I love the look of Corten steel especially in the sunshine! This pic shows part of the addition to Max Gluskin House, the home of the economics dep't at U of Toronto. The addition, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, connects the original Victorian house and the Georgian Revival building of the dep't. You can see off to the right a bit of the wonderful courtyard created by the addition.
Spotted this lovely spring arrangement on a neighbourhood porch this afternoon. Everything is so cheerful at this time of year!
Just a bit south on Spadina from the dog and rooster sculptures, is this wonderful bronze milk bottle. This area is close to the first dairy in TO (City Dairy) and the sculpture always reminds me of the Monopoly game piece. Everyone always wants the milk bottle in Monopoly!
This little guy (or girl) is the other sculpture at Sussex St. It is a Sussex Spaniel (also an English breed) and I love that someone (Stephen Cruise again) made a dog sculpture. Very charming!
This is a close-up of 1 of the sculptures from yesterday. It is located at Spadina and Sussex St and represents a Sussex Rooster (an English breed). These sculptures were done by Stephen Cruise and are quite cheerful to see when you are stuck in rush hour traffic.
The TTC awarded several art commissions for along the Spadina streetcar line. This pic shows 2 from a sculpture colonnade mounted on 20' high poles positioned at intervals on the median down the centre of Spadina. The various images reference the communities, institutions and cultures that Spadina passes through downtown.
This is 1 of our streetcars (operated by TTC- Toronto Transit Commission) which runs along Spadina Ave. In the pic, it is passing by 1 Spadina Cres which is located in a roundabout situated in the middle of Spadina just N of College St. This Gothic Revival building was built in 1875 and is now occupied by the Fine Arts Dept of U of T.
Continuing the library stream - here is a shot of a wonderful owl which is on the wall of the library over to the right side (not visible in yesterday's post). Good to know the library is so well protected.
This is a shot of the entire library shown in yesterday's post. It is an example of postmodern architecture that works well. As well as its children's collection, it also contains a large science fiction collection.
The entrance to the Lillian H Smith Library is well protected by 2 gorgeous creatures. The library was designed by architect Phillip H Carter and opened in 1995. It is renowned for its collection of early children's literature but also houses other types of books and media.
This noble beast is quite a sight to see especially in the sunlight - he is advertising a Jaguar/Rolls Royce dealer but he is a real visual treat looking down from his 15' high perch.
The CN tower looked pretty cool when viewed from a few miles north from the middle of the U of T campus. There is a lot of construction going on downtown so I'm not sure what the cranes are working on in this pic.
Went to Koreatown this morning for delicious walnut cakes. They come filled with 3 varieties - red bean with almond or walnut, and mashed potatoes with walnut. One of the coolest things is the machine that makes them - a little assembly line at the front of the store that fills little molds (except for the nuts which are dropped in by human hands) and then plops the cakes into the oil for baking - fascinating! They arrive at the cash register hot!
One of the more unusual sites in town is this white elephant which dominates a tiny front yard on a quiet residential street. It stands over 6' high and has been in place for several years now. Supposedly it had been an art school project before finding its present home.
Robarts, known locally as 'Fort Book', is the main humanities and social science library at U of T. Completed in 1973, it is 1 of the most significant examples of "brutalist" architecture in North America, and has one of its largest collections of books. The architects were Mathers & Haldenby Architects in consultation with Warner Burns Toan & Lunde ( New York ).
Just a bit west along the street from yesterday's post, the apple blossoms are at their peak, lining the walkway beside the Robarts Library, the main library at U of T.
The Scilla were almost in full bloom as I walked by Trinity College which is an Anglican college at U of T. You can see part of the college peeking out from behind the flowers.
This view is from the south and shows a lot of the windows and different textures on the building. Will try to get some photos from the inner courtyard for another time.
The Graduate House residence was completed in 2000 after much debate and resistance from local neighbours some of whom still complain about the look of it. Its strong deconstructionist style, and particularly the sign ending in the hanging O, forms the western entrance to the University of Toronto downtown campus. Designed by American Thom Mayne working in conjunction with TO architect Stephen Teeple, it gets a lot of attention.
The sun has brought everyone out for a leisurely brunch.
The walls around Casa Loma are covered in Forsythia - now if only the weather would warm up again.
It's cold here today but this Magnolia is still bravely flashing its colours. It is always 1 of the first Magnolias to flower in the neighbourhood.
The spectacular titanium & glass clad south extension of the Art Gallery houses the "Centre for Contemporary Art". This pic was taken from Grange park and the older building is the "Grange" which was built in 1817 as a country estate. It is now in the centre of the city and is owned by the AGO and has been totally restored.
The AGO redesign is Toronto-born Frank Gehry's 1st building in Canada - he actually grew up just a couple of blocks away. The front features a curved glass and Douglas fir facade which encloses a large sculpture promenade.
This Henry Moore sculpture, "Two Large Forms", leads the way to the entrance of the AGO which is known for its huge collection of Henry Moore works. These number over 9oo sculptures and works on paper all displayed in the "Henry Moore Sculpture Centre".
One of the best bakeries in town is Frangipane - famous for their tarts but also their beautiful cakes. These Easter cakes looked too pretty to eat - we went for the raspberry almond tart instead.
Spent the day eating - hot cross buns, chocolate bunnies, ......... etc.
This photo of the building is taken from the west while standing in Grange Park which is bordered by OCAD and its neighbour, The Art Gallery of Ontario.
The Sharp Centre for Design is an addition completed in 2004. The addition straddles the existing building atop brightly coloured 26 meter tall columns and was the first building completed in North America by English architect Will Alsop.
This museum was built by the Bata family to house their collection of shoes which now numbers over 12,500 shoes spanning 4,500 years of history. It is surprisingly interesting to tour the collection and to explore the wonderful building which was designed by Raymond Moriyama and is said to reference a shoe box partially open.
