Posts Tagged ‘Yonge’

below: Looking west on Bloor towards Yonge. The pink flags fly in front of Holt Renfrew.  One Bloor East with it’s curvy vertical lines and 76 storeys dominates the sky.  The blue structure is the top of ‘The One’ at 1 Bloor West – It may be short now but it won’t be for long.   There will be 82 storeys once it’s completed (maybe in 2023?)

looking west on Bloor towards Yonge, front of Holt Renfrew Store, new tall building at 1 Bloor East

an older man with thinning grey hair walks on sidewalk, Bloor Street, towards Yonge, and scaffolding over sidewalk because of construction

A few minutes at Yonge and Bloor in mid-July

a young woman with long hair holds a cup of coffee as she walks on sidewalk under protective covering beside construction at Yonge and Bloor

below: Hoardings on the south side of Bloor Street

hoardings and scaffolding, and some people walking by, on south side of Bloor close to Yonge

below: Construction.  Blank whiteness on The One as it slowly rises.

Construction of The One at Yonge & Bloor, one Bloor West

below: Hanging Ukrainian flags on the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor.

southwest corner of Yonge & Bloor, woman hanging Ukrainian flags on scaffolding holding up sidewalk protection around construction site, an older man is crossing street in electric wheelchair with the help of a woman in blue

below: South side of the intersection.  At least the facade of the older buildings on Yonge Street are being preserved.

south side of intersection of Yonge & Bloor, people waiting for traffic lights, some cars, older buildings being saved during redevlopment of the area

below: Looking south on Yonge from Bloor.

looking south on Yonge from Bloor, construction on west side, new building on east

Ukrainian flags for sale, other signs re war in Ukraine, on corner of Yonge & Bloor

below: Looking east on Bloor from just west of Yonge Street.  Rising 88 feet above the sidewalk is the metallic ‘Safe Hands’ sculpture by Ron Arad.

looking west on Bloor at Yonge

below: Anti-Putin protest, northeast corner

Canada Post box on sidewalk, a community bulletin board full of posters and papers, a protest sign in blue and yellow that says kill Putin, he murders kids.

below: Waiting for a green light, northwest corner (more construction!)

4 people waiting for traffic light to turn green, on sidewalk by construction hoardings at northwest corner of Yonge & Bloor

Bloor street street sign in front of building under construction,

Just a few more pictures of walls, with or without doors and windows.  Some are from familiar places and others are more obscure.

beige wall with diagonal shadow. Faded red door leaning against the wall (off hinges) so door is half covered by the shadow

below: Sad grey door on a grey concrete wall

grey concrete block wall with a grey metal door, two small metal steps lead up to the door, 10 B Dawes Road on a sign

below: Textures and patterns in paint on brick.

bluish grey paint on an exterior wall that is peeling to reveal the bricks below, tags and graffiti along the bottom part of the wall, parking signs too

below: Parking for hot dogs

a black car is parked in a parking lot beside a wall that is orange on the bottom and beige on top. on the beige part is a large arrow pointing right with the words hot dogs

below: Ryerson University blues

blue glass on the exterior of Ryerson student building, with a downtown yonge sign on a street light beside the building

below: Red and purple, the now closed Love Cafe at Dundas and Sherbourne

part of a purple wall with a red rectangle, edge of a window with a succulent plant in the window, also part of a gate in front of a door

below: Customer parking only

brick wall with a wood sign, all painted over in red, in the middle is black paint on white words that say customer parking only
below: Strong verticals in metal

silver metal wall in vertical stripes, ridges, with a small window in the wall, with a small metal red bars

below: Another ridged metallic wall… this one with no standing in front.

a grey utility pole and a small pole with a no standing sign in front of a light grey metal building with a window in it

below: blocked in

a blue oil drum, barrel, in front of a concrete block wall which has had a window bricked in with blocks of grey, brown, and yellow

below: Paint slowly peeling away to reveal more underneath

brick wall painted blue with a large window, air conditioner in the window, lower panes covered with grey plywood, reflections in the window, old sign above the window that is fading and paint peeling

previous wall posts:

  1. drawn to walls
  2. white walls
  3. walls, more walls 
  4. wall compositions
  5. walls, in the abstract

 

 

The other day I heard rumours of a subway protest – i.e. a protest over the potential uploading of the responsibility for the TTC from the city to the province.   On the 27th of March there was a “day of action” at 40 subway stations during the morning rush, starting at 7:30 a.m.

below: Walking toward Eglinton subway station with the sun shining from behind me. Golden glass.

condo development, crane, single houses in the foreground, near Yonge & Eglinton

I couldn’t find anyone at Eglinton station (was I too early?) but there were 4 people handing out leaflets inside Bloor station.  I also saw this guy with an OPSEU flag by Wellesley station.

a man holds an OPSEU (a union) flag outside Wellesleysubway station as he stands with a woman while someone is taking their picture.

So much for the idea of a blog post about this day of action.  But it was a beautiful morning so I enjoyed the walk down Yonge street.  I don’t often walk here that early and I was surprised how quiet it was.  The light was also interesting.

Yonge Street

below: A mix of old and new architecture, looking south towards the old St. Charles tavern clock tower that is being incorporated into a new development.

looking south on Yonge street on a sunny morning, sun is shining on the St. Charles tavern clock tower, tall buildings behind it

below: Near Yonge & Bloor.  Preservation of an old building… and very big crane.

old brick three storey building stands alone by a construction site as new development goes on around it. large crane in the background

two fire trucks parked on a street of high rise and midsized apartment buildings

below: Looking north from Dundas under a watchful eye.

people cross Yonge street on the north side of Dundas, a big picture of an eye is on a billboard looking down over the street

looking up at relief sculpture and column on an old building that says erected 1905, a new condo tower is behind it

reflections in the large window of a building, people, bikes, and old city hall

below: Looking north from Queen Street.  The Eaton Centre is on the left in the foreground.  Play the game of ‘name that building’ or ‘I remember when’.

looking up (north) on Yonge street,

a blurry streetcar as it stops at a stop where two people are waiting

people crossing the street in front of a streetcar that is waiting for a red light. At thewest side of intersection of Queen and University

people waiting for a streetcar on Queen at Bay, standing outside a TD bank that has a video screen with a very large woman on it.

below: This was the largest group of “protesters” that I saw.  It was more of an information session than a protest, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

people handing out leaflets and brochures at Osgoode station, on the sidewalk outside the station exit. University Ave

below: People headed to work as I started home.

inside Osgoode subway station, at platform level, one subway is just closing its doors getting ready to leave, people are headed up the stairs.

 

Pictures from the annual Pride Parade down Yonge Street – my apologies for the large number but everyone is just so photogenic and engaging!

woman in pink hat and round sunglasses cheering while holding a banner in one hand and two flags in the other

people in black hats and black coats taking photos of group in pride parade marching with signs that say stop executing apostates and dissidents

two women walking in the pride parade, crowds on both sides of the street, one is topless with a rainbow frilly skirt and the other has a rainbow umbrella

two people hugging at the pride parade, one is a man dressed in a Rocky Horror outfit and the other is a woman with a rainbow flag and a Mcdonalds drink in her hand

float in the pride parade about sex education through theatre, called sext,

the United Church of Canada float in the Pride Parade, people lining the sidewalks on both sides of the street, people walking in front of the float

a woman wearing a rainbow dress and garland in her hair, smiling

a boy on his father's shoulders, playing with a green bead necklace as they watch the pride parade in TOronto

man in long black robes and hat with two black horns, walking in parade, crowds behind him,

a black woman with long curly hair is holding three signs in bright colours while getting ready for the pride parade, the photo is photobombed by another black person with bright green sunglasses on

a float enters the pride parade while spectators watch from the sidewalk, behind barricades

a woman on stilts carries a rainbow umbrella as she walks with iatse group in the pride parade

man in drag - blue and yellow feathers, lots of sequins and glitter, carrying a mask

man with flag riding on float in pride parade, lots of pink and purple balloons and ruffles

lots of bubbles as people walk in pride parade, man holding a banner, boy in yellow jacket walking in front of banner

group of people in blue T-shirts and carrying rainbow flags that say proud to be a Catholic teacher

group of three pose for a picture, two are wearing Tshirts that say choir Choir Choir.

crowds watching the pride parade, all ages, some standing on planters in the middle of Yonge Street, College Park building behind them

a group of four young people from the fido section of the pride parade, in teal shorts, covered with colourful body paint hearts and stars and rainbows

two men, one with a makeup sparkly beard and moustache in blue and silver and one in drag with a loarge red hat covered with flowers

two policemen in yellow rain jackets control crowds and traffic on Dundas street at the end of the pride parade, as a float is coming to the end of the parada

carrying a black and blue striped flag, two men, one in diaper and dog leather mask, the other in ordinary clothes

two men walking in the pride parade, one in a skimpy tight silver pair of short pants and carrying a Mexican flag, the other in drag in a black and silver costume, long dress, with hat with silver horns on it

prid eparade float passes by a crowd, lots of shouting and cheering

getting ready for the pride parade, a topless woman stands near a group carrying posters, one with Frida Kahlo on it and the other with Vivek Shraya

four people in stretchy tight fitting unitards, a pink, a blue, a yellow and a red, all have sashes that say Ding Dong Girls

two men on a float at the pride parade, one is covered in silver paint, the other is seated and wearing a large brimmed hat and holding balloons

trigger fish waterpolo team parades in their red swim suits, dancing to music, arms out at their sides, passing in front of College Park building

an out of focus arm covers the bare bottoms of two naked men as they walk past

a couple hugging on the sidewalk

three women with super soakers (water guns) on a float in the pride parade, ONA, ontario nurses association

behind metal barricades, people watching the pride parade

on a float at the pride parade, sign says penalty box. Man in referee shirt with a sign that says Two minutes for looking so good. He is pointing at the camera

a woman helps a man in a pink shirt stand on a bicycle lock ring on the sidewalk

polyamory group, men, women and children, with colourful clothes and signs waits their turn to join the pride parade

group with red hats and purple and silver sparkly pom pom things poses with cheers and waves for a picture before the pride parade begins

marchers from the presbyterian church walking in the pride parade, man holding a sign that says Knox Waterloo, in clericals, with beaded necklaces around his neck

people watching pride parade on yonge street in toronto, scaffolding for construction, people on roofs, people walking by on sidewalk

the Queen of Hearts, a drag queen in red with large red plastic wig and a red dress, posses for a pic with a woman

university of toronto float in pride parade

a man holds a banner with one arm, has the other arm lifted up, pink fabric draped around his shoulders, and a rainbow flag around the back and top of his head

two military personnel sitting on top of a green jep with rainbow flags as they drive in the pride parade

a man wears a dress made of yellow police caution tape in a parade

three women wearing tight silver bathing suits and purple wigs

men in leather but no clothes walking in parade

pride parade, animal section

up close shot of man wearing blue star shaped sun glasses

federation of canadian naturists walking nude in the pride parade

drag queen in elaborate gold costume with white feathers on fans one in each hand) and headdress that also has a large gold glittery star shape front piece

 

a man in a rain pncho covreed with red maple leaves is posing with a man dressed in a dress that is covered with condoms

man in a silver mask covering his whole head, with a group in white t-shirts in the pride parade

a very skinny man with grey hair, a yellow top and red skimpy short pants, other pwople wakling by on the sidewalk

Today.  Wonderful

back of an audi with the licence plate 1drful, or wonderful,

and Shiny.

wavy reflections of a building in the windows of another downtown building

I am not usually a morning person but how could I resist not getting up and moving on this gorgeous spring day?  With my metropass in my back pocket….

looking out the open doors of a TTC streetcar, as they start to close, see reflection of the streetcar in the window of the store beside the streetcar

… and my walking sandals on (Yes! Sandals!) I headed out to explore the day.

a foot, standing on pale brick red lockstone, crumbling kerb beside the foot, some weeds starting to grow up between the cracks.

(early enough to beat the crowds!)

interior of a TTC streetcar, looking towards the back, red covered white seats, no one else on the car.

The early morning criss cross shadows and reflections.

light and shadow patterns produce by low morning sun shining on downtown glass skyscrapers, on the street below with its white lines adding to the pattern

The soft greens, and almost yellows, of new leaves.

a park with green grass, trees just beginning to bud, in front of a number of glass and steel condo towers in downtown Toronto . willow trees and other kinds of trees.

The flowers – tulips, daffodils and hyacinths – that have spring up in planters around the city.

pink tulip growing beside a shiny metal sign, reflected in the sign, other spring flowers in the background.

Oh no.  The geese are back (or did they never leave?).

A lone Canada Goose walking on a small stretch of grass beside a busy road and the onramp to the DVP. head down, looking for food.

The dogs are still waiting for the water to be turned on.

statues of dogs around a fountain that is dry at the moment.

On Yonge Street (near Wellington), there has been too much water.  The street has been closed while water main issues are straightened out (it has since been opened).

road closed sign, black arrow on orange sign, ornage and black striped traffic cones, blocking Yonge street, with trucks in the background.

wet road, water gushing out of a large hose, feet and legs of some men.

While Yonge was closed anyhow, workmen install a new sign at the corner of Yonge & Wellington.

workmen on a lifter install a new sign on the outside of a Rexall drug store.

Also needing fixing – yesterday’s wind storm left a lot of damage around the city including this very large tree that lost a very large branch.    Actually the whole tree has come down.

large sections of an old tree lie on the ground where they fell during a wind storm. They landed on a chain link fence that is now broken. in a park .

Lots of wires were down too.

a large pole with a myriad of wires (hydro wires) has started to fall over. wires draping low across the street. hydro trucks on the scene

Not everybody was up with the sun this morning.

a man under a white blanket is asleep in the doorway of the old Kingsbrae restaurant, with a can of beer beside him

I hope that your day was shiny and bright too!
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

below: The reigning champ and I!

a man in a black tshirt crosses the street towards a large indow with lots of reflections in it.

Yonge Street was quiet this morning

camera, and lights on tripods abeside Yonge Street, yellow police tape blocking the street, police car in the background, no traffic

 

In a small park near the SE corner of Yonge & Finch,

in many languages but with one voice,

a memorial wall to those who lost their life, or who were injured,

in yesterday’s tragedy.

 

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, condolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the memorial wall

white bristol board taped to a stone wall, concolences and other heartfelt messages written on them, flowers laid across the top of the wall , people, reporters, and photographers standing in front, a man is writing a message

a woman is writing condolences messages on bristol board that has been taped to a stone wall

There were many reporters with their cameramen at the site this morning.  It was rumoured that Mayor John Tory was coming.  I had an appointment, which is why I was in the area, so I couldn’t stay.  As it turned out, both Tory and Kathleen Wynne (Ontario Premier) paid the memorial wall a visit.

British mural artist Phlegm has been painting a large mural on the side of 1 St. Clair West.   The first time I saw it, was on the 14th of July when it looked liked this:

below: The white background of the mural was painted first.

a street in Toronto, St. Clair Ave., with an older nine storey building with concrete facing, on the side, above the level of the stores beside it, is the outline of the start of a mural. All painted white, a seated figure.

I have been watching it, checking up on it every couple of days.  At first I took photos fairly frequently because I had no idea how long it would take before the mural was finished.

below:  19th July

a verylarge mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

As it turns out, there is a lot of detail in the mural!  It slowly took shape.

below: 21st July

a very large mural on the side of a building is in the process of being painted. An white outline of a seated person with their knees drawn up, one leg has been painted with a design in black

below: Fast forward to today…. the mural is almost finished. …
but wait!  Isn’t that the CN tower on the shoulder?

large black and white mural by phlegm of a seated person with their knees bent up, made of tiny houses and buildings and other structures

below: Hey!  It is the CN tower.  And isn’t that the Gooderham/flatiron building?  And that building with the little dome, isn’t that on Yonge street?

close up of mural made up of toronto landmarks like the cn tower and the gooderham flatiron building

below: There’s the ROM and its ‘crystal’ too!   This is the ‘bottom’ of the figure and in this photo two things become clearer.  First, the scale of the project and just how big the mural is becomes apparent.  Second, the mural is of a person coming out of the earth, being pulled out by the roots almost.  But is it a person?  Or is it a living city?

the bottom part of a mural, man in scaffolding is still working on it, black on white, pictures of buildings.

below: The head part – play ‘spot the building’!  Is that old city hall?

head part of phlegm mural

below: Scalliwags is on one of the knees along with a lot of trees.

knees part of the mural

below: And last, the feet with more roots at the heels

feet of a person in a mural made of paintings of trees and buildings, roots growing out of the heels. satelite dish in the mural and on the building beside the mural

This project is also a part of the STEPS Initiative program.

#phlegmpaints

Standing on the corner of Yonge & Bloor, looking south….  On one corner, a tower almost finished and on the other corner a tower another just started.  1 Bloor East and 1 Bloor West.

below: 1 Bloor East (7 photos)

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction, two men on a balcony, as well as a piece of plastic covering something part way up

below: The beginnings of an overhang at street level, NW corner of the building.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - reflections in the windows, looking up from the ground floor, the supports of an overhang at the first floor can be seen but the overhang itself is not finished

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - parts of two adjacent buildings

below: The podium level as seen from the SW corner of the building.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - the edge of the podium levels as viewed from the street, looking up

below: The full height of the building is more easily seen from farther east on Bloor Street.

looking west along Bloor Street towards Yonge, with highrises on the left, and the overhang from the entranceway to the Marriott hotel on the right. people on the sidewalks as well as bright red umbrellas over seating at a patio.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - curves and diagonal lines as well as the usual rows of windows

below: As seen from across the street, under the protective covering over the sidewalk.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction as seen from under a covered walkway across the street
below: Once upon a time the old Stollerys store stood on the southwest corner.  Today it is a construction site wrapped in hoardings covered by a mural of a forest scene.  I’m not sure what they’re trying to say or who they’re trying to fool.  Oh well, it looks pretty for now.

looking across the Yonge Bloor intersection towards the south west corner where there is a construction site with hoardings covered by a green mural of trees. High rises in the background, a few people on the ocrner waiting to cross the intersection.

below: If you look behind the hoardings, you will see that all the buildings except one have been demolished.   No hole has been dug yet so it’s going to be a while before this tower is completed.  And when it’s completed it will be Toronto’s tallest condo building at 72 storeys.

view of a construction site where one old building remains, a digger is on the site as is a very large orange rubbish bin

Two blocks north, at Yonge & Yorkville, there is another hole in the ground.

below: The doors and windows of the old brick buildings on Yonge Street are boarded up.  These buildings date from the 1860’s.

Looking across the intersection of Yonge and Yorkville streets at a row of old three storey brick stores that now have their doors and windows boarded up.

below: Peek around at the back and you’ll see that the old stores have been demolished but their facades have been saved.  Again, this project is in it’s early stages and again, it’s going to be a tall one.  This time, 58 storeys tall.

construction site, orange fence, the back part of a row of old buildings has been demolished, facades saved, now they are all boarded up.

below: The stores have been stripped of their signs and decorations.  It looks a bit desolate at the moment but it will be interesting to see just what the developers do with the facade.

a woman walks on a sidewalk on Yonge St past old brick buildings with their doors and windows boarded up

below: No one can argue that the old buildings were in good shape.  At least there is an effort being made to preserve the front of the buildings.  Preserving some of our history is important and I think that the old architecture adds visually to the look of the street.

an old wood column decorative piece on the front of an old brick building

As I walk back down Yonge street towards Bloor, a sign catches my eye.  Another development proposal sign – Toronto’s most common sign I think.  This one is for a 64 storey building at Yonge and Cumberland.  Anyone feeling a touch of vertigo at the moment?

development proposal sign on Yonge street

 

 

 

In the early 1900’s brothers George and William Dempsey bought a store on the northwest corner of Yonge and Shepard from the Sheppard family.  It became known as Dempsey Brothers.

 below: The store in the 1960s

An old black and white photo of Dempseys store which was on the NW corner of Yonge & Sheppard.  It was a large 2 storey brick building with a porch across the front of the building.  You can see Yonge St. in this photo and some of the old cars that were stopped at the intersection.

In 1989 the property was sold to developers but the store remained on that corner until 1996.  At that time it was moved a few blocks north to a site on Beecroft Ave; the site is now known as Dempsey Park.  The building was renovated and became the home of the North York Archives, an arrangement that didn’t last long.  In 1998 Mike Harris and the provincial Conservative government of the day amalgamated the old city boroughs into one City of Toronto.  North York ceased to exist and their archives merged with those of the new city.  Instead, the old Demspey Brothers store is home to Beecroft Learning Centre.

old Dempsey store, restored and now in a park setting.  Two storey brick house with some yellow brick trim, porch that wraps around the front of the building.  Surrounded by trees, winter time so no leaves and there is snow on the ground.

The restored Dempsey Brothers store, now at 250 Beecroft Avenue.

 

Where Dempsey’s once stood, there is now this….

Northwest corner of Yonge and Sheppard in March of 2015, low rise building angled across the corner with McDonalds and 7 11 stores.  Tall apartment building behind.  The intersection is of two 6 lane roads so it is big and wide.

… a 7 Eleven and a McDonalds. I doubt that anyone thinks “nice corner” when they look at it.

 

below: Looking southeast from the front of Dempsey Brothers store many years ago.

An old black and white photo from 1955 showing the intersection of Yonge and Sheppard.  Not much development, an old car is waiting at a street light.

The billboard is an ad for Simpsons, a department store that is long gone.

 

For a long time, a grocery store stood where the billboard is in the above photo.  But now that corner is changing again.

 

below:  An attempt to replicate the location and angle of the above photo

Looking diagonally across an intersection towards two tall buildings with a midsize building with a curved front in between them.
below:  Looking south across Sheppard Ave. East at the north side new Hullmark Centre including the new subway entrance. 

looking at glass buildings where there is a lot of reflections.  An entrance to Sheppard subway station is part of the building.

below:  Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Sheppard Avenue.
The new Whole Foods store is the first building on the right.

view looking north on Yonge St.  from just south of Sheppard Ave.
The southwest corner is also undergoing major changes.

below: The greenish coloured Emerald development is almost complete.  And yes, the tops of the buildings are meant to curve that way!

Two tall condos under construction beside a tall bluish colour commercial building.  The condos are a greenish colour and they are curve outwards a bit at the top.

Toronto is undergoing a massive amount of redevelopment these days.  When I walk around this city I see older buildings that I often wonder about – are they going to still be around in 2 years?  5 years?
….that is what happened yesterday when I was on Yonge St. between Bloor and College.  I took a few pictures, just in case these buildings disappear in the near future.

row of three storey buildings on Yonge St.  Brick buildings with storefronts on the ground floor.

Looking south (and a bit west) from just below Bloor Street.

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At the intersection of Yonge & Wellesley.

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We’ll see what happens in the next few years!