Of the places I toured during last weekend's Doors Open Toronto the most impressive one for me was the Native Child and Family Services Of Toronto building on College St. They purchased the 4 storey office building in 2007 and did a wonderful redesign and renovation of the whole structure to suit their needs and culture. I am starting on the green roof which is planted with traditional Anishnaabe medicines such as cedar and sage as well as other appropriate plantings. The most spectacular part of the roof is this corten steel Healing Lodge that is influenced by the traditional Anishnaabe Sweat Lodge but is modern and urban while at the same time giving people in the city a chance to have ceremony and healing! I'll show you a couple of more shots including the interior of the lodge over the next few days. I had shown you the sign at the building entrance here.
I found this ghost sign downtown on Richmond St West and if you look closely you can see that there are actually 2 ghost signs - the predominant smaller one is the older one and you can see the faint outlines of a taller sign that had been painted over it. I found a pic of the building taken in 1916 when the building was 5 stories tall showing the small sign occupying the whole side. The building is now 6 stories high so the tall, more faded one was painted after and didn't last as well! Anyway, Tip Top Tailors has been a major menswear retailer in Canada since its first store opened in 1909 and they occupied this building until 1929 when a move was made to a wonderful Art Deco building on Lakeshore Blvd.
Taking part in Signs,Signs. Click here for more signs.
Early to pick someone up from the airport a few weeks ago, I wandered about the surrounding industrial area for a bit and came across this wonderful example of space-age architecture. Probably constructed in the 60s or 70s, its location by the airport is perfect! I have been unable to find any info on the architects but will keep trying. I love it!
This may be my favourite of the murals that I saw in the tour of the Islington Murals of a few weeks ago. Titled "Honouring Islington's Volunteer Fire Brigade" and painted by John Kuna (he did most of the murals) in 2007, this one shows some of the activities the firemen performed for the community when not fighting fires. In winter they would dam the Mimico Creek (which I showed last week) and create a skating rink complete with a snack bar to feed the happy skaters. You can see the Mongomery's Inn in the background. I love the rich colours in this one and since it is supposed to be +33˚C here today it's nice to see some snow!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click here to see more murals.
I showed you a pic of the exterior of Spadina House here back in April and this weekend was Doors Open Toronto which is a weekend when over 100 buildings in the city are open to wander through, many of which are not usually open to the public. Spadina House is a museum open all the time but this seemed a good time to check out the interior which has been totally & lovingly restored to its 1920s-30s state. This is one of the rooms from the original structure built in 1818 and I thought you could all use a break from my modern laneway houses! The last surviving member of the Austin family left all the furnishings when the house was handed over to the city in 1978. Beautiful isn't it?
So I think we have all decided that we don't like yesterday's house and none of us would buy it. This one is directly across the lane from it, built on what had been a tiny bungalow until last year. I've been watching the construction and have to say I like it a lot better. There are more windows, sliding doors on the right side 2nd floor, and what looks like a roof deck at top. From what I could see through the windows the inside looks a lot more luxurious too. The wood cladding makes a huge difference but I'm still not sold although it's not for sale and would probably be really pricey!
You all know how I love to find houses built or converted in a laneway/alley so here is another one which I have been watching for a few years. I find the outside of this one so oppressive and keep wishing that they would plant some ivy to soften it but so far no luck. It was for sale a few years ago for $585,000 so I went to the open house - the inside is small, nothing fancy, but very energy efficient with heated concrete floors and all the latest green appliances. It sold but I would have taken a pass! Tomorrow I will show you a new laneway house just built across the lane from this one.
