Not to rush us into full-on winter or anything, but here’s a frozen Woodbine Beach and a freezing Lake Ontario. I took these images after going through the Winter Stations exhibit at the Beach on March 9, 2019.
What is Winter Stations you may ask? Well, Winter Stations is an international design competition held annually in Toronto. Participants are tasked with designing temporary winter art installations which incorporate existing lifeguard towers spaced strategically across the city’s Kew and Woodbine beaches. The structures (not in use in the wintertime) are considered visual anchor points for the installations. The exhibitions usually stay in place for about 6 weeks.
While Toronto beaches are not typically as well visited in the colder seasons, Winter Stations has captured the imagination of the city. The competition is open to everyone in the world.
Stay tuned for a future post dedicated to the Winter Stations installation I attended. For now, here’s a frozen Woodbine Beach…
Woodbine BoardwalkHang Glider On Woodbine Beach Getting ready to go out over the lakeAnd there he goes… out over frigid Lake Ontario in early March… bbbrrrrrrrrrLeuty Lifeguard StationLeuty Lifeguard StationA flower in the freezing cold… good thing it’s plasticThe freezing water of Lake OntarioWoodbine Boardwalk
Sitting in front of the 76-storey tower One Bloor East (1 Bloor Street East) is a sculpture everyone calls “the oil cans”, and it’s easy to see why. Designed by Israeli-born, UK-based designer and architect Ron Arad, the installation is actually called Safe Hands. It stems from the City’s One Percent for Public Art Program, which mandates that 1% of project costs of building a condo/new highrise must go towards public art that is clearly visible at all times from publicly accessible areas.
The sculpture consists of a pair of intertwined stainless steel multi-jointed fingers with ruffled surfaces in spots, and flashes of bright yellow and red where sections end. Rising 88 feet high, the sculpture was designed by Ron Arad, and produced locally by Stephen Richards of Streamliner Fabrication Inc.
Originally planned as a dynamic sculpture with moving upper sections, the piece was redesigned as static when logistics proved too onerous (and likely too expensive to fix should it have broken at some point). The piece evokes a feeling of motion, which I’m sure was the intent of the sculptor’s design.
The Alleyway Of Dreams is a mural-filled alley in the eastern part of Toronto, running between Coleman Avenue and Danforth Avenue, just east of Main Street. The Alleyway of Dreams began by homeowners painting simple murals on their backyard garden sheds facing the alley as a way to improve the space, create more safety and beautify an ugly place.
The Alleyway Of Dreams was started by Mark Kerwin and Sarosh Anwar, two local Danforth Village residents. The project is about creating an art and cultural corridor in east end Toronto, embracing nature, human potential, freedom of imagination and community. The project was begun in 2013.
It was a nice sunny day when I visited this quirky and fun alleyway… here’s what I encountered:
I crossed Harbord Street a few months ago to reach Spadina Avenue. Harbord Village is a established, gentrified area but there was a little section of Harbord Street between Spadina Avenue and Huron Street that was distinctly abandoned, with the old houses crumbling. Here are some of the sad, derelict houses I encountered:
As many know, Jimmy’s Coffee is a Toronto coffee shop. There are currently 9 locations in the city, most situated in hip and young neighbourhoods. While neither young nor hip, I’ve been to a few of the locations and found they have a unique interior decor and feel. The Jimmy’s at 84 Gerrard Street West, though, has the other locations beat – it has Jimmy Mount Rushmore!
In the fashion of the real Mount Rushmore, here we have Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jimmy Buffett and Jim Morrison:
The mural was commissioned by Jimmy’s Coffee and completed in the summer of 2014. It measures 26 by 12 feet (approximately 312 sq. ft.). The brilliant artist who created this mural is Christiano De Araujo. Christiano is a self-taught artist born in Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil, but now living in Toronto. He is the founder of Toronto Artists Studio, a studio of visual artists, painters, digital artists and sculptors who design and produce murals and visual communication projects for audiences on a small and grand scale.
U.V. Ceti is an abstract sculpture by Andrew Posa, a Hungarian-Canadian sculptor. The piece was established at 30 Wellington Street East in 1992.
This large bronze sculpture sits on a base in the centre of a fountain. The sculpture looks like an asymmetrical V, with its arms spreading out to the sides and upward. Resting at the joint, in the centre of the V, is a large round ball. The V form looks like it is a cross-section of something larger. The front and back surfaces are smooth and slightly concave while the top and bottom of the V are rough with the look of earth. The sphere in the centre of the V looks as if it is a planet or asteroid that has crashed and formed a crater in the V.
U. V. Ceti by Andrew Posa Dedicated to Edward Isaac Richmond Architect 1908 – 1982 A kind man who shared his love of beauty
dedication plaque, attached to the base
Just in case you were wondering what a U. V. Ceti is:
Our galaxy is filled with billions of red dwarf stars, all of which are too dim to see with the naked eye. Lying at the faint, red end of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, their small masses — a few tenths that of the Sun — make them much cooler and dimmer than our own Sun. In fact, few of these stars have been detected beyond a dozen or so parsecs of our solar system. However, some of these stars belong to the spectacular class of variables known as the flare stars or the UV Ceti variables. At irregular and unpredictable intervals, they can dramatically increase in brightness over a broad wavelength range from X-rays to radio waves for anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. The fact that such small, unassuming stars can suddenly undergo incredibly energetic events make the flare stars one of the more intriguing targets for variable star observers.1
For today’s post, let’s take a little trip to the east end of the city.
The R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is an absolute masterpiece of Art Deco, located on the shore of Lake Ontario at 2701 Queen Street East in Toronto. The plant was designed in 1929 and built from 1932 to 1937. It opened in 1941 and was later expanded from 1955 to 1958. The plant is named after Roland Caldwell Harris, who was the Commissioner of Works from 1912 until his death in 1945.
The R.C. Harris Filtration Plant 2701 Queen Street East, Toronto
The structure looks like a museum, but is actually a water treatment plant. Surprisingly, the inside of the building is similarly elegant, with cavernous halls and marble passages, all full of filtration equipment. This opulence has earned the building the nickname “Palace of Purification.”
There are three buildings comprising the plant: the Filter Building, the Service Building and the Pumping Station. Together they represent the largest example of Art Deco in the entire city. The use of marble, bronze and carved limestone is prevalent throughout and typical of the Art Deco architectural style.
Signal Pylon in Rotunda, Filter Building The signal pylon indicates time and filter backwash conditions
Signal Pylon in Rotunda, Filter Building The signal pylon indicates time and filter backwash conditionsFilter Operating Galleries, Filter Building Each gallery is over 110m long and provides access to 20 filtersControls in Filter Operating Galleries, Filter BuildingFountain Outside Filter BuildingFilter Building
The Service Building
The Pumping Station
Pumping StationHigh-Lift Room, Pumping StationHigh-Lift Room, Pumping Station This signal panel indicates which pumps are operatingPumping Station & Filter Building
The water treatment plant is the largest one in Toronto. It produces 30% of Toronto’s drinking water and can potentially produce 950 million litres daily.
The R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant has been used in dozens of films and television series as a prison, clinic or headquarters.
Lake Ontario Beside The PlantThe R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant 2701 Queen Street East, Toronto
These unusual looking creatures outside Metro Hall on Wellington Street West were created by Toronto artist Cynthia Short. Completed in 1992, Remembered Sustenance contains 19 bronze sculptures in total.
The inspiration for Remembered Sustenance is drawn from the location of the sculpture’s site. Adjacent to the outdoor Metro Hall daycare playground, the work has been created to convey the sense of playfulness and whimsy associated with children’s stories and games. This group of bronze, non-specific cartoonish animals appear to be migrating across the lawn, towards, then away from a curtain drawn by two birds (at left in shot below). Below the curtain, a plate set in the ground holds a negative impression of the shape of a small ballerina that might be found in a child’s music box (this might have been visible in the shots if there hadn’t been so much junk on the ground that day!).
The various elements found in the artwork represent the remembered experiences of childhood that the artist suggests can sustain us throughout our lives. Open and abundant with possibility of meaning, it is the artist’s stated intention that the work should most of all be enjoyed by children.
Cynthia Short is an artist working in Toronto. For the past several years she has been working on small sculptures using materials such as wax, soil, and paper mache. She remarks: I try to make things that have a quality of something remembered or recognized. I hope that my images grow from a place that we all have inside.
Located at 524 Front Street West over the busiest railway corridor in Canada, the Puente de Luz is a sculptural pedestrian bridge and the largest public art installation in Canada. The name Puente de Luz, or Bridge of Light, was chosen to signify the link between North and South and the connection between the two countries that came together to build it – Canada and Chile.
The Puente de Luz was designed by Chilean sculptor Francisco Gazitua with structural engineer Peter Sheffield. Located in the Concord CityPlace neighbourhood, the bridge carries pedestrians and cyclists from the western portion of CityPlace to Front Street West just between Spadina and Bathurst.
The $8 Million bridge was completed in 2011. It was built as required by the City of Toronto for developer Concord Adex to create inter-connectivity with surrounding neighbourhoods.
Entrance on Front Street WestBridge exit on to Iceboat Terrace
It was a crisp fall day when I started my Avenue Road photowalk at Bloor Street West. I made my way up Avenue Road, reached Dupont Street, then returned south until I hit University Avenue and Dundas Street West. Here’s a little of what I encountered along the way.
The Prince Arthur Condo 38 Avenue RoadThe Prince Arthur Condo, 38 Avenue Road I’ve always loved this entryway – so elegant, dramaticNew Condo Construction: 183 Avenue Road Construction on the northeast corner of Avenue Road and Pears Avenue in Yorkville. This is a proposed 10-storey mixed-use condominium building designed by BBB Architects for K P Isberg.Hazelton Lanes Residences 55A Avenue RoadGalerie de Bellefeuille 87 Avenue RoadFuture Site of “The Webley” 121 Avenue RoadBike Memorial For Adam Excell On the corner of Avenue Road and Davenport Road. Adam Excell was riding his bike on Avenue Road, near Davenport Road on June 13, 2015, when he was struck and killed by a car that did not remain at the scene.David Drebin Mural On the northwest corner of Avenue Road and Davenport Road. David Drebin is a Toronto-born professional photographer.David Drebin Mural & “Super Convenience” Northwest corner of Davenport Road and Avenue RoadThe Hare Krishna Temple The Hare Krishna Temple is located at 243 Avenue Road. The building is the former home of Avenue Road Church. It was built in 1899 and was originally the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. The building was designed by Toronto architects Gordon & Helliwell.The Church of the Messiah 240 Avenue Road. This Anglican church was founded on March 24, 1891 by members of the Church of the Redeemer further south on Avenue Road. The building, and the rectory next door, were designed by Gordon & Helliwell, the same architects who designed what is now the Hare Krishna Temple across the street.Fall Leaves Somewhere on Avenue RoadMural Outside Havana Coffee Bar 233 Davenport Road, southwest corner of Davenport Road and Avenue RoadFlower Markets Avenue Road, south of DavenportGiant Ring Outside Louro & Sons Jewellers, 104 Avenue Road“Mixer” These cast bronze figures are entitled “Mixer” by sculptor An Te Liu, a Taiwanese-Canadian artist living and working in Toronto. “Mixer” envisions its installation as a stage inhabited by a pair of cast bronze figures engaged in dialogue with passersby, hotel visitors, and each other. Bold and distinctive in silhouette and richly finished in a lustrous deep gold patina, the sculptural ensemble forms a vivid and iconic tableau establishing the Park Hyatt as a singular destination. As a public artwork, “Mixer” is monumental in scale – visible from afar and instantly recognizable. Open and intimate, the work invites visitors to experience the artwork fully and in the round. People become a critical part of the scenography, which unfolds within the architectural proscenium and extends out into the city.
“Mixer” finds shape and expression in the rich history of Park Hyatt Toronto, merging classical figurative allusions with industrial, artisanal, and organic forms culled from glassware, vessels, and couture. The forms also stem from a reinterpretation of the artistic legacy of Henry Moore, a seminal figure in the history of the modern era in Toronto. “Mixer” captures the allure of social encounters and celebrates imbibing in all the senses. They form a continuity between the illustrious past of Park Hyatt Toronto and its present renaissance as an exemplar of elegance and luxury. An Te Liu’s inspiration for this work comes more specifically from an archival photograph of the Park Hyatt Rooftop Lounge, commonly known as “The Rooftop bar at Park Plaza,” years ago. An Te Liu would visit during his years as a student at the University of Toronto – understanding its’ social significance as a landmark in the city. Park Hyatt Toronto invites visitors to experience the artwork in the round, as this ensemble of works seems like an encounter or conversation. The hotel program inspired this meaningful concept as a place of social convergence, where friends and strangers crossLillian Massey Building Building used by University of Toronto, 125 Queen’s Park“Freedom Fighters” Queen’s Park“Freedom Fighters” Queen’s ParkFall Leaves Queen’s ParkAl Purdy Statue, Queens’ Park Al Purdy was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy’s writing career spanned 56 years. His works include 39 books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence, in addition to his posthumous works. He has been called the nation’s “unofficial poet laureate” and “a national poet in a way that you only find occasionally in the life of a culture.”Iranian Demonstration There was an Iranian demonstration happening that day at Queen’s Park, and this guy was ripping up and down Queen’s Park and University Avenue with his balloons and flagU of T’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre 112 College Street, at University Avenue“Happy Lunar New Year” Canada Post box at University Avenue and Dundas Street WestThe United Building 481 University Avenue. On the corner of University Avenue and Edward Street. Converting into luxury condos.The United Building 481 University Avenue. On the corner of University Avenue and Edward Street. Converting into luxury condos.
[…] weekend: the Roncesvalles Polish Festival and the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival. I’ve posted previously about the Ukrainian…