In many places in Toronto, railway lines run diagonally through the city’s grid of streets and avenues. Often, they cross the streets near intersections including at Carlaw and Gerrard East. The result is an intersection with two underpasses.
The mural on Gerrard East was updated and added to recently that I remarked on that I noted in a previous post, East on the 506. Kirsten McCrea was the artist.
below: The southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw is angled. In “East on the 506” I described the art on this wall as: “In the center of the newly painted rectangles are two grey shapes, these are originals. They are part of a 1996 installation by Dereck Revington called ‘Blue Fire’. There is still a plaque that describes these aluminum pieces as “a constellation of five paired aluminum fragments etched with traces of a poem by Robin Blaser and suspended from the entrances to the underpass”.
The overpass on the Carlaw side has now been painted too. The following pictures were taken back in November.
below: Hands beckon and point the way under the railway tracks on the west side of Carlaw, from the north
below: And from the south
below: Under the bridge
below: A blue octopus in the water
At the southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw there is a small park. The retaining wall of the railway tracks marks one of the boundaries of the park and is continuous with the walls of the underpasses. It too was painted by Ryan Smeeton but with the help of Elicsr, Smug, Tenser, and Steam.
as I walk Toronto 