Posts Tagged ‘stores’

Uptown Yonge as the sun goes down

Posted: June 27, 2024 in construction, locations, old buildings, people, stores
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Were you an Edmonton Oilers fan?  Did you jump on that bandwagon?  On the night of the 7th game of the Stanley Cup playoffs were you glued to the TV?  Or are you wondering what I’m talking about?!

I usually watch hockey games now and again, especially during the playoffs but I found that watching the Edmonton-Florida series was just too stressful.  Instead, these long June evenings are great for walking!  A little bit of Yonge Street, Uptown Yonge, was my stomping grounds the evening of the last game.

banner for uptown yonge on a hydro pole, stores and new condo in the background, says eat up. street sign for st. Clements avenue as well

A few scenes from Yonge between Eglinton and Sherwood, in no particular order…

evening, coffee shop on Yonge street, also poke bar,

below: Old and new. I like the way the evening light catches the architectural details along the rooflines.

roofline, old brick buildings with architectural details in front of a newer high rise residential building

below: Playing peek-a-boo.  The new pushes from behind.

stores on Yonge street, prism hair salon, vape studio, goa hair salon,


below: Seating!

late evening, getting dark outside, looking at store front, cobbler's corner shoe repair,

ceiling art, white and green cubes with lights inside

round exterior wall of part of rio can yonge eglinton centre, short glass tower,

metal grille gate covers glass doors of now empty and closed store on yonge street

below: Northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton, Yonge- Eglinton Centre with its updated glass facade.

yonge eglinton centre entrance

When the Yonge Eglinton Centre was built in 1968, Eglinton was the last station on the TTC subway line.  The Y-E Centre was a large development, and was the tallest building in the neighbourhood.   There was a shopping centre, a cinema, an office tower, two tall residential towers, most of which still remain.   Eglinton is no longer a gateway to suburbia; it is Midtown.  The Y-E Centre is just another tall building in a sea of them.

side of concrete building from the 1970s, Yonge Eglinton centre

tall concrete building

below: The new entrance to the Eglinton LRT (unopened of course)  with the Canadian Tire headquarters behind.  Southwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton.

southwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton, new entrance to Eglinton LRT (unopened), Canadian Tire head quarters building, 1970s concrete, new condo behind

Lament for the Eglinton LRT.  Metal fences and torn cloth.  In tatters and disarray.   Still not opened.

front glass of eglinton LRT station, behind metal construction fence and torn green cloth

stores on yonge street

sidewalk tunnel under scaffolding to protect from adjacent construction site

restaurant window, night time, sidewalk

Maybe one day I will be able to walk somewhere in this city and not run into another hole in the ground.  Note the usual – facades being saved, single houses that stubbornly remain.

construction hole in the ground

gravel roadway down into construction hole in the ground

Bus stop all tied up in knots.

TTC bus stop on yonge street behind orange and black cones and yellow caution tape

mural on the side of bmo bank on yonge, flowers, male face, female face, child face, dog, and lot lots of flowers

white car parked in front of a mural with flowers with many petals, and a woman's face

artwork on glass above subway entrance at canada square, corner of yonge and eglinton, a woman is carrying a potted plant, a man in green shirt with tattooed arm is looking at her

three plants in flower pots on a shelf in a room with a blue light, on the left is an orchid,

below: With some paparazzi stalker vibes I’m afraid.

… Back home in time for most of the third period…. Sad to see Edmonton lose, but why is there hockey this late in June?

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)

southern Spadina, from Dundas to Ireland.

Posted: March 9, 2024 in alleys, intersections, locations, stores, transportation, waterfront, windows and walls
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Spadina has many faces –  It starts at Eglinton as Spadina Road where it runs south through Forest Hill.  It’s journey southward then continues through a number of different parts of the city including a spot where there is a block missing at Casa Loma.  Pedestrians can use the Baldwin Stairs but traffic has to detour around the castle.   At Bloor it changes to Spadina Avenue and widens to allow streetcar access down the middle of the road.   Here, it is also the western edge of the University of Toronto.

Just north of College Street,  Spadina becomes Spadina Crescent as it forms a circle around what is now the Daniels Faculty of Architecture building.   South of College Street to Dundas  the neighbourhood is somewhat eclectic with a mix of Kensington Market and Chinatown.

three people waiting for a green light before crossing spadina, a woman in a long yellow and grey plaid coat and a couple talking to each other

on a pole at an intresection, a yellow button for crossing signal plus lots of papers, posters and graffiti, a cyclist goes north on spadina in the background

people buying fruit and vegetables from a market, on the sidewalk,

chinese food store on spadina, with some items on display on the sidewalk

2 asian women on sidewalk, talking together, one has a clear plastic bag with 2 cauliflowers in it.

below: Celtuce and asparagus for sale.  Celtuce was new to me – I’ve never seen it before.  It is also called also called stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce.  Unlike other lettuces, it is the stem that is eaten (although the leaves are also edible).

box of celtuce for sale at a fruit and vegetable market in chinatown, also a box of asparagus tied in bundles,

below: Collaborative mural under the window, the work of June Kim and Curtia Wright. East meets West, painted back in October.

mural with tigers and women face, under window on chinatown store

part of mural with tigers and women face, under window on chinatown store

a woman walks along spadina, pulling a shopping bag on rollers, walking past a store with displays on the sidewalk

head mannequin of a young boy, wearing a fur hat, in the window of a store

window display of asian chinese store in chinatown on spadina, metal grille in window as well, tea cups, silver piggybank, porcelain figurines,

below: Holy Chinatown window Batman!

window display, chinese and asian new year items, lots of red, plus one batman toy in blue

below: A Canada Post mailbox decorated originally with an image of the Year of the Rat (from Lunar New Year calendar) stamp issued in 2020.

side of a canada post mailbox with chinese characeters, one male and one female, on the side, also stickers and graffiti slaps on it

below: Waiting for the streetcar

a young man is waiting for ttc streetcar on spadina, standing in front of an advertisement featuring the large face of a woman

a large yellow school bus turns right onto spadina from queen street, two men are standing by the street car tracks

below: Looking eastward along Queen Street West with a web of streetcar wires overhead and many tracks underfoot.   The new Ontario Line subway will cross here with a new Queen-Spadina station being planned.   Between Sherbourne (Moss Park) and Spadina the Ontario Line will be under Queen Street.  West of here the tracks will swing south to a station at King and Bathurst.

looking east along queen street from spadina, people crossing the street, ttc wires above and tracks at street level

below: Another eastward looking view, this time from a bit farther south at Adelaide, a street that has become canyon-like as it makes it way through the older brick buildings in foreground and then the taller glass buildings as it gets closer to Yonge Street and the downtown core.

people crossing Adelaide Street at Spadina, looking eastward along Adelaide with Yonge street in the distance, large tall buildings on both sides of adelaide

below: And a little bit more south again… the CN Tower rises into the fog as it peeks out between two glass condo buildings at King and Spadina.  South of King is the new development “The Well” that opened recently.  I have blogged about it previously (Well, Well, Well, 27 Nov 2023)

CN tower peaks through between two highrise glass condo buildings, above where two people are repainting a billboard

Spadina is also a major access point to Lakeshore Blvd and the Gardiner Expressway.  This section of the road is rather barren if you are on foot (unless you are a concrete aficionado LOL)

below: Another eastward view – Both Lakeshore Blvd westbound (but not eastbound!) and the Gardiner Expressway are elevated and they run parallel as they cross over Spadina.

ramp to the gardiner expressway, plus upper levels of the gardiner, looking east from spadina

below: Standing on the northwest corner of Spadina and Queens Quay.  This is where Spadina ends – at the waterfront with some of the docks and parks that have been redeveloped in recent years.

a couple stands on the northwest corner of spadina and queens quay

below: Looking north up Spadina from Queens Quay.

view from queens quay looking north up spadina, with gardiner crossing over, lots of ttc streetcar wires overhead

below: Look!  Continue walking towards the waterfront but be careful crossing the bike lanes of the Martin Goodman Trail!

on the street, paved with bricks, the word look has been painted in blue on white background,

below: Spadina Wave Deck

Spadina Wave Deck on Queens Quay, where the sidewalk arches up over the water, glass condos rise up in the background

below: The Omni Coastal, a tug boat, is docked at Spadina Quay.

a boat tied up at a dock, with city street scene behind

thick grey rope wrapped around a metal post

below: Pulling back a little farther… the CN Tower is still hiding in the fog.

toronto waterfront at spadina quay, omni coastal tug boat is docked, condos on the waterfront, CN tower obscured by fog, grey cloudy day

below: Ahoy matey!

caution sign on a wood tree planter that someone has written the word pirates on, so sign now says caution, pirates!
below:   It’s a much quieter scene in the winter when fewer boats are here.  In the background, the Canada Malting Company silos still stand strong.

view of Toronto waterfront, looking west from Spadina Quay, towards large Canada Malting Co silos, boats in the foreground, but not many because it's winter, some wrapped in white, foggy grey day

lamp post, black with downward curved top, in music garden, with condos behind,

below: Looking for the signs of spring and finding the beginnings of tulips and daffodils in the Music Garden

small daffodils and tulips starting to grow in a garden in front of a large willow tree

small wood bird house with a blue roof hanging from the branch of a tree

below:  Some useful information: “Bathrooms, Where can they be found?”  Number one on the list is Billy Bishop Airport and I can attest to the fact that yes, they have bathrooms (check in the ferry terminal building).

sign on sidewalk on waterfront re information on where to find a bathroom in the area

below: Another red tugboat in the fog – this one is the Radium Yellowknife.

red fire boat docked at Toronto waterfront, on a foggy day

below: The silos have been under wraps as they have been renovated.

scaffolding and blue tarps around the curved ends of the canada malting co silos

below: Built on reclaimed land in the early 1900s, the silos have been empty since 1987 and  had fallen into disrepair.   Although they are now missing a couple of letters, the silos are in much better shape.  I am not sure if there is any use planned for the structures but the site is being turned into a park, Bathurst Quay Common.

below: If you walk past the silos, you come to Ireland Park with its memorial to those who fled the Irish famine in the 1840s.   The park also has seven sculptures cast in bronze by Rowan Gillespie of Dublin Ireland. The installation is called ‘Arrival’.  These figures match an earlier installation on the Customs House Quay in Dublin, ‘Famine’ (1997).  A third installation in Tasmania Australia completes the trilogy.

In Ireland Park statue of man, very thin, ragged clothes, upraised arms, representing Irish immigrants to Toronto during Irish famine in 1847

head and shoulders of a cast bronze statue of an Irish immigrant at Ireland Park on Toronto waterfront, part of a memorial to Irish immigrants to Canada during the famine years in the 1840s

below: Along the exterior walls of the silos, a few signs have been posted that tell the story of Irish immigration to Canada.  This is one of those signs.

sign half in English and half in French that tells the story of the ship called The City of Toronto that brought irish immigrants to Canada in 1847.

Arrival of the City of Toronto – When the steamer City of Toronto dropped anchor at Rees’s Wharf on Sunday, 6 June 1847, City officials had no way of knowing the boat was a harbinger of the chaotic and overwhelming migration season to come.  The City carried 700 people.  More than half of the adults on board were “indigent” migrants from Ireland, all traveling at the expense of the government. 
Given reports of ongoing distress and hunger in Ireland, the volume of immigrants was expected to be high that year, but Toronto was still unprepared for the tidal wave of Irish Famine immigrants now cresting its shores.  Toronto, with its population of 20,000 would eventually receive 38,000 immigrants in 1847. 
Steamships arrived filled to capacity with passengers exhausted and sick from their weeks-long journey.  Many of those who had been deemed healthy by doctors at Grosse Ile were beginning to show signs of typhus.  
The logistics of receiving, triaging, housing, treating and transporting (or burying) this wave of newcomers fell to a group of municipal and provincial officials, who had to make do with rudimentary medical and settlement infrastructure and resources.

black and white photograph of a woman sitting at the back of a streetcar, looking through the window

 

intersections – Yonge & Empress Walk

Posted: November 19, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, public art, reflections
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After a very warm October, colder November days aren’t always easy to get used to!  The solution?  There are lots of paces to walk in Toronto where indoor pathways can be used to warm up!

below: Loblaws at Empress Walk, our starting point that day.

Looking down from mezzanine level to lower level Loblaws grocery store

looking down from above to the produce section of Loblaws at Empress Walk, people shopping for apples

below: Glass ceiling at North York Centre.  Before amalgamation of the six Toronto boroughs into what is now the City of Toronto, this was a busier place as it is adjacent to North York City Hall where City Council offices and meeting spaces were.

large glass ceiling over walkway down centre of mall, North York Centre

below:  Interior of the library

interior of central library on Yonge, with rounded balcony sides on three levels

below: The next two photos are taken from the south entrance to the library. First is looking south along the edge of North York City Hall. A  sliver of Mel Lastman Square is on the left.

view from the back entrance to the library, looking south along the edge of North York City Hall towards Sheppard Ave

below: Now looking east towards Yonge Street with Mel Lastman Square on the right.

view from back exit of library, looking east along edge of North York Centre to Yonge St

below: West side of North York Centre (& library)

below: “Green Between” (1994) by Peter Hide stands beside Meridian Arts Centre on North York Blvd (not to be confused with Meridian Hall which is downtown at Yonge & Front)

metal sculpture beside sidewalk, brown, rusty, looks a bit like a face,

below: Also North York Blvd., the south entrance to North York City Hall as well as the Board of Education building.

North York blvd street scene

below: Benches! On Yonge Street

benches along the sidewalk on Yonge street

below: Fountain in the small park by Joseph Shepard Building (federal government).  Now dry for the winter season.

dry fountain in front of brick building, along with some trees with yellow and gold coloured leaves (autumn colours)

yonge street

two storey shops and restaurants on west side of Yonge Street, just north of Sheppard, with large residential building behind them

waiting for bus near Yonge and Sheppard

walking on Yonge near Sheppard

below: Hearts on planters –  These are 2 of the 19 hearts that make up the Willowdale Mosaic Mural Project.  They were created by Robin Hesse and Cristina Delago under the auspices of Mural Routes.   You can find them on West side of Yonge Street, between North York Boulevard and Upper Madison Avenue.

public art project on yonge street, heart shaped, decorated, on side of concrete planters on the sidewalk

public art project on yonge street, heart shaped, decorated with picture of willow tree, on side of concrete plan

below: The Yonge Sheppard Centre on the northeast corner of that intersection has been renovated and the the exterior is totally changed/improved.

below: A pedestrian walks beside the Yonge Street side of the redesigned Yonge Sheppard Centre

walking on yonge street beside new yonge sheppard centre

below:  Even though there are already a lot of condo towers in the area, construction continues on more of them.  This new building is just north of Sheppard.

construction site, building of new entrance to new condo, lots of glass, open door, can inside the interior

elevator on exterior of new highrise condo under construction on yonge street

below: The Legion building (dark brown, with the Canadian flag) is now dwarfed by development around it.

cement truck parked outside new condo building

below: There are still some sites that have not yet been redeveloped.

two storey brick commercial or office space, empty, for lease, on yonge street, brick building

a young woman pushes a baby stroller on sidewalk in front of a glass store front

tall glass buildings across yonge street at empress and park home

people waiting at a bus stop

below: Public bulletin board with posters of a few of the people kidnapped by Hamas in Israel back in October.

notice board on sidewalk covered with kidnapped notices of Isrealis kidnapped by Hamas in Israel

below: In an alley near Yonge & Greenfield; a joint effort by Carillo Art Studio, Cruz1, Luvs (Moise) and Zgar as part of Bit Lane 2021.

luvs and cas mural in north york alley

below: A pink and purple tiger watches the blue jay standing on the branch by June Kim and Nixo Street Art (Erika James). The orange snake is the work of Muisca (aka Daniela Rocha)

three murals on two sides of a building

below: More wildlife, a sparrow, in among the crates in a corner of the lane.

in a corner behind stores in an alley, a small doorway, some stacked crates and boxes, a mural on the wall of a sparrow

below: Lots of birds! On TTC property, Sheppard station bus loop, another mural by June Kim.

wall at Sheppard station TTC bus loop, mural of birds by June Kim, with Emerald condo development in the background

 

poster on grey wall, mostly torn off

With thanks to my mother for being my walking partner that day (which as it turns out, was one of the colder days this month).

reflections in puddle

reflections in puddle

Queen East and a little bit Eastern

Posted: September 23, 2023 in construction, doors, intersections, old buildings, stores
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These are some of the photos that I took the last time that I walked along Queen Street East – with a diversion or two down to Eastern Avenue.  It was a wander around parts of the Leslieville and Riverside neighbourhoods.   In no particular order….

below: Leslieville mural painted by Elicser Elliott, Queen Street East

large Leslieville mural by Elicser, man wearing a brown hat

below: Queen Street shops

stores on Queen St East, including LIttle Peeps

below: Hebrew letters, part of a project called “Welcome Back to Main Street” from back in 2021.  The Riverside Neighbourhood and Leslieville BIA collaborated with STEPS Public Art as part of the I HeART Main Street Challenge. The painting was done by local artists Bareket and Curtia Wright

in pink, Hebrew letters spelling welcome

below: … and nearby, “welcome” in Polish, witamy.

pink letters on sidewalk spell witamy which is polish for welcome, part of welcome back to main street project

below: At 744 Queen East, the old white Bank of Commerce building with its bowed front facade, dates from 1905.  The architects who designed the building were Darling & Pearson who were responsible for a number of bank buildings in Toronto and other Canadian cities.

large old bank of commerce stone building with pillars in front, police man writing a parking ticket for white car parked in front of building

below: Blessed Love Caribbean Grocery and Take Out.

signs for stores on Queen East including Blessed Love Caribbean

below: A frenzied backdrop to a sidewalk patio.

mural on wall beside sidewalk patio

below: Ghost sign at Queen and Coady.

ghost coca cola sign on side of old store, now a Spanish restaurant, with red umbrellas on patio

 

below: More details from the past trying to hold on.   The “blue box” has obliterated the old gabled roof structure that has probably been there for more than 100 years.

a row of buildings on Queen East with different architectural styles, some bay and gable, some modern square

below: Canadian flag motifs on planters

tree planters on queen street, painted in red and white maple leaf flag motifs
below: Strange ducks on posters, a form of graffiti?  Or just weirdness?

paper poster graffiti on a cement utility pole

below: Sax player at the Duke

street art painting of a saxophone player on yellow background, at the Duke tavern

below: Mediah on Queen

mural by mediah on queen street

mural

people walking past Samairas, with a street art painting on one of the exterior walls, large hand

Leslieville meat market, with street art image on door, a cyclist in front, women waiting at bus stop

below: on Broadview

mural on the side of a building on Broadview

below: Gales Snack Bar, Eastern and Carlaw.

Gales in old house on corner

below: Old row houses on Eastern – 4 in a row, 3 blue but 545 is in its original brown.

two storey old rowhouses on Queen St West

below: Something else that is old – an old style bus shelter close to an old metal Queen Street street sign affixed to the brick building.

old bus shelter with curved roof and brown metal supports,

below: And one last “you don’t see many of these anymore” – old parking meters.   Anyone got coins?

old grey metal parking meters, two on one stand

below: Snapdragons

pink, red, and yellow snapdagons flowers growing in front of a grey house

below: Lilies and hostas

small city frontyard with some grass and some red lilies and a hosta

below: More flowers, and a baby pram too.  Did you know that pram is just a short form of perambulator?  How British is that!  Even better, the second meaning of perambulator is, “a person who walks, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way.”

porch of house with hanging baskets of flowers, chairs on the lawn,

below:  More than flowers!

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

reddish orange painted brick house with lots of decorations, such as fake flowers, a white swan,, around the front porch

below: Perambulating on Queen West!

some people walking on queen east, another person sitting on a bench

Queen Street east street scene

below: Traffic on Eastern Ave, headed downtown.

westbound traffic on Eastern Ave., moving towards downtown

below: No trespassing sign on one of the many vacant lots on the south side of Eastern.

black and yellow no trespassing sign on chainlink fence

faded warning signs on a locked gate and chainlink fence

below: This is one of the vacant lots on Eastern; it’s just west of Leslie.  The containers are offices (?) for GM as in General Motors.  They are sitting on a seven acre site that is otherwise empty.  Starting back in 2016 there was talk that this site would be developed as a GM Mobility Campus but approval from the city was never granted.   The previous buildings (film studios) were demolished and the lot lies vacant.

container offices in large vacant lot with chainlink fence around

below: Another space is for storage of old buses and trucks, movie props and other remnants of film productions.

trucks and school bus behind fence

below: … which happened to be unlocked the day I walked past.

CN Tower in the distance, a parking lot with old trucks and buses in the foreground

looking through upper windows of two buses, with reflections

below: On Leslie Street, at Eastern, this whole building is for lease because….

three storey industrial building with billboards on the side

below: .. as the letter states, the last tenant was locked out. They abandoned the premises leaving behind more than $100,000 in rent owing to the landlord.

letter on door stating that tenant was kicked out of arrears in rent and for abandoning the premises, dutch love cannabis is no more at this location

below:  The former Consumers Gas Company (now part of Enbridge) has had a large presence on Eastern Avenue for many years.  This stone on the exterior of the building names all the Consumers Gas directors in 1907 (presumably when the building was built?).  J.L. Blaikie was the president and A.W. Austin was the vice-president.  The mayor of the city, E. Coatsworth, was also a director.   There was a Sir W. Mortimer Clark on the list and, to no one’s surprise, the other names were all very anglo.

engraved stone with the list of Consumers Gas Company directors in 1907. on exterior of the building

below: Queen West at the CNR tracks

woman in long black skirt and white hat walks on Eastern Ave

below:  Little red picket fence

small red picket fence in front of a house

below: Renovations

large third storey addition on a house, juts out over front yard

two new renovations of family houses in leslieville

below: Note the many hydro meters all in a row – six units in what was once a single family home.

large new multiunit residence being built beside older smaller grey house

back of a house that has been painted orange, an old garage with graffiti on the door

below:  So far so good

front door steps of empty house that has been boarded up, with sign on it that says so far so good

below: Nice

green sign with white letters that says nice on brick wall on old industrial building

below: You never know what you will find written on the concrete.

quotes supporting cannabis availability stenciled onto a concrete barrier

on a TTC bus stop sign, a black marker drawing of a star with a happy face in the middle of it, with the words be kind

below: In memory of Karolina Huebner-Makurat who died on a Friday afternoon in August because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was caught in the crossfire during an altercation outside a supervised injection site.  Senseless.  Horrible.

flowers, memorial

Stay safe.

starting at Queen and Sumach

Posted: July 15, 2023 in construction, history, intersections, locations, old buildings
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a small Canadian flag has been stuck into a poster notice on a TTC bus stop pole

First, let’s get our bearings….

below: This was, until recently, the Dominion Pub. It is on the northwest corner of Queen St East  and Sumach. It was a popular spot with a decent patio.  When I saw that the Dominion was closed and the property for lease I decided that I’d better document the area.  There is just so much happening, or about to happen, here in terms of development.

northwest corner of Queen and Sumach, Dominion pub, old brick building, now covered with green, building for lease, once part of Dominion Hotel and Brewery

below: Directly opposite, on the northeast corner, is this row of buildings – 502, 506, and 508 Queen Street East. The buildings appear to be empty but there is no development notice sign.  Only 502, Sweet Marie Variety, is considered of any historic value.

row of three old buildings, two storey store fronts, all empty. Sweet Marie convenience store on the left, at corner of Queen and Sumach

below: Just to the east, more of the same.   One is for sale – It’s just over 1600 sq ft,  and can be yours for $1,800,000.  These pictures were taken on the 1st of July and as I write this almost two weeks later, it is still on the market.  Care to be a commercial landlord?  Or maybe hold onto it in hopes that a developer wants to buy you out?

two old 2 storey storefronts on Queen St. East, one is for sale, the other is a barber shop

below: One more change of viewpoint…   South side of Queen, looking west to Sumach Street

south side of Queen st east, looking east towards Charry Street, vacant lot, then a bright green building,

below: Stepping back in time (can anyone date the cars?), to the same intersection but from the other side, Queen Street looking west at Cherry Street.

black and white vintage photo of Queen street, looking west, at Cherry street

City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1488, Series 1230, Item 2285, plus some enhancing with Photoshop

below: The building on the corner with the mansard roof is still there.  The bright green part of the building lost its roof in a fire a few years ago.  Both buildings date from before 1884.

looking south on Sumach, west side, from Queen, renovations at Dominion pub on the right, two older buildings on the south side, one with black mansard roof, and the other painted bright green

below: The fire also destroyed one of the row houses immediately beside, leaving a vacant lot in its place.  469 Queen is a terrace house built in 1877.  The ivy covered building (the Magic Building) faces Sumach Street.

old brick house beside a vacant lot, building in next street behind can be seen, it is covered in ivy

below: The brick warehouse/factory at 489 Queen Street East was built in 1884.  This building has been renovated and turned into office space.

renovated post and beam brick building, three storeys high, once a warehouse and now office space

below: Just east of the old warehouse is another short row of terrace houses from the same time period.

a row of two storey brick terrace houses, row houses, built in the 1880s, Queen St East in Toronto,

below: A little further east

old brick semi detached house, red brick, with black roof, central peak, on Queen East, heritage property

below: And a little more…. a row of flat roofs on two storey brick store fronts.  They also all have three narrow windows on the upper floor.

a row of two storey brick store fronts, one has a lot of light blue trim,

Jumping back to the start, the Dominion Brewery opened in 1878 and was in operation until 1936.  The original owner was Robert T. Davies who bought the site in 1877; he had worked previously at his brother’s brewery, Don Brewery which was only about two blocks away.  A large part of this structure still stands, especially the part facing Queen Street.  The lower right corner of this image shows the Dominion Hotel which was attached to the brewery but wasn’t part of it.

image of an old painting or drawing of the DominionBrewery complex on Queen Street East in the late 1800s or early 1900s

below: The Dominion Hotel as it appeared in 1945.  The little tower and fourth floor no longer exist.  The hotel was built in 1889 by Robert Davies (same as first owner of the brewery).

An older black and white photo of the Dominion Hotel. Once upon a time it had a tower.

This image was found on Wikipedia but is originally from the City of Toronto Archives, listed under the archival citation Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 520. (public domain).

below: Painting by Rowell Soller on Queen Street

a small painting by Rowell, blue background, person head and shoulders,

below: From under the scaffolding in front of the Dominion Pub.

looking through scaffolding covering sidewalk to bus stop and people on the other side of the street

below: The front entrance of the Magic Building on Sumach Street, south of Queen (that’s the ivy covered one a few photos above).

front entrance to a building, words over door say The Magic Building

below: Not only does the building have a lot of ivy on its walls, it also has a painting by Elicser Elliott with a red-capped man at ground level.

on the corner of a building, tall vertical mural by Elicser Elliott, a wizard in a red cap with white stars all over it.

below: The box on the sidewalk across the street from the wizard painting has also been decorated by Elicser Elliott.

at Queen East and Sumach, a sidewalk box painted by Elicser Elliott of a man in a blue shirt, short dark hair. A man walks by, another man is sorting out his scooter while waiting for a traffic light

If you walk south on Sumach, it is a short block to King.

below: Looking down the alley to another street of row houses, Ashby Place, with newer Corkdown developments behind that.

 

two white houses with black trim, semi, with an alley beside, looking down the alley to row houses on another street

below: A closer look at a couple of the houses on Ashby Place – they’re small!

small row houses on Ashby Place, dormer windows on upper floor,

below: This is the northeast corner of King and Sumach. This intersection has more than 30 of poles, or at least I lost count at 30. Most of them are for the 504 streetcars.

newer low rise apartment building, or row houses on the northeast corner of King and Sumach

below: Southeast corner of King & Sumach… a mix of old and new

southeast corner of King and Sumach, newer 4 storey apartment building, 2 older square roofed family homes beside that

below: On the northwest side of the intersection are a couple of old brick houses that still survive.

two houses in a row, one is light blue with a large rose bush in front, to the right is a mechanic shop, Central Auto

below: When I looked for old photos of the area, I found this one…. If I am not mistaken, it is the same location as the photo above but from a different angle.  The building that looks like it’s going to collapse any minute has been replaced by Central Auto.   On the right hand side of this photo there is a striped brick building in the background.  This is a church at the corner of King and Bright.

old vintage black and white photo of housing at King and Sumach

Housing – Nov 3, 1936, 472 and 474 King St. and 42 Sumach.   City of Toronto Archives, Series 372,

South of King Street, Sumach curves to join Cherry Street at Eastern Avenue.  As you travel south, Inglenook School is on your right. Between 1834 and 1890 this site was the home of Lucie and Thornton Blackburn, refugee former slaves from Kentucky who started Toronto’s first taxicab company. The school was designed by William George Storm (1826-1892) as Sackville Street School.  Storm also added the tower to St. James Cathedral and designed the wrought iron fence around Osgoode Hall amongst other things.

white car parked in frontof an old school building, brick, two storey, with condo development going on behind, is now Inglenook community school.

Inglenook School’s claim to fame is that it is located in the oldest continually-operated school building in the Toronto District School Board.

From here Sumach Street becomes Cherry Street.  The Distillery District is the next attraction on the route before Cherry crosses the Lakeshore (closed at the moment) and heads through the Port Lands to Cherry Beach.  But all that excitement will have to be found in other blog posts!

graffiti wheatpaste on the side of a Canada Post mailbox, words that say the more you feel your feelings the easier it gets

rusty mailbox at 504

greenish colour door in brick building, side door of old Dominion Pub

Marlee Ave

Posted: July 12, 2023 in construction, doors, locations, stores, windows and walls
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two toronto street signs on pole covered in ivy and other vines, Marlee Ave and Belgravia

Marlee Ave runs parallel to the Allen Road, one block west.  It is like a lot of streets in Toronto – it’s a place where people live, shop, and/or work but it’s not a place where you’d visit otherwise.  As it turns out, it is also a street in the midst of many changes…  and that too is true of so many streets in the city.

southeast corner of Marlee and Viewpoint, Toronto, strip mall, highrise in background

It’s north end is at Lawrence Avenue where there is a large shopping center.

looking north at Marlee and Lawrence to shopping center

below: Marlee is a mix of residences and commercial buildings such as this small plaza.

intersection of Marlee and with a plaza of stores,

stores on the lower level of three storey concrete building, offices above, parking lot below

metal sidewalk box painted with birds, a blue jay and a cardinal

line of two storey brick store fronts on Marlee Ave

below: DGA Filipino Variety store – Imported Beauty Products, Homemade Kakanin, Special Halo-Halo & Gulaman Sago, Money Remittances, and much much more!

front window of Filipino variety store

below: Odessa Russian (Ukranian) Market

window of a Ukranian grocery store

below: Seen in a convenience store window

signs in the window of a convenience store, photocopy, drumstick ice cream advert, winning tickets for lottery sold here,

below: As you can see, the barber shop is now open

sign saying that the barber shop is now open, black sign, beside sidewalk

below: Laundry on the balcony of one of the many sixplexes (six apartments in the building) on Marlee.

laundry on the balcony of a small apartment building

small brick bungalow with a blue and white development notice in the front yard

a few houses on a side street with taller apartment buildings behind

in a vacant lot with a blue metal fence around it, blue and white development notice sign on the ground, daisies growing up beside it

below: Someone has a sense of humour – Gate XXX.  It must be restricted.

at an entrance gate to construction site, beside a covered sidewalk, hand written sign says gate xxx

looking into a construction site, cranes lifting heavy object

low rise apartment building, brick,

rooflines houses, lowrises, and taller condo building

the back of a TTC bus on Marlee Ave by Ridelle Ave stop, a woman crosses the road, two storey brick houses

looking down a driveway between two small apartment buildings to the back of another residential building

a woman pushes a stroller past a small house on Marlee Ave

below: Mural painted for Kirsch Cosmetics by Jasnine

mural on the side of a white building, a grey tone portrait of a young woman in profile, long dark hair, with pink and purple blobs and floral shapes

hand written signs and posters on a utility pole, two of them are pray the rosary to end abortion, jesus is god

below: Another house waiting to be demolished (demolition notice on the fence).

side split house from the 1960s or 1970s, now empty with a sign on the front hedge that says that it is about to be demolished

below: One developer has painted all the houses that are empty and boarded up – they are all black

empty brick house, boarded up and painted black, all black

a balcony with a bike on it, also a garland of Canadian flags strung across the railing

below: Glencairn subway station on the University Line, midway between Lawrence and Eglinton.  This section of the subway runs above ground down the center of Allen Road.

looking south along the Allen Expressway with the subway running down the middle, at Glencairn station TTC

A few blocks south of Glencairn, the Kay Gardiner Belt Line crosses Marlee

below: A community garden on the Belt Line

a chainlink fence in front of a vegetable garden, spring, everything is beginning to grow
back of apartment building with concrete balconies, as seen from the Belt Line trail

Marlee ends at Eglinton Avenue

northeast corner of Eglinton and Marlee, empty building for lease on the corner, small apartment building in the background
This section of Eglinton Avenue West suffered through years of construction mess – lane reductions and sidewalk closures – while the Eglinton Crosstown LRT was being built. The whole process started in 2011. It’s still not running and no one really knows when (if??) it will become operational. The different groups involved in this fiasco are arguing amongst each other and the lawsuits have begun. Until recently, there was a website where you could get updates on the Crosstown, thecrosstown.ca, but it has disappeared.

stores on Eglinton Ave West in Toronto, Spences Bakery, seafood, pastry,

double window shot, some reflections in the window, some seeing through the glass., empty storefront at Eglinton and Marlee

Express Car Wash, red building, on Eglinton West

looking inside the window of a plant store, a white table with plants on it

door to small apartment building, 5 steps up to door, potted plants on the steps

pink roses growing by a chainlink fence

bell telephone box on Eglinton Ave west

below: Someone loves Andrea!  … and on the lovely note I will end this post.  Love to all!!

TTC bus stop pole, with graffiti, I love U Andrea

Senlac Road

Posted: June 21, 2023 in construction, locations, nature
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The north end of Senlac Road is at Finch Avenue. It runs south through the middle of York Cemetery and the Lansing neighbourhood towards Sheppard Ave.   .

an old wood bench on a patch of grass in front of shrubs and trees

below:  Addington Greenspace (or Addington Greenbelt) is a small park on the west side of Senlac, or rather it is an access point to the city’s ravine system.  In this photo, the trail back up the hill to the street ends by a bus stop.

looking uphill along a path through the woods and ravine, Addington, to a TTC bus stop pole at the top of the trail

below: The greenspace follows a creek and passes under Addington Street before it meanders southwestward towards the Don River close  to Sheppard and Bathurst.

concrete wall on bridge, has a black happy face spray painted on it

below: Protest signs on lawns.  Back in May City Council tried passing a new bylaw that would limit what signs you put on your lawn and how many.  There were more than 30 amendments to the Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693 (Signs).  Most of them were adopted on the 14th of June except (if I am reading it correctly) for all amendments concerning “advocacy signs”.   The council agenda item history is online.  If you check it out and find that I am wrong, please let me know!

sign beside sidewalk that says stop privitization of public hospitals

below: Although the main part of Senlac ends at Sheppard, there is a small two block section south of Sheppard slightly to the west.

utility poles and hydro wires, street signs for senlac and sheppard avenue

below: Beware of the zombies!!

no parking signs, one says zombies on duty

 

low rise brick building

below: Most of the area is residential – 1950s and 60s suburbia.

old white convertible with top down parked in driveway in front of a house

side view of a house, wood fence in front of it, roofline is barn shaped

lots of plants growing in blue and grey pots in front of the porch and beside stairs of a house

pink lilac bush in full bloom, by a wood fence

2 storey brick house on sheppard aveune, beside a vacant lot

old red car in driveway of a house

below: Like all older neighbourhoods in Toronto, many smaller houses are being upsized.

renovation and enlargement of a house, smaller older house beside

2 houses on a residential street

…. or torn down and redeveloped totally.

blue and white city of toronto development notice

below: An empty house.  As I was taking these pictures, a woman passing by remarked that they had been empty for seven years.  I hadn’t meant for this walk to turn into yet another redevelopment story but even here there are blue white signs along with boarded up buildings.

front porch and front door of old brick house now empty

below: This development dates from 2016.  It proposes townhouses along Sheppard but 5 multistorey (11-25 storeys) buildings behind.  Part of the reason for the delay is that the project also involves tearing down existing rental accommodation.  In June 2022 the City Planning Division recommended that City Council approve the Rental Housing Demolition application that accompanies this development.  It is 14 pages long but if you are interested in what happens when developers want to tear down rental units, click on this City of Toronto link

blue and white development notice in front yard of a house

below: Hiding behind a massive shrub, both a house and a development notice

a large green shrub obscures a house that is awaiting demolition

boarded up doors and window of an empty brick house, wood porch has rotted away

old brick bungalow with boarded up windows and door

small brick house with boarded up windows

below: This bungalow is actually on Sheppard West.  The proposal here is not for a condo, but for a 38 room hotel (in 6 storeys).

small brick bungalow with development notice in the front yard

below: Also Sheppard West.

black metal construction fence around a building site

mm

Dupont Street scenes

Posted: June 10, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings
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part of a blue and white sign, with the words this way and an arrow pointing left

Another sunny spring day and another walk in the city.  This time we walked along Dupont with the occasional diversion to an alley or side street.  First stop?  First Last Coffee.  Always start with coffee!  In general, this blog covers Dupont between Spadina and Ossington and as usual, there may not be much order to the photos!

pictures and signs on the wall inside a coffee hop, First Last coffee, including a sign that says coffee please

below: The transparent domed Dupont subway station at the northwest corner of Spadina and Dupont

Dupont subway station, entrance on northwest corner of Dupont and Spadina, transparent structure with dome shaped curved roof

two women waiting outside Dupont subway station, red and white TTC sign,

below: Because of the redevelopment along Dupont (some buildings have been demolished but their replacements are still holes in the ground), Casa Loma can now be seen from the street.

blue sky with chain from crane (not in picture) hanging in the foreground, a large metal utility tower in the middle, and the top of Casa Loma roofline in the distance

below: Northwest corner of Dupont and Shaw

corner of an intersection that is one big construction site

below: Someone’s comment on the construction….

Construction site entrance sign that says gate 2. someone has added the word hell so that the sign now says gate to hell

below: … And another comment – he’s so happy to have a gun that he’s drooling.

black and orange construction sign with figure of man holding sign, happy face added to head and a machine gun put in his hands, altered sign

rebar sticking out the ground, construction site, as building begins to rise from the ground

shiny hoardings around a construction site reflect the bright orange signs and cones on the street beside it

a workman in a blue hardhat cleans the street between hoardings with large photos on them and orange cones blocking traffic

workman cutting pavement on dupont,

There are quite a few construction photos, maybe more than you’d like, but construction plays a large role in the scenery along Dupont these days.

workman helping a concrete truck back up into a construction site, traffic waiting,

construction reflections in a window

vacant building beside a grassy space, red brick, tagged on the side, old grey shingle roof, boarded up lower level window, construction fence around it

below: Joe’s Convenience chaos.

below: Reflections in a restaurant window

below: Dispensary of a different kind

below: Cyclists waiting for the lights to change.

a woman with a backpack walks by a window with many reflections in it

below: No energy today (all sold out?)

looking into a large warehouse interior with lots of windows, nine window panes

below: Looking at the northeast corner of Dupont and Dovercourt.  The interior of this old industrial building has been renovated and part of it is now a basketball school.

old building, three or four storeys high, made of many small panes of glass, on the northeast corner of Dupont and Dovercourt

below: View through the window

looking through a window to young men playing basketball inside

below: The billboard at Dupont and Dovercourt features an image by Maggie Groat and was part of the CONTACT Photography Festival.  More of her work is on display at Ontario Square (on the waterfront) and can be seen in a blog post, Double Pendulum, from a few weeks ago.

billboard with image by Maggie Groat, part of Scotiabank COntact photo festival, bottom part has been tagged

below: Silver Star Car Wash – I could say that it’s all washed up but considering the time that it takes for the development process – especially in a case like this where the application involves an amendment to the Official Plan and the Zoning By-law.

silver Star car wash on dupont street with a blue and white development notice in front

below:  Although it looks like a gathering of praying mantises, it’s really a symbol of a booming construction industry, boom lifts for rent.

cranes for rent, all parked outside a rental store

below: 888 Dupont (at Ossington) is one of the next buildings to be redeveloped but that is for another story on another blog post.

tall blue crane on construction site next to glass industrial warehouse building from 1921 at 888 Dupont street

below: An old rusty sign on the side of a building in an alley just off of Dupont tells us that J.F. Spencer, Sheet Metal Worker, once worked there.  old sign on the side of a building in an alley near Dupont street,

four houses on Dupont street

below: Looking along Dupont from Delaware Ave

Dupont street looking west from Delaware Ave

three two storey houses on dupont street

below: Probably the most affordable house on the street!

a small playhouse surrounded by leaves, in the side yard of a house

below: Some people have rose bushes in their front yard…

lone two storey house on Dupont, with large rose bush in front of it

below: … and some people have horses.

sculpture in a front yard of a horse up on its hind legs

below: A seaside Nova Scotia scene by Megan Oldhues.

mural on the side of a garage of a Nova Scotia waterside scene, sailboats, dock, flag,

grey car parked beside a garage with street art mural painted on it. Lots of red, orange, and yellow, blob-like characters

I’ll end this post with a few photos of the graffiti that I saw starting with this old Lovebot.

older Lovebot paste up on a grey brick wall, part of top of head has worn away

below: A pinkish red portrait of a young woman.

red stencil of a young woman's portrait

paste up graffiti on a metal pole, beside a wood pole full of old staples, black ink on paper paste up that says gewn 2020 squid

 below:  Voodoo Ninja, brought to you by Urban Ninja Squadron along with Ave Rage (or maybe it’s Average) who gets to play the victim.

4 paste ups on a box, all black on white. One is an urban ninja squadron collaboration with ave rage, and three are inky blotty drawings

 

old window in an old brick bilding, with street art that is peeling around the bottom part of the window

scrawled graffiti, happy face

pink rose on a large rose bush

until next time…. stay focused! … if possible….

small blue car parked on Dupont, with Ontario licence plate that says unfocused

prospects on Lawrence East

Posted: April 28, 2023 in intersections, locations, stores, transportation
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Lawrence Avenue East between Victoria Park and Warden Avenues is a fairly typical Scarborough “thoroughfare” street, or arterial road.   It has seven lanes of traffic and is lined mostly by strip malls set back from the street to accommodate parking lots in front.  It is designed for cars.   Also typical of Scarborough are the many different ethnic restaurants and shops.  I decided to walk these few blocks after I heard about  The Lawrence Prospect which is a group advocating changes to this stretch of Lawrence Avenue…  Changes like dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes as well as sidewalk improvements to increase pedestrian safety. They are promoting the idea of a “complete street” which simply means that the street works for all users, not just for cars.

below: This stretch of Lawrence lies in the Wexford Heights neighbourhood

large black planter beside sidewalk with faded red ribbon, winter greenery pine and a wexford heights sign

below: The wavy roof over the entrance is a throwback to the late 1960s and 1970s when there was a lot of development in the area.  It was an era when the car ruled.  Land was cheaper and more abundant.  Strip malls and ‘plazas’ were popular.

front of an apartment building, with entrance, from the 1970s, with wavy roof over the entrance

Like many areas of Scarborough (and Toronto for that matter), it is very multicultural.  You can find a cast array of different ethnic restaurants and stores here.

Lawrence Avenue East

below: Weekend breakfast, Halwa Puri, Butter Chucken, Lunch Special, and Family Deal with tandoori chicken!

restaurant advertisement sign in parking lot on Lawrence East, for Ammi's Restaurant

below: Ibrahim BBQ Shawarma, halal, with Iraqi kabab and Shawarma wraps, 2 for 1!

Ibrahim BBQ and Shawarma restaurant window with pictures of items on the menu

below: Very few remnants of a much slower and sleepier past remain.  Little white picket fences are rare!

old low beat up white picket fence between parking lot and low rise apartment building

large billboard type sign in parking lot in front of strip mall, for Sequioa Lounge, Alzahraa halal grocer, and Shawarma Brothers,

below: Part of the impetus for the Prospect project was the fact that some street work was going to be completed here this spring/summer.  Why do a partial job only to have to redo it a year or two in the future?  As of today (28April) there is no construction happening here.  The only sign of work is at the corner of Lawrence and Warden where the sidewalk was widened.

metal construction fence around a newly widened sidewalk with bus shelter in the middle

spray paint marks on sidewalk in orange, yellow, pink, and white, marking different utility lines or construction points, sidewalk

Bike lanes on Lawrence Avenue from Victoria Park all the way to Rouge Hill (16.2km) were approved in 2008 but were never built.

speed bump ahead sign by parking lot of Tim Hortons, also a no trespassing sign

below: The Moon Lounge with its neighbours – Mayfair Drapery & Rug below with Tru Belle on top – skincare, hair care (pink!), and body sculpting advertised.

two storey store front on Lawrence with lowrise apartment building in the background

below: Unloading can, bags, and boxes

men unloading bags and boxes of groceries to an Asian, Indian, food store

below: Window of Top Gun Burger

looking in window of top gun steak and burger restaurant, logo is a tank with the bod of the tank is a hamburger

parking lot, strip mall, and newer condo building on Lawrence

below: Lawrence East is served by TTC route 54.  It runs east from Eglinton station (at Yonge) to Leslie Street, north on Leslie, then east on Lawrence.  The route ends at Starspray Blvd – you’ve probably never heard of it but it’s on the waterfront just before the Rouge River.  That’s a distance of almost 28 km.

2 TTC buses on Lawrence, a school bus parked beside,

view of lawrence avenue east as seen through a bus shelter

below: Greetings for Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims fast during daylight hours (among other things).  This year it was observed between 22 March and 20 April.

Ramadan Mubarak sign on lawn of restaurant

below: The planet is in our hands

painted Bell box on a sidewalk, a woman in yellow dress has her hands up in the air, holding onto the Earth with the text the planet is on our hands

below: Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church on Lawrence,

below: Looking west at Pharmacy with a Seniors crossing sign.

intersection of Pharmacy and Lawrence Ave East, yellow and black seniors sign,

below: Do any drivers notice these signs?  What are they supposed to mean?

yellow Senior Citizens centre sign beside yellow and blue wrapped pole

below: Wedged between the UPS store and Tim Hortons drive thru are these murals by Ian Leventhal. (NW corner Warden & Lawrence)

On the side of the UPS store, and beside Tim Hortons drive through, there are two murals on a wall

below: Moovattuphuza is a town in Kerala India.

Man's portrait on mural with route that he took from India, Moovattuphuza, Canada, Wexford

below: Diana is holding a large fish and is pictured beside a fishing village in Greece.

mural on a wall beside a tim hortons drive through

below: Nearby (SE corner of Warden & Lawrence) is Tony’s portrait.

Man's portrait, Tony, on a mural along with picture of a village in Greece, words, Greece, Canada, Danforth, Wexford,

below: Modernnisa women’s clothing store – evening gowns, kaftans, abaya, and hijabs

window and front wall of Modernnisa women's clothing store with floor length dresses and head scarves

below: “Dear Toronto, We’re just getting started, Love Scarborough”.  It’s an ad campaign for Scarborough Hospitals that is appearing in bus shelters.  Along with the play on the “Love Scarborough” phrase there is a sense that maybe Scarborough’s time has come.    In 2017 Catherine Hernandez’s novel “Scarborough was published; it has since been adapted into a movie.  The movie was shot primarily in Scarborough and premiered at TIFF in Sept 2021.

advertisement in a bus shelter for Scarborough Hospital, photo of a black man in scrubs, with text that says dear toronto, we're just getting started, love scarborough

used cars with no licence plates in a lot on Lawrence

below: Multicultural yet very Canadian.

cars for sale with Canadian flag licence plates on front,

below: Nigeria Palace, Bamar Biryani and Kabob, Luxmy Restaurant

businesses in two storey pale grey brick strip mall

below: Northwest corner of Warden & Lawrence

parking lot

There was one thing missing here – I didn’t see one single blue and white City of Toronto development notice sign!  Nada!

purple bin to donate clothing, broken sign, puddle in cracked pavement, street in the background, trees with no leaves

below: There is no construction happening here – left over from a previous job?

bent orange and black construction zone sign, on a hydro pole on Lawrence, also a yellow and blue slava Ukraine pole wrapper

raining, people walking past front of TTC bus

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