subway | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘subway’

What remains

Posted: July 12, 2025 in history, old buildings, transportation
Tags: concrete, construction, Ellesmere, Lawrence East, Mike Myers Dr., redevelopment, Scarborough, Scarborough Town Centre, SRT, subway, transportation, TTC

There is talk about what to do with the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line that runs from Kennedy station, north to Lawrence and Ellesmere, and then east to Scarborough Town Centre. The SRT was built in 1985 and then closed in July 2023. The concrete and glass infrastructure still remains. The tracks are gone. A few years ago, I went for a ride on the SRT (blog post is Are you going to Scarborough? ) but I never checked out the stations themselves. Since I am not sure how much longer they are going to exist, I thought I’d better take a look before it’s too late.

below: Lawrence East station nestles under the bridge where Lawrence passes over railway tracks between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.

below: Although the SRT tracks have been removed, other tracks remain. These tracks continue on to Agincourt GO station and points farther north.

below: Looking south

below: Signs for 54A and 954 Lawrence buses

below: If you wanted to cross the tracks, this was the fastest way…

below: Permanently closed

below: Mike Myers Drive with Lawrence East station in the background.

below: A short distance north of the Lawrence East station is the old Ellesmere station. It too is under a bridge (under Ellesmere of course!). It is smaller than the Lawrence East station

below: Ellesmere station also has the circular hole for the stairs leading to an underground passage. The station looks like a big glass tube.

below: Someone is missing their lock.

After Ellesmere station, the SRT turned east, diverging from the other set of tracks. Midland station was just after the turn – on Midland between Ellesmere and Progress. Sorry, no pictures (busier street, no parking). Although the architecture is similar (a glass tube), Midland station is built on top of a bridge, above the road instead of below it. From Midland the trains went directly east to Scarborough Town Centre. For most of thee eastern section, the tracks run behind industrial or light industrial land. I haven’t been able to find out if there is any access or if it is all fenced off.

below: East view of Scarborough Town Centre station with covered walkways from both the federal government building on the left, and the shopping center on the right.

below: No trains run here anymore, but the station is still used for buses with the elevated rails being used as a roof.

below: Pillars supporting the elevated tracks still run through the parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan.

below: McCowan station was the eastern end of the line.

below: McCowan station viewed from the east side. The tracks continued a short distance to the SRT yard where trains were housed and serviced.

below: At McCowan, Scarborough Transit Connect is partnered with Metrolinx to build the new Scarborough Extension subway from Kennedy station to a new terminus at Shepherd and McCowan. See a previous blog post, Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard for some photos from

below: Traffic on McCowan is impacted by the subway extension construction

below: One more view of the construction at McCowan station

below: And last, I found evidence on a pole in the parking lot at Scarborough Town Centre that indicates that I have missed the Rapture; they left without me. I guess that I am stuck here!

Royal York to Kipling

Posted: July 11, 2025 in construction, graffiti and street art, locations, transportation
Tags: Alfio Bartoletti, Bloor st. west, construction, fountain, graffiti, history, islington, Kingsway, Mimico Creek, Moises Frank, murals, Nate Galbraith, new buildings, parks, reflections, residential, sketchnate, street art, subway, TTC, workmen

This walk started from Royal York subway station. In general, I walked westward first along Bloor Street (to Islington) and then on Dundas West. The stretch of Bloor West at Royal York is part of The Kingsway neighbourhood.

below: Squares of yarn, some crocheted and some knit, cover a red frame heart similar to others that ShowLoveTO have placed around the city.

below: There are more yarn decorations around the metal frame protecting this tree on Bloor Street West.

below: Also, a little Zen Garden Planter to support the CNIB since June was Deafblind Awareness Month – the planter accessories were provided by The Gardener, a local flower store.

below: Bloor West – bike lanes, sidewalk patios, and construction. Welcome to summer in the city!

below: Bloor West glass towers

below: One wall of Brentwood Library and the small garden on the north side of the building.

below: Old gnarly tree with Kingsway Baptist church in the background

below: Just west of Royal York, at Montgomery Road, the subway emerges from underground.

The Mimico Creek passes under Bloor between Royal York and Islington. Tom Riley Park follows the creek on both sides north of Bloor until it then passes under Islington close to the intersection of Islington & Dundas West.

below: Another angle of the subway at ground level. Here is looking east as it runs through Tom Riley Park (and if you could see further, you could see where it goes back underground at Montgomery)

below: Islington subway station and bus bays. A very large parcel of land on the northwest corner of Islington and Bloor is taken up. Opened May 1968.

below: A messy corner, at Aberfoyle & Islington (just north of Bloor)

below: Just north of Bloor, Islington passes under railway tracks.

below: Islington Towers with a fountain in front. The parts of the fountain that are brown were once blue. It was designed and constructed by Alfio Bartoletti in the 1960s.

below: Across the street from the Islington Towers, a highrise with a more modern design (for better or worse, your decision!).

below: Corner of Cordova and Central Park Blvd with new condo development

In this part of Toronto, Dundas is north of Bloor.

Now you are in Islington village, home to over 20 murals depicting scenes from the history of the neighbourhood. I documented these back in 2014 in a blog post, Islington Heritage Murals. The murals are still there and are in good shape.

Are cars always getting in the way of public transit?

below: Not a heritage mural, but painted by Moises Frank for a collaborative project between Arts Etobicoke and the City of Toronto, the Dundas West #NoVacancy project.

below: On the same building as the above mural, is this painting. Once it was the Chinese Food Gallery, now it is vacant and surrounded by a fence. A development notice sign on the fence says that a permit for a five storey mixed use building has been applied for.

As you walk west on Dundas, you approach the intersections of Dundas, Bloor, and Kipling. There is a lot of construction, happening here, mostly condos.

below: A park, Dunkip Park, is also being created. Dun as in Dundas plus kip as in Kipling.

below: A very big hole in the ground.

below: Kipling Street bridge over the railway tracks

below: Looking east along the railway tracks from on top of the bridge at Kipling (back towards Islington).

below: Kipling subway station is the west terminus of the TTC Line 2 and was opened in November 1980. It connected Line 2 of the subway with GO service to the west. Pictured here is part of the south side showing three of its twenty concrete arches. These are similar to the arches at Islington station, but not identical to them.

below: North side of Kipling station, back in 1980 when it first opened, north side bus bays

below: Graffiti stickers in the parking lot. A well-suited duck in a hurry by giacco.ca and a boxy snail by Sketch Nate (aka Nate Galbraith)

below: Eastbound out of Kipling station. The older Line 2 subway trains still have a window that you can look out.

Ontario Line – north end of Pape

Posted: June 22, 2025 in construction, locations, stores, transportation
Tags: catchoo, construction, Cosburn, Donlands, graffiti, hoardings, lemon bucket orchestra, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Pape, people, Ritz restaurant, stickers, subway, trp 613, TTC

On a hillside along the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), there is a large construction project underway. This is where the new Ontario Line subway will go underground after crossing the DVP by bridge.

From this angle it’s difficult to see the work that has been done on the north side of the DVP but the ground has been cleared for construction of the support pillars for the large bridge that will take the LRT from Don Mills Road to this point at the top of Pape.

It has altered the quiet East York neighbourhood at the north end of Pape.

Ontario Line construction has also affected Pape Avenue. Here at Cosburn, a long stretch of what used to be stores and restaurants are now behind plywood hoardings. The main entrance to the station will be on the northwest corner of Pape and Cosburn. The final decision on the look of the station is not yet made (according to the Metrolinx website) but at least some of the renderings show that Infrastructure Ontario is involved and maybe the site will include other uses such as housing or offices.

Demolition has started but it looks like this project is going to take a while. The subway is going to run just west of Pape, under these buildings. Construction will kill (has killed?) street life but traffic shouldn’t be affected as much. Someone somewhere made that decision.

below: Some of the buildings from the back side, behind the plywood

below: There is a large Coca-Cola advert on the side of the building that is about to be demolished.

below: Bethany Baptist Church

below: There are little semi circular “ears” at the top of this building. I doubt that they had a function but along with the 3-D pattern across the top of the building, it adds a little bit of interest to the street scene.

below: Cat and dog at Floyd … while the crossing guard takes a break.

Back in November 2024, I posted some photos of the changes around Pape station (at Danforth). I ended that post just north of Danforth with the comment, “There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day.” I guess that you could say that now is that day.

below: The top sticker is for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra and on the bottom it’s something about Kirby and Zaku and if you are into such things you might understand the reference.

Dew Lang Lane and area

Posted: May 18, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: #spud1, alley, birdo, Dew Lang Lane, Donlands, garages, graffiti, ivy, Jerry Rugg, lane, laneway, lilacs, mural, omen, omen514, pigeon, portraits, renovations, residential, stickers, subway, Temple Baptist Church, TTC, wales

Back in 2012, the city approved the naming of an alley… Dew Lang Lane. You can find this lane just north of the Danforth near Donlands. Prior to the legal change, “Dew Lang” had been used as the unofficial name by local residents. The name comes from parts of the two streets Dewhurst (Dew) and Langford (Lang) that the lane runs between.

below: Omen514’s fist bump

below: “Turn the lights off and look to the sky” by Jerry Rugg (aka Birdo) & Wales.

below: Spud1 left his mark here along with the advice, “Live, Love, Paint”.

below: Signs of spring that can’t be held back

below: In a very tight spot but bursting out.

below: One of the latest trends in urban living is the laneway house. They are popping up all over the place and this area is no exception.

below: Another trend, this one in home renovations, is building upwards. Adding a third floor or a rooftop deck is now common (and is often more noticeable from the back).

below: The repurposing of church buildings is another trend (albeit a bit older than the above two). In this case, Temple Baptist Church, opened 1925, is now residential. A small plaque in one corner of the building serves as a reminder of its original function. From the application for heritage status for the building: “Temple Baptist Church is a fine example of a revival of the Georgian Classical Style adapted for Post-Reformation churches in 18th century England.” Not many Toronto churches were built in this style.

below: The central window with its leaded coloured glass and Credit Valley stone trim around the windows.

below: A beckoning summer scene, Muskoka chairs on the dock. Have a seat and watch the sunlight play on the water.

below: Old black line drawings on old white garage.

below: The new west entrance to Donlands subway station opens onto Dewhurst.

below: Inside

below: A second pigeon…. this one wear a cheerful bright red cap as he struts around

around Wilson station

Posted: March 4, 2025 in construction, locations, public art, transportation
Tags: art, clandestinos, concrete, condos, development, Downsview airport, fourplexes, graffiti, houses, kiss n ride, murals, parking, redevelopment, Shalak Attack, street art, subway, Ted Bieler, tiles, TTC, Wilson Heights, Wilson station

Wilson subway station, on the University side of Line 1, opened in 1978 and was the end of the line until Downsview station just to the north opened in 1996. It is not a thing of beauty. Concrete. Austere from the outside. It’s entrance from under the Allen Expressway is dark, gloomy, and depressing.

below: Northwest entrance to the station, nestled up against the Allen Expressway.

below: Walkway to southwest entrance

That stretch of the subway runs down the median of the Allen Expressway.

below: Although the platform has a roof, it is open at the ends and in the winter it is cold. There are a few of these pod-like waiting areas, circular glass structures with benches for those wanting a tiny reprieve from the wind.

below: Inside the station a concrete wall sculpture by Ted Bieler entitled ‘Canyons’

What drew me here in the first place …. To help brighten up the area, some of the concrete, both inside and out, has been covered with murals by Shalak Attack, Bruno Smoky, and Clandestinos,

below: An owl and a woman’s face at the two south entrances.

below: There is a lot of street art along Wilson Avenue but most of it is under the Allen Expressway and is not well lit. Some of it is also looking very dirty.

below: Pink flowers inside the station

below: Circular “Kiss ‘n Ride” still exists.

below: Exit at Wilson Heights

below: Northeast side of the station, along with the Allen Expressway

I took most of these pictures back in the summer but I hadn’t taken the time to blog about what I had seen. When I drove past Wilson again recently, I noticed that the parking lot on the east side (towards Wilson Heights) is now fenced off. Now it is a snow covered vacant lot.

below: Parking lot before

below: … and after. You can still park your bikes here, but no more cars.

below: There is a City of Toronto development notice sign on the side of Wilson station. It looks like the city may be serious about affordable housing at this site. Apparently this has been in the works for a number of years but faced some opposition form those who wanted to keep the parking lot. Just shy of 1500 units in six buildings are planned on the site along with community space and a public park. The percent allotted to affordable housing varies from 35 to 48 percent, depending on the source of the information.

To the west of the station, on the north side of Wilson, is the remains of the Downsview Airport lands.

below: One of the four winners of the ‘XOXO Downsview, Talking Fences’ competition of 2023, is “Aandi wenjibaayan?” which translates to “Where are you from?” It was suggested by Lakhvir Sandhar. The other three winners have their words displayed elsewhere on the Downsview property.

vintage photo taken from low flying airplane of bishop-barker airplane limited,

Photo credit: Toronto Public Library online digital image archive

The south side of Wilson is retail and is now Wilson Village. It is also where you will find Billy Bishop Way named for Canadian pilot. It is nowhere near Billy Bishop Airport (that’s WAAAAY south, on the island, or the other one in Owen Sound) but is a nod to Downsview’s history as an airfield and its role in airplane manufacturing.

William Avery Bishop was born in Owen Sound in 1894. He was a Canadian flying ace during WW1.

below: Looking southeast past the old metal fence that surrounds the parking on the northwest side of Wilson station. Big box retail on the other side of Wilson, and newer midrise to highrise residential development on the other side of the Allen.

Very close to the planned “affordable housing” but on the south side of Wilson, there is already a new community being built.

There are many older single family homes to the east, in a quiet neighbourhood squeezed in between Wilson and the 401.

I even discovered an old moose hiding in the bushes! The “Moose in the City” project goes way back to 2000 when 326 life-sized moose sculptures found homes around the city. Each one was decorated by a local artist. I am not sure how many still exist but it can’t be more than a fraction of the original.

Other moose: Scarborough moose near Kennedy and 401, moose at St. Clair and Bayview. Any others?

To the east, Wilson is becoming a canyon of midrise buildings, replacing the older residences, often fourplexes and sixplexes.

The development is more intensive as you get closer to the Allen and the subway line…

… on both the north and south side of Wilson

TTC riders at Runnymede

Posted: December 20, 2024 in public art
Tags: Anonymous Somebody, Elicser Elliot, mural, people, public art, subway, TTC Runnymede station

More than three large murals by Elicser Elliott can be seen on some of the interior walls of Runnymede subway station. Together, they form “Anonymous Somebody”

They date from 2019 and are part of the TTC Public Art Program.

There are a couple that I missed. Like the ones shown here, they feature a diverse group of people that represent the people who use this Bloor West stop on a daily basis.

Thankfully they are more cheerful, more positive, than the images at Union Station!

intersections – Queen and Spadina

Posted: November 20, 2024 in construction, history, old buildings, people, public art
Tags: buses, construction, hoardings, Metrolinx, Ontario line, people, Stephen Cruise, streetcars, subway

Subtitle: More Ontario Line mess

below: Spadina and Richmond…. A giant thimble (by Stephen Cruise) sits on a stack of buttons. Behind it, a building is shrouded in blue netting.

below: Blue, blue, my world is blue… walking north on Spadina under blue netting that protects the sidewalk from work being done on the southwest corner of Queen and Spadina. The whole block between Richmond and Queen is under wraps. This is a future subway station with the imaginative name of Queen-Spadina.

below: Southwest corner of Queen and Spadina

below: A look at what’s happening behind the hoardings….

below: Mcdonalds on the northwest corner is unaffected by the changes around it.

below: Looking south on Spadina with a good view of the southeast corner of the intersection with Queen West.

below: There is a lot happening in the northeast quadrant, all by Metrolinx. the yellow framework that protects and stabilizes a facade is becoming a common sight in Toronto.

below: In case you can’t remember what was on that corner, this is a photo taken back when they were laying streetcar tracks in 1912. Most recently there was a CIBC bank on the corner.

black and white photo from 1912 of brick building on the northeast corner of Queen and Spadina.

Photo taken from WIkipedia Commons, in public domain. Originally from City of Toronto Archives.

below: A couple of the old houses/stores on Queen beside the old brick building seem remarkably unchanged since 1912. (As a light grey car partially blocks the pedestrian crossing at the intersection).

below: The 510 streetcars are not running during this construction.

below: But because the buses are too wide for the streetcar lanes, the middle of Spadina is very quiet… so I can stand here and take pictures.

below: It also means that the replacement buses are now running… and competing with cars for a limited space.

below: Painting over the graffiti

below: Just north of Queen, there is a large vacant lot on Spadina. So large you can see through to Cameron Street.

below: Cameron House and other houses on Cameron Street and beyond.

a walk around Pape station

Posted: November 6, 2024 in construction, old buildings, stores, transportation
Tags: Addis Kidan church, construction, Danforth, development, Eaton Ave., halloween, houses, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Pape, subway, TTC

Have a seat! It’s a rather warm autumn this year, isn’t it?

below: A Hallowe’en spider caught in a rather thick web. It doesn’t have much to do with Pape subway station although you might feel inclined to put “scary” and “TTC” together.

Anyhow back to the main story…. Pape station is where the existing Bloor-Danforth line is going to meet the new Ontario line.

below: Do you remember when Pape station was being renovated? Now the site is a mess again.

Pape station is a short block north of the Greektown section of Danforth.

below: Looking south on Pape towards Danforth

below: Across the street from the subway station

below: See that bright white building in the picture above? I bet that it’s not white anymore.

below: My idea was to walk around the whole site. …

below: Looking back at the Danforth and Pape intersection, north side. The white stone Royal Bank building stands on the northwest corner. Behind it, the steeple and little green dome of Holy Parish church points upward.

below: Ontario Line construction along the Danforth, northside. Metrolinx seems to have a lot of property here.

below: Any idea what this is? What is happening here?

below: I wasn’t the only one taking pictures!

below: Eaton Avenue runs parallel to Pape, just to the east.

below: Northeast corner of Danforth and Eaton

below: Eaton Ave entrance to Pape station lined with plywood hoardings. This station isn’t that old – the update was completed in 2013. I think that it is being retained but it is hard to tell from the Metrolinx website. A brand new entrance is planned for the Danforth as well (and may be very large and very grand, not quite to scale with the present neighbourhood?).

below: Houses on Eaton Ave with Metrolinx construction behind them.

This area has been serviced by the Bloor Danforth line since 1966. In general, most of the residences are single family houses, often as some form of row housing. Smaller houses with small yards seems the norm… i.e. a fairly typical East York neighbourhood.

Exploring on Pape…..

below: Working on Pape, fixing a porch (or just watching)

below: Addis Kidan Church, Greek Gospel Church..

below: Tzatziki cafe with the painting above the entrance – interior restaurant scene

below: Mixed use – once a line of single family homes, now some are businesses.

below: There is also another construction site at Sammon

below: Looking north on Pape Ave from MacPhail. There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day. (Updated 22 June 2025 – there is now an Ontario Line – North Pape blog post)

I’ll end instead the way I began – with a little bit of Halloween to distract you from the constant noise of construction.

booming Bessarion

Posted: June 23, 2024 in construction, locations, public art
Tags: apartments, condos, construction, Demakersvan, development, Ethennonnhawahstihnen, Inges Idee, Jax, Joep and Jeroen Verhoeven, Leaping Lamp, park, Pierre Poussin, subway, TTC

Bessarion subway station has always had the reputation of being one of the least used stations in Toronto. I haven’t seen any recent numbers, but I suspect that a lot more people are now using the station. There are a lot of development changes happening in the area so the numbers will only increase in the future.

below: South entrance to Bessarion station

below: A Stop sign sits in the middle of one of the entrances to the new development on Sheppard Ave East beside Bessarion subway station. If you follow the left fork in the road, you will end up in the parking lot of the Canadian Tire store. This store is all that is left from the original 50 acre site that was home to a Canadian Tire warehouse and distribution centre. In 2000 Canadian Tire filed a plan to re-develop the whole site, including a new head office tower for the company. Although the plan was approved, it never came to be. Instead, most of the land was sold to Concord who is now in the process of redeveloping it.

below: Concord has filled this community with a lot of public art including these colourful creations, “Jax” (2021) by Pierre Poussin

below: A few maple leaves forming a canopy – “Maple Leaf Trellis” by Demakersvan (aka brothers Joep and Jeroen Verhoeven)

below: Leaping Lamp by Inges Idee (a German artist collective)

below: There is also a rabbit (title: “Rabbit”), another artwork by Inges Idee. It’s made to look like a folded ribbon of highway; it sits next to the 401 highway.

below: Birds hanging out together between Bessarion station and the new community centre. They won’t be flying anywhere any time soon!

below: A small bird, a continuation of the tree full of birds, sits outside Ethennonnhawahstihnen’ Community Centre (it’s pronounced Etta-nonna wasti-nuh and it means ‘where they had a good, beautiful life”)

below: Real trees ready to plant.

below: A line of towers with row houses on the lower level marks the south side. The 401 highway is behind. A new park, also Ethennonnhawahstihnen’, lies in front of the new residences.

below: Water feature in the summer, outdoor skating rink in the winter

below: The view from the southeast corner of the property – the back of IKEA and the 401!

below: At least there have been a lot of trees planted back here and some thought has been put into using the landscaping to mitigate the noise from the 401. But the fact that thousands of cars and trucks pass her every day can never be downplayed. I hope that the units are well sound proofed. Having stood on balconies on other buildings that overlook a major road, I can imagine how noisy it is here too.

below: Looking southeast from Burbank

below: South side of Sheppard

below: The north side of Sheppard Ave looks like this – a row of lowrise apartment buildings from the 1960s or 1970s.

below: There are 2 major redevelopments proposed along here, 680-688 Sheppard and 690-720 Sheppard. Both involve condo towers.

Just west of Bessarion station is Greenbriar Road. There was a small community of single family homes, duplexes, and small apartment buildings back here. Almost all of it is gone or on the way out

below: A single, lonely, holdout surrounded by newer residences.

below: No sign?!

below: Southeast corner of Sheppard and Greenbriar (12 storeys, 145 residences)

below: There is a development notice sign on the front yard of 25 Greenbriar (23, 25, 27 and 29 to be replaced with 10 storeys, 169 residences).

below: A little farther south on Greenbriar the fences are already up (22-36 Greenbriar, 24 storeys, 351 residences).

Extra note: The northeast corner of the old Canadian Tire acreage, at 1181 Sheppard Ave East, remains undeveloped. It is the last piece once owned by Canadian Tire. It is adjacent to the Metrolinx rail corridor, about 100 m from the new Oriole GO station. [ed note: Prime real estate by the sound of it!]. Two towers will probably get built here, once the heights are finalized.

from Keele to Dundas West

Posted: April 11, 2024 in alleys, construction, graffiti and street art
Tags: construction, crane, Elicser, giraffe building, graffiti, Keele station, lovebot, murals, redevelopment, salt shaker, street art, streetcars, subway, TTC, uber5000, yellow birdies

A short walk between two subway stations….

below: Westbound subway enters Keele station.

below: A view to the east of Keele subway station where the tracks are elevated and there is a large parking lot underneath (free parking on the weekend!).

below: Some of the buildings that formed the north wall of the parking lot beside Keele station are no longer all there. Only one of the buildings remains.

below: The demolished buildings were covered with street art including a mural featuring King Midas. Where he used to be there is now a tall crane above and a large hole below. Increasing density at transit stops is a good idea but this is yet another square box in glass and steel with bland and nondescript street level “appeal”. I am not sure if it is the developers or the city planning office that is responsible for the lack of imagination and/or variety at street level; that requires more research and another blog post.

below: When buildings come down, others are revealed. Angles briefly open up. Obviously (now) LMP, JETR, TEMPO and friends were here.

below: Running behind the south side of Bloor is this alley There has been street art here for years.

below: Some of that street art, like this Uber5000 painting, remain intact. Lucky yellow birds! It’s also nice to see an old Lovebot (upper left corner).

below: Others haven’t fared so well – A waving hand and the top of a red cap are all that remain of this Elicser Elliott piece. I doubt that the fat white letters are an improvement but that’s the way it goes.

below: An urban night scene. King Kong once stood over it.

below: Someone has hung this little framed picture on an exterior wall. I think that it is an image of a flower or plant of some sort.

below: Another Uber5000 work with a yellow birdie in a red cap.

below: A Buddha prays among the lotus flowers and leaves.

below: Another mural that has been left untouched is Movie Art Decor featuring Alfred Hitchcock directing ‘Psycho’ along with Marilyn Monroe and a topless Bruce Lee.

below: It looks a bit like a big white shark is coming after us.

below: Stop!

below: Remembering 1995.

below: Sunny backyard spaces

below: More backyard spaces.

below: Looking west towards Keele Station – alley, subway tracks, and a few highrises.

below: Waiting at Dundas West Station

Dundas West station is at Dundas and Bloor. Also on this corner is the Giraffe Building. Many years ago (2007?) this property was bought by a developer who wanted to build the Giraffe Condos, a 27 storey project. To promote the condo development, the typical two storey stores that were there became the Giraffe building that we have now. But the city rejected that proposal saying that the structure was too high and the site seems to have been in limbo ever since. It has changed hands a number of times.

In 2018 the site, along with one or two adjacent properties was purchased by a partnership between two companies, Trinity & Timbercreek. Lo and behold, a 27 storey condo with 354 units was proposed and this time accepted. Back to square one? But that isn’t the end of the story… In January the site was back on the market. It looks like not much is going to change for a while yet.

below: Northwest corner of Dundas and Bloor with a streetcar covered in a lipstick advertisement.

below: Graffiti break dancer behind the Giraffe building

below: Sarah has claimed the cat in the doorway. Cool hat.

below: A green laser beam from a fiery eye? A burning tall skinny structure (like the CN Tower)?

below: That’s a strange way to open a door.

below: A miserable little impish guy with an oversized green tongue.

If you are interested in the street art in the alley above, there is a blog post from 2015 titled ‘old friends’ that shows more pictures (from 9 years ago!). You can get a better idea of what has changed and what hasn’t. King Midas is there too.

as I walk Toronto

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