This is the entrance to yesterday's visitor centre at Fort York. It is made to look as if a couple of the steel panels have just been swiveled up to form an awning over the doors. The workmanship in this whole structure is wonderful to see even down to the concrete walkways. It will be fabulous when those newly planted grasses grow up.
This is the front wall of the new visitor centre at Fort York where you find out all kinds of info about the fort before entering into it. It was designed by Patkau Architects Inc & Kearns Mancini Architects Inc and the Corten steel gives it a contemporary vibe while at the same time referencing the defensive setting of the fort behind it. That structure to the right is the Gardiner Expressway which is an elevated roadway running along our waterfront. More pics to come for a couple of days.
This sign marks the entrance to the newly completed visitor centre at Fort York which is located right in downtown Toronto. The fort was built in 1793 but is most famous for defending the city during the War Of 1812 and has Canada's largest collection of buildings from that time. I'll show you a few pics of the visitor centre over the next few days.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I passed by this tree on my way to do some errands and it was so beautiful that I made a point of stopping on my way back. You would never know that this was a tiny park right at the intersection of 2 very busy streets!
This cheerful mural was spotted on the side of a garage that borders the parkland of the Wychwood Barns complex. It is by the artist known as Toye, aka James Mclean, who has done many murals around town. I love these happy creatures!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
The poles and the 36 LED lights installed on them are part of a public art installation by artists Christian Giroux & Daniel Young. It is titled "Nyctophilia" which means love of the night & darkness and the grove of streetlights is meant to create a cloud of light on this corner and bring some life to the area. Apparently the colours can be programed to change for the season but so far I have only seen this combo!
You can imagine what the neighbours thought when all these light poles started to spring up this spring on this corner in the Mt Dennis neighbourhhood. People thought that someone had totally lost the plan somewhere in the city. I'll show you the answer to the mystery tomorrow!
Starlings seem to be quite social birds at this time of year and it isn't unusual to see and hear hundreds of them in a tree or on a billboard or as in this case on the tower for mobile phone services. There seemed to be more arriving all the time as I walked by this place. Getting ready to head south, I presume!
This gate is found in front of one of the fine old houses along Madison Ave which is one of the streets of large homes in the Annex neighbourhood. This one is unusual for having such a fence but I have never seen it closed so it must be more for effect rather than security.
Taking part in Good fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.
At the many street festivals that take place here during the summer, food is a big draw. The empanadas from this booth were so good that you had to make sure you were close by when a fresh batch came out or you would be out of luck. They were very good!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE for more signs from around the world.
Another band performing in Kensington Market featured Sarah Hiltz on guitar and singing too. This group was sponsored by Fika which is a Swedish- style coffee cafe in the market.
These panels are the entrance into a jazz club in Kensington Market and there has always been a mural of some kind painted on them. This is a particularly nice one of Miles Davis and the previous mural had been an image of one of Miles's hands. I have no idea who the artist is. Early on Sundays the space serves as a background for a mini gallery of a local artist.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE for more murals from around the world.
One of the vintage stores in Kensington Market had a bubble-making machine spewing out bubbles onto passersby during the last Pedestrian Sunday. It was magical to stand under the little stream of bubbles and many people were attempting to catch a pic of them as they fell!
Just down the street from yesterday's shot in Kensington Market, this trio was turning out some really good blues. They had a huge crowd gathered to hear them - the big guy seated at the left has a great voice!
This crowd of people on the roadway is typical of what you find in Kensington Market on one of the monthly Pedestrian Sundays - people strolling and eating. The restaurant on the right, Rasta Pasta, is rumored to have some of the best jerk chicken in the city and part of their menu combines Caribbean and Italian flavours! More from the market tomorrow.
Not everyone was lined up for juice in Kensington Market on the last Pedestrian Day. All of the outdoor patios were filling up fast. With not too many of these really warm days left we in the northern hemisphere have to take advantage of them when they come!
I'll show you a few more pics of the market over the days ahead.
This was the scene on a recent warm Sunday in the Kensington Market neighbourhood, one of the monthly car-free days in the market. There was quite a line-up all day for juices & smoothies from Romeo's Juice Bar with everything made from fresh fruit on the spot!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
Just a few days after seeing yesterday's friendly raccoon in the playground on Dundas St, I happened upon this rather fierce raccoon on a utility box near Casa Loma. I think he isn't amused by all the traffic going by on Davenport Rd! Another in artist Jeff Blackburn's ongoing raccoon series.
The parkette on Dundas St where the little yellow birds mural of last week is located has been surrounded by murals by various artists, all commissioned by the city. This one by artist Jeff Blackburn is on this funny shaped building which runs down a hill but he has done a great job of keeping the perspective correct of this friendly raccoon. It's nice that it is playing with a toy as do all the kids in the playground where it is located. I'll show you another piece from Blackburn's raccoon series tomorrow with not quite as friendly a beast.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click here to see more murals from around the world.
This fine church is Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church located on St Clair Ave E. I have often admired it and finally stopped for some pics when the traffic wasn't too heavy and I could get a shot with no vehicles going by. It was designed by architect J Gibb Morton and built in 1930 in Neo-Romaesque style with a Byzantine flavour. Bells were to be installed in the tower but have yet to appear!
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.
Some of our trees turn red like yesterday's did but others turn a fabulous yellowy green like this one in the Harbord Village neighbourhood which is beside the U of Toronto downtown campus. It is going to be an especially colourful fall here this year, according to the experts.
Some of our trees are starting to put on a real show of colour. These leaves are from a Maple tree that is always one of the first to change and against that blue sky it was a spectacular sight!
A lot of the older areas of toronto have small boulevards between the sidewalk and the road, but in this part of the Yorkville neighbourhood they often are planted with flowers instead of just grass. The garden behind the fence even has roses growing while the neighbour across the street has gone for impatiens. I love the old fence around the closer one!
Taking part in Good Fences. For more fences from around the world click HERE.
There is nothing like a good play on words and so this sign in the window of a china shop downtown makes for a nice smile. It's a bit hard to read but does say "The Great Wall Of China" with 2 windows full of china plates behind it!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE for more signs from around the world.
This is a close-up shot of the right side of yesterday's mural. This section was in deep shade and partially blocked by the trees but I wanted to show the cute little details of birds canoeing and riding a rubber tube as well as having a big cup of something. Perfect for its location in this parkette which has a large kids playground!
I haven't seen any new yellow birds by UB5000 for awhile and then I happened upon this mural in a parkette along Dundas St. I love all the little details he has put into this one. I'll show you a close-up of the part blocked by the trees tomorrow!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE for more murals from around the world.
This house is in the same neighbourhood near Casa Loma as the house I showed yesterday. Somehow it feels as if it was one large home at one time but has now been divided up into several condos. It is quite luxurious looking with its back garden bordering a deep, treed ravine.
Another house that I have always liked. I think it is that wonderful swoop of the roofline over the garage that is so pleasing, along with the windows. If only we could see the inside.
I am a big fan of carved brickwork and love this woven look that I found on one of the wonderful old homes in the Annex neighbourhood. It is nice to see that the wall has been so well maintained including chicken wire to keep pigeons out of those little arched spaces up on the left top of the pic.
I found this lovely gate in the Annex neighbourhood at the entrance to a lovely back garden. I didn't notice until I put the pic up on my computer that there was a person in a blue robe standing on the back porch watching me. I hope they didn't mind having their gate shot!
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE for more fences from around the world.
The October theme for the City Daily Photo bloggers is "Movement" and I chose this art piece on Bloor St which consists of a 10ft x 6ft screen that has 9 different LED stick figures that walk across it in a random order. It is titled "People Walking 2006" and is by British artist Julian Opie. It's quite fascinating to watch and I managed to catch a reflection of people walking on the street as well as moi down in the corner.
To see more versions of movement from around the world, click HERE.
