Posts Tagged ‘street signs’

tracks, bridges, and a ravine

Posted: March 26, 2020 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, nature
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Staying on the side of caution, I haven’t been on the TTC for almost two weeks.  Instead, I have been using this time to venture into areas where it’s easier to drive to including some parts of the city where I rarely (if ever) go.   This is the story of yesterday’s adventure.

below: Two old rusty acorn-style street signs.

street signs, 2 old acorn signs, for Maclennan Ave and Rosedale Heights Drive, rusty

concrete wall between hillside and sidewalk, houses and trees above, street below

a man jogging past concrete wall and elementary school, at bottom of ramp to pedestrian bridge, street lamp above the ramp

below: On the concrete embankment below the elementary school is a very faded mural.

on an old faded mural of white flowers, someone has written in blue, love is love, and also a purple heart has been drawn

below: I doubt this car was a new model the year this mural was painted…. maybe? LOL

old faded mural of a small white car

sidewalk splits, half goes to ramp up to a pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks and half follows the road that curves and goes under the bridge beside the tracks, blue railing

below: Two together, locked beside each other.  Below are the CPR tracks, the same ones that run through the middle of the city from West Toronto, past the Junction and through to the railway yards at McCowan Road in Scarborough.

2 combination locks locked on a chainlink fence on a railway bridge

below: A small sliver of land between the tracks and the street, just big enough for a narrow house.

view from pedestrian railway bridge, Summerhill Ave., with houses, tracks, street, and trees, early spring

very narrow brick house has been gutted and has no windows

houses and yards as seen from a railway bridge

below: Magnolia buds in a front yard.

magnolia buds on a tree in a front yard

below: A very old pine tree in Chorley Park

large old pine tree in chorley park

below: Chorley Park was once the site of the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor.

large houses in the background, park with large mature trees in the foreground, Chorley Park in Rosedale

below:  It was built in 1915 and was modelled on various chateaux of the Loire Valley in France.  In 1937 it was closed down for financial reasons – during the Great Depression of the 1930s,  the annual costs of heating and electricity were the subject of political debate.   The federal government bought it, using it first as a military hospital and then as RCMP headquarters.  In 1960 the city of Toronto purchased the property, tore down the building, and developed the site as a park.

old black and white picture of a mansion, Chorley Park, stone, long curving driveway, three storeys, many chimneys,

below: From Chorley Park there is a path that winds down the hill to part of the Beltline Trail and the Brick Works park beyond that.

winding path down the hill from Chorley Park to the Beltline trail and Brick works park

below: Part of the path down the hill is being rebuilt.

orange plastic fencing around site where a new path and trail are being made down the side of a hill with lots of trees, early spring, no leaves

Mud Creek as it enters the brick works park and widens to a pond

below: Mud Creek.  It was about here that the word ‘dun’ popped into my head; that was definitely the word of the day…  dull greyish brown colour.   Mud creek, dun views.

old rock wall along the banks of Mud Creek, trees, path,

below: Maybe dun but that doesn’t mean uninteresting.  It won’t be long until there are leaves and then lots gets hidden and houses like this get more of their privacy back!  I’ll gladly stare while I can 🙂  I wonder if anyone uses those stairs?

the back of a house under construction, at the top of a hill on a ravine, trees and dead leaves on the ground, early spring,

below:  Governors Bridge passes over the trail that I share with very few people and about as many dogs as people.

Governors Bridge, where Governors Road passes over the Beltline trail, early spring, no leaves on trees, one person jogging on the trail, path,

below: The street art on the concrete pillars of the bridge look fairly fresh.

part of a bridge, concrete supports with street art on them, a culvert where the creek comes back to the surface, creek, ravine, no leaves on the trees,

Quick diversion to the top of the bridge!

below:  The bridge itself is very plain and the best part of being on it is the view. You can see (barely!) the red brick chimney of Todmorden Mills just below the two taller buildings on the left. That places those buildings at Broadview and Pottery/Mortimer which means that this view is more to the west than to the south.

below: Straight down to the path below. I shot this one blind and was pleasantly surprised to see a bright hat add a bit of life.

2 people walking on path through trees, taken from a bridge high above them

And back down again (you can pretend that I jumped off the bridge)

below: Just a bit farther north the trail passes under the railway tracks.   You might recognize this as a railway bridge as all the Toronto railway bridges over ravines were built in a similar style (and probably all about the same time).

path under a railway bridge, very high, a man walking his dog on the path, lined with trees with no leaves because its early spring

below: The last bridge on the Beltline before it reaches Mt Pleasant cemetery is this one, Cat’s Eye bridge.

below: Unfortunately, that’s where you have to leave the trail for the time being as the path is being refurbished all the way to Moore Ave.

construction, re-doing of path along the Mud Creek

below: The Moore Avenue entrance is blocked for construction – Mud Creek Restoration Project Reach 6,  completion date, summer 2020.

Beltline trail at Moore Ave., blocked by fence because of construction, no entry signs,

And so we leave the path there and make our way back through the neighbourhood to find my car.

three older houses on a street, the one in the middle has been gutted to the other walls, side only, open roof, new beams beinginstalled for a third storey

older houses, three, the one n the middle is white with blue trim and two large trees growing right in front of it

below: Someone wrote this on the pavement on the Cat’s Eye bridge.  I hope they’re wrong!

written in white chalk on greyasphalt are the words no future

a nippy morning in Kensington

Posted: January 7, 2017 in graffiti and street art, locations, old buildings, stores
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Hello! “What’s up?”  has become “sup?”  I see.

a small collection of little things on a wall including the word sup? made with white strips of wood. Also the word hello is painted on the wall. Collage includes a large spring, a light bulb and blobs of something orange.

Well, let me show you some of what’s up in Kensington these days.

two hysro poles, one with a lot of signs on it and the other with three horizontal wood sections at the top of it. Signs are a street sign for Kensington Ave in both English and Chinese, a yellow no dumping sign that has been covered in stickers, and a no parking sign. Signs for Chinese businesses are in the background.

  It’s a much quieter place on a nippy winter morning.

below:  Does anyone have an extra jacket they could lend her?  Frostbite isn’t fun.

graffiti on a wood fence, a painting of a bare breasted woman's torso.

below:  It’s Canadian patio weather so it can’t be that cold. Right?

view into a backyard from an alley, some snow on the ground, a Canadian flag is hung on a wall over two brown plastic Muskoka chairs and a small patio table. A string of Christmas lights is above the flag.

below: Loose bricks become loose teeth.  Some guy is trying to hide under the stairs.

street art painting of a face on the side of a building beside a construction site, building is an old house that is empty. face is painted under the marks on the wall where the stairs were, and teeth are loose bricks hanging vertically. a red and purple throw up text graffiti is in front of the painting.

below: Fathom graffiti on the foundations of an old house that has been torn down.
Hot and cold perhaps?

graffiti by Fathom on a brick wall at a construction site, line drawings in black of a man's face, a steaming cup of something hot, and a popsicle. Like hot and cold.

below: Filet of sole

The globe sculpture at Kensington that sits high on a pole. Two of the fish that swim around the globe, one of the fish has a pair of black and red nike shoes with their laces tied together, over the front of the fish.

below: Cool camel with his headless (mindless!?) glittery arm candy.

a mannequin with a camel mask on, wearing sunglasses, with a large ring through it's nose, wearing a robe with a busy pattern in shades of brown, another mannequin that is headless is beside the camel. The second mannequin is wearing a dress covered in shiny sparkly gold sequins.

below: Persian stews and a pink octopus…. what’s in a Persian stew?  If beef stew is beef and rabbit stew is rabbit….   well, I’ll assume that Persian stew isn’t Persians just like Irish stew isn’t Irishes.
I also liked the way that the street art on the open gate merged with the painting on the wall behind.

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below: Still meditating with blinking – not distracted by the Christmas balls in front of her face.

mannequin in a window sitting in a yoga position, and covered in painted patterns, multicoloured, gold Christmas balls are hanging from the ceiling around her.

below: I thought that this was a window ornament, like the kid you see as a door knocker.  But when I zoomed in more closely, I found that is was an old curling trophy!

an old weathered curling trophy sits on a window ledge, where it has been tied on. Window behind, reflection of the trophy in the window.

below: A little sparrow doing some people watching, its feathers all puffed up to keep warm.

a little sparrow (bird) sits on a railing outside that is decorated with cedar boughs and red Christmas lights.

below: A woman and a rose in black and white, by bubz

a black and white mural by bubz, grey tones actually, of a woman with long hair and a white rose

below: Outdoor office.  I told you we Canadians were a hardy bunch.

an old office chair with black padded back and seat sits up on a small trash bin made of concrete blocks. A light dusting of snow covers all surfaces

below: Druid and a Christmas tree.

top part of a brick building, two windows, a Christmas tree in one of the windows, the word druid written in yellow spray pain above the windw, a new condo being built in the background
below: Lovebot, grominator, and a poser bunny all together by the rooftops.

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below:  A number of these little paste-ups (the guy in the yellow frame) by t-bonez have sprung up around downtown.   This one is on Augusta.

people walking in Kensington, walking past a wall with a pasteup on it of a man in uniform saluting he's drawn from the waist up and is in a yellow frame.

part of a mural in a Kensington lane of a woman with long dark hair and a white and blue dress, she is standing. In front of her is parked a bike.

below: Taking a snowy walk in the neighbourhood that is protected by Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum from the 3 Ninjas movies.

looking down a street in Kensington, looking towards Spadina, older brick housses on the street, a group of people walking down the sidewalk, snow on the ground, winter trees, a neighbourhood watch sign that has been altered with a picture of the three boys from the movie 3 Ninjas.

below: Everyone likes Christmas!  Even a stormtrooper….

a mannequin outside a store is dressed in a Star Wars white storm trooper costume with a Santa hat and a T-shirt with the face of a stormtrooper also with a Santa hat. The store is painted yellow and has a bright red door that is open

two t-shirts on display outside a store, both are white and both have heads of famous people wearing Santa hats. One is David Bowie and the other is E.T.

below: More rooftop graffiti.  This time, with new condo development behind.  The old brick buildings with glass monsters popping up behind them – a very familiar site these days.

graffiti on the top of a red brick building, trees in front, a large new condo being built behind.

below: In keeping with the sort of PG rating of this blog, I’ll show this poster as the background!

a woman in pink gloves is taking a picture of a graffiti paste up in a street, taking the photo with her phone

below: The end, no exit. I’ll go no further, except…..

the end of a dead end alley, with graffiti on one of the walls, and a sign that says no exit painted on the wall in white.

to say have a happy New Year and I hope that 2017 is filled with lots of opportunities to walk and explore!

part of a larger mural, black line drawings on white of two smiling faces

Have a blast!

wooden decorations on the upper part of a store, cutouts painted to look like two women sitting on top of rockets as they blast into space

the latest word on the street

Posted: April 10, 2016 in graffiti and street art
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Anyone with a marker and a bit of gumption can leave their mark almost anywhere but most of us don’t.  What makes some people write?  The stupid and/or juvenile scrawls I can do without but I like encountering words that make me smile or make me think.  Below is a small collection that I have seen in the past week.  Some are stupid and some are witty, but all are the result of someone’s thoughts and actions.

below: Keep it civil; keep it underground.

an orange diamond shaped construction ahead sign

below: “MyFace  – I vote for a date with you!  Currently searching for my 2017 Valentine.”
Brought to you (maybe) by someone called James and seen around Ryerson University.

a poster taped to a pole on a street with the heading "MyFace", a picture of a young man pointing at the camera. Words on the bottom say:

below: What is more tempting than a blank wall?  If a sign requests you not to paint on the wall and you draw on it with marker, have you disobeyed the request?

An off white coloured wall on which someone has printed the words "Please do not paint wall". In answer someone else has drawn a picture (very faint so it's hard to see)

below: These posters on the wood hoardings have been up for many months now.  Someone has written “communist garbage” on one of the posters.  I’m not sure of the ideology, but if you believe in the freedom of movement are you really a communist?  The Soviet government certainly didn’t allow it.

posters that have been on wood hoardings for quite a while and they are starting to fray at the edges.

below: Let’s call this photo ‘Garage Heavy Metal in the Bike Lane’.
I’m not sure if this is a list of good things?  or bad things?  Or maybe some sort of poetry?
What does Elizabeth May have in common with Lucy DeCoutere?  Or the TD CEO with Desmond Cole?

a list of things and people written in capital letters, in different colours on a light blue garage door

below: “Do not place any materials here”…..  just a lot of words instead.
A few words about someone called Sarah.

A yellow sign in an alley that says "So not place any materials here" on which someone has written in black sharpie

below: “Drink coca-cola get fat”.  Probably not what Coke intended!?

A large poster coca-cola ad. In the red circle with the coke logo, has been written in black, drink and get fat, such that the sign now says, drink coca-cola, get fat.

below: “I use stickers because I’m too afraid of getting caught to spray”, wabishabby

A very small hand printed sticker that has been stuck to a sign on a wall, top part of sticker is picture of a cat, bottom half of sticker are the words: "

Neighbourhood watch good guys

Posted: July 31, 2015 in graffiti and street art
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Watching over some of Toronto’s streets are a number of ‘good guys’ from TV series, video games,  and movies.  These first appeared a little over a year ago.  In fact, they were mentioned in most of the Toronto media last summer.  Although I had heard of them before, I only recently noticed a few of them.

below: just south of Dupont Street, Steven Seagal

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a man looking over the top of his sunglasses has been added to the sign.

There are now more than 75 (or even 90?) pictures glued on to existing Neighbourhood Watch signs.
They are the work of Andrew Lamb, a pseudonym.

below: In Kensington, Wesley Snipes as Blade

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a black man wearing sunglasses and with a machine gun on his back

below: Xena the warrior princess watches over Vermont Ave.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A woman. Xena the warrior princess character.

 below: On Roxton Road, Agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series, the X Files.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A man and a woman, agents Mulder and Scully from the TV series X Files

below:  A faded picture of a group of Transformers on Palmerston Blvd.

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A faded picture of a large group of transformers, the superheros from the old TV series.

below: Super Grover from Sesame Street on Wright Ave (near Roncesvalles)

altered Neighbourhood Watch sign, Grover from Sesame Street in a superhero costume flying through the sky

below: Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh, good guys from the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movies, watch over Atkins Avenue.

Neighbourhood watch sign by Atkins Ave.., picture of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover has been pasted on it, two actors from Lethal Weapons movies.

below: Samus Aran from the Nintendo video game Metroid

An altered Neighbourhood Watch sign. A picture of a superhero dressed head to toe in pink (or is it faded rad?) and holding a large weapon has been added to the sign

below: Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ movies

Neighbourhood watch sign with picture of Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in 'Aliens, carrying a child and a very big gun

below: The Thunderbirds from the 1960s British TV series watch over the north end of Borden Street.  They were part of International Rescue, an international life saving organization and their story was told using electronic marionettes and scale models.

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below: Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘Conan the Destroyer’

Neighbourhood watch sign with Grace Jones and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie 'Conan the Destroyer'
This is only a small sample of the heroes that adorn our streets.  Maybe you have seen some of the others – Batman, Nancy Drew, the Hulk, Robocop, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Yoda, and even Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable.   As I researched these signs I found them online so if you haven’t seen them on the streets, here is the link to the website that has photos of them all.