For some time, it’s been on my Toronto photography bucket list to explore College Street from absolute end to end. Having never been west of Bathurst Street on College, it was territory new to me – even better! My College Street photowalk turned out to be an absolute delight. Here’s a bit of what I encountered that day; to see all the shots from this photowalk, see the link at the bottom of this post.
Psychic Reader On College StreetBethel Evangelical Community Church 1155 College StreetFlowers Outside Yerba Buena Cannabis Store On the corner of Dufferin Street & College StreetAntiques at Ralph’s Hardware 846 College Street, near Ossington AvenueRepainting The Revival 783 College Street. Revival is an event venue for hire.Camões Square In Portuguese Pioneers Parkette. Luis Vaz de Camões (1524-1580) is considered Portugal’s greatest poet.The Garden Portuguese Pioneers ParketteCollege Fruit Market Northwest corner of Beatrice Street and College StreetLittle Italy Heart Southeast corner of Grace Street and College StreetPiazza Johnny Lombardi Southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street. Johnny Lombardi, Broadcaster and Founder of CHIN radio among many other things, was often referred to as the “Mayor of Little Italy”. He lived in the neighborhood all his life. This memorial to him was installed at the southwest corner of College Street and Grace Street in an area known as “Piazza Johnny Lombardi” in Little Italy. The sculptures were designed by Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales.Old School Retail On College StreetSneaky Dee’s Still at the corner of College and Bathurst StreetsSt. George’s Lutheran Church 410 College Street. St. George’s is a German–English speaking Lutheran congregation with German roots. Their focus is to offer German and English speaking congregational life in downtown Toronto.Fancy Franks 326 College Street, corner of College and Major Streets. Gourmet hot dogs!Colourful Condo Balconies 301 College Street, near Spadina AvenueChurch With An Identity Crisis? 8 Robert Street, just off College Street. The sign out front says it is Iglesia Hispana La Casa de Misericordia Eterna (Spanish church), but the sign on the church door (and on Google Maps) says it is the Hungarian Reformed Evangelical Christian Church. Whatever it’s called I think it’s a pretty, quaint little church.James Till & Ernest McCulloch – MaRS Discovery District, 101 College Street James Till PhD and Ernest McCulloch MD are globally recognized as the Fathers of Stem Cell Science for their research in the 1960s at the Ontario Cancer Institute and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. They received Canada’s Gairdner Award in 1961, and were inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2004, and won the Albert Lasker Aware for Basic Medical Research in 2005. Monuments sculpted by Ruth Abernethy in 2016.
I recently walked College Street from end to end; here’s some of the street art I encountered along the way.
Mural by Young Jarus On wall of LALA Contemporary Art Gallery, Lansdowne Avenue and Dundas Street WestOvergrown Mural Northwest Corner of College Street and Lansdowne Avenue“College West” Mural At College Street & St. Clarens AvenueUtility Box On the corner of Margueretta Street & College StreetThe Gaze On College Street, near Delaware AvenueMural at Lullaboo Nursery & Childcare Centre Corner of College Street & Concord Avenue“College Promenade” Mural Corner of College Street & Ossington AvenueMural by John Kuna Portuguese Pioneers Parkette
Galipo Brothers Lane
Across the street from the Portuguese Pioneers Parkette, Galipo Brothers Lane is a small laneway north of College Street connecting Crawford Street and Montrose Avenue. The mural pays tribute to the four Galipo brothers – Natale, Aurelio, Francesco and Giuseppe. They were master ice cream makers from Capo D’Olando, Sicily who established one of Little Italy’s oldest landmarks, the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe.
“Little Italy” Mural 719 College Street. This mural is by Just Sum Artist. Apparently it was badly tagged almost as soon as the artist finished the mural, though the mural has been repaired recently. It is difficult to get a good shot of the mural; it’s in the parking lot of an auto mechanic and there’s so many cars in the way!Looks Like Sophie Loren to Me… Mural on north side of College Street in Little Italy, between Crawford Street and Montrose AvenueUtility Box Corner of College Street and Manning AvenueMural on Domino’s Pizza Building On College Street, near Lippincott Street
On Croft Street, Just Off College Street
Elicser Mural On Croft Street “City is burning… Protect your energy”Borden Street near College Street
Prior to yesterday, I hadn’t been across Dundas Street East for quite some time; it’s not the world’s most desirable area. At any rate, I was amazed at the changes and gentrification that has taken place there. I was especially struck by the contrast of The Filmores versus the towering new condos. Old Toronto meets New Toronto.
Sherbourne Street, a depressing street at the best of times, is not normally known for its murals and/or artistic sensibility. I don’t how long they’ve been there but I recently discovered four new (to me) murals that appeared since I was last down this street.
“Everything You Can Imagine Is Real” Quote from Pablo Picasso, on side of building at 194 Sherbourne Street“Dare To Dream” On side of building at 192 Sherbourne StreetBy Artists Birdo+Tenso On side of building at 194 Sherbourne StreetMural At 188 Sherbourne Street By En Masse. En Masse is a multi-artist collaborative drawing project who create bold black-and-white works of public art.
The Toronto Ukrainian Festival is North America’s largest festival of its kind. It’s a colourful, weekend-long event celebrating the Ukrainian culture, its people, music and dances. Every year the Festival attracts audiences well in excess of 500,000 from across Canada, the U.S. and abroad.
The Festival stretched from Runnymede Road to Jane Street this year. It was a sunny and hot day when I went to the festival yesterday; these shots are just a very small sampling of what I saw.
Lechowia Dancers
With its unique flair and style, Toronto’s award winning Lechowia Polish Canadian Folk Dance Company recreates for the stage the rich artistry of Polish folk culture while delighting its audiences at home and abroad! Founded in 1977 as an amateur dance organization, Lechowia (pronounced le-hovya) takes its name from Lech, a prominent Polish legendary figure credited for establishing the Polish nation. Today, the Company comprises over 200 dancers, singers and musicians ranging from children to adults. Lechowia’s varied repertoire includes the stately court dances, the Mazur and the Polonaise made popular by Frederic Chopin; the high-spirited Polka, the colourful Krakowiak, the fiery Oberek, the dazzling Goralski mountaineer’s dance as well as the beautiful songs of Silesia.
Cresendo Chamber Choir
The Crescendo chamber choir was created in 2020 under the direction of Pavlo Fondera. The choir has an interesting, complex and diverse repertoire. During its existence, the group took part in many charity concerts in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The members of the group are talented young people from Toronto who enthusiastically and passionately perform and popularize Ukrainian choral and pop music in Canada.
Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble
A prominent figure in Canada’s fabric of Ukrainian Dance groups, the Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble is a vibrant group of semi-professional dancers from Calgary, Alberta. Tryzub is a consistent feature artist of the Calgary Stampede Parade and Calgary’s Globalfest. Tryzub has performed across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Panama, Columbia,Australia, Turkey, and the beloved Ukraine.
Bandura Beyond Borders
Bandura Beyond Borders is a Toronto-based instrumental bandura quartet made up of close friends Borys Ostapienko, Orest Chornomaz, Oleksander Petlura and Ivan Dusanowskyj. Together, they approach the bandura from a new, fresh perspective. In traditional ensembles, the bandura is used for accompanying singing, but Bandura Beyond Borders demonstrates that the bandura can have a voice of its own. The group’s skillful playing showcases the bandura as a versatile and expressive instrument that can be used to play different styles of music, including classical, adaptations of popular music, and inventive arrangements of traditional Ukrainian songs. Bandura Beyond Borders has entertained audiences from New York City to Sault Ste Marie. The quartet also share their passion for the bandura and inspire people of all ages to learn through the Toronto Bandura School, which they founded together in 2015.
Barvinok Hamilton Ukrainian Dance Ensemble
In this year’s Festival, the Barvinok Hamilton Ukrainian Dance Ensemble presented traditional costumes worn by Ukrainian people. The Ensemble has been in existence for over 60 years and is home to over 30 students between the ages of 3 and 25. Based in the Holy Spirit Church Hall in Hamilton, Ontario, and under the direction of Nadine Usyk and Taras Gulka, dancers perform year-round at various church celebrations, festivals, concerts, and celebrations within the Greater Toronto Area, as well as the Hamilton & Niagara regions. Barvinok performed on the televised broadcast revival of the “Tiny Talent Time” show, and in front of appreciative audiences at the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival, the Capital Ukrainian Festival in Ottawa, and the St. Josaphat’s Ukrainian Festival in Rochester, where it made its US debut.
Natalya Gennadi
Ukrainian Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi is establishing her operatic career in North America in a wide range of repertoire. Natalya caused a sensation when she stepped in at short notice in her debut in the leading role of Oksana G, Tapestry Opera’s harrowing tale about human trafficking. Her critically acclaimed performance of this world premiere was nominated for the prestigious Dora Mavor Award. Natalya’s 2022 engagements include solo collaborations with Music and Beyond Festival, Ottawa, Gryphon Trio, Rose Orchestra, Brampton, Counterpoint Orchestra, Toronto Concert Orchestra and Tapestry Opera. Recent opera roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Mimi in La Bohème. During the pandemic Ms. Gennadi produced a digital Ukrainian Art Song Mini Series and became a 2021 recipient of the prestigious REACH Development Grant.
I love walking down St. Joseph Street in downtown Toronto. The street consists mostly of 1940s-era Art Deco and/or brownstone apartments. Much of the original architecture is still in place and, thankfully, the street has not been totally overrun with towering condos. Yes, there are some condos on this street, but they have been kept low (not counting FIVE St. Joseph near the corner of Yonge Street) and styled to match the existing architecture of the original buildings. I always feel like I’m stepping back in time when I walk through this small street, which really only stretches from Queen’s Park Crescent to Yonge Street; it’s a small street with big character, and there’s a lot of gay history here as well.
Apartments at 26 St. Joseph Street
The Canadian Music Centre, 20 St. Joseph Street The national office of this organization dedicated to honouring and preserving the efforts of Canadian composers is located in a residence built in the Queen Anne style in 1892 for William J. Hill, who was a City Councillor and contractor. The Canadian Music Centre has been in existence since 1959 and moved into the building in 1984, and named the building the Chalmers House to recognize the financial contributions of Floyd and Jean Chalmers to renovate the premises.
A Dark Past: 16 St. Joseph Street
The street is quite idyllic until you come upon an apartment building at 16 St. Joseph. Whenever I pass by this building I always think of that atrocious murder of gay bar owner Sandy LeBlanc in September 1978, and I wonder who committed this violent murder and for what reason. This murder is famous in the annals of Toronto’s gay history, and remains unsolved to this day.
There has been a lot written on this particular murder so I won’t go into great detail here, nor am I qualified to – just Google it if you want to learn more. Basically, friends of Sandy LeBlanc became worried when they didn’t hear from him after a day or two. The friends went to the apartment building and kicked Sandy’s door in – they found LeBlanc’s bloody body on the floor. He had been stabbed over 100 times – the police called it “overkill” and I can certainly see why. Police at the time found bloody footprints leading from the carpet in the bedroom to a window overlooking the alley. Reports said the carpet was so thick with blood it squished when officers walked on it. A bloody handkerchief was also found on the front lawn of the property.
16 St. Joseph Street as it is today
The building was known as “16 St. Joseph Court” at the time of the murder in 1978
Anyway, back to the street…
11 St. Joseph Street. Home many years ago to the famous and seminal 1970s gay club “The Manatee”, and later, “The Playground”. The condo building has been rebuilt since that time, but reconstructed in the exact same design as the original.
6 to 14 St. Joseph Street The row of five buildings were Second Empire style rowhouses completed in 1879. They are listed in the Historic Yonge Street Heritage Conservation District and designated under Part IV and Part V, of the Ontario Heritage Act. The buildings feature red brick cladding with a mansard roof over moulded brick frieze. Tapered stone lintels top windows and door openings.
5 St. Joseph Street – former home of the gay club “Katrina’s”, later renamed “Colbys”, and later still became “Bachelors”. Like 11 St. Joseph Street beside it, the original building was demolished but a new one rebuilt in the exact style.
Near the corner of Yonge and St. Joseph Streets stands a sculpture entitled “Artifacts of Memory”, created by artist Eldon Garnet. It is composed of five lines of text which stretch out into interconnected yet disparate strands: “FROM ONE NARRATIVE TO THE NEXT / IF NOT TOMORROW TOMORROW / LUCKY ENOUGH TO FLY INTO THE FLAME / SLOWLY SURELY DISAPPEARING / FOLLOWED BY MOMENTS OF EQUILIBRIUM”
Not on St. Joseph Street but right around the corner is 579 Yonge Street, home to the awesome gay bar “Cornelius” back in the day. The dichotomy of this building still amuses me to this day – in the 70s and 80s, “Cornelius” sat above the notorious biker bar “The Gasworks”. You could not possibly have found two more disparate worlds co-existing in one structure.
And… that’s about it. If you’re interested in the history of Toronto’s gay clubs from the 60s, 70s and 80s, check out the site Then & Now. There’s an abundance of detail there regarding Toronto’s gay past and it makes for fascinating reading, especially if you were in the scene at the time.
The Waterfront Business Improvement Area (BIA) in collaboration with MASSIVart presents Alpha Bravo Charlie, a site-specific temporary art installation conceived by Toronto-based designers Coryn Kempster and Julia Jamrozik (www.ck-jj.com). This public space installation is part of the Waterfront’s BIA‘s “Waterfront Public Life Pilot” project that aims to find creative ways to animate, enhance, and beautify public spaces along the waterfront for the community and visitors to enjoy.
“Alpha Bravo Charlie” brings 15 decks to the Water’s Edge Promenade. The project takes the nautical alphabet as a point of inspiration, interpreting and transforming each of the international maritime signal flags into three-dimensional, occupiable decks. The decks are activated through leisure, games and educational opportunities. Together they form a social infrastructure creating opportunities for connections between people and providing opportunities to linger and play.
This emerging new Toronto neighbourhood on Lower Jarvis Street is called East Bayfront. The land is currently undergoing a transformation from industrial use to mixed-use as part of Waterfront Toronto’s plans to create a residential and commercial district urban core near the lake. The area is bordered by Parliament Street to the east, Jarvis Street and the Jarvis Slip to the west, and the rail line and Gardiner Expressway to the north.
Outdoor Food Court This was a great food court in which to hang out. The hundreds of little ceiling panels move freely, so when they catch the breeze the entire ceiling appears to move.Université de l’Ontario françaisNew Condos East Bayfront neighbourhoodGeorge Brown College Campus 3 Lower Jarvis Street, East Bayfront neighbourhoodArtscape Daniels Launchpad Offers office space for co-working, Queen’s Quay EastCondo In Progress East Bayfront neighbourhood
Yes I've seen these sculptures and have enjoyed them. Sculptures and statues really liven up a city!