholic parish in the Township of East York.  This church, built in 1948, is the second one on the site.     

Holy Cross Church

below: Bethany Baptist Church has been on the corner of Pape and Cosburn since 1920.  Obviously this building is not that old!  This is the addition, built in 1958, to the older church that you can just see on the right side of the picture.

brick building with stained glass in blue and green in the center section, sign on front says Bethany Baptist Church

below: A metal sculpture of a soldier mounted on the wall of The Royal Canadian Legion, hall #10, a memorial to the Soliders of Suicide – those soldiers who have taken their own lives, usually as the result of PTSD.

a metal statue of a soldier, at rest, mounted on a brick wall, as memorial to soldiers who committed suicide

below: The southeast corner of Pape and O’Connor still sits empty. There used to be a gas station here and that probably meant contaminated soil that had to be dealt with.   The development proposal sign dates from 2014  and was for a 2 storey commercial building.  I am not sure why the delay or what the status of the proposal is.

vacant lot on the corner of O'Connor and Pape, with fence around it, development proposal sign from 2014, overgrown,

below: Donlands Convenience with its rounded corner is similar to a few others in the city.

Donlands convenience store, a 2 storey brick building on the corner of an intersection, with a rounded wall

stores on Donlands Ave as well as a studio with a large blue store front

two people waiting on the corner for a green light

below: Do not block the entrance. …. or are the apples for the teachers?

4 bushel baskets of apples in a doorway of the Korjus Mathematics Tutorial Services

below: A sample of some of the restaurants in the area.  There are also quite a few Greek restaurants as the Danforth (and the original Greektown) is just to the south.

3 restaurants on a street, an Indian Paan and snack plce, an Africa Indian restaurant called Simba, and a fish and chip restaurant

independent gas station and service center at Floyd street

a man fills a car tank with gas at an independent gas station, sign says price of a litre of gas is 99.9 cents

below: Golden Pizza Restaurant in an old brick building with a square facade at the roofline.

the golden pizza restaurant on Broadview, old 2 storey brick building with square roofline facade

below: Another square roofline, Logan Convenience

Logan convenience store, 2 storey red brick building, on a corner, with no other building next to it

Like most parts of the city, the houses are of various architectural styles.

houses Torrens

Whether I am correct or not, I don’t know but I have always associated East York with small post-war bungalows.

a well kept yellow brick post war bungalow with a grey roof and a partial white and green metal awning over the front steps that lead to a small porch

white bungalow with Christmas wreath on brown wood front door and a santa claus decoration on the front steps, a yellow fire hydrant by the sidewalk

A few are being “renovated”

construction of a new 2 storey house in between two square bungalows

below: What was surprising to me was how many multi-family buildings there are in the area –  Both lowrise…

front entrance, exterior, of a yellow brick lowrise apartment building from the 1960s or 1970s

4 storey apartment building, brick, on a corner

and apartment buildings

4 high rise apartment buildings in East York. winter time, trees with no leaves, blue sky,

curved white concrete cover over entrance of apartment building, that is brown brick with white balconies

two brick houses in front of a tall apartment building

lamp and lampost in front of a blank beige wall of an apartment building, with another highrise in the background.

below: I am beginning to think that there should be at least one old car picture in every blog post! I certainly encounter enough of them! Today’s car – a yellow Oldsmobile (from the 1970’s?).  Sounds like a challenge doesn’t it?!

an old yellow Oldsmobile car, with historic licence plate, parked in a driveway in front of an old white garage