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Category: Neighbourhood photowalks (Page 4 of 6)

Elmsley Place Mansions

April 30, 2023 / / 3 Comments

A private road north of St. Joseph Street, west of Bay Street, is home to red brick Edwardian style mansions that were built in 1892 by Remigius Elmsley as the first subdivisions in the City, located on the former family home, Cloverhill Estate.

The heritage properties are owned by University of Toronto, St. Michael’s College, some serving as student residences. The four houses of residence collectively contain 20 single and 12 double rooms. The buildings underwent a $4 million renovation in 2007.

The remaining houses are used as administrative offices: Founders House (1 Elmsley); Phelan House (3 Elmsley); and Windle House (5 Elmsley).

Developed during the 1890s, Elmsley Place attracted professionals and politicians, including Sir George W. Ross, who lived at No. 1 Elmsley while serving as Ontario’s premier. After the Supreme Court of Canada presided over the extension of present-day Bay Street northward during the 1920s, the college purchased the title to the street. By the late 1940s, the laneway was closed off and the Edwardian-style homes were converted to offices and student residences. Today, cut off from traffic, this tree-lined cobblestone lane is a perfect walk into the heart of the St. Mike’s campus.

The Gates of Elmsley Place
A gateway across from the John M. Kelly Library on St. Joseph Street marks the entrance to Elmsley Place, a laneway that was once a prestigious late-Victorian subdivision. The Elmsley family were major 19th-century landowners whose holdings included what became the original campus of St. Michael’s College and the current Bay Cloverhill neighbourhood.
Founders House, 1 Elmsley Place
Formerly known as the Sir George Ross House. Sir George Ross was, at various times, a professor, member of parliament, senator, provincial Minister of Education, premier of Ontario, and president of the Canadian Authors’ Society.
McCorkell House, 2 Elmsley Place
McCorkell House operates as furnished female student dormitories
McCorkell House, 2 Elmsley Place
McCorkell House operates as furnished female student dormitories
Phelan House, 3 Elmsley Place
Phelan House was originally called the William E. Chalcraft House
Windle House, 5 Elmsley Place
Previously known as the H. Hartley Dewart House. The late H. H. Dewart was a former provincial Liberal leader.
Brennan Hall, South Entrance
The Hall is situated on the north end of Elmsley Place, 81A St. Mary Street
Maritain House, 6 Elmsley Place
This house contains furnished male student dormitories
Gilson House, 8 Elmsley Place
This is the only home on the street which St. Michael’s College does not own.

The Cottages of St. Nicholas Street

April 3, 2023 / / 3 Comments

On the charming little downtown street known as St. Nicholas Street, house numbers 45 to 63 are known as “The Cottages”.

In 1883, The Scottish Ontario and Manitoba Land Company built ten row houses on the east side of St. Nicholas Street and named each cottage after a tree: Beach, Birch, Spruce, Hazel, Rose, Maple, Ash, Ivy, Elm and Oak.  The properties were occupied by tenants, with occupations ranging from Saloon Keeper to Minister. The style of construction was Bay-N-Gable on a 18′ 10″ wide lot. These buildings have been designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act.  A little alley called Cottage Lane provides access to the rear of the houses.

45 St. Nicholas Street
Beech Cottage and Birch Cottage
49-51 St. Nicholas Street
Spruce Cottage and Hazel Cottage
53-55 St. Nicholas Street
Rose Cottage and Maple Cottage
57-59 St. Nicholas Street
Ash Cottage and Ivy Cottage
61-63 St. Nicholas Street
Elm Cottage and Oak Cottage

A rare example of a surviving Victorian terraced row, 45-63 St. Nicholas Street is unique to say the least. The street sits just several hundred metres from Yonge and Bloor Streets, yet feels like a quaint neighbourhood block. St. Nicholas Street was, in fact, originally an alley lane before the row was constructed in 1884.

Statues & Monuments of Queen’s Park

March 29, 2023 / / 1 Comment

It was a sunny Sunday (finally!) this past weekend, so I opted for a little wander through Queen’s Park to shoot a few of the statues, monuments and memorials there.

Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues

Not in Queen’s Park but this utility box on my way there caught my eye. In front of 2 Grosvenor Street, west of Yonge Street is “Tribute to Salome Bey, Canada’s Queen of the Blues” by Adrian Hayles, mounted in 2021. If the style looks familiar, this DJ/artist/muralist has done numerous murals in the city. In 2016, Adrian took 8 weeks to paint a 22 storey Downtown Yonge BIA music mural on the north wall of 423 Yonge Street, just south of College Street. The next year, he painted the south wall of the same building, continuing the musical theme. Adrian also painted a substantial mural on Reggae Lane in the Oakwood Avenue/Eglinton Avenue West area.

Hours of the Day Monument
Whitney Plaza, 23 Queens Park Crescent East

In 2018, Paul Raff Studios designed a sculpture flanked by granite benches as a way to honour the passage of time, reflecting the hours of service by correctional workers in the justice system, as well as in their communities. Each year, a Ceremony of Remembrance acknowledges correctional workers who have paid the ultimate price in their service.

Ontario Police Memorial
Whitney Plaza, 23 Queen’s Park Crescent East

In 2000, two bronze statues featuring a 1950’s male officer and modern era female office were unveiled atop a 30,000 pound granite pedestal base. There are 8 cascading granite walls known as the “Wall of Honour” that recognize the names of Ontario Police Officers who died in the line of duty.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe Monument

Lieutenant-Colonel John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806, First Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 1791-1796. Founder of the City of Toronto July 30th 1793.

Northwest Rebellion Monument

By Walter S. Allward. The monument commemorates the Northwest Rebellion of 1894-1896.

Ontario Veteran’s Memorial
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

​In 2006, a black granite wall was designed by the landscape architect Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg to recognize the service of Canada’s military. It measures 8′ 6″ high and 100′ long. The wall features Canada’s military actions since 1867 and words from poet Jane Urquhart and military historian Professor Jack Granatstein.

Afghanistan Memorial
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

Adjacent to the Ontario Veteran’s Memorial, a companion memorial was installed in 2020 to recognize the 40,000+ Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. One part is a bronze ribbon inspired by the Afghanistan mountains. Another part is a piece of granite from an Inukshuk built by Canadian soldiers at Kandahar Airfield.

Danger

Someone at Queen’s Park has a sense of humour

Robert Raikes

This bronze statue of Robert Raikes was executed by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1930. Raikes was often regarded as being the founder of Sunday schools. This statue was first erected in Great Britain in July 1880 and replicas where installed in Gloucester (1929) and then in Toronto.

Dr. Norman Bethune
1890-1939

Dr. Bethune was a Canadian surgeon who graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School. He first gained fame as a doctor for the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and then for providing medical services to the communist-led Eighth Army during the second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s.

The statue shows Dr. Bethune seated, dressed in a doctor’s apron, taking field notes. The following quote is inscribed on his apron: “I am content. I am doing what I want to do. Why shouldn’t I be happy – see what my riches consist of. First I have important work that fully occupies every minute of my time… I am needed.” At the bottom of the statue is inscribed, in English and Cantonese: “The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto proudly celebrates its shared history with Dr. Norman Bethune and China, and its ongoing research and education collaborations with China.”

Cannons at the Legislative Assembly

At the entrance to the Legislature there are two Russian cannons that were captured by the British during the Crimean war and sent to Toronto as a gift.

Queen Victoria Monument
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

Installed in 1902, this bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a stone pedestal was designed by Mario Raggi.

Post One Monument
Queen’s Park, 100 Wellesley Street West

To celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, a bronze map of the country was installed. It features surveyor tools and a time capsule to be opened in 2067.

Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion Monument

This monument to the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, erected on the grounds of the Ontario provincial legislature in Toronto in 1995, was the first to commemorate Canadian involvement in International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Approximately 1500 Canadians volunteered to fight for the Republican cause, many out of ideological motives and class convictions underpinned by the experience of the Great Depression. They were often forced to make the long and arduous journey to Spain independently, since in 1937 the Canadian government had forbidden the involvement of its citizens in the Spanish Civil War through the passing of the Foreign Enlistment Act. Initially a number volunteered with the American Abraham Lincoln Brigade, but the substantial number of Canadian volunteers would ultimately lead to the formation of a separate battalion, named after two leaders of the unsuccessful Canadian rebellions against the British Crown in 1837-38.

Makeshift Memorial

Pairs of shoes have been placed in front of Queen’s Park as part of a makeshift memorial in response to the discovery of 215 children whose remains were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Plaque: King George V’s Silver Jubilee

Installed in 1935, this plaque commemorates the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Time and tide have taken its toll on the inscription and it’s difficult to see, but the text reads: “This tree was planted by James Simpson, Esq., Mayor of Toronto, on the occasion of the celebration of the Twenty-Fifth anniversary of the accession of King George the Fifth to the throne. May 6th 1935”.

Whatever…

Mural outside the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at Queen’s Park Crescent and College Street.
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Eaton Centre & The Bay, 2014

March 16, 2023 / / 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.
The Bay sales floor, ground level
Riding The Bay’s escalators
More people movers
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).

Above Queen Street during a rainstorm
The old Eaton Centre pedestrian bridge

Inside the Eaton Centre

Another busy Saturday afternoon in the Eaton Centre

Speeding through Yonge and Richmond Streets

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Cabbagetown Murals

March 4, 2023 / / 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 / / 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.

Somewhere on Leader Lane

Harbourfront + Union Station in Black & White

January 8, 2023 / / 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 / / 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
Mural
894 Broadview Avenue
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

Abandoned Houses on Harbord Street

December 1, 2022 / / 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:

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