water | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘water’

Sunlight shining – Biidaasige – and Lookout too.

Posted: September 6, 2025 in construction, locations, nature, waterfront
Tags: beach, Biidaasige, bike path, bridges, DOn River, hearn generating station, Leslie Lookout Park, park, playground, Port Lands, redevelpopment, river, Ship Channel, trees, Unwin Ave., Villiers, water, water lilies, waterfront

A new park in the Port Lands has opened. Biidaasige Park. Biidaasige translates to “sunlight shining towards us”.

It is centered around the new mouth of the Don River, with lots of walking and cycling paths that wind along the shores and through the newly planted shrubs, trees, and other native plants.

There is also a large playground where plenty of adventures await!

How many animals can you spot?

A black wasp has found a swamp milkweed flower.

below: The washroom facilities are still temporary (I hope!) but at least they exist….

… But there is more. Biidaasige is not the only new park in the area. Just to the east is the new Leslie Lookout Park that features this 10m tower that references the areas industrial history. It echos the silos of the past and provides an elevated viewing area.

below: The park is at the east end of the Ship Channel

Both parks are just part of the redevelopment of the Port Lands. The area has always been industrial, and many industries remain. Construction continues on other areas

below: Unwin Avenue

below: The old Hearn Generating Station still sits empty. It was built in the 1950s as a coal powered generating station but it was decommissioned in 1983. It has been used as a movie set location or as a backdrop for art installations but because of the huge costs involved (especially with cleaning up the interior to present day safety standards) this heritage site is vastly underused.

below: But now there is a development notice sign on the fence. Its present owner, Studios of America, has applied to redevelop the 30 acre site to include condos as well as other mixed uses.

Old Finch and the Finch Meander

Posted: May 29, 2025 in history, nature
Tags: Bailey Bridge, dog strangling vine, ferns, Hillside Church, honeysuckle, leaves, mayapple, nature, Old Finch Ave., plants, rocks, Rouge River, trees, Vincetoxicum rossicum, water

Old Finch Avenue runs immediately north of the zoo way over in the northeast corner of the city. It also crosses the Rouge River close to what is called the Finch Meander. Because of its history and the surrounding geography, the eastern portion of Finch has to curve around the river and as a result, it doesn’t align properly with the western portion.

below: On Finch, traffic crosses a one lane bridge that spans the Rouge River.

below: Hurricane Hazel struck Toronto in October 1954. It damaged or washed away many bridges over the Rouge River including the one here. The replacement bridge is a “Bailey Bridge” built by the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment of the Canadian Military Engineers. Seventy years later it is the last one still in use.

below: Can you see the little orange alien? I think that it’s waving at you…..

And a few photos from walking around the Rouge River park in that area –

below: Down the steps and into the woods….

below: Measuring the water levels

below: Greater Celandine growing in the shadows.

below: Little pink honeysuckle flowers

below: Mayapple among the ferns

below: Keep an eye open for poison ivy!

below: Another silent threat that lurks here (but won’t give you a rash) is an invasive vine. “Dog strangling vine”, or Vincetoxicum rossicum, wraps itself around trees and other plants that it encounters. It is early in the growing season so most of the plants here were still short but there were masses of them. The lighter beige curved objects that run through the middle of this photo are the remains of last year’s vines.

Close by is the old Hillside church built in 1877.

historical society plaque in front of hillside church, white picket fence

Hillside Church – The church opened on Nov 16, 1877 as a branch of the Scarboro circuit of the Methodist Church of Canada to meet the religious needs of this rural community. The property was given by Mr. and Mrs. John Crawford to the “Trustees of the Mount Zion Congregation” – namely John Sewell, Peter Reesor, James Ormerod, George Pearse, James Pearse, Robert Stockdale and Thomas Barnard. Combining to form the Congregation were members of the Bible Christian Church … and the adherents of the former Wesleyan Methodist Church. Known from its opening as Hillside Church, it continued to serve the area until Church Union in 1925 when the congregation became part of Zion United Church, Markham. Both the exterior and the interior of the church remain essentially the same as they were in 1877.

below: Someone with surname Thomas once passed this way. Lived here. Played here. The small stone suggests that it was a child, maybe? Almost 150 years later this little stone, cracked and weathered as it is, still stands in memory of Thomas and the person who cared enough about him to have this stone made and erected in the churchyard. A few of us stop and linger long enough to think about him but at some point the words will become even more unreadable.

old, faded and cracked tombstone in a cemetery, can read the name Thomas and that he died 188?.

Stone possibly says, Leonard, infant son of ?? Thomas, died July 11 1888 (1889?)

With thanks to Wilfred who suggested checking out the Rouge River and Bailey Bridge! It was a few months ago now but I was waiting for a nice spring day.

on a Scarborough pond

Posted: November 14, 2024 in nature
Tags: autumn, bridge, Canada goose, creek, dead leaves, dogwood, fowl, leaves, nature, November, oak, park, pond, rocks, tamarack, trees, water

One of the great things about Toronto is the network of creeks, rivers, and ravines that runs through the city. I happened upon one of these yesterday. A small oasis in a Scarborough neighbourhood.

below: I was very surprised to see a heron standing quietly among the trees. I didn’t have a better lens to catch a decent photo of the bird, so this slightly fuzzy version with have to suffice. A heron in Scarborough! Considering how much ravine and park space there is Toronto, there is probably more wildlife living in the city than we realize.

below: What Toronto park doesn’t have Canada geese?

below: A tamarack tree, a unique tree because it is a deciduous conifer in that it has cones and needles like a conifer such as pine and spruce, but its needles turn yellow and fall off in autumn like a deciduous tree (such as oak or maple) does. Tamarack is also known as Larch.

below: A small oak tree planted in remembrance of a person from the community.

below: One end of the park is the concrete fence in the distance – a fence that separates the park and the 401 highway.

a blustery winter day

Posted: January 23, 2024 in locations, public art, reflections, waterfront
Tags: Anique Jordan, boats, CIBC Square, Empire Sandy, Gardiner Expressway, ice, John McEwen, kraken, Kuumba, Lake Ontario, Legends Row, Maple Leaf Square, Maple Leafs, Mycelium, Nicolas Baier, photography, Queens Quay West, roller skating, Scotiabnk Arena, Stephen Tayo, streetcar, Union station, water, waterfront

Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

below: A Porter flight approaches the island airport

below: The Empire Sandy moored at the waterfront, with the Toronto fire boat in the distance.

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it’s rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today”

as sung by Winnie the Pooh

below: A kraken is taking over the boat!

below: A large photograph, on the south wall of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is “These Times 2019” by Anique Jordan which has been on display since the CONTACT Photography Festival last spring.

below: “Kuumba”, Photography by Stephen Tayo is on display outside at Harbourfront

below: Also at Harbourfront, orange ties blowing in the wind. These are remains, and a reminder, of Orange Shirt Day on 30th September.

below: Looking east on Harbour Street, parallel to the Gardiner Expressway, toward York Street and the wedged shaped building that has been squeezed into the space.

below: Waterfront ReConnect: Pixel Story is a “temporary creative intervention” located under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe. Crowd-sourced stories and memories of the waterfront each on a little blue square. Making constructive use of a space that has been neglected for so long; adding colour and interest to what was grey and slightly foreboding.

blue squares arranged in a grid as part of a public art installation. some squares have simple white pictures and some squares have words written in white

“Railways arrived on Toronto’s waterfront in the 1850s. To accommodate, a southward extension of the shoreline via infill was required. The ground where we stand now is close to the original shoreline of the lake.”

below: On the north side of the Gardiner – still a little darkness lurking there.

below: City of Toronto sign says Tree Protection Zone. I don’t think that I believe it.

below: At this point I had had enough of the cold; it was time to check out a warmer route! So underground I went, down into the PATH system. The lobby of ICE at 12 York has this large circular skylight over the escalator.

below: And then there is this long black, white, and chrome tunnel that connects the ICE condo and the PATH system. The walls on both sides are reflective and it’s a bit disorientating. Is this supposed to represent walking through a block of ice, or black ice?

below: PATH, the underground rabbit warren of tunnels that connect downtown buildings to each other. Usually I get lost down here.

below: I found myself in a grocery store

below: And I discovered that the PATH sometimes goes high, not low. I found myself on the upper level of the Scotiabank Arena.

below: There is a great view of Legends Row from up here – that’s the statues of all the Maple Leaf Captains from the past.

below: And inside, a collage of Leaf players hangs on the wall.

below: There’s even a portrait of Justin Bieber, behind glass, wearing a Maple Leaf jersey with a Captains C on the shoulder.

below: This is also good vantage point for all of Maple Leaf Square

below: Including a close up view of the rusty metal things… Actually it’s “Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light” (1998) by John McEwen.

At Scotiabank Arena, the PATH splits into two possibilities. One route is through Union Station and the other is up the escalator towards the new GO Bus Terminal.

below: Four (or five?) John Tavares’s to give directions to the new GO Bus Terminal. Happy to oblige!

below: There is now a pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects the Scotiabank Arena and Union Station Bus Terminal to the new CIBC SQUARE building. This is the view looking south on Bay

below: Along the north wall of the bridge is a work by Nicolas Baier called “Mycelium”. It is a network of LED lights and it is visible from outside as well.

below: At CIBC Square there is a new rooftop garden/park that has a tall skinny metallic tree, along with some real trees. There is no access to it yet but it will probably be a more welcoming in a few months.

At this point I retraced my steps back through Scotiabank and then walked through Union Station where I learned that a small space has been set aside for a temporary roller skating rink. Free rentals. Free entry.

below: He still stands outside Union Station with the flock of birds flying around while the sun reflects off the gold tinted Royal Bank Building.

below: Steamy Yonge Street on a cold day

below: Development notice outside 69 Yonge Street.

below: C’est tout. Fini. Time to go home.

Canada Day on the waterfront

Posted: July 1, 2023 in locations, people, waterfront
Tags: bicycle, bikes, boats, Canadian flag, condos, dogs, Emprire Sandy, ice cream, Kajama, Lake Ontario, Martin Goodman Trail, muskoka chairs, people, Queens Quay, sand, splash pad, sugar beach, sun tanning, walking, water, waterfront, yellow umbrellas

opened! – the first new Port Lands bridge

Posted: October 7, 2022 in construction, locations, transportation, waterfront
Tags: bridge, Cherry Street, CN Tower, Commissioners Street, construction, Lake Ontario, Port Lands, redevelopment, reflections, streets, traffic, traffic lights, trucks, water

The middle of three new bridges built for the Port Lands redevelopment has just been opened to traffic.

The bridge may be open to traffic, but the area is still a construction zone!

Eventually Cherry Street will be realigned so that there is no jog in it at Lakeshore. At this point in time, the south part of the realignment is closer to completion. This is where the new bridge is.

Commissioners Street has been extended westward to join the new segment of Cherry Street.

below: This is the east intersection of Commissioners and Cherry (looking east). Yes, it’s a mess! There are traffic signals even though only two of the four approaches are open. If you are traveling south on Cherry, you have to turn right onto Commissioners.

below: Same intersection, looking west.

below: New part of Commissioners Street

below: The west part of Commissioners ends here

below: If you stand in the same place as the above photo but turn to your right, this is the view that you see. This is the new part of Cherry Street being realigned to match the section north of Lakeshore Blvd. The new bridges over the Keating Channel are in place but there is still a lot to be done before this part of Cherry Street can be opened.

below: Looking south… It is the middle bridge that has been opened to traffic first. It is located approximately where the T ‘n T grocery store used to be. An interesting line of large boulders!

below: This is the view from the new bridge looking west. The large white crane structure predates the construction. The channel has always been here as it provides water/ship access to the Lafarge cement site on the south side of the waterway. What is new is that the channel is being extended eastward to join the mouth of the Don River.

below: Traveling northbound

below: Looking east from the bridge. Pinewood studios in the background on the right.

below: Another view to the east but slightly more south. This time Pinewood Studios is more to the left in the photo. A pedestrian bridge is already built to span the new water channel that is under construction.

below: Looking north up Cherry Street towards the Distillery District. The old, and now closed part, of the street is being torn up. The new street and bridge are to the left in this photo.

below: To the south, the lift bridge on Cherry Street is being refurbished but not replaced. This part of Cherry Street is not being moved.

Water is Life

Posted: October 7, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: Broadview, Claire Browne, Currents of Change, Eastend Arts, emily may rose, flowers, Frannie Potts, Girls mural camp, glass, Haenahhh, hello kirsten, Julia Prajza, Kirsten McCrea, lake, Memengwaa Kwe Originals, Merryn, Mo Thunder, Moonlight Murals collective, murals, Native Women in the Arts, paint, Queen East, raccoons, river, Riverside, Scarbrite Collective, spray paint, street art, Sylvie, tap, Victoria Day, water, women, Women Paint, Women Paint Riverside

Women Paint Riverside
“Currents of Change”

below: The faucet is on and water pours into a glass. Interesting lively water, full of colours and patterns in this mural by Kirsten McCrea

below: A large mural by Mo Thunder. Follow the link to her website for more information about the mural – a mother and child lying side by side forming the land as water swirls around them.

below: White flowers on a watery blue background by Julia Prajza

below: Invasive species such as phragmites in the Don Valley, by Merryn

below: Rabbit and deer having to contend with out of control greenery, possibly dog-strangling vine. Phragmites are reeds, those tall perennial grasses that grow very tall.

below: Raccoons frolic in the water and raccoons sit by the shore. Even one raccoon spray painting a rock, naughty raccoon! Mural by Emily May Rose.

below: by Haenahhh. Arms around each other

below: Hands reaching out in a mural by Claire Browne,

below: Victoria Day‘s mural – what looks a bit like a blue water serpent but is actually a dragon flying high above us in the sky.

below: In the pink is written, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone.”

below: by Scarbrite Collective (brightening the streets of Scarborough), aka Frannie Potts and Sylvie with help from Memengwaa Kwe Originals aka Caterina.

below: Love not hate. A blue raccoon stealthily walks across a roof above a mural that was painted by participants in this year’s Girls Mural Camp (a three week program in the summer for teenage girls).

below: The other part of the Girls Mural Camp project.

below: by Moonlight Murals Collective

below: Three heads that seem wrapped by a fish, mural by Cedar Eve

below: Eyes closed

below: The Girls Mural Camp 2020 mural is in the same alley.

NOTE: There is also an installation by monicaonthemoon on the back of the Broadview Hotel that is part of this project but I have given it a separate blog post – Hands, Florests, and Minds.

With support from:

Eastend Arts

Women Paint

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Riverside BIA

StreetARToronto

Gerrard underpass – hands and water

Posted: May 17, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
Tags: bridge, Bridges to Art, Carlaw, Elicser, faucet, Gerrard East, hands, intersection, murals, octopus, railway, Ryan Smeeton, tap, water, windmill

In many places in Toronto, railway lines run diagonally through the city’s grid of streets and avenues. Often, they cross the streets near intersections including at Carlaw and Gerrard East. The result is an intersection with two underpasses.

The mural on Gerrard East was updated and added to recently that I remarked on that I noted in a previous post, East on the 506. Kirsten McCrea was the artist.

below: The southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw is angled. In “East on the 506” I described the art on this wall as: “In the center of the newly painted rectangles are two grey shapes, these are originals. They are part of a 1996 installation by Dereck Revington called ‘Blue Fire’. There is still a plaque that describes these aluminum pieces as “a constellation of five paired aluminum fragments etched with traces of a poem by Robin Blaser and suspended from the entrances to the underpass”.

The overpass on the Carlaw side has now been painted too. The following pictures were taken back in November.

below: Hands beckon and point the way under the railway tracks on the west side of Carlaw, from the north

below: And from the south

below: Under the bridge

below: A blue octopus in the water

At the southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw there is a small park. The retaining wall of the railway tracks marks one of the boundaries of the park and is continuous with the walls of the underpasses. It too was painted by Ryan Smeeton but with the help of Elicsr, Smug, Tenser, and Steam.

paths to ruin and a course

Posted: April 18, 2021 in locations, nature
Tags: Betty Sutherland trail, DOn River, Duncan Mills, fungus, graffiti, mallard, mask, Moatfield, path, pussy willows, ravine, ruins, trail, water

As you probably know, Toronto is full of creeks, ravines, and trails. Most of the creeks are tributaries of the Humber, Don, or Rouge River. This week’s adventure was along the Don River starting at the south end of the Betty Sutherland Trail. The north part of this trail begins at Leslie and Sheppard, just behind North York General Hospital (where parking is difficult). Even though early April is still brown and grey, there is always something to see.

below: Don River

below: Pussy willows – One of the first signs of spring

below: As I walked along the trail, I encountered this guy. He started getting agitated as I got close to the the river, but there was a photo that I was after…..

below: I had spotted colours through the browns and greys of the trees… graffiti covered ruins on the other side of the river.

Of course I found my way across the river to explore them in more detail!

below: When I went looking online for information about this structure, I came across a blog post in Scenes from a City from 2013. It’s hard to see, but some of the graffiti remains unchanged 8 years later.

below: And right behind me I discovered a tunnel entrance built into the hillside

below: It was very dark inside so the quality of these photos is questionable, but I thought that the old rusty control boxes looked fascinating. How long have they been here?

The Betty Sutherland trail ends at Duncan Mill Road. I was trying to get as far south as possible, so rather than go up to street level, I went under Duncan Mill Road where my map showed that there was more green space.

below: Wishes were written on pieces of paper, folded, and tied to a tree with pink yarn.

below: The tangled roots of a dead tree lie beside the Don River just south of Duncan Mill Road.

below: Blue and yellow rocks

below: It wouldn’t be a walk without a (or several!) used mask lying around but this one is cuter than most.

below: Oh Oh

below: Bracket, or shelf, fungi on a dead tree trunk

below: Playing fields alongside Moatfield

below: Looking east towards Graydon Hall

below: Now we are off the beaten track. That’s Don Mills Road with some graffiti on a pillar that beckons me forward. A few trees have been planted here but maintenance may be sporadic.

below: under the bridge

below: There was no problem getting under the bridge, but around the corner was an unexpected surprise – This appears to be the end of the line. Yes, it was green space but my map didn’t warn me that it was private! I didn’t have golf clubs with me so I wasn’t sure if I could sneak or bluff my way through – plus my car was behind me so it wasn’t worth the trouble to try.

“Betty Sutherland served thirteen years as an elected representative on North York Council until her retirement from politics in 1985. From 1979 to 1985, Mrs. Sutherland was a member of Metropolitan Toronto Council and the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Devoted to the improvement of recreational opportunities for citizens and visitors, Mrs. Sutherland was Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto Parks, Recreation, and Property Committee from 1982 to 1985 and a member of the Authority’s Don Valley Advisory Board from 1981 to 1984. The naming of this trail is a symbol of the significant contribution she made to Metropolitan Toronto’s regional parks.

north of the Keating Channel

Posted: March 10, 2021 in history, locations, old buildings, transportation, waterfront
Tags: British American Oil, concrete, DVP, electricity, Gardiner Expressway, history, Keating channel, Lakeshore Blvd., pipes, Port Lands, ramp, street art, water

The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel. I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side. A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore. This is some of what I saw that day.

below: At the bottom of Cherry Street

below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.

below: Along the Lakeshore, looking south towards Port Lands at Cherry.

below: The Gardiner curves slightly northward as it aligns with the Keating Channel. Lakeshore Blvd takes a wider turn and comes out from under the Gardiner for a few brief moments before slipping back under as both roads parallel the channel.

below: On the south side of Lakeshore, there is no sidewalk here but the grassy area is wide enough…..

below: Walking here offers a different view of the Port Lands. The “smokestack” on the right is the old Hearn Generating station.

below: Some of the buildings that remain on Villiers Street.

below: Panorama of Keating Channel being developed, 1916, before there was much on the Port Lands and Cherry Street was just a one lane dirt road.

below: Keating Channel, 1916

The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel. But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea. Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.

below: A few years after the channel was upgraded (1934)… From vacant land to a forest of BA oil tanks. There are railway tracks along the edge of the channel. From Wikipedia: “In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp.”

Photo by Arthur Beales. Toronto Port Authority Archives, PC 1/1/10769. Found at Wikimedia Common

below: BA refinery with the Don River on the right, 1931. There were still storage tanks here in the 1960s when the city was building the Gardiner Expressway.

1931 photograph, vintage, black and white, of British American oil refinery just north of the Keating Channel and just west of the Don River,

Photo source: Library and Archives Canada, online

below: This rusty “fence” isn’t going to hold anyone or anything back. I had visions of tumbling into the icy channel if I went near it. I think that just looking at it made it wobble.

below: There are still places to tie up your boat

below: A big tap? It’s attached to a pipeline but is it functional? (It doesn’t look like it). There is a lot of infrastructure buried under the Lakeshore, sewer lines, water mains, electricals, etc., but this looks like a piece of history. Pleased correct me if I’m wrong! Also – if you plan to explore here, there are stretches where the only option is to walk right beside the road.