Posts Tagged ‘stars’

Danforth – Woodbine – Gerrard

Posted: April 7, 2024 in alleys, doors, graffiti and street art, history, locations, reflections, stores, transportation
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or thereabouts…

below: Starting point, Woodbine and Danforth

below: Small Mediah painting in the doorway, Danforth

small street art mural by mediah in the entrance to a store, people on the sidewalk, Danforth

below: Another Mediah mural, on the railway underpass on Woodbine just south of Danforth

mural by mediah, geometric shapes and colours, on an underpass

below: And again, in an alley south of Gerrard.

below: East End Love

tall narrow mural beside sidewalk on the Danforth, East End Love

below: “Humming on Woodbine”  – A hummingird and a young woman with daffodils in yellow and purple, a mural by Blazeworks at Woodbine and Danforth.

mural painted by Blazeworks in 2023, called humming on woodbine

below: Closer-up version  –  an old streetcar (when did they stop running on Danforth?  The TTC operated streetcars on Danforth from 1923 until the subway opened in the 1960s.)

below: Two storey brick stores with square facades in front.  Rows like this can be found all over the city although in many places they are being replaced. This row has probably been here for a hundred years; this section of Danforth was developed between 1910 and 1930.  The streetcar provided a commuter route and facilitated growth to the east.  The opening of the Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor Viaduct) over the Don River in 1918 made access to downtown and the rest of the city even easier.

row of two story brick stores on danforth

below: Some stores have added features such as this little peaked facade at the front and the fancy brick work around the windows.

two storey brick store front on danforth, with small peak in roof on on side

below: Window reflections

reflections in a window of a store on Danforth, cars and stores across the street can be seen.

below: Tims stands alone

two story building with a Tim Hortons, pale pink building, no buildings on either side of it, a woman in a pink coat walks past

below: Ghost sign on Danforth, Burnett Brothers Butchers, The House of Quality.  That would be Alfred and Horace Burnett.

ghost sign for Burnett Brothers Butchers of high quality, on old brick building on the Danforth

below: Remnants of streetcar tracks can also be found on Strathmore Blvd (behind Woodbine station) that abruptly end at Cedarvale

old streetcar tracks in a street, Strathmore Blvd., that come to an end.

below:  Drink Coca-Cola – an iconic red disc. As for the rest of the sign, the font and the style of sign is still seen in many places in Toronto.

old store, now a gallery, with red round drink coca cola sign, also old sign saying confectionery

below: Soaking up the sun in front of Atop Appliances

two people in a bus shelter, one standing, one sitting, in front of store called Atop Appliances which is an old grey building with a black shingle roof

below: Spring blossoms, pretty even if they aren’t real!

mural on the side of Value village, spring scene with blossom tree and green grass, bike share bikes in a row in front of the mural

below: A line of stars

painted along the side of a red brick building, beside driveway, two stripes, a narrow white stripe on top and a wider blue stripe below. On the blue, are eight pale orange stars

below: And stars on fences in an alley

2 large stars as decorations, on old fence in an alley, crooked fence, car parked in alley, dead leaves on the ground, mossy roof on garage next door

below: Aren’t doors fascinating?  Final Notice and 2nd Final Notice.  If a door is a title to the story that lies within, what is the story that would unfold here?

old black door, with yellow spray paint, three times, that says final notice, mailbox beside the door, number 2138, crooked concrete step

below: Many little pots in a sun-filled window, looks like an attempt to jump start spring planting.

row of old store fronts on gerrard, some now home, one has large window with greenish curtains, also a lot of little pots in the sunlight, perhaps growing seeds for spring planting

below: My favorite kind of Canada Geese.  They are quiet and don’t leave little messes behind.

front yard with decorations - in the shape of canada geese with red scarves around their necks

below: Lakeside campfire at sunset on a garage door

painting on a garage door, campfire on a granite outcropping beside a lake with pine trees around it, at sunset, sky in reds, oranges, and purples

below:  Poser bunnies in a mural on Gerrard

poser bunny mural on the side of a two storey structure on gerrard street

below:  I saw a lot of these posters that day – How to fold a fitted sheet.  Once upon a time such posters had a phone number written on little flaps that you could tear off.  Now we have the dreaded QR code.  Apparently there is now something called “quishing” which is QR code phishing (I am not calling this poster fake, I am just ranting about QR codes in general – like how annoying they are on menus because now everyone has to get their phones out).

poster on wood utility pole with the title How to fold a fitted sheet

below: Secret Park  …. sshhhhh  I can’t tell you where it is.

below: Empowerment by the wading pool (this is not the Secret Park!)

below: Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church (formerly Rogers Presbyterian Church), Woodbine

front of brick building, toronto chinese mennonite church

below: Crossing the street, towards Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church, Gerrard St.

woman crossing stret with a dog on a leash dog has a purple coat on, in front of old brick church, grant african

below: Plaque of Dedication for Grant Church

Plaque outside Grant Church

Plaque of Dedication commemorating the relocation of Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church from 23 Soho Street to 2029 Gerrard Street, November 17th, 1991. 
  Grant Church Journey
In 1833 in Toronto, worship began in each other’s homes.  The meetings were held on a site on Chestnut Street.  Later, a church was built on Richmond Street.  In 1856 we moved to a hall at Queen and McCaul Streets.  In 1912 we celebrated the grand opening at University and Elm Streets, and moved to 23 Soho Street in 1929.

grant african methodist episcopal church, brick building, on gerrard,

below: St. Francis National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith, Archdiocese of Canada.

below: Semis on a slope

semi divided houses in a row on gerrard, two stories, with front porches,

below: A newer three storey residential building. I wonder how many units it has? Three at least?

new three story residence beside an older house

below: Layers

car parked in a driveway beside an older house, with a taller glass and brick condo building behind

semi houses, large trees between sidewalk and street

below: Pink house with a lot of stairs to the front door, Woodbine

below: Housing on the hill

below: A bus shelter, unfortunately it seems to be acting as housing as well.

below: May Peace Prevail on Earth in two languages (and more on the back)

4 sided pole about 8 feet high, with words written on it, may peace, also written in another language (different alphabet too)

nuit rose

Posted: June 28, 2016 in events, people
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Nuit Rose,
a festival of queer art and performance

On Saturday night events were held at a number of venues that were concentrated in two locations, along Queen St. West and in the Church-Wellesley village area.  I hung out around two parks in the village, Norman Jewison Park which runs east of Yonge and Barbara Hall Park on Church street.  In hindsight, I wish I had had more time, or had been more organized, to get to more of the events.

Red Pepper Spectacle Arts led a Light Parade that started at Norman Jewison park.    A small contingent, most wearing or carrying a light-emitting object, walked through the park, along and then back down Church Street.  From the  – sparklers, glow sticks

people walking in a night time parade for nuit rose, down Church St., one man is holding up a light stick, a woman is holding a sparkler, other people have lanterns and glow sticks.

to the more elaborate

Two guys in drag with lights all over their costume, holding large fans

a man holding a large pole with a bird head on the top of it, with rainbow coloured fabric, meant to be the bird's wings.

below: and an eagle on stilts

A woman in a flowing costume with eagle head, up on stilts, in a night time parade for nuit rose

below: Note to self: for night time parades take more photos at the start of the parade because once people start moving it’s more difficult to get them in focus!

people walking in a parade, glow sticks, some costumes, a woman with pink butterfly wings

a paper lantern in the shape of a floating flower, out of focus

below: Where else would you be able to sit on a unicorn and get your picture taken?

two people sitting on unicorns to have their picture taken with a person in a red wig hamming it up in front of them, nuit rose, night time.

A young man is sitting on a pink unicorn

below: And after a unicorn pose, have your photo taken standing with a well-lit couple.

a man with lights in his shirt poses beside two statues that light up

below: 360 degrees by Iain Downie, 360 stars, 60 in each of the six Pride colours in the garden.

under a tree in a park, with roses in the background, many coloured 3D stick shapes that have been covered with yarn, lie on the ground.

a group of people stand around a stage watching a dance performance

below: Dance performance, ‘By Chance’ by Janessa Pudwell and Tanya Svazas Cronin.

We pass by hundreds of people on a daily basis who we may never see again. Sometimes we share a glance that lasts a bit longer. This piece is about the relationships that could be created if we acted on those glances. These are the fleeting chances, exchanged through our eyes that will never be fully realized. Instead these people may only appear once in our lives as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.”

two women performing a dance on a stage., one is seated and the other is standing, some people are sitting beside the stage and watching the show.

Dancers performing in front of a video playing on a screen, night time performance, some of the dancers are partly blurry

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dancers performing in front a screen that's showing a video, night time, nuit rose performance

a hand holding a camera, two dancers out of focus in the background.

#nuitrose | #nuitroseTO | #nuitrosetoronto

Love or Love

Posted: November 21, 2015 in graffiti and street art, locations, public art
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I drove the back streets to Yorkdale yesterday.  It’s not something that I normally do; in fact I can’t remember the last time I drove those streets.   But I’m glad I did because I found another mural painted on an underpass.  Four sections of concrete wall,  four words in bright colours – Love, Home, Limitless, Heights.

part of a mural on an underpass. There are four parts to the mural and each part is word painted in large capital letters in many colours - the word love, actually it is love or love

Home – just to the right of the word ‘home’ was a large heart that unfortunately I missed when I took the next photo.  There was also a sign describing the story behind the mural.

This community mural was painted by youth from the neighbourhood, Rocco Ursino, Salim Yislam, Michelle Collin, Jaden Beckford, Tamika Smart, and Hassan Mohamed under the mentorship of Sean Martindale and Joshua Barndt.  Apparently it was inspired by a popular local expression “Love or Love” and tries to convey compassion, hopefulness and determination.  Needed sentiments as this neighbourhood undergoes major changes and revitalization.

part of a mural on an underpass. There are four parts to the mural and each part is word painted in large capital letters in many colours - the word home

This 2012 project was produced by Art Starts in partnership with Toronto Community Housing and office of councillor Josh Colle. Funding was provided by StreetARToronto and TCH.

part of a mural on an underpass. There are four parts to the mural and each part is word painted in large capital letters in many colours - the word limitless

The mural is on Ranee Avenue as it passes under the Allen Expressway.  It is also right by the south entrance to Yorkdale subway station.

part of a mural on an underpass. There are four parts to the mural and each part is word painted in large capital letters in many colours - the word heights, with the south end of Yorkdale subway station in the picture

When I parked my car I saw this telephone pole – Shoot for the stars.  Great advice!

Telephone pole with the bottom metre and a half painted blue with some yellow stars and the words Shoot for the stars.

And because one thing  always leads to another, I was parked on Flemington Road beside this – the remains of Zachary Court.

A small street with some mature trees growing beside it. There are a few rowhouses but the windows and doors are all boarded up.

The street is fenced off and the houses are empty.  Some of the windows are missing but most are boarded up.  This must be the neighbourhood redevelopment referred to in the description of the mural, or at least part of it.

rowhouses boarded up and fenced off in preparation for demolition

An old sign for community notices that is now empty because the area is fenced off for demolition

The end house in a row house complex has been started to be demolished.

There was another telephone pole with a happy picture painted on it but looking a little worn.

A telephone pole that has been painted on the bottom few feet. A bright blue sky with a cloud and a few birds flying, green grass and a couple of yellow flowers standing tall

There are two development proposal signs posted on Ranee Avenue that pertain to this area.  One of them is for a seven unit, three storey townhouse development on Ranee Avenue itself.  The other is for the demolition and replacement of 233 social housing units as well as the construction of 824 market value units serviced by a new public street.  The latter development involves a number of streets besides Zachary Court on both sides of the Allen Expressway (Zachary Court backs onto the west side of the Allen).

 

Allan Garden hoardings

Posted: April 19, 2015 in graffiti and street art, public art
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UPDATED: Construction here has finished and the hoardings have been removed.  These murals no longer exist.

A couple of years ago, the city started a project to replace the water mains that run under Gerrard Street. As part of that project, a section of Allan Gardens was dug up to provide access to the underground mains.   The site was barricaded by wood hoardings.  These hoardings have since been covered by a large mural titled  ‘Nindinawemaaganidok / All My Relations’.  Twenty one artists contributed to the painting of the mural.

The north side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens seen from back a bit, tees, construction equipment and a couple of people are also in the picture

Four themes appear in this mural,  Community, Water, Anishnawbe Teachings and History of the Land.  Animals such as buffalo, deer, wolves, turtles, and beaver are common motifs.

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a deer with antlers stands by a pine tree.

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - animals, beaver, turtle, eagle, bird,

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - the sun shones on a person lying on the ground.

The east side of the wall:

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, pine tree on a rock by a lake, under a full moon lit night sky

below: Sky Woman

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, blue woman's face, she is loking at the viewer, her long hair blowing in the breeze, rocks below her

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens a leafless tree and a couple of smaller pines by a lake

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a eagle in flight and a man. construction equipment can be seen bei=hind

South side (along Gerrard Street):

part of First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens, a young man's breath is stylized as blue ribbons streaming from his mouth

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a woman surrounded by circles (bubbles?) as she sits on the ground.

West side:

First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens

part of a First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a row of 6 men's heads seen in profile, all looking to the right, their long hair blowing away from their faces.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a stylized eagle in bright colours in flight.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens - a couple walking hand in hand beside a circle divided into quarters, one is black and one is red and a head comes out of each quadrant.

part of an Anishnawbe First Nations story/legend themed mural painted on wood construction hoardings in Allan Gardens
If construction goes according to plan, the hoardings should come down by the end of May 2015.  As to whether or not this deadline will be met is anyone’s guess.

The artists: Tannis Nielsen, Phil Cote, Natasha Naveau, Rosary Spence, Gwen Lane, Angela Malley, Judy Rheume, Gary M. Johnston, Amanda Murray, Rebecca Baird, Cotee Harper, Graham Curry, Briana Stone, Lyndsey Lickers-Nyle Johnston, Isaac Weber, Honey Smith, Shelby Rain McDonald, Paula Gonzalez-Ossa, Kalmplex, Adrion Corey Charles, Ron Razor and Steven Henderson.

Link to more information (as well as a video) about this project

suitman north and south

Posted: December 6, 2013 in graffiti and street art, locations
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The suitman mural is on a railway underpass on Dupont St., just west of Lansdowne Ave.  It covers the walls on both sides of the street.

It was first painted  and funded with  $2000  received from the City of Toronto’s Clean and Beautiful program.  But after Rob Ford was elected mayor and began his “clean up” campaign, it was painted over with dull grey paint.   Rather silly considering that Joel Richardson was paid by the city to paint it in the first place.   Late in October 2011 it was replaced with a similar mural.  It took six weeks to repaint, 25 gallons of paint and 100 large cans of spray paint.

Most of the  photos taken were taken on 30 November 2013.  Some photos are from a two years previous and they are marked as such.

South Side of Dupont St.

The picture on the south side depicts business men lined up to form mathematical equation.

men in suits forming part of a mathematical equation. A multiplication sign and part of a long division sign.

The eastern part of the equation. That’s not a check mark on the right of the photo, it’s part of a long division sign.

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a line of men in suits as part of a mural

divide then multiply

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Close up

Well suited for a close up.  (Photo taken Nov 2011)

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part of the mural showing many men in suits, a yellow star and a red star.

To the east of the bridge.

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X and + towards the bridge

X and + towards the bridge.  (Photo taken November 2011)

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center part of the mural showing a man wearing a suit who is sitting in the lotus position

This photo was taken from across the street – looking through the concrete pillars that support the railway bridge.

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A large white percent sign, a grey star and many men in suits with yellow halos around their heads.

Immediately west of the underpass.

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part of the suitman mural taken a couple of years ago. The letter X, the number 6, a man wearing a gas masks plus 6 men wearing black suits and ties. They have yellow halos around their heads.

This is one of the photos that was taken two years ago. I have included it for comparison purposes as the man wearing the gas mask is no longer part of the mural. Instead, three sitting women have been added at the bottom of the letter X. The next picture shows this part of the mural as it looks now.

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part of the suitman mural - many men in suits standing in a line. Three sitting women are in the middle.

To the west of the train tracks. Note the absence of the man with the gas mask and the addition of the three women.

North Side of Dupont St.

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Photo taken November 2011.

“And do thy duty even if it be humble, rather than another’s even if it be great. To die in one’s duty is LIFE: to live in another’s is death.”  [quote from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700 verse scripture that part of the Hindi epic ‘Mahabharata’]

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a sidewalk runs along the right side of the picture. Agains the sidewalk is a concrete wall that has been painted with a mural. A white arrow is part of the picture. There are also words written in black but they hard to read because of the angle of the photo

Looking back under the bridge, following the arrow.

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Photo taken November 2011

“This at least would be the case in a society where things were left to follow their natural course, where there was perfect liberty, and where there was perfect FREE both to choose what occupation we thought proper and to change it as we thought PROPER. THE whole of the advantages and disadvantages of different employments of labour stock, must in the same neighbourhood, be either perfectly equal or continually tending to equality”  [quote from “Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith]

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blog_suit10.

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More information on this mural: http://joelrichardson.com/2011/10/

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