Category: Neighbourhood photowalks (Page 4 of 5)

Eaton Centre & The Bay, 2014

March 16, 2023 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

So, I don’t know if shots from 2014 qualify for inclusion in my so-called series From The Vaults (i.e. old shots of Toronto). I found these the other day while browsing and thought I’d post them as they are a bit of a blast from the past, so to speak.

Some of the shots are slightly “arty”; I was experimenting at the time with capturing urban life using a slow shutter speed, hence the intentional motion blur.

The Bay at Queen and Yonge

The original Bay store at Yonge and Queen Streets only partially exists since Saks Fifth Avenue took over the entire east half of the building in 2016. These shots are prior to the merge and remodel of the building.

The Bay’s southeast entrance on to Yonge Street. This entrance is long gone; in its place is a trendoid coffee bar/resto, which is part of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Pay phones!!?? Remember those? In the lobby of The Bay’s southeast entrance.

Ground level sales floor, Women’s jewellery (note Ivanka Trump’s jewellery line, far right – that dates it!)

In The Old Queen Street Bridge

I shot these while crossing over from The Bay to the Eaton Centre in the old pedestrian bridge spanning Queen Street West. This bridge has long disappeared and been replaced with a new one (check out my Eaton Centre bridge post here).

Inside the Eaton Centre

Another busy Saturday afternoon in the Eaton Centre

Speeding through Yonge and Richmond Streets

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE ALL THE SHOTS FROM THIS CITYSCAPE

Cabbagetown Murals

March 4, 2023 / Marvin Job / 4 Comments

The Cabbagetown area is home to many colourful and interesting murals. Here’s a few I’ve encountered during a walkabout in the ‘hood:

**The Phoenix Concert Theatre**
410 Sherbourne Street, Toronto

**Fudger House**
439 Sherbourne Street, on rear of building facing Bleecker Street

Darling Lane

West of Parliament Street, south of Wellesley Street East

“Welcome to Cabbagetown”
On side of LCBO building, 512 Parliament Street

Doctor O Lane

South of Carlton Street, west of Parliament Street

Number 9 Audio Group

Recording studio at 222 Gerrard Street East

Construction Murals

Southeast corner of Gerrard Street East & Sherbourne Street

Miziwe Biik

Aboriginal Employment & Training Centre, 169 Gerrard Street East

Leader Lane

March 2, 2023 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

Leader Lane is a short street in downtown Toronto.The street was part of the former city of York, Upper Canada, and runs from Wellington Street East to King Street East, crossing Colborne Street. The street was named Leader Lane after the Toronto Leader, a newspaper whose offices were located there from 1852 to 1878.

King Street East and Leader Lane, circa 1920

Leader Lane was the site of York’s first jail and hanging yard.The original jail, a log building constructed in 1796 at the corner of Colborne Street, has long since been demolished. Several buildings, many over 100 years old, remain on Leader Lane.

Walking north from Wellington Street East…

Some of the buildings have different street addresses but face Leader Lane on one of their sides:

The East Thirty-Six Restaurant, 36 Wellington Street East

P.J. O’Brien Irish Pub & Restaurant, 39 Colborne Street

Tom Jones Steakhouse, 17 Leader Lane

The legendary Tom Jones Steak House is one of Toronto’s oldest and most famous award-winning Steakhouses. The structure is a rare surviving late-19th century three-storey commercial building. It housed the first Grand and Toy store, and for the past 50 years has been the location of the Steak House. The building was constructed in 1830 when the street was called Berezy Street.

This building always catches my eye when I pass through the area because its placement is so awkward and unusual – a lonely, standalone structure surrounded by high-rises and the King Edward Hotel.

Harbourfront + Union Station in Black & White

January 8, 2023 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

A little photowalk capturing Harbourfront, York Street and Union Station in glorious Black & White.

Harbourfront

The View From York Street

Maple Leaf Square, Outside the Scotiabank Arena
(formerly the Air Canada Centre)

This installation in Maple Leaf Square is entitled Search Light, Star Light, Spot Light, created by John McEwan and unveiled in 1999. The 3-column steel sculpture is inspired by a quote from author Louis Untermeyer: God, if you wish for our love, Fling us a handful of stars.

The surface of each column has been extensively perforated with holes in the shape of five-pointed stars that glow when lit from within like celestial search beacons in the night. The effect is most immediately associated with the search beams that call attention to entertainment spectacles such as those that take place in the adjacent Scotiabank Arena.

Art critics of the sculpture say that the telescopic shape of the columns and the starry lights suggest a connection between the earth and sky; between the infinite cosmos and the depth of the human imagination.

Union Station

Entering via Bremner Boulevard:

Taken while Union Station was still under renovation

A Broadview Walk

January 4, 2023 / Marvin Job / 3 Comments

COVID-19 was raging in the middle of 2020 when I took these shots. For this photowalk I did a mini-tour of Broadview Avenue from the Danforth up to Mortimer Avenue, then back again. The street was deserted – I didn’t encounter a soul on this little jaunt; definitely a sign of the times.

**Empty Streetcars**
Broadview TTC Station

**Tony’s Barber Shop**
910 Broadview Avenue

On the side of the Rosicrucian Regional Cultural Centre
835 Broadview Avenue

**Definitely Retro**
850 Broadview Avenue

**Decrepit Doorway**
Somewhere on Broadview Avenue

Untitled Murals on Broadview Avenue

**BikeShare Toronto**
On Broadview Avenue

Nighttime at Dundas West & Spadina

December 30, 2022 / Marvin Job / 1 Comment

A little night photography for you. Actually, this post is part TOcityscapes and part photography experiment.

It was a rainy evening when I took these night shots on the deserted corner of Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue.

Abandoned Houses on Harbord Street

December 1, 2022 / Marvin Job / 2 Comments

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: