Posts Tagged ‘utility poles’

Protests.  Advertisements. Words.

Posted: March 14, 2021 in graffiti and street art
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Good morning!
And welcome to another Toronto blog post!  This time, it’s all about reading material found on the street recently. In a lot of ways, it’s a snapshot of some of the issues and concerns that occupy us at this particular moment in time.

on black hoardings, large white letters that spell good morn

Papers on boxes, papers on poles, and papers on walls.  Protests.  Advertisements. Words.  Car caravan protest; Take back the night; call Jacki.  A potpourri of thoughts and causes.  An abundance of opinions and objectives.

many posters on a pole and a metal box on a sidewalk

below: 62nd Tibetans National Uprising Day, March 10th.  In March of 1959, there was an unsuccessful uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet in which about 87,000 people died; it was at this time that the Dalai Lama fled to India (in the Himalayas) where he has lived in exile ever since.

poster advertising the 62nd Tibetan National Uprising Day car caravan protest on MArch 10th

below: Khaleel Seivwright is a carpenter who has been constructing tiny shelters.  Some of the funds for the project come from a GoFundMe campaign.  These structures have been placed in encampments for the homeless in parks and on other city-owned land but back in February, the city filed an injunction to stop the shelters on city property.

a poster on a pole that wants Toronto city hall to save lives by not tearing down tiny shelters for the homeless that a man has been making

below: Another poster concerning the shortfalls of social housing in this city.  As the average cost of house in the GTA hovers around a million dollars, there is a growing lack of affordable housing.

build social housing now poster on a pole, city hall protest, want to expropriate 214 to 230 Sherbourne Stret to build social housing

below: Cops aren’t workers – no police unions

poster on a utility pole, yellow paper, orange words, Cops aren't workers,

below: Defund the police by 50% and invest in community supports and services – on top.  And on the bottom, Disco 3000, a weekly (Thursday nights) radio show on Parkdale Private Radio.

two posters on a pole, one is Gord PErks Defund the police by 50 percent and the other is Disco 3000

below: Covid lockdown protest

sign on a front lawn that says no more lockdowns

below: We got a problem – Because the ones who are causing the problem don’t want us to know what it is.”  The people named are all conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers.

ripped paper on wooden pole with lots of staples, we got a problem, a covid protest piece

self isol nation spray painted on a wall as part of a graffiti painting

below: A quote from Maya Angelou: “Nothing will work unless you do”

on an underpass wall, a black and white picture of a woman, Maya Angelou, and words in pink that say Nothing will work unless you do. This a quote from Maya Angelou

below: A few survive –  “Radical simply means ‘Grasping things at the root’ Angela Davis.  Plus, My body; my choice.

5 posters on a wall, most of the words have been blacked out. The poster that is still totally legible says Radical simply means

below:  In Parkdale a lot of the posters have been cut down leaving mysterious bits behind.  The words here are written in a different alphabet and I have no idea what the poster was advertising or promoting.

a poster on a wood utility pole has been torn but the four edges remain

below: Beside the stairs – Free Hong Hong; Free Tibet

on a white concrete wall beside hand railing by stairs, black marker words that say free Hong Kong free Tibet

Chasing the light along Queen Street

Posted: September 10, 2017 in old buildings, reflections, shadows
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Shorter day light hours + autumn weather (no snow yet!) = an evening of playing with light and shadow.  I came out of the subway at Queen station and decide to “chase the light”.  It was a perfect evening for a walk and I wanted to make it last as long as possible.   For the most part I stayed on Queen Street although I will admit to straying onto Shuter for a block or two.  It’s not the prettiest part of the city but every place has potential, from a photographic perspective anyhow.

below: The new (replacement) pedestrian walkway over Queen Street that will link the Eaton Centre with The Bay.

glass pedestrian bridge over a street, Queen Street, with traffic and people as well as an ambulance, late afternoon

below: City reflections in both glass and polished stone.

reflections in a stone and glass building

below: The curve of street car wires at Queen and Church.  A wall of peeling paint, as well as a ghost sign, provides the backdrop

the curve of the streetcar wires in front of a wall that was painted white but the paint is peeling to reveal the brick below.

below: The east wall of St. Michaels Cathedral (RC) with reflected light, as seen across a construction site.

one end of St. Michaels Cathedral with reflected light falling on it, new buildings and construction surround it

below: The same church from a slightly different angle.

close up of part of a church roof and window with reflected light on it.

below: Angels

wooden angel cutouts decorate the roofline of a small building

below: Pigeons, old Bell phones and the Moss Park Discount Store.  Not so much light here but I liked the wall.

two Bell telephone booths, small version, mounted on a wall with street art painted on it, beside the window of a convenience store with a 649 ad in the window. Sign over the window says Moss Park Discount Store

below: A long way from home.

people standing on a corner waiting to cross the street, including a woman dressed in blue who is using a walker, plus two Morman men in their white shirts and black ties.

below: A large double billboard is black beside the old building.   The building is at the corner of Ontario Street and Brigden Place.   It was built in 1911 as a 4 1/2 storey warehouse for the Newell Company and their Dominion Envelope Company.  It was one of three buildings that they owned in the area.   After WW2 the building was purchased by J.D. Carrier Shoe Company (the ghost sign!).  Today it has been renovated as lofts and studios.

evening light shines on an old white brick building, a large billboard as seen from the end, is in front

below: A small section of the back of the Moss Park Armoury, a Canadian Forces building constructed in the 1960’s.

part of a wall, vertical stripes of brick sections and white sections, narrow windows in the white sections, 3 windows in total

below: A quick break from chasing light…. you never know what you’re going to encounter downtown, and of course you have to stop and take advantage of the opportunities when they arise, so here we have a slight diversion!  I’m going to assume that the background of their pictures is much better than the background of this picture!

a bride and groom embrace while three photographers take their picture. on a sidewalk of a city street

below: As evening falls, the lights come on in the bus shelters.
You can thank (or curse) Astral Media for that.

a lit advertisement in a bus shelter of two men in Roots clothes, a young man sits on the bench in the bus shelter while two people walk past it on the sidewalk

below: King Street and Queen Street merge just before they pass over the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway.   The green railing in the photo below is on the bridge over the DVP, the buildings and cranes are on the other side of the river.

evening light, cityscape with many construction cranes, light poles and utility poles and wires, evening,

below:  Upstairs, downstairs.  Looking west along King Street from the Don River.

looking along King street from beside ramp over the railway tracks - light under the bridge shows someone sitting there, city scene in the rest of the photo

Once the light fades beyond a certain point, contrast is limited and dullness creeps into the resulting photos.  It’s too late for well lit photos and too early for pictures of city lights.  But it’s a great time to stop and find some dinner!