Posts Tagged ‘St. James cathedral’

a little bit of Adelaide

Posted: October 30, 2022 in history, intersections, locations, old buildings, public art
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Eastward from Bay with a diversion or two.

These photos were taken on two different walks and you will have no trouble figuring out which images belong to which day! The first walk was on a damp morning back in September; the second walk was on a pleasantly warm and sunny October afternoon.

below: Looking up Bay Street to Old City Hall and its clock tower.

looking up Bay street from Adelaide including old city hall tower

below: New public art  “Dreaming” by Jaume Plensa made of polyester resin and marble dust.  Brilliantly white.

large white head public art on Adelaide, side view

large white head public art on Adelaide

Hidden by scaffolding …   par for the course that no matter where you walk there will be construction.

construction on Adelaide, front of building covered with scaffolding

Even though there have been a lot of changes on Adelaide, there are some old details that have been preserved such as these mosaics that are temporarily behind scaffolding. They are above the entrance to the Bell Canada Building at 76 Adelaide West. Five panels, each twenty feet tall and five feet wide, of glass mosaic tile are embedded in the cement of the building. They were designed by York Wilson and installed in 1965 when the building was constructed. The theme of the piece is communication and each panel represents a different form of communication – writing, drawing, music, voice, and satellites.

mosaic tile decorations on exterior of building, behind scaffolding

At 100 Adelaide West is the remains of the Concourse Building. When the area was redeveloped recently, only the front and east facade of the original Art Deco 1928 building were preserved. The original entrance way on Adelaide remains; they feature mosaics created by Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald and his son Thoreau.

art deco doorway - tile mosaics, carved stonework, and metal decorations on window and door,

Art Deco stonework

art deco details carved in stone on exterior of building

The remains of a metal fence or railing.

old metal railing outside entrance of a building

below: Looking east, at Sheppard Street.

street scene

pressure cleaning, with water, outside a building downtown

below: It looks like a splash of paint – like someone threw a can of paint at the building.

exterior of Deloitte building at Adelaide and Yonge, glass exterior has new artwork that looks like a large splash of water

below: The octagonal entrance to 1 Adelaide East (at Yonge) with its stained glass roof is being renovated.

below: Distraction!  Film crew on King Street (looking down Victoria St).

street scene to film crew working

below: Film trucks line both sides of Toronto Street

film trucks parked on both sides of Toronto street

below: Toronto hieroglyphics

yellow hydrant on sidewalk, with pink lines spray painted beside it

below: A short, tidy alley off Adelaide near Victoria

short tidy alley between two older stone and brick buildings

below: Fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard.  Collectively, the work is “Synthetic Eden” and it was created by Stacey Spiegel back in 1991.   The fountain with the metal mesh covering it – the mesh is supposedly the head of Adam.

fountains and public art in Adelaide Courtyard

below: The snake lurks over the garden.  The entrance to Adelaide Courtyard is beyond the etched glass panels.

Adelaide Courtyard

below: St. James Cathedral from the corner of Church and Adelaide.

St James Cathedral seen from the intersection of Church and Adelaide

below: Slight diversion north on Church where there is now a large vacant lot at Lombard.  How many cranes?

Church and Lombard vacant lot

below: Church Street, north from Adelaide.  A vacant lot on one side, a partial development on the other.

street scene with TTC street car

people walking past the ontario heritage plaque for the York Mechanics Institute at the corner of Adelaide and Church, now a patio for Tim Hortons

“The Mechanics’ Institute movement began in Britain and soon spread to North America. Its aim was to teach workers the applied technology behind new methods of manufacture and craftsmanship introduced during the Industrial Revolution. The first Institute in Ontario was established at York (Toronto) in 1830. It sponsored lectures, held classes and operated a lending library. It moved from rented quarters into its own new building on this site in 1861. After passage of the Free Libraries Act in 1882, the Institute transferred its assets to the municipal government. Its book collections formed the foundation of the Toronto Public Library, which opened in the former Institute building in 1884.”

below: Circa 1900, the music room of the York Mechanics Institute as a newspaper reading room

old black and white picture of the interior of the York Mechanics Institute that became a public library, newspaper reading room

photo credit: Photographer unknown, image from digital archives of the Toronto Public Library.

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below: “Brickman” by Inges Idee stands outside a residential building at Jarvis and Adelaide.  He stands 10m tall and is actually made from precast concrete, not brick.

 

very tall brick sculpture of a man shape, called Brickman, outside a brick building

below: Looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking northwest from the corner of Adelaide and Jarvis

looking through the glass windows of a gelato and coffee shop on a corner, two women walking past, chairs inside, sunny day, park across the street

below: Old Post Office.  This building was opened in 1832, before Toronto became a city.  According to Wikipedia “It is the oldest purpose-built post office in Canada that functioned as a department of the British Royal Mail and the only surviving example. After its initial use as a post office, it became part of a Roman Catholic boys’ school” until 1913.  It was used for various things (offices, cold storage, etc) until 1971 when it was closed up and left vacant.  When it was (re)discovered to be the old post office, it was designated as an Ontario Heritage Site as well as a National Historic Site.  Since 1982 it has been a museum as well as a functional post office.

Torontos first post office on adealide street, 3 storey brick building with Canadian flags flying on either side of the entrance

below: Future chefs, George Brown College

looking in the windows on the 2nd storey of George Brown College into the kitchen of the cooking school. students in chef outfits, white, with hats, standing around a class

below: Looking west from Frederick Street.  At this point we are in the old town of York, laid out by John Graves Simcoe in 1793.  At that time, Adelaide Street was called Duke Street, after the Duke of York.  Richmond Street, one block north was Duchess Street for his wife.  The Duke of York at that time was the second son of King George III, Prince Frederick.

Adelaide East, looking west towards downtown

below: Looking west from Sherbourne.  This was originally Caroline Street, named after  Caroline of Brunswick who was the wife of Prince George in 1793 (and later George IV).  When she became too unpopular, the street name was changed to Sherbourne, after the town in England with the same name but a different spelling, Sherborne.

people crossing Adelaide at Sherbourne, looking west on Adelaide towards downtown

I stopped to take a picture of an old car (remember when diesel cars were going to take over the world?) and I found an old shoe.  Keep walking and keep your eyes open because you never what you’re going to find along the way!

an old beige diesel mercedes parked on the side of a street, a single abandoned shoe on the pavement behind it

nearing the end of autumn

Posted: November 1, 2019 in general Toronto, nature
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Yikes!  Preparations are already underway in the Distillery District for their annual Christmas market.

men on a blue lift crane at the distillery district, old brick building

At least their sign that counts down the number of days until Christmas is not hung yet.  I am not ready to think about Christmas yet!

 

leaning against the side of a building, on its side on the ground, the sign at the distillery district that says how many days left until Christmas

I was hoping for some sun as I walked the other day but October seems to have ended with clouds and rain.  November is here and it is notorious for being grey and depressing.   The clouds on these hoardings seemed appropriate.  They are around a construction site on Lower Sherbourne street, at the southeast corner of Lower Sherbourne and Front.

a woman walks past hoardings on Sherbourne street that are shiny and have pictures of clouds on them

below: This is the hole behind the hoardings.

construction site at Sherbourne and Front

That intersection, (LS & F), has construction sites at both the southeast and northwest corners.  At a third corner, the northeast, there is a development notice sign.

an Esso gas station at the northeast corner of Front and Sherbourne, also a Tim Hortons and a convenience store

Yet another developer wants to build yet another 37 storey building here.  At least one person has voiced their displeasure.

blue and white city of Toronto development notice on the northeast corner of Front and Sherbourne, now an Esso gas station, but developers want to put a 37 storey building there

And other signs of discontent nearby….

in blue marker, graffiti that says Doug Ford kills

time and space condo hoardings where someone has written the word no in front of space, so you have time and no space condos

below: Looking west on King Street East at Jarvis.

King street east,, looking west from Jarvis Street towards steeple of St. James Cathedral and the trees in front of it in autumn colours

below: St. James Park gets new walkways

chainlink fence around parts of St. James park as new walkways are constructed

below: In the Sculpture Garden across the street from St. James Cathedral is a collection of wood poles with small speakers attached to the top of them.  This is an art installation by Lou Sheppard called Dawn Chorus/Evensong 2019.  It is part of the Toronto Biennial of Art that is on now (until late in December).  It “interrupts the denaturalized landscape with music created through the transposition of spectrograms of birdsong…”

in a garden, on flat space, grass, wood poles with small speakers attached to the top of them

below: ‘Haunted City’.  One of a few Halloween decorations along Queen West.

a skeleton wrapped in black hood and cape in a window, with reflections of stores and street on Queen West

below: While walking up Spadina this bike caught my attention because

bike decorated with many used tea bags parked beside a tree on Spadina

below: … it’s decorated with many, many used tea bags. On closer inspection, there seem to be quite a few different brands. My guess is that this is one of a kind…. or at least I hope so!

close up of bike decorated with many used tea bags

a black and red motorbike is parked by a mural in Chinatown of a person carrying babies in baskets.

below: I’m not sure just what these added words mean.  Is now real?  Can we be sure?

orange fence around a tree, tree protection area, someone has written on the sign: Now is the only thing real

below: A few remaining campaign signs from the federal election back in October.  The Liberals won every Toronto seat.

side of a building in Chinatown, stores and restaurant, bike parked there, also three large Adam Vaughan election signs.

looking across Spadina to a store in Chinatown

two women standing on a sidewalk, talking to each other,

skeleton graffiti on a metal street box

below: Discarded and left in a pile in an alley, JFK and Bobby Kennedy rugs.  Not one but four? or five?

small blue carpets in a pile on the ground, about 4 of them, with pictures of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, a brown eagle, and some words

below: Uber5000 birdies riding in tandem, along with an old banana seat bike affixed to the wall.

an UBer5000 mural of two yellow birdies on a tandem bike. An old bike is affixed to the wall beside the mural

below: A grumpy sign?  Or just a sign with fangs?

at the entrance to an alley, a red and white do not enter sign has been altered, a face has been drawn it in black sharpie

part of a tuquoise painted house beside an alley with fall foilage, a truck and man in the distance

below: Van Gogh can still be found on Huron Street

a portrait of Vincent Van Gogh on an exterior wall, street art mural

below: This is part of the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) building at College & Huron Streets.  There might be a certain charm in the concrete buildings of this era… when it comes time to renovate them or tear them down, will there be an effort made to save them?

tree with a few remaining yellow leaves in front of a concrete building with long vertical recessed windows

below: Nearby, this “artwork” on the exterior of 215 Huron Street, is from the same time period.

a black metal bench, outside, sits in front of a wall with an artwork on it made from different colours of concrete and pebbles

below: Reflections in a window on the University of Toronto campus.

reflections in a set of windows

below: U of T playing fields on Hoskin Ave with the black/darker brick Trinity College behind.

University of Toronto playing fields, from the south, with Trinity College behind and then city buildings behind that

A few more “campus in autumn” photos

large tree in autumn colours on University of Toronto campus

orange plastic fence, orange and black cone, and autumn trees in a corner of U of T campus

yellow and orange leaves in front of a grey stone building

below: There were still lots of leaves on the trees at Queens Park too.

autumn trees in Queens Park

below: Some of the oak trees had multicoloured leaves.

oak leaves in greens, yellows, reds, and oranges

autumn trees in Queens Park including some pinkish coloured leaves

below: End.  Yes, this is the end.

large black letters make the word end on a red brick wall

transitions, seasonal and otherwise

Posted: November 22, 2018 in construction, nature, old buildings, public art, reflections
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From autumn to winter, from old to new.

close up of the center of a pink flower

below: It’s a sculpture!  It’s a piece of playground equipment!  Two very large bronze hands and a red rope lattice between the hands has been installed in Berczy Park.  It was designed by Toronto artist Luis Jacob.  In the background is the “dog fountain”.

sculpture of two black hands, very large, reaching out of the ground, with red rope "cat's cradle" between them, fountain in the background, Berczy park in Toronto

below: Berczy Park from the other side. The water in the fountain has been turned off for the winter. It’s a bit too cold to hang out in the park these days but the dogs are still patiently and quietly waiting beside the fountain.

Berczy park, fountain with statues of dogs, no water because winter

below: The lower part of “Flatiron Mural” by Derek Besant, 1980 on the west wall of the Gooderham building, overlooking Berczy Park .

flatiron mural by Derek Besant on the east wall of the Gooderham Building, fake blue and white side of the building

below: On the other side of the Gooderham building, near Church Street, the old-style lamps have been decorated for the Christmas season.

Christmas decorations, pine branches and red plant pots, on a lamp post in front of the Gooderham building in Toronto, red brick flatiron type building

below: More signs that maybe Christmas is coming… eventually.  Christmas decorations are now available at most grocery stores.

part of an evergreen Christmas decoration with red and gold spray painted pieces

It’s weird to be getting into the Christmas spirit already… in mid-November when there are still a few leaves on the trees…

below: And lots of leaves on the ground.

wet yellow leaves on the ground in a small puddle, reflection of tree branches in the puddle

below: St. James Cathedral from the park (sculpture garden) across the street. Autumn, and the views are no longer blocked by greenery.

St. James Cathedral and steeple from across the street, shows whole of front of the church, in early winter so the trees in front have no leaves

below: In that sculpture garden there’s a new installation.

a white metal sculpture of a treble clef and a line of music, with yellow and red lights, in a garden, in a city, with brick buildings behind

below: “Pigro” by Tony Romano.   Pigro is Italian for “lazy”, as in lazily reclining in the park. By the looks of it, there are lights on the sculpture so it might be interesting to check this out after dark (i.e. after 4 p.m.!)

a white metal sculpture of a treble clef and a line of music, with yellow and red lights, in a garden, in a city with a brick wall behind it

part of a white metal sculpture of a treble clef and a line of music, with yellow and red lights, in a garden, in a city with a brick wall behind it

below: Around the corner, on King Street, the omnipresent construction/renovation.

scaffolding on the front a building on King street, steeple of St. James Cathedral in the background

below: The Tom Jones restaurant still stands alone although construction has been creeping closer and closer.

Tom Jones restaurant, three storey white brick building, stand alone, parking lot on one side, street on the other, dark wood door and door frame,

below: The pale purple wall with the mural and Henry Fielding quote are also still in place although the paint is peeling badly in some spots.  (this is the east side of the Tom Jones restaurant building).

pale purple wall with mural and text, parkin lot attendent boothin front of wall as well as one parked car

below: The backs of the buildings on King Street that are being redeveloped.

below: Transitions, old, new, and in between.

back of three old brick buildings, scaffolding on the building to the right, a new glass building behind

below: And the last look at the construction, sort of… you can just see bits of the reddish scaffolding across King Street

glass and metal covering over a walkway outside between two buildings

pink and green cabbage like plant

April slush, April sleet

Posted: April 16, 2018 in galleries, history, old buildings, people
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Well, that was quite a weekend.  An April winter storm with snow, sleet, ice pellets, freezing rain, and even some just plain rain.   The streets were icy and the sidewalks were slushy and wet.   Chunks of ice have fallen off roofs, tree branches have broken off with the weight of the ice that formed on them.  And then there was the wind that blew hard.   Of course I went out!

hazy, blurry picture of a person walking with an umbrella up Yonge street with other people, cars, wet sidewalk,

below: Dressed in our April finery. Black parkas.

people walking in the rain, downtown Toronto

below:  There is a small, but interesting, exhibit at the Toronto Reference Library at Yonge and Asquith that I wanted to see.  It’s called ‘Toronto Revealed’ and it’s in the TD Gallery on the main floor.   It features drawings and paintings of Toronto’s past.

sign in the window of the Toronto Reference library re the display at the TD gallery, Toronto Revealed, pictures and paintings of Toronto in the past

below: One of the paintings in the exhibit is this one, ‘Cherry Street Hotel’ by Gerard Lazare (1978).  The Cherry Street Hotel was built in 1890 at the corner of Cherry and Front Streets.  It later became the Canary Restaurant (1965-2010).  The building is still there but it stands empty.

painting of the Canary restaurant on the corner of Cherry and Front streets

below: There was a display of small artworks by Nicholas Hornyansky (1896-1965), including this one of St. James Cathedral (1938).  Hornyansky was born in Hungary and immigrated to Canada in 1929.  He is known for the etchings and aquatints (another print making technique) that he did of Toronto buildings and landscapes.

small framed painting of Saint James cathedral in Toronto, by Nicholas Hornyansky, painted in 1938 .

below: Most of the paintings were very realistic (documentary) except this one – a wacky view of Bloor Street looking west from Yonge towards Bay by Carlos Marchiori, painted in acrylic in 1976.   Even then, it is fairly true to reality.  The darker tower on the right is on the NW corner of Bloor and Yonge.  Stollerys store (the low building on the SW corner) is long gone.

bright painting of city landscapre, Yonge & Bloor, bendy buildings, cars as coloured blobs on the streets, puffy clouds in bright blue sky, by Carlos Marchiori

While I was at the library, I wandered around and took a few pictures of its vast open spaces.  It was warm and dry!  I was expecting to be told to put my camera away, but no one seemed to care.

interior of the Toronto Reference Library from the fifth floor, semi circular tables, reddish carpet, open concept architecture, rows of books,

below: Most were too busy working to notice.

looking down an aisle between two stacks of books (book shelves), a woman is sitting at a table studying and writing, there is a window behind her

below: One more picture from the ‘Toronto Revealed’ exhibit is this painting of the intersection of King and Jarvis by Vernon Mould.   It was painted in 1979.  Was gas really 20 cents a gallon in 1979?  No! That was the year that prices went metric and a litre of gas was 20 cents.    I came back to this picture because I chose to chase down that intersection to see what it looks like today.

painting, in mostly brown tones of a three story building at the corner of King and Jarvis, Toronto, with a small gas station across the street, sign says gas 20 cents, 2 gas pumps,

below: Et voici, same intersection, approximately the same angle.  There is now a building (with a Second Cup on the ground floor) where Mould would have stood.   By the looks of it, the three storey brick building on the NE corner has been fixed up since 1979.  So glad to see that it hasn’t been replaced by a glass condo tower!

intersection of King and Jarvis, looking north, three story brick building,

below: I wanted to find out more about the building, so I googled Sportsman’s Shop and I found a wonderful old picture of it from the 1970’s, obviously taken before it was renovated.    Apparently, it was fixed up in the early 1980s.

old black and white photo of the Sportsmans Shop at 150 King East in Toronto, three storey brick building

photo credit: Gary Switzer, source: Urban Toronto

below:  The next photo was taken as I stood on the same corner of King and Jarvis, but pointing my camera in different direction – looking west on King towards St. James Cathedral.  This is the eastern limit of the King Street streetcar project which is why the multicoloured barricades block part of the righthand westbound lane.

looking west on King street from Jarvis, St. James Cathedral and park on the right, downtown towers and office buildings in the distance, rainy day, TTC streetcar,

below:  These women are waiting in the wrong place.  Although the city changed the location of the streetcar stops along King Street, the bus shelters haven’t been moved yet.   At least they were (sort of) out of the rain.   They soon realized their mistake.

below: Looking back, the prerequisite photo of a TTC streetcar through a rainy day window.

looking out the back window of a streetcar, rainy day, raindrops on the glass, another streetcar is passing by

It’s always better to end a blog post on a happy note, right?  It may be a dream (I hope not!) but spring can’t be too far away.  April showers bring May flowers, right?  On my second warm up stop I saw this cheerful, hopeful drawing tacked to a wall.   It was one of many on the wall, all the work of Maihyet Burton.  They were at the Artscape building at the Distillery District.

a pen and ink drawing of spring flowers, poppies, in blues and purples, and fiddleheads in bright green

below: Headed home again.

two people with their back to the camera wait on the subway platform as a train arrives

Don’t put away your boots and hats yet!

Rob Ford, funeral procession

Posted: March 30, 2016 in events, people
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Rob Ford 
City councillor and former Mayor of Toronto
May 1969 – March 2016,
Funeral procession from City Hall to St. James Cathedral, 30 March

 below: For two days Rob Ford lay in repose at City Hall where people could pay their respects.  And many did.  Yesterday, the line up wound around the corner of City Hall as people waited their turn.  Some people loved him; some people hated him.  Possibly there were those who were indifferent.

The corner of Toronto City Hall with a long line up of people waiting to get inside.

This morning there was a short procession from City Hall to the noontime funeral at St. James Cathedral.

below: After arriving at City Hall, Doug Ford greets the crowd.

Doug Ford walks from a black limo to a crowd of people standing behind barricades in front of City Hall. They have their arms outstretched towards Ford, ready for a handshake and greeting.

Although the procession was scheduled to begin at 10:30, it didn’t start until close to 11:30.  A group of people waited at Nathan Phillips Square including some of Rob Ford’s supporters.  I overheard a conversation between two men who were discussing what they thought of politics and politicians, most of it negative.  At one point they declared that all career politicians should be kicked out of office.  I thought to myself, you mean guys like Rob Ford?  Wasn’t he a career politician?

A middle aged man holds a banner that reads Ford Mayor over his head, beside him is a woman also holding a Ford Mayor sign. On the back of her jacket are a number of stickers in support of Ford
A man walks up the concrete ramp at City Hall, beside him on the wall is written in chalk, Heavenbound. Thankyou. May God bless your family.
Two people in front of the Archer sculpture at Nathan Phillips Square, a man and a woman. The mans back is turned towards the camera. He is wearing a black jacket with the words 'Home is Toronto' in white letters.
About 20 or so people were holding a large flag made of a couple of  Canadian flags and all the provincial flags stitched together.   It was a very diverse group of people, diverse in age as well as in ethnic background.   They were joking about whether or not they were going to be on the front page of the ‘Sun’.   We shall see!

A large flag made up of the Canadian flag and the provincial flags all joined together, held around the edges by many people, view from under the flag, showing many legs and feet, and more of the crowd in the background.

A lone cameraman stands on the upper level at City Hall outside, taking pictures of the people below.

below: A woman finds a quiet place to sit and wait.

An older woman sits on a bench inside a TTC bus shelter. A fire truck is behind her.
below: The police were in position, ready to start, long before the procession began.  So was the media and it was a very large media presence indeed.

A young man holds a camera and microphone, aimed at the start of a parade.
below: The Toronto Fire Department had a large Canadian flag on display at Queen and Bay streets, near the beginning of the procession route.

A very large Canadian flag hangs from the cranes of two fire trucks at the corner of Queen and Bay streets in downtown Toronto

A fireman holds a rope that is attached to the corner of a very large Canadian flag. A firetruck is behind him

Three people stand on the sidewalk in front Hudsons Bay store windows. A man with a hard hat, a man with hands in his pockets, and a woman in long black coat. A couple of bikes are parked there too. The theme of the store windows is Inspired.

A funeral procession for Rob Ford passes along Queen Street on its way to St. James cathedral, photographers are in front, a police guard is walking beside it.

ceremonial firemen marching in a funeral procession in front of Hudsons Bay store in Toronto

a small group of people wait on the sidewalk, watching down the street, one man with a camera in hand.

a woman holding a ford nation sign above her head walks in a procession across King street

A funeral procession for Rob Ford passes along Queen Street on its way to St. James cathedral, photographers are in front, a police guard is walking beside it.

People walking in a procession including a man holding a Rob Ford mask

a small group of people wait on the sidewalk, watching down the street, one woman with a camera in hand.

A woman in hoodie and sunglasses holds two small Ford Nation flags as well as a bobble head doll of Rob Ford as she walks in his funeral procession down Yonge Street

An older woman waves a little Ford Nation flag while the man behind her has used Ford Nation signs in lieu of a scarf. He is wearing reflective sunglasses too.

A black man with beard and moustache turns to look back, three young men in work clothes stand against the storefront beside and behind him.

below: Trying to keep the people, most with cameras, off the streets.

A police man in a yellow jacket and on a bike is trying to get the crowd to stand back as he rides beside a hearse with police guard as it drives down the street.

below: This guy may have been filming the crowd (and me) but he didn’t look away from his phone.

A man and a woman are each holding the side of a Ford Nation banner as they walk with a group of people in the procession to Rob Ford's funeral

a woman wearing sunglasses and holding two things, a photo of Rob Ford, and a small Ford Nation flag

below: The crowd in front of St. James cathedral

The hearse carrying Rob Ford's body arrives at St. james cathedral and the casket is taken out and carried into the church with police honour guard

a woman holds a framed photo of a selfie of her and Rob Ford

An older man sits on a bench in front of St. James cathedral while other people stand around, watching the procession for Rob Ford's funeral

A man with two little white dogs on a leash stands in front of St. James cathedral along with a crowd of people there for Rob Ford's funeral

people behind a barricade, with a policeman in front. One of the people carries a sign that reads Peoples Mayor

a young person sits on the grass, resting against a tree while other people stand around

From King St., the view of St. James cathedral front doors, lots of people and police in yellow jackets in the picture as well as a man walking his bike

As I was walking away from the cathedral, a woman approached me.
She pointed towards the church asked me if I knew what was going on there.

added later:  I was going to discard this photo but then I noticed the man in the mask.
Who wears a mask to a funeral procession?

a man in a black and white mask stands behind some women waving ford nation flags.