Author: Marvin Job (Page 1 of 33)

Demolition, Michael Garron Hospital

October 9, 2025 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

The latest Toronto structure succumbing to the wrecking ball are the A, B and C wings of the Michael Garron Hospital (formerly known as Toronto East General). Located at 825 Coxwell Avenue, corner of Coxwell and Mortimer Avenues, these old brick wings along Coxwell Avenue were officially closed back in March of this year in preparation for this demolition.

As intensely as I loathe East York, though, I am still very sorry to see this beautiful structure demolished; I couldn’t believe it when I first heard this was happening:

As I understand it, in addition to being an outdated medical facility, one of the factors in the building’s demise was its architecture. Built In 1951 the building was anachronistically constructed in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles. Due to its mismatched style and period, it was not deemed worthy of preservation under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Working across from Michael Garron Hospital for many years I would go into the hospital several times a week for a Tim Hortons run or lunch at the Hospital’s cafeteria (my stomach still churns at the memory all these years later). I remember thinking at the time how incredibly dated, drab and dingy the lobby and interiors were. I’ve heard the state of the medical facilities there were not far behind that of the decor.

The Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre

The Hospital is all about moving forward, though. In 2023 a huge, ultra-modern and beautiful new MGH patient centre was opened on the northeast corner of Coxwell Avenue and Sammon Avenue. Previously nothing more than an empty grassy knoll, the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre is now in full operation. The new 8-storey facility is fully wheelchair-accessible, and includes ambulatory care clinics, in-patient beds and family space, in addition to four levels of underground parking:

The Centre is so-named after a $5 million gift from Ken and Marilyn’s son Peter Thomson. The Thomson family was named as the richest family in Canada by Canadian Business magazine in 2018.

The Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre in background, right.

Future Plans

The opening of the new Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre and the demolition of the old Coxwell-facing wing is part of a long-term plan to modernize, revitalize and expand the Michael Garron Hospital complex. According to MGH, the teardown of “several outdated wings” will continue into 2026.

The rear of the Coxwell wing currently under demolition

Apparently, after demolition MGH intends to preserve the stained-glass memorial windows and plaques which were in the original Coxwell lobby. Also, the hospital states that the demolished wings will be replaced with a new Coxwell Avenue entrance and future green space. It will be a welcome change for the better!

Glen Road

October 3, 2025 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

I’ve always loved walking down the short stretch of Glen Road from Howard Street to the Glen Road footbridge. To me it has always exuded a quasi New York feeling with its walk-up apartment buildings and Victorian houses, capped off by “Howard Village” at the south end of Glen Road:

Things here, though, weren’t always so pretty. Years ago, this stretch of Glen Road was an abandoned, decayed mess, as these shots from the 1980s demonstrate:

I remember walking down this decayed part of Glen Road many years ago, when it was at its worst, and thinking how great it would look if the whole street were restored. Well, that did actually happen – from 2005 to 2016 this section of Glen Road was restored, and now is quite beautiful.

I knew that Glen Road continued on to Rosedale the other side of the footbridge, but I didn’t know how far north of there the street actually extended. I set out to shoot Glen Road, thinking it was a small street and wouldn’t take much time to cover. As I followed it I discovered it just kept going and going, twisting and turning through Rosedale, onward north well past Summerhill Avenue, then finally ending where it encounters the Don Valley Brickworks Park. The length of this street amazed me… who knew?

I started my photowalk on the south end of Glen Road, where it begins at Howard Street. Howard Street, by the way, is currently undergoing a massive condo boom and some much-needed gentrification, but that’s another post for another day.

Number 1 and 7 Glen Road

Number 1 and number 7 Glen Road are known historically as The Roslyn Apartments. They were built in two phases, with 1 Glen Road completed in 1912 and 7 Glen Road completed in 1911. The apartment buildings were designed by architect J.A. Harvey.

These two buildings complement each other but are not identical in design. Featuring red brick cladding with brick, stone and wood detailing, both buildings are three stories in height above raised bases with window openings. The rooflines are marked with extended eaves and parapets.

Number 6 and 8 Glen Road

These Glen Road houses were in place by September 1884 according to the tax assessment rolls. The occupants in 1885 included merchants, an estate agent, and the owner of a livery stable. The properties were listed on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1974, along with the other remaining buildings along this short stretch of Glen Road:

Number 10 and 12 Glen Road

These two Glen Road Houses were also in place by September 1884. The Glen Road buildings in this stretch are examples of late 19th century houses with patterned brickwork. This style of house was once prominent on Sherbourne Street and in the adjoining neighbourhood:

Looking south from the Sherbourne TTC subway entrance on Glen Road. Howard Street is at the top of the block.

The Sherbourne Subway Entrance & Glen Road Pedestrian Tunnel

The left slider is a shot from February 2023. Note that the pedestrian tunnel was completely sealed off at that time. The slider on the right is the same area, September 2025.

Here are some shots I took of the footbridge area in 2021. I much prefer the current version!:

Current Rejuvenated Tunnel and Footbridge

Tunnel entrance outside Sherbourne TTC subway station

The City’s Economic Development & Culture division carried out a public art competition in the summer of 2019 and Inuit artist Couzyn Van Heuvelen’s proposal was selected. Metal bird silhouettes on the outer tunnel walls continue the shapes and colours used in Inuit printmaking.

In The Tunnel

Inuit artist Couzyn Van Heuvelen designed the birds and animals in the Glen Road Tunnel. The project is centred around the theme of migration and travel, and references Inuit stonecut printmaking techniques and stone carving:

The New Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge

The City of Toronto has replaced the Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge (aka the Morley Callaghan Footbridge) across the Rosedale Valley Ravine. The new bridge debuted on May 30, 2025.

The design retains the core visual character of the original bridge while enhancing the above-deck user experience and safety with innovative V-shaped barriers, stainless steel webnet, and LED lighting. The bridge and tunnel have been widened to increase openness and sightlines:

Glen Road, after crossing the footbridge and entering Rosedale

Rosedale… How the Other Half Live

It was fascinating just wandering up Glen Road, observing the elaborate houses and mansions. There’s a little piece of history in so many of the houses there:

54 Glen Road
Built in 1902, designed by Architect Frederick H. Herbert

51 Glen Road
This house was built in 1903. It was the home of Ambrose Small, the hated and envied owner of theatres across the province. He disappeared in 1919 along with $10-million from his bank account. He has never been found.

55 Glen Road
Built in 1901 in the style of Second Classical Revival, with a full-height Ionic-columned entry porch.

57 Glen Road
Constructed in 1911, designed by the Designing and Drafting Company consisting of D.C. Cotton and H.G. Macklin. The house is a neat, symmetrical red-brick neo-Georgian with Craftsman porch, eaves, and dormers.

97 Glen Road
Second Classical Revival houses with full-height Mount Vernon porches were very popular during the first half of the 20th century. This house was built in 1901 by the architects Chadwick & Beckett. This beauty is currently up for sale with Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd. for a paltry $8,900,000.00.

105 Glen Road – “Ravine House”

Built in 2002 by architects Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg. One of the few houses in Rosedale to show modernity on its face as well as its landscaping. The house is surrounded by the fence’s dark teak slats, broad-brush expanses of groundcover, and grass facing Glen Road.

The Glen Road bridge passes over Yellow Creek and the Park Drive Reservation Trail

View from atop the Glen Road Bridge, looking east

108 Glen Road
Built in 1920, designed by Architect William B. Galbraith. The house was reconstructed in 2006.

111 Glen Road
This house was constructed in 1909 in the Tudor Revival style. It is a 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom house with 4 parking spots on a 68 x 109.17 foot lot. The house recently sold for $5,580,000.00.

134 Glen Road
Known as the Charles Davies House. This stone-veneered house was built in 1910 to plans by Curry and Spalding, architects for Charles Davies. With its novel rounded tower, it manages to look modern yet traditional, taking cues from the English Cottage style.

136 Glen Road
Known as the Burton House, built in 1928 and rendered by architect Douglas Kertland in the English Cottage style. Its rambling nature suggests a crofter’s cottage from Shakespeare’s day, especially with its regular arrangement of gables and windows, the mix of building materials, the steep roof and the plethora of primitive-style detailing inspired by medieval times.

Rosedale United Church
159 Roxborough Drive, corner of Glen Road. Rosedale United Church opened in 1914 as Northern Congregational Church. The building was completed in 1913 in the Gothic Revival style by architect John Gemmell. In 1925, when the Congregational Church merged with the Methodist Church of Canada and two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church in Canada to form the United Church of Canada, the church was renamed Rosedale United Church. In 2014, singer Gordon Lightfoot was married to Kim Hasse, his third wife, in the church.

170 Glen Road
This is a Heritage property, built in 1913

The unspectacular north end of Glen Road, beside the railway tracks

Security Overkill in Rosedale?
This owner has installed a bollard behind the SUV in their driveway

Going back across the footbridge to the south end of Glen Road

Condos on Sherbourne Street, seen from the Glen Road footbridge

New condos at Bloor Street East & Parliament Street, seen while crossing the Glen Road footbridge

Text references:

The Glen Road Village
City of Toronto, Glen Road Pedestrian Bridge & Tunnel Replacement
A Brief History of Glen Road Village
City of Toronto, Heritage Preservation Services, William Muir Houses

CIBC Square Park

September 28, 2025 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

CIBC Square Park is the new downtown park in the sky.

When I first heard about this unique park I knew I wanted to find, explore and photograph it. Setting out, I followed some very convoluted and cryptic directions from a web forum that said to go through Union Station and follow a number of turns, elevators and hallways.

After 45-minutes worth of following or finding every dead-end and sealed-off passageway in Union Station, I took my frustrating search above ground. After a bit of exploration I found that the sky garden had a not-so-secret direct stairway off Bay Street, across from ScotiaBank Arena – 81 Bay Street to be exact:

CIBC Square Elevated Park is a one-acre public park situated above the downtown’s rail corridor. Spanning the fourth floor between the two new CIBC towers, the park features landscaped gardens, shaded areas and open spaces, offering a green oasis in the heart of the city:

The park opened to the public in 2024, but parts of it still look like a work in progress:

Weird silver tree, surrounded by some really ugly hoarding

The park is designed for year-round use, with amenities such as an ice rink in winter and spaces for relaxation and socializing. It is accessible via elevators from the towers and the aforementioned direct stairway at 81 Bay Street.

This elevated park bridges the rail tracks and adds a botanically diverse connection between downtown and the waterfront. The park is conceived based on its specific location at the heart of a changing Financial District and uses views and connectivity as the foundations for its design and user experience.

Leaving CIBC Square Park, making my way to the stairs. ScotiaBank Arena on the right.

Retracing my steps back down to Bay Street

Mural at 431 Yonge Street

September 26, 2025 / Marvin Job / 0 Comments

I’ve walked by this colourful mural many times meaning to get a few shots of it, and I finally succeeded.

The mural is painted on the side of 401 Games at 431 Yonge Street, just below College Street. Painted by artist Jasmine Pannu, the mural features characters that may be familiar to gamers and fans of anime :

A City Stroll in Black & White

September 23, 2025 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

There’s nothing quite so rewarding in street photography as setting out for the day, having no destination in mind; you merely wind through the city with your camera wherever your feet take you, recording the city as it goes about its daily business.

I love shooting in black and white – it makes everything so much more interesting, moody, dramatic and contemplative. Here are some black and white shots from one such session:

“Sons of England War Memorial”. On University Avenue at Elm Street. The Sons of England War Memorial is comprised of a bronze statue of a lone soldier atop a granite pedestal which is flanked by three lions. It was erected by members of the Toronto Districts Sons of England Benefit Society in memory of those who fell in the First World War. The memorial was created by sculptor Charles Adamson and dedicated in December 1923 at University and College Avenues and moved to University Avenue at Elm Street some time later.

These 3 girls were taking a new mattress home, walking it up Bay Street, between Gerrard Street West and College Street

Sri Lankan demonstration, Yonge-Dundas Square

Hangin’ out on Yonge Street, below Gerrard Street

The Zanzibar, 359 Yonge Street. Where else in town would you find 5 topless, bottomless vixens?

The McGill Street Arch. This is an historic stone arch on the east side of Yonge Street near College Park. It served as a gateway to the former McGill Street. It was salvaged from the demolished St. Andrew’s United Church (originally built in 1923 at Bloor Street East and Park Road) and rebuilt by the city in 1981 after the intersection of McGill and Yonge was closed to create a pedestrian parkette.

Waiting for a green light, corner of Dundas Street East and Victoria Street

Performance at WorldFest, Yonge-Dundas Square

The Senator Restaurant, 249 Victoria Street. The Senator is a Toronto tradition, a 1940s-style diner with jazz-inspired decor, offering breakfast and classic comfort-food dishes.

Derelict Buildings. Elm Street, off Bay Street

Urban Artwork. On the hoarding around the Bond Place Hotel, Bond Street

“Born To Rise”. Mural in laneway off Mutual Street, just south of Dundas Street East. A Jasnine design.

The morning sun gleams off The Aura, Yonge and Gerrard

Another Jasnine creation. In lane behind 368 Church Street, north of Gerrard Street East

Condos at Jarvis Street and Dundas Street East

Under construction. New condos, corner of Church Street and Queen Street East

Monoliths. Church Street and Shuter Street

The King Edward Hotel, 37 King Street East

“Jacob’s Ladder” by Toronto artist Luis Jacob, Berczy Park

“Family Group” by Almuth Lutkenhaus, Berczy Park. This sculpture has been moved from the west side of Berczy Park to the east side near the Flatiron building.

The 401 Richmond Courtyard

September 19, 2025 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

401 Richmond is a historic warehouse in downtown Toronto, home to over 140 cultural producers and micro-enterprises. Originally the site of the Macdonald Manufacturing Company, a tin lithography factory at the turn of the 20th century, 401 Richmond is now a thriving arts and culture hub.

The building is home to 17 art galleries and artist-run centres, 40+ visual artist studios, film festivals, filmmakers, architects, communications specialists, graphic artists, recording studios, charitable organizations, cultural producers, social innovators, micro-enterprises and even a Spanish dance school.

Not widely known is the courtyard at this address. In the centre of the building lies a beautiful, calming, leafy garden; an oasis in the heart of the city. The Courtyard is free to visit and is open to all.

The din of the city dies away once you enter this space:

The municipal government calls 401 Richmond one of Toronto’s key arts centres, and visitors from cities afar have come to the building to learn how to blend business with the arts to establish a viable urban neighbourhood within a single community.

401 Richmond is the recipient of a 1999 Award of Merit from Toronto Heritage for outstanding adaptive re-use of a historic building. The building received Heritage Designation in April of 2007.

Text source: 401 Richmond

Roncesvalles Polish Festival

September 14, 2025 / Marvin Job / 0 Comments

There were two major ethnic street festivals happening in Toronto this weekend: the Roncesvalles Polish Festival and the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival. I’ve posted previously about the Ukrainian Festival, so I thought I’d cover the Polish Festival this time.

Time for Polka and Pierogis!

On September 13 and 14th, the Roncesvalles Village played host to the Roncesvalles Polish Festival. Now in its 17th year, the event stretched down Roncesvalles Avenue from Dundas Street West to Queen Street West. The Festival bills itself as North America’s largest celebration of Polish culture.

All up and down Roncesvalles, there was authentic Polish cuisine, Polish song and dance groups, and over 90 merchandise vendors. The site also included 6 beverage gardens, 2 family zones and multiple outdoor stages with over 40 performances. Local restaurants, bistros, cafes and shops along Roncesvalles Avenue also heavily contributed to the Festival’s celebratory atmosphere.

Roncesvalles-Polish-Festival-map

Lots of Merch for Sale…

And Food Galore…

Polka Time…

A Little Festive Dancing…

Polish Cars & Motorcycles On Display…

Street Scenes…

… And a small midway for the kids

Click here for the entire photo gallery of this event

Festival Links

So Long, 88 Isabella Street

September 12, 2025 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

If I had to assign Toronto apartment buildings a theme song, it would be Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust.

For decades I’ve passed by 88 Isabella Street, a 14-story rental building borne from 1960s architecture. It has always been tidy-looking, well kept and kind of dignified. Built in 1965, 88 Isabella – also known as The Villager – typified a mid-century residential apartment building in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood. At one point, I remember there being a sign on the building saying Furnished Apartments For Rent. Now – sadly – it is falling victim to another condo mega-tower, this one a 62-story behemoth, consisting of 720 condo units.

The condo developer, Capital Developments, claims they will provide 82 rental units in the new building to replace existing units from the original building. Allegedly, the building proposal includes a Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan that addresses the right for existing tenants to return to a replacement rental dwelling unit at similar rent and financial compensation to mitigate hardship. I’ll believe that when I see it.

Many former tenants forced from their homes, and people from the neighbouring housing co-op, are registering protest, opposition and argument, as well they should. Researching this post, I’ve been reading about the plights of some “renovicted” tenants of 88 Isabella Street, and my heart goes out to them.

The proposed future look of 88 Isabella Street

I was incredulous when I heard this beautiful older building had been emptied of tenants and demolition work begun. It saddens me greatly to see Isabella Street slowly going the way of nearby Charles Street. Until a few years ago, Charles Street was a quiet, leafy, dignified street with a few older brownstones and walk-up apartments. Now, a walk down Charles Street feels like you’re carving your way through the valley of the super-high rises – it is noisy, overcrowded, packed with people, clogged with cars and devoid of its former character. I fear Isabella Street is heading for the same fate.

This latest travesty also pains me because I used to live on Isabella Street during its heyday, and remember it as a wonderful, calm street on which to live. It’s sad to see Isabella Street now devolving, but I guess that’s urban progress for you (harummffff!!).

Meanwhile, across the street…

Directly across the street from 88 Isabella Street is 81-83 Isabella Street, two joined, beautiful walkup-style apartment buildings, known as The Merlan:

Unbelievably, these two charming buildings are also destined for demolition, being replaced by a 69-storey condo tower.

The Merlan is a three-storey, U-shaped Edwardian Revival apartment constructed in 1927, containing 48 rental units in one-bedroom configurations. Designed by architect Norman Alexander Armstrong, The Merlan stands as an example of Toronto’s second apartment building boom. The Edwardian Revival structure originally offered 49 units across its distinctive U-shaped layout, with twin entrances anchoring each wing. Recognized for its heritage value, the building was added to the City’s Heritage Register in December, 2024.

The heritage facade of The Merlan would be integrated into the new build, according to a planning report that went to the City in early June. The new design features a two-to-three-storey base reconstructing The Merlan’s heritage facades along Isabella Street. The new condo will be topped by a ten-storey podium and a stepped tower volume.

The project proposes 647 residential units, including 48 replacement rental suites replicating the one-bedroom format of the existing apartments.

But wait, it gets worse…

In November 2023 Capital Developments received approval for a 69-storey building at 90-94 Isabella Street. Additionally, 135 Isabella is slated for a 69-storey tower, which the developer KingSett Capital proposed in June 2023.

Isabella Street is going to be a very different street within the next few years…

The Toronto Peace Garden & The Toronto Spirit Garden

September 11, 2025 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

Nestled in the west section of Nathan Phillips Square near City Hall are two significant Toronto memorials: The Toronto Peace Garden and The Toronto Spirit Garden.

The Toronto Peace Garden

At the height of the Cold War, when fears of nuclear war were breaking out between the former Soviet Union and the west, the City of Toronto declared itself a nuclear weapon-free zone. To that end, the City created a Peace Garden which was dedicated by Pope John Paul II in Nathan Phillips Square in 1984. The Peace Garden measured 1800 square-feet, costing $540,000 to build in 1984.

The original Peace Garden location (under fountain arches), 1984
Photo: City of Toronto Archives

From 2010 to 2016, the Peace Garden was closed during renovations of Nathan Phillips Square. On August 7th, 2010 the Peace Garden was decommissioned and moved from its previous location near the doors of Toronto City Hall to its current location, the west side of Nathan Phillips Square.

The current 6,500 square-foot garden consists of a pavilion, a fountain, and surrounding plantings. The site’s gazebo is a stone-clad cube with arched openings on all sides, capped with a pitched roof. One corner of the structure’s corner is deconstructed to signify conflict and the fragility of civilization.

The fountain’s pool encroaches into the gazebo’s removed corner, with an eternal flame placed in the water so that it appears to support the pavilion structure, symbolizing hope and regeneration.

The Toronto Spirit Garden

As you walk along the Peace Garden, it seamlessly morphs into the Toronto Spirit Garden. The Spirit Garden is a 20,650 square-foot Indigenous cultural space that provides teaching, learning, sharing and healing experiences for the
Indigenous community of Toronto, the City’s diverse citizens, newcomers and visitors.

The design of the Spirit Garden revolves around Turtle Island, and offers dedicated places for contemplation, celebration, and ceremonies – open, inclusive and welcoming to all.

The project responds in part to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Call to Action 82, for government to commission and install a Residential Schools Monument in each capital city to honour residential school survivors, and all the children lost to their families and communities.

Teaching Lodge

This unusual-looking building is the Teaching Lodge. The Teaching Lodge is a pre-formed laminated Ash wood structural frame enclosed with a white cedar tongue and groove exterior enclosure and sheathing. Operable skylights provide ventilation, and the space is secured with doors located at the east and west entrances to the lodge. The interior features built-in seating for approximately 60 people.

The Lodge reinforces the importance of family, represents life’s journey and serves as a spiritual home for all First Nations peoples.

Three Sisters

Artwork is etched onto Muntz metal panels depicting the symbiotic relationship that exists between corn, beans and squash, and the shared values associated with stewardship of the land and planning for the seventh generation. The story is a model for “how to be a woman in the world”. Women are teachers, life givers and support each other, they work with the ground (Earth).

Spirit Canoe

The Spirit Canoe is a 36-foot-long stainless-steel sculpture with laser-cut artwork and painted infill panels. The canoe is a tribute to the Métis Voyageur tradition, representing resilience, collaboration and the connection of the Métis people to land and waterways.

Turtle Sculpture

At the heart of the Spirit Garden stands a six-foot-tall limestone turtle sculpture, composed of 10 individual pieces and weighing approximately 10 tonnes. Positioned within a reflecting pool and aligned with Magnetic North, the turtle represents Turtle Island – Mother Earth – embodying First Nations creation stories.

The names of 18 residential schools that once operated in Ontario are displayed in stainless steel lettering on the pool’s north wall:

Inuksuk

The Inuksuk is a traditional stone landmark, standing five-feet-tall and stacked in the Spirit Garden on a raised plinth. It serves as a cultural marker and symbol of guidance for Inuit peoples, representing safety and reassurance on the land.

Text References
City of Toronto
Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre

The Reborn Palm House at Allan Gardens

September 7, 2025 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

The iconic Palm House at the Allan Gardens Conservatory has reopened after a lengthy closure. The Palm House was having some vital restoration work done to preserve the structure’s architectural heritage. Updates on the Palm House included window glazing, glass cladding replacement and modernization of the ventilation and air quality systems.

Some retro-inspired shots of the Palm House and area

Construction began in October 2022 on the historic conservatory building, one of Toronto’s oldest attractions. The Palm House, designed by City of Toronto architect Robert McCallum, opened in 1910 and is the third horticultural pavilion on site. The iconic dome is 12 metres high and has 16 sides. It’s large enough to showcase some of the building’s tallest plants.

The renovation project was a collaborative undertaking between the City’s Parks, Forestry & Recreation department and Zeidler Architecture along with AREA heritage architects. The conservatory’s greenhouses remained open during renovation, with the Palm House’s plant collection temporarily moved offsite.