Posts Tagged ‘tracks’

searching for the end of the trail

Posted: December 5, 2024 in construction, history, locations, nature, transportation
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… but finding many other things instead.

This is a follow-up to my last post about the Don Mills trail.  Remember that I mentioned that it came to a dead end just north of Eglinton?  I thought that surely someone somewhere in the city government would have looked into options re connecting the Don Mills trail to a street or another multi-use path.  The dead end is just east of Leslie, so off I went to check it out (and I wasn’t going to walk all the way to a dead end just to turn around again) .

Hey look!  There is a vacant lot at approximately where the trail ends.

cracked pavement with weeds growing up in them, vacant lot,

Did I wander back there?  Sadly not….. I didn’t have any lock cutters with me….  This was once a Sony Music building but it was demolished in 2016.  There was no development notice sign at the site (9 acres).

blue metal fence and gate, locked closed, vacant lot beyond the fence

below: This is the Sony Music (or CBS) building, built in 1959.  They don’t make them like this any more – so spread out and only one storey high.   Land must have been much cheaper back then!

older colour photo of sony music building on leslie street (demolished in 2016)

Photo credit: by Bob Krawczyk, found on ACO Toronto website (Architectural Conservancy Ontario)

When I was researching the Sony Music building online, I came across the Phoenix Centre.  That’s the name of the planned private club being developed at the old Wrigleys site next door to the now vacant lot.  If I had realized that when I was out walking, I would have taken more photos.  As it is, this is the best I’ve got:

southwest corner of old Wrigleys building on Leslie street, now OTT, low rise modern building

This building, built 1962, was included in North York’s Modernist Architecture, first published in 1997. In addition, The former Wrigley property has cultural heritage value as it is historically associated with the 1950s planning and development of Don Mills by E. P. Taylor and Don Mills Developments Ltd. (if interested, more info at ACO website).  The Phoenix Centre plan retains most of the office space architecture but completely remakes the factory space.

  There is also talk of a bridge (pedestrian & bikes?) over the CPR tracks to the Crosstown developments.   Makes sense to connect the Don Mills trail, Crosstown, and Leslie Street!

Part of the reason I didn’t take any photos of the old Wrigley building is that I had chose to walk south the day….  just south is a fire station as well as some condos.

on Leslie street, white building that is a fire station, parkland in beside it. to the south are condos, older red brick buildings plus newer glass and steel condos behind

And there is a well worn path that accesses the back of the properties.

large trees in foreground, dead leaves on the ground, autumn, new condos being built in the background, cranes,

This road doesn’t actually lead to those new condo towers.  The CPR railway tracks are in the way.  Those towers are part of the Crosstown development on the old IBM and Celestica property (access from both Eglinton & Don Mills)

long driveway, access road, with new condos under construction in the background

The road didn’t lead to the end of the Don Mills trail either… but it did lead to the back of a parking garage.  No dogs allowed and no trespassing.  No luck here.

path that runs behind beige concrete building (parking garage) with no trespassing sign)

I got a better view of the neighbourhood though….

highrise apartment buildings and condo towers

Black and white on a grey day.

two chairs, one black and one white, in a vacant lot, grassy, one tree,

As I walked back out the path, I noticed this sign.  I took it to mean the property behind the blue fence, not the property the path is on… probably?

no trespassing sign, metrus private property

It stopped munching and stared at me, trying to decide to sit and watch or to run away….  it scampered away before I could get any closer (I don’t pretend to take good pictures of animals but it looked so cute, all puffed up to stay warm).

a grey squirrel sitting on a fallen tree trunk, dead leaves on the ground, a nut or something edible between its two front paws

A very short walk farther south on Leslie brings us to the Inn on the Park site on the northeast corner of Leslie and Eglinton.

below: Inn on the Park as it once was (about 1969)  I have ‘borrowed’ this photo from another website – Jamie Bradburn’s Tales of Toronto.  Follow the link if you are interested in the story of the hotel – it’s an interesting read.  Did you know that in 1962 North York had a ban on cocktail lounges?

below: The site today. It’s now a Toyota/Lexus dealership and home to a few new condos.

old Inn on the Park site, northeast corner of Leslie and Eglinton, now a Toyota and Lexus dealership, also new condo development, still lots of green space in front

new condos being built at inn on the park site

artwork on exterior wall, solid colour shapes inside squares, 3 D, but mostly flat, shades of orange

But there are more changes coming….. (surprised?)…. more glass and steel towers by the looks of it.  The notice also states that parking is planned for 845 cars and 1860 bikes.  Does Doug Ford approve?

blue and white development notice on the corner of leslie and eglinton, with inn on the park site in background, auberge on the park condo development

sidewalk closed sign and barrier, on eglinton, northside, east of leslie

below: A sad sight, Sunnybrook Park LRT station all ready to go but no trains running. One of the Toronto mysteries, when will the Eglinton LRT open?

looking east at Sunnybrook Park LRT station on the Eglinton LRT line, no trains running yet but station is somplete, yellow barriers across the entrance

Standing by the LRT tracks and looking south. Wilket Creek park and the Thorncliffe trestle railway bridge can be seen.  I crossed the road because I had seen stairs down to the park….

looking south from the end of leslie street, across lanes of Eglinton to WIlket creek park and thorncliffe trestle railway bridge

A big new set of stairs!…. But. Not shown – the locked gate that blocked the entrance.   There is still no entry to Wilket Creek/Sunnybrook Park from this side of Eglinton.

long set of stairs downhill from eglinton to a large parking lot at wilket creek park.

looking south from Eglinton towards thorncliffe trestle bridge, wilket creek park, and ravine system,

It’s getting to be crowded….

cars traveling east on eglinton, approaching leslie, many waiting to turn left, new condo developments behind, crosstown, as well as inn on the park site

below: Crossing Eglinton and looking westward

traffic turning left from eglinton onto leslie, looking west on eglinton

New pedestrian and bike paths that provide access to the park from the north side of Eglinton have been built but they too are locked closed.  It’s very frustrating to see this infrastructure built and then left unusable.  The signs says construction danger but there doesn’t seem to be any construction happening…..

new stairs and bike path infrastructure built at leslie and eglinton that are closed, gates and signs

new stairs and bike path infrastructure built at leslie and eglinton that are closed, gates and signs

Just in case I have confused anyone, here is a map of the area that Google maps created.   Near the top left it even says Don Valley Bike Trailhead… which is very wrong.  No trailhead here of any kind as we’ve just learned.  Also it was the Don Mills trail not the Don Valley trail (the latter is somewhere else!)

google map screenshot of leslie and eglinton and vicinity

New benches! Wilket Creek Park is one section of the string of parks that parallel the branches of the Don River in Toronto’s ravine system. I’ll leave you with a few pictures that I took the other day while I was in the area…

new seating area with wood benches beside wilket creek park sign

lots of trees growing on hillside, autumn, dead leaves on the ground and none on the trees, park, railway trestle bridge in the background

path through woods beside a river, autumn, leaves on ground, small trees

view from under thorncliffe trestle railway bridge, metal girders,

last few yellow leaves on a tree, blowing in the wind

west don river as it flows under eglinton avenue

benches and picnic tables in a grassy park with many trees nearby, condos in the background

leaves in a puddle, reflections of tree branches in the water too

graffiti stickers on the back of a sign, one with Mexican flag,

graffiti on the sides of a small concrete pedestrian bridge

graffiti, large capital M with a bright pink heart

above the railway tracks, at CIBC Square

Posted: November 18, 2024 in construction, locations, public art
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There are so many new buildings in Toronto!  One of them is the new CIBC building at 81 Bay Street which is immediately south of the railway tracks and across the street from Union Station.  It is also adjacent to the new GO Bus station.

below: If you take the elevator to the 4th floor of the new CIBC building,  you can access the new park.   This is the view that greets you. The park extends over the railway tracks – a great use of space!

elevated park over railway tracks that is part of cibc square development,

below:Looking east from the park (on a foggy morning, and with a spot of dirt on the glass fence).   The trees on the right mark the spot where a strip of land separates the railway tracks from the Gardiner Expressway/Lakeshore combination.  Between Yonge and Parliament there are no buildings adjacent to the tracks on the south side.    That tall splotchy looking building is the Sugar Wharf Condos which, as the name suggests, are close to the Redpath Sugar property.

eastward view from cibc park, over railway tracks, tall buildings on either side of the tracks,

below: Looking north across the roof over the railway tracks.  The gold building is another bank building, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada).  On the right, the building that looks like there are diamond shapes in the glass, is a second CIBC tower but on the north side of the railway tracks.

below: Construction continues on the north side.  It too will have a park that extends over the tracks.  The two parks should merge into one once construction is completed.

construction site, park above the railway tracks at part 2 of cibc square, on the north side of the tracks, gold coloured r b c building also in the photo

man working at construction site, park above the railway tracks at part 2 of cibc square, on the north side of the tracks, gold coloured r b c building also in the photo as is Royal York Hotel

CIBC square, park

CIBC square, park, in November

below: Westward

looking west from cibc square, red leaved plants in foreground, CN Tower in background

below: In the center of the park is a large shiny metal leafless tree.   This is “New Amalgam” by Roxy Paine (2022).   It is 72 feet high.

public art, tall tree made of metal, cibc square

public art, tall tree made of metal, cibc square, cn tower in the background

below: Looking over the covered tracks at Union Station and all the ventilation system components on the roof.

looking west from CIBC square, long railway tracks, past covered tracks at Union Station with ventilation systems on the roof, CN Tower,

looking west from CIBC square, long railway tracks, past covered tracks at Union Station, CN Tower, with construction on south side of railway tracks

below: A closer look at the nearby construction at track level (and lower).

union station infrastructure construction

There are also stairs on the exterior of the CIBC building that lead to the elevated park.

looking into a few levels of cibc building, through large windows, from exterior stairs

Bay street side of CIBC office building, west side, lower three levels with tall white pillars

below: Looking south on Bay Street where Scotiabank arena takes up most of the street scene.  That’s the Gardiner Expressway as it crosses Bay.

looking south on Bay street rom CIBC building, Scotiabank arena takes up most of the street scene,

below: Through the window to the interior of CIBC  where Steve Driscoll’s artwork shines brightly.

interior of cibc building on bay street as seen through large window from exterior stairs, glass artwork, little round tables with a couple of people seated at them

below: “A light stolen from the sun” is a collection of 12 digital prints on laminated glass.   they can also be viewed from the 4th floor but access is controlled.   Also, camera use will get you a nice chat with a security guy.  The usual, phones are allowed but even little cameras are a no no.

Steve Driscoll artwork, red and blue, trees, tall, vertical works on glass

below: An outpouring of red poppies is the stunning centerpiece in this Remembrance Day tribute (created by Fresh Floral Creations).

an arrangement of red poppies for Remembrance day in the lobby of an office building,

two women on exterior stairs by CIBC sqaure, downtown toronto

With thanks to Nancy and Merle who went exploring with me that day.

at the back

Posted: November 8, 2020 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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This blog post is a result of a walk down the alley behind Bloor Street West between Dundas West and Keele where the lane runs between the back of the stores and buildings on Bloor and the subway tracks.  Some of the street art in this lane can be seen from the subway and some of it I have shown in the past.   Whether it’s because of Covid or because I was lucky that day, there were very few cars parked in the lane.

a carved pumpkin on a table behind a building

black and white mural from Movie Arts Decor featuring stars from some movies - Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho,

mural with woman's face

highrise apartment building in the background with a concrete building with lower level covered by street art in the foreground, people walking in the alley behind the concrete building

a mural on the back of the hockey store, hockey skates on hydro wires

mural of hockey goalie on the back porch of the hockey store, other murals on the buildings beside, including one that says bomba end

below: I can see you, reflected back

part of a uber5000 mural of a person wearing red glasses, also reflected in the windshield of the car that is parked beside the wall

below: Another part of the Uber5000 mural.  Everybody is a winner!!

uber5000 mural in an alley, everybody is a winner, yellow birdies sitting around a table, one is reading a paper, and two are playing cards

below: An old elicser mural

an old elicser mural with people

back of two storey brick building with a small paved space behind it, a table and benches are near the building, street art on both sides of the small space (the buildings on either sode)

a mural, turkey head, wearing red three pointed crown, with wildstyle graffiti across the bottom

TTC subway tracks running parallel to a lane

below: Float away in the 416

small sticker of a black drawing of a man floating on somethings round in the water, with 416 on his T shirt, his feet in the water, a ghetto blaster beside him

the back of two adjacent buildings on Bloor West, one has a set of stone steps leading down that are overgrown with grass and weeds, some graffiti on the back of the buildings

words scrawled on a concrete wall by a parking lot. eat the rich, kill a billionaire, fuck landlords,

street art on the back of the midas building, parking lot behind Keele subway station

below: Mary prays in a small garden at the end of a backyard along the subway tracks.

at the back of backyard in a small garden, behind chainlink fence, a white small statue of mary holding rosary beads

a driveway with a garage in the back, open door on the garage

a G M C truck is parked in a gravel driveway between two buildings, in the background is a couple of rows of houses and a tall apartment building behind that

old blue oil drums beside a blue wall with graffiti words that say thumbs up and guns down

Around the marshaling yard – with love and peace

Posted: April 14, 2020 in landmarks, locations, transportation
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It’s easy to view railway tracks from bridges, in this case from a bridge on Finch Avenue East between Markham Road and McCowan.  The is CPR Toronto Yard.

seen from a bridge, two bright red CPR train engines on tracks, beside the watch tower

It is a marshaling yard, also known as a classification yard, which is where railway cars are separated onto one of several tracks and joined with other cars with the same destination.

boxcars and tankers waiting on tracks at the CPR yard

Sitting on over 400 acres, CPR’s yard in Scarborough is one of the largest in Canada.  There are 311 switches and about 140km of track on which freight cars are shunted between tracks.   The site was opened in 1964.

across the tracks, lots of red CPR engines, with skyline behind

seen from a bridge, a train passes below, engine, flatbed cars, a tanker, and a boxcar

…but getting to track level can be more of a challenge.

below: It sometimes involves getting lost and having a chat with a security guard or two (but not until after you have a few good wall & shadow pictures)

a security guard walks down a road between two white metal buildings

below:  In other places, access is simple.

a small dead pine tree in front of a large puddle in a parking lot, a line of red boxcars behind it

a man in a safety vest stands beside two boxcars, one yellow and the other orange,

three tanks on towers above train cars at CPR yard

below: I’ve never thought too much about graffiti on trains until today – How many miles has this little guy traveled?  Where did he come from and who painted him when?  How many people have seen him as he shuttles back and forth across the country (or perhaps farther than that?)?

the graffiti on the side of a red boxcar

below: Looking right back at you!

graffiti on the side of a train car - painted pale blue with two big eyes that seem to be looking at the viewer

reddich colour boxcar with pink and blue blobs, graffiti

below: A westbound train leaves the yard at McCowan Road.

two bright red CPR engines at the front of a train, black tanker cars behind, as it crosses over the bridge at the entrance to the CPR railway yard

below: Back in 1964 the community of Browns Corners was at the corner of Finch Avenue East and Markham Road(not to be confused with the other Browns Corners on Woodbine Ave and Hwy 7).   There are no more traces of the community or the farms that surrounded it.

trucks parked beside a long low grey building, in the distance. in front is a vacant lot

I only walked around part of the yard and I didn`t take very many pictures of the buildings that are there – seniors residence, medical clinic, a few offices, etc.

pattison billboard beside a street, on a vacant piece of land
a bus shelter on the side of a street, with vacant land behind and a large billboard advertising a radio station

the backs of trucks parked by a vacant lot

I would like to end this blog post with one building that I saw that was different.

below: The Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre is nearby.  I think that I have it right – the Sathya Sai Organization is not a religion but a “universal approach to life” whose teacher and spiritual leader is Sathya Sai Baba.   Each of the five petals in the flower contain a word or phrase: truth, right conduct, peace, non violence, and love.

 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba centre

below: There was a column-like structure near the door topped with a large lotus flower.  The base was square and on each were printed words.  “Offer all bitterness in the sacred Fire and emerge grand, great and Godly.”

part of the base of a column with words that say offer all bitterness in the sacred fire and emerge grand, great and godly

below: “Remember the wheel of Cause and Consequence of Deed and Destiny and the Wheel of Dharma that rights them all”.  I assume that the other two sides also had inscriptions but I couldn’t see them because of a fence with a locked gate.

part of the base of a column with words that say remember the wheel of cause and consequence of deed and destiny and the wheel of dharma that rights them all

Back on McCowan and back home… (still no TTC in my life)

a row of cars for sale, seen from the back

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

across two bridges

Posted: February 25, 2020 in construction, history, intersections, landmarks, locations, transportation
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This is another “walk about” post; in fact, it is the product of two nearly identical walks a few months apart.

below: Standing at the corner of King and Spadina while TTC workmen clear the streetcar tracks of excess dirt and sand.

two young women standing on the corner of King & Spadina

below: Looking east along King Street.  The LCBO on the corner is now closed.

looking eastward along King St from Spadina, high rises, billboard, traffic, city,

below: Spadina, south of King.

construction on Spadina south of King, beside the red and white Petro Canada gas station

below: Looking through a parking lot on Wellington.

backs of buildings as seen through a parking lot on Wellington street

below: Looking south on Draper Street

looking south on Draper street to condos south of the tracks

below: The CN Tower from Draper Street

the CN tower as seen through a vacant lot on Draper street

below: Construction continues on the old Globe and Mail site south of Wellington and north of Front.

construction on the site of the old Globe and Mail building between Wellington and Front

below: A pink pig still celebrating Valentines Day.

a pink plastic pig on a porch, wearing heart shaped sunglasses and a necklace of heart shapes

below: Looking east along the tracks from Portland Street.  In November when I walked here, there were many movie trucks parked along Front Street.

looking east along the north side of the railway tracks from Portland Street towards downtown, cranes and construction site, high rises

below: The new condos on the north side of Front Street that face the railway tracks.

a line of glass and concrete condos on Front street that face the railway tracks, cars and trucks at construction site beside the tracks, below street level

pasteup graffiti on a yellow post, faces with eyes collage, by jeremy lynch

below: Crossing the Puente de Luz, Toronto’s yellow pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.

three people crossing the puente de luz, the yellow pedestrian bridge that crosses the railway tracks

three people crossing the puente de luz, the yellow pedestrian bridge that crosses the railway tracks

looking eastward to the puente de luz bridge and the city skyline beyond, railway tracks, cranes, new buildings,

below: On the south side of the railway – the green building is the Library District condo.

fish eye lens view of side of green library condo building and the other across the street, Queens Wharf Rd

below: Bathurst Street at Fort York Blvd., with the overhang from the library which is on that corner.

overhang from the library roof, Bathurst street, south of tracks, condos, street,

below: Bathurst streetcar southbound.

TTC streetcar passes over Bathurst street bridge over the railway tracks, new condos in the background, crane

below: The grassy green mound that separates Fort York from the city…. with the city creeping up behind it.

edge of the grounds of fort york, green grass on hill, with new high risse condos in the distance

below: Orange bars across the eyes, graffiti

graffiti, three black and white photos of faces with orange streak painted through their eyes, pasteups on concrete

below: The Bentway, under the Gardiner Expressway (a previous post on the Bentway)

the bentway, the new development and park under the gardiner expressway, words on one of the concrete posts that says Welcome to the Bentway a shared space kind of place

Garrison Crossing is actually two stainless steel bridges, both over railway tracks.   Both have spans of close to 50m.  In the middle is a peninsula of land that is in the process of being developed into condos and a park.  Almost 20 years ago there was a proposal to build a bridge here – to be opened in 2012 for the anniversary of the War of 1812.  Mayor Rob Ford was opposed to it (too much money) and the plans were shelved.  A change of mayor (and some help from developers) and a change of plan again.  Construction began in 2016.  It provides a much needed link between the two sides of the railway lands.

below: Southern span – walking north from Fort York

fisheye view of first garrison crossing bridge with new condos in the middle

below: City view from the new park in the middle, train tracks (difficult to see in this picture) on two sides of the triangle.

view from Garrison Crossing, in the middle, CN Tower and Toronto downtown skyline

below: Yellow construction fences still line the edge of the path through the middle section between the bridges.

yellow construction fences line the pathway through the middle of Garrison Crossing as it is not quite finished construction

below: People crossing the northern portion of Garrison Crossing (looking south).

people walking across the Garrison Crossing bridge with high rise condos behind them

below: Looking northwest from the second span of Garrison Crossing towards Strachan Avenue and beyond.

railway tracks north of Garrison crossing looking towards Strachan Ave

below: Garrison Crossing ends at Wellington Street close to Stanley Park

park, green space, baseball diamond with lights, and a row of bright coloured houses behind

a garage door completely covered in paint, street art in red, black and yellow

street art on a garage door including a large pair of white hands

street art on two metal boxes on the sidewalk, one is a zipper opening to reveal a brick wall

below: Found – one city snowplow parking lot, between the railway tracks and Wellington Street (at the end of Walnut Ave).

parking lot for red snowplows, city property, also a dome shaped storage for sand, condos in the background

below: Immediately to the east of the snowplows is the old brick building. It has its own access road from Wellington including a bridge with three arches.   The road is overgrown and blocked by a fence.  There is no sign by the road.

cars in a parking lot with an old boarded up brick building, 2 storeys. The building has a road and 3 arched bridge leading to the upper storey

below: It took some time on google but I finally found the answer to the building above.  Here it is in 1925, the year that it was built – the Wellington Destructor.  It was used until the 1970s when burning garbage was banned; it has been a heritage building since 2005.  I found the photo online on a CBC News webpage where there a great description of the building and its history,  along with some pictures of the interior.

old black and white photo of garbage incinerator built in 1925, Toronto, large brick building

below: And that brings us back to the Bathurst Street bridge over the railway tracks on the south side of Front Street.  Did you know that it’s officially called the Sir Isaac Brock Bridge?  It spent most of its life as the Bathurst Street Bridge until 2007 when it was renamed.

traffic at the intersection of Bathurst and Front. Brown metal bridge for Bathurst over the tracks, CN Tower and new condos in the background

below: It is a steel truss bridge that was built in 1903 (one of the oldest bridges in the city).  It’s first life was a railway bridge over the Humber Bridge but in 1916 it was disassembled, moved to Bathurst, and reassembled.

brown metal bridge, Bathurst street over the railway tracks,

below: Bathurst bridge, 1919, from the west (Lake Ontario is on the right hand side).

vintage black and white photo of railway tracks and bridge over Bathurst street, 1919, from Toronto City Archives

The view from the Municipal Abbatoir Building, looking southeast. The building with the water tower on top is the Matthews Blackwell meat packing company. On the left, you can see part of the cylindrical tower belonging to Consumers Gas Company

 

below: Someone has given this rusty guy some eyes!  He too is watching out for interesting stories.  He’s also thankful that you made it this far!  At least he can’t roll his eyes!

two large black and white googly eyes have been glued onto a rusty piece of metal on a fence

Vic Park

Posted: March 30, 2019 in locations
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street sign for Victoria Park Ave., top part says Wexford Heights

Victoria Park Avenue used to be the boundary between North York and Scarborough back before the boroughs were all amalgamated into the city. As a result, it suffered a bit from being ignored by both. I started my walk at Vic Park and Eglinton in part because I have driven this route a few times but never walked it. In addition, the arrival of the LRT here will probably have an impact on the area so I wanted to see the “before” picture.

below: A blue and white City of Toronto development notice at the NE corner of Eglinton and Victoria Park. This was once the western edge of the “Golden Mile”. In the 1950’s and 1960’s there were numerous factories including a General Motors assembly plant. Commercial developments were attracted to the area such as the Golden Mile Plaza built in 1954 (and visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959). This notice pertains to the plans to develop a large piece of land between Victoria Park and Pharmacy Avenues with housing, retail, and parks. The new Crosstown LRT will service the area with two stops, one at Vic Park and one at Pharmacy.

blue and white toronto development notice sign on a section of grass by a parking lot, stores in the distance

The only snow on the ground when I walked north from Eglinton were the dirty piles where snow plows had dumped the snow over the winter.

a green street sign for Eglinton Ave lies on the ground, on a pile of dirty snow, a bull dozer is in the background.

below: Looking north from Craigton which is the first street north of Eglinton. There are a lot of lowrise apartment buildings in this area.

back of a TTC bus as it stops at Victoria Park and Craigton, a woman is standing at a bus stop

three lowrise white apartment buildings in the distance, hydro wires, vacant land

below: Community garden on the hydro right of way.

community garden surrounded by orange wire fence, under hydro poles,

hydro poles, utility poles, electricity, and wires

wooden pole with street sign for Elvaston and a no truck sign, in the background, signs from stores in a strip mall

below: Sale only until Dec. 24 so hurry in…. a little late? or too early?

two people walk past a store with a sign in the window that says hurry up because sale ends Dec 28. photo taken in March

below: Commercial development took the form of strip malls when there was lots of space and density was low.

blue wire fence around an empty strip mall

old and empty Prince Cleaners (dry cleaners) in a strip mall that is empty and fenced off and waiting for redevelopment

signs for retail on a strip mall

old no apartments for rent sign outside a brick apartment building

The first settlers in the area were mostly farmers until the late 1940’s.

below: St. Judes Anglican church was built in 1848 by the Rev William Stewart Darling and the Anglican families of the Wexford area; it is the oldest surviving Anglican church in Scarborough. A more modern church was built behind it (just out of the picture) in the mid 1950’s when the population of the neighbourhood boomed. The cemetery began as a private burial plot for the Parkin family – the infant son of Patrick and Ann, Edward, was buried here in 1932.

a small white church in a cemetery, St. Juds Anglican church built in 1848

below: The intersection of Lawrence and Victoria Park. A bit forlorn.

empty parking lot at the intersection of two roads, Victoria Park Ave and Lawrence ave., truck and some other traffic, Damas middle eastern restaurant and a Shell gas station

below: Low rise, flat roofed townhouses. Most of the development on Victoria Park dates from the 1950’s and 1960’s.

1960's low rise, flat roofed townhouses in front, with red brick apartment building behind, large trees, winter, no leaves, grassy area in front

below: Some small postwar bungalows line the street, and the side streets on the Scarborough side.

a small bungalow on a side street that faces the main road, Victoria Park Ave

a few cars on the street driving past some small bungalows

below: A railway corridor passes under Victoria Park north of Lawrence.

looking from a bridge onto the train tracks below and downtown in the distance

pine tree growing in front of a brick building

two lowrise apartment buildings side by side on Victoria Park Ave., one in red brick and the other is yellow

below: A wonderful wide W shaped roofline

a wide W shaped roof line on the cover over an entrance to an apartment building

below: H is for Hockey and Hockey Sticks

a teal coloured, large H in front of an arrangement of hockey sticks, artwork on the top of a wood fence

below: No trespassing signs on the bus shelter?

empty building, with fence around it and no trespassing signs

Victoria Park continues north to beyond Steeles Avenue but I didn’t get anywhere near that far! North of Ellesmere and York Mills Road it becomes much more suburban and not as interesting. It’s more of a thoroughfare and less of a city street.

paddling the Bentway

Posted: May 11, 2018 in construction, galleries, locations
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… and vicinity

The Bentway is a new park being built under the Gardiner Expressway between Bathurst and Strachan.  I walked it almost two years ago when the park was only in the planning stages.   I thought that I’d take a look at it again the other day.  Originally, it was supposed to be ready last summer so it’s a bit behind schedule.  Surprised?

Walking south on Strachan from King, and whoa, there are changes happening here too.  Cranes everywhere.  Holes in the ground.   How many people are employed in the construction industry in Toronto?  in the GTA?

below: Looking eastward from Strachan Avenue, immediately south of King Street.

looking east from Strachan, immediately south of King, past older brick buildings to the CN Tower and city skyline

below: The view from a few metres farther south on Strachan.  The metal grid covers the railway tracks and supports the retaining walls on either side.  It also makes an interesting pattern.  These tracks turn northward – they are used by the UP Express to the airport and GO trains to places like Georgetown and Barrie.   There’s the CN Tower again – just in case you’re a CN Tower junkie like me.  I can’t resist taking pictures of it, especially when I find new angles, new foregrounds.

looing over the railway tracks to city skyline and CN Tower, construction of new building on the right

below: Immediately south of the train tracks is Ordnance Street.  Until recently it was a sleepy little dead end street of light industrials.

cement truck on street in front of construction site, cranes, fences, building about 20 storeys high

below: Ouch! Look at all those transformers on the poles.

 

white crane in the background, many hydro utility poles, with large grey cylindrical transformers on each of them

below: The east end of Ordnance Street is at Strachan.   It doesn’t actually end there, but continues on the west side as East Liberty Street.  This is the eastern edge of Liberty Village.

the NW corner of Strachan Ave and East Liberty Street, construction site with fence and hoardings.

Sorry, we haven’t got to the Bentway yet.  If you are a Torontonian you should now have your bearings and know at least approximately where you are.  Not far to go now.  It’s a beautiful day and we’re walking slow!

The Ordnance Street development is on a triangle of land with one side as Strachan Avenue and the other two sides as railway lines.

below: You’ll have to take my word for it that the construction on Ordnance Street is just behind the bushes on the left.   These are the tracks that run to the west and the bridge over the tracks is at Bathurst Street.  By this time, the two sets of tracks have come together as they approach Union Station.

railway tracks and CN Tower

below: One of the first views of the Bentway.  More construction.  I was standing on Strachan when I took this picture.  This is the beginnings of a new entrance to the Bentway – a large staircase down the hill from the street.  The steps are wide to allow for multiple uses – a place to gather, a place for entertainment.

construction under the elevated Gardiner Expressway, making a large set of stairs down from Strachan Ave to Grenadier Common near Fort York

below: This end of the Bentway parallels Garrison Common.  The Ordnance Street development can still be seen but there is also another structure being built on Garrison Common side of the railway tracks.

construction of an elevated ramp beside a park from a distance, with condo building going on behind it

below: A closer look.  It appears to be a ramp to a pedestrian/cycle bridge that will cross the tracks and join Ordnance Street to the Bentway, Fort York, and the streets/paths to the south.  I also really like the billboards – one with graffiti and the other is empty.

billboard beside construction of an elevated ramp beside a park

below: The new rusty entrance to the Fort York Visitors Centerentrance to Fort York visitors centre, rusted metal panels on exterior walls and as covering over doorway

 

below: Just beyond the visitor’s center, the Bentway is closer to completion. There was a skating rink here this past winter.

concrete path winds under the bents and pillars of the Gardiner Expressway

below: Also here is an installation by Dana Claxton called ‘Forest of Canoes’.  Colourful images of canoes on the concrete pillars.  Light-wise, they are probably best seen in the morning but that’s not when I was there.

at the Bentway, Dana Claxton's 'Forest of Canoes' art installation of pictures of canoes on the concrete supports of the Gardiner Expressway - grey canoe on black background

The Bentway follows the shoreline of Lake Ontario that existed before landfill was used to create a space for the railway lines.  Canoes were once an essential means of transport.  Now their images sit on concrete pillars that hold up the Gardiner Expressway where thousands of cars pass by every day.

at the Bentway, Dana Claxton's 'Forest of Canoes' art installation of pictures of canoes on the concrete supports of the Gardiner Expressway - blue canoe

at the Bentway, Dana Claxton's 'Forest of Canoes' art installation of pictures of canoes on the concrete supports of the Gardiner Expressway - cedar strip canoe

below: In the bottom left corner of this picture is what looks like a bluish blob.  My apologies to the artist for calling it a blob but I’ll blame it on the lack of light and therefore, the lack of detail, in the photo.  This is another art piece.  It is ‘Future Snowmachine in Kinngait (Colossus)’ by Janice Qimirpik, Moe Kelly, Embassy of Imagination, and PA System.  Embassy of Imagination is a collaboration between PA System (Patrick Thompson and Alexa Hatanaka) and youth in the Cape Dorset community of Kinngait.  This sculpture started with small playdough models of snowmobiles made by Qimirpik and Kelly.  They were then scaled into a larger than life sculpture.

at the Bentway, Dana Claxton's 'Forest of Canoes' art installation of pictures of canoes on the concrete supports of the Gardiner Expressway

The next part of the Bentway is under construction and there is still no pedestrian crossing across Fort York Blvd and is passes diagonally under the Gardiner.   There is (was?) one in the plan.

below: This sculpture is on the corner of Fort York Blvd and Grand Magazine Street.  It is ‘Fountaingrove’ by Carlo Cesta and Nestor Kruger, 2014.  It sits above the Garrison Creek Culvert that carries the now buried creek to the lake.  Like the name states, it represents water in fountains.   Of course there is a white crane hiding behind it.

part of a metal twisty sculpture, condos behind, blue sky, sun spot

below: Just west of Bathurst Street

blue surface, window relief sculpture in it, other side is artifical rock, under the Gardiner Expressway, lock stone ground,

below: Getting cosy.  Condos rise up right beside the Gardiner Expressway.  If you’ve driven across the Gardiner, you’ll know just how close some of the buildings are to the traffic.   How useful is a balcony if it’s metres away from a highway and from all those cars and trucks?  They keep being built and people keep buying them.

below: I couldn’t resist all the yellow and orange bits and pieces!

yellow circular bike rack, bikes, condos,

below: On the east side of Bathurst is the construction of a new Loblaws.  It never ends does it?

construction site that is partially covered by the Gardiner Expressway

This blog may have been a bit heavier on construction photos than you were expecting, especially since the title was about canoes. There was just so much work going on in that area that it was hard to avoid.  The next time that I walk this area it will probably be totally different… unfortunately new buildings are a lot duller to look at than construction sites so there may not be many photos!

on grey construction hoardings, a sign tat says post no bills. Someone has added 4 stencils of different Bills, Bill Murray, Bill Clinton.

Dana Claxton canoe image at Bentway, Forest of Canoes, multicoloured, bright colours,

of birds and flowers and more

Posted: March 5, 2018 in graffiti and street art, locations, stores
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The other day I headed towards Dupont and Dundas West because I heard about a mural that I didn’t recall having seen.  Here it is … and more.

below: The most westerly part of the mural is on the north side of Dundas West where Old Weston Road and Annette Street meet.

mural on a wall beside a busy street

mural with a bird, chicakdee or sparrow beside a large orange tiger lily

mural, large painting of a tiger lily and a sparrow

 

It continues along the side of the railway underpass on Dupont (it’s a confusing tangle of streets here!)

car stopped in traffic under railway bridge, driver is looking at the mural that is painted under the underpass

….and on the stairwell up to the West Toronto Railpath.

part of a mural, a robin and an orange rose, outside, beside a staircase

colourful mural outside beside a staircase, large flowers and leaves including an orange maple leaf

It was a gorgeous day so I walked around a bit more, of course!

below: On Dundas West

street art of a young person writing on the wall with red letters that say it's just a phase

below: A row of houses with wonderful facades.  You don’t many like that anymore! .. at least not on houses.

older two storey row houses with facades that extend above the roof line,

below: These fooled me at first.  Interesting black and white photos looking grubby and worn… with a small McDonalds logo on the bottom right.   The photo on the bottom left also has a few words in small print that give away the fact this is a McDonalds promotion.  I don’t think I’ve seen any like these elsewhere – or have I missed something?

4 large black and white photos of people eating hamburgers, that is actually a mcdonalds ad

below: The large black metal staircase at the end of the footbridge over the tracks at Wallace Ave are gone.  The replacement stairs are dull and bland.  This change was meant to accommodate new development on Wallace.

new stairs at the end of a footbridge over the train tracks at Wallace street in Toronto, beside the West Toronto Railpath

below: Railpath window reflections.

reflections of the sky in a window

below: Also on the West Toronto Railpath, someone has hung this colourful ‘curtain’ on the fence in order to add a splash of colour to a sitting area.  Once upon a time there were more chairs here.  And a table if I remember correctly.

fabric hanging from a rope beside a footpath, large green cylinder stoarge unit behind it.

below: One of two chalkboards installed by crazydames where people have written notes to cyclists imploring them to slow down and use their bells.  I totally agree!  Just before I came upon this, a man on an electric bike came up behind me, silently and fast.

large chalkboard on an orange brick wall with notes to tell cyclists to slow down and ring their bells.

below: This little gnome still stands by the entrance to a convenience store.  This guarden gnome has been here (Bloor West) for a few years.

a small gnome painted on the wall beside a door to a convenience store. The door is open and people are walking past

below: Reduce, reuse, recycle – here the R used is reuse.   Truck and tractor parts and other bits and pieces craftily arranged and put to use on the outside of the Farmhouse Tavern.  It should look better in a couple of months!

planters on an exterior wall, made of truck and tractor parts

below: A fairy in a garden of mushrooms.

a mural of a fairy, woman, with wings, holding something in her hand and looking upwards, in a garden with large mushrooms,

graffiti on a black wall, white bird like head on pick square

One last look at part of that mural!

mural with flowers, shadows in front

part of a mural, large light purple flower with yellow center and dark pink at inner most part of petals

 

are you going to Scarborough?

Posted: March 18, 2017 in reflections, transportation
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What to do on a cold day when the wind is vicious and blows right through you?   It blows through my hat, my ears and my brain.  It makes my head hurt.  Not the ideal walking day even with all my winter layers on.   I have been thinking about my walk along Sheppard Avenue and some of the issues with public transit and while doing so I realized that I had never been on the Scarborough Rapid Transit.  With all the talk about Sheppard subway vs LRT, I decided that maybe I should check it out.  So instead of a walk, I went for a ride and took the SRT to McCowan and back.

First I had to get to the SRT which starts at Kennedy subway station.

reflections of a woman in a red jacket sitting on the subway, reflected in the window beside a woman who is standing on the platform

At Kennedy I was a lost tourist as I searched for the route between the subway and the SRT.  Here the SRT trains run above street level so it took a couple of escalators and some stairs to reach the platform.

below: Standing on the platform and waiting for the train.  Kennedy station is at Kennedy & Eglinton and I think that this is the view looking east from there.

SRT tracks curve away from platform, outside, apartment building in the background, some snow on the tracks

below: The train arrives.

platform at Kennedy SRT station with people waiting as a blue train arrives

below: Leaving Kennedy station.   The first part of the route is north and runs parallel to the CNR & Stouffville GO line train tracks.     The red and white cars are the original colour from when the SRT opened in 1985.  In 2015 the TTC began painting the cars blue to match the colour scheme that now goes with “Line 3” on the TTC maps.  They also began two switch over the name of the SRT to Line 3 Scarborough.

the Scarborough RT train as it leaves Kennedy station, the track curves so you can see the front of the train out the window

below: I wasn’t the only tourist on the train!  After being on the subway, it felt a bit like being on a toy train.  The cars are smaller.  The trains are powered by linear induction motors which are quite different from conventional motors.  They push themselves along the tracks using alternating flat magnets.   That’s a very simplistic description of the science of induction motors but I’m sure that you can use google to find more information if you are interested!

looking down the length of an SRT car, two young women are looking out the back window. seats down either side, red on one side and blue on the other

below: The Scarborough RT,  also referred to as TTC line 3, covers  6.4 km on its route from Kennedy station to McCowan station.  There are six stops, Kennedy, Lawrence East, Ellesmere, Midland, Scarborough Centre, and McCowan.  Note the blue colour on the map!

a map of the SRT route is on the wall behind two red seats of an SRT car, view out the window is not easy to see but it is the platform at Lawrence East station

below: Ellesmere station. Apparently it is the least used station in the system, less even than Bessarion.

interior wall of Ellesmere station, covered (plastic?) glass wall, large black letters saying Ellesmere, and a bright red bench, snow on the curved translucent roof

faded TTC symbol on the exterior of a rapid transit vehicle

below: Looking out the back window.  The tracks are standard gauge whereas the subway runs on tracks that are wider so the TTC can’t run their subway cars on these tracks.

looking out the dirty window at the back of a SRT vehicle, tracks and some cityscape

below: This is the view at McCowan station, the end of the line. Although it was a very quiet ride to McCowan, the train was full on the ride back to Kennedy with Scarborough Centre being the most crowded station.   It took 40 minutes to go from McCowan to Bloor/Yonge.

a SRT train is stopped at McCowan station,

***

blurry person standing on the platform at Greenwood station, with reflections of people sitting on the subway

reflections in the subway window along with people sitting on the train

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