Just Ducky

It seems like we have had few sunny days this winter but one day a week ago I happened to be passing by this park in the Etobicoke neighbourhood and spotted hundreds of ducks milling about and some just soaking the sun up. There was a lot of quacking going on and one small bit of open water in the creek behind them which some of them were paddling about in.

City Daily Photo bloggers post photographs on a theme on the first day of each month.  On 

February 1, they will address this intriguing question:  If you had to leave forever the city 

from which you usually post, what would you miss most?  

Gone!

This was the Stollerys menswear store that stood at Yonge & Bloor Streets since 1901. There was an attempt going on to get heritage designation for it but it is much easier and faster to get a demolition permit here and one was issued a couple of weeks ago and the building started coming down the next day. There was quite a controversy around town but the good news is that well-known British architect Norman Foster has been hired to design a new building for this site which is one of the city's most important corners. Foster's designs include the Gherkin and the City Hall in London England. Hopefully we get something quite exciting!

Old Schoolhouse

And here we see the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and its accompanying heritage sign which I showed you yesterday. The wonderful Gothic Revival building houses a museum but also a large open space available to the public which is used for many events including wedding receptions and art shows.

Heritage Sign

This is one of the type of sign you will find around the province giving information about various historic sites. This one is found beside the Enoch Turner  Schoolhouse in the Corktown neighbourhood and it was the school which was depicted in the Underpass Art Three of a week ago (click HERE). I will show you the school tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Underpass Art Four B

This is the back of yesterday's column and the last of this series from King St E. Here we see one of the early bricklayers from the neighbourhood, Corktown, surrounded by factories and gears. Most of the buildings in the area are brick. Bravo to the artists ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky and Fiya Bruxa for this series of murals titled "Frozen Memories"! You can see 2 of the other columns in the background.

Underpass Art Four

This is the last of the underpass supports on King St E decorated by artists ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky & FiyaBruxa. It is the only one depicting a man and is titled "The Worker" as I discovered after a long newspaper article about these pieces was published here a week ago. Tomorrow I will show you the other side of this one.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE for more murals from around the world.

Red Brick Road

You can still find brick roads scattered about the city but most of the remaining ones are found on side streets such as this one in the Forest Hill neighbourhood where there are actually several still going strong. One theory I found for this one remaining is that it is on a hill and the brick edges provide some traction in the winter. Often the bricks are laid lengthwise but here the ends of the bricks are up top.

City Daily Photo bloggers post photographs on a theme on the first day of each month.  On 

February 1, they will address this intriguing question:  If you had to leave forever the city 

from which you usually post, what would you miss most?  

Plastics

I admit to having a thing for plastic and bakelite jewellery so this display in a vintage shop in Kensington Market is perfect for me. Give me a great red, carved bakelite bracelet any day rather than a diamond-encrusted one!

Bloor Station

This is probably the busiest station in our subway system and it has the widest platforms of any of the stations in order to accommodate the rush hour crowds. This was a mid morning shot taken when the weather was a bit warmer so no huge boots or coats in evidence!

Yet Another Yorkville Fence

Another iron fence from the Yorkville neighbourhood, and I am back in my fall archives. I was walking through the area and became intrigued with all the different types of fences around the wee front gardens belonging to all the Victorian houses.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.

Flying Up To Cloud Nine

Walking along Queen St West on a cold December day, I spotted all the pigeon action around the windows of Cloud 9. The right-hand window was open a crack and the birds were being fed something which had them all jostling for a spot there. I'm sure the folks in the shop below were probably not pleased with all the activity above their door!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Underpass Art Three B

The coloured pencils and rainbow visible in yesterday's mural wrap around the column to lead us to this young girl studying away. The building shown at the bottom of the column is the nearby Enoch Turner Schoolhouse which was built in 1848 to educate the mainly Irish immigrant population in the area. The school still stands and is now a history site housing a museum and reception area that is used for many events and even weddings. Pardon the fence in the way but I had to enter a parking lot to get this pic!

Underpass Art Three

This is the third of the four underpass supports which I have been showing on Mondays.  Still part of "Frozen Memories", we have now moved directly across King St E from the previous two. The artists ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky and FiyaBruxa have once more included references to the neighbourhood, Corktown, which I will show you on the other side tomorrow.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE for more murals from around the world.

Porch Sculpture

Another pic from my summer archives, this one shows a house just off Yonge St and it was the interesting dress sculpture on the porch which caught my eye. At first I thought it was a dress form (aka a Judy) but it seems to be more an art piece. Maybe a designer lives there?

Another Yorkville Beauty

I've always liked this house in the Yorkville neighbourhood - it is actually 2 semi-detached homes but both halves are well co-ordinated with each other. It was built in 1877 in Second Empire style and has a heritage listing so won't ever be changed much on the exterior. I am into the archives since our weather hasn't been conducive to much walking around with a camera so this pic is from the summer past.

Birds On A Column

I found these birds on the columns of Our Lady Of Perpetual Help church on St Clair Ave and was really impressed by the detail in the birds and the good condition of the decoration. I had shown you the church (click HERE) back in October and you can see the columns at the front door.

Another Yorkville Fence

I'm into my archives since it has been so cold and grey outside lately. This pic was taken in the fall along a sidewalk in the Yorkville neighbourhood which is full of old Victorian homes that have been beautifully restored. Most of the front gardens are quite small and so are often enclosed by lovely old fences.
Taking part in Good Fences. Click HERE to see more fences from around the world.

Photo Project

I came across this car a while ago and just recently investigated what it is all about. I Am Torontonian is a  project by Semco Salehi to create a gallery of pics taken on the streets of Toronto of random individuals and to portray life here. Click HERE to check out his site. There are some interesting stories.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Underpass Art Two B

This is the back of yesterday's painted support column and shows a bit of the neighbourhood, Corktown, in the houses and also references the nearby expressways and the downtown skyline. Seems suitable since the whole installation of the four support is titled "Frozen Memories".  I'll show the third support next Monday as part of Monday Murals.

Underpass Art Two

This is the second of the four underpass supports from King St East that I will show you. This one is visible in the background of last Monday's post and has a more urban flair to it. The artists are once more ShalakAttak, BrunoSmoky & FiyaBruxa and this time you can see a bit of city skyline and even a bit of the overpass up on the left. Tomorrow I will show you the back.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

"May I Help You?"

This furry little shop assistant was found in one of the vintage shops in Kensington Market. He was attracting more attention that the stock which is really saying something!

Unthatched

I spotted this house during my wanderings over the holidays. Don't you think it should have a thatched roof? It wouldn't work here in Toronto but it appears as if the owners have tried to give it that look by wrapping the shingles over round forms at the edges. It looks like a B&W except for the grass!

Fox Terrier

"Woman and Terrier" is another piece from the Alex Colville show at the AGO which I really loved. It was done in 1963 and once more shows his wife Rhoda as a model with one of their dogs. He did many works featuring dogs but I have real fondness for terriers so that along with the round shape makes this one special for me.

"To Prince Edward Island"

This painting by Alex Colville is probably one of his most famous and gives you a good idea of his realistic style with a haunting edge. This one was done in 1965 with Colville's wife Rhoda as the model. There was a large reproduction of this work outside the exit from the show at the AGO where they had a set of binoculars available for you to use and have your pic taken in front of it - people loved this!

Colville

A major show of more than 100 paintings by Canadian artist Alex Colville just closed at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and I am so glad I got there last week to see it even though the holiday crowds were out to see it too. Colville was one of Canada's most iconic artists who died at the age of 92 in 2013. There was a dark side to many of his works and in fact 4 of them were used in the movie "The Shining",  but he also loved animals and his wife who appears in many of his works and since they allowed photographs I will show you a couple of the light ones for the next 2 days.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Underpass Art Part 2

The mural from yesterday's post wraps around the support and gives us this totally different image on the other side. I'm not sure what the artists intended but it brings discovery to my mind. In the distance you can see 2 of the other concrete supports which I will show you later.

Underpass Art

As part of a program to beautify dreary underpasses, the city commissioned artists ShalakAttack, BrunoSmoky & FiyaBruxa to paint murals on 4 supports along King St East. The whole art work is titled Frozen Memories and was just completed this autumn. I will show you the other side of this one tomorrow and the other 3 supports as part of Monday Murals over the next 3 weeks. And thanks to Andy from Eye Candy for tipping me off about this installation.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

A 50s Church

This was taken late Christmas Eve afternoon before the lights in the church were turned on and the crowds gathered for Mass. This is St Bernard De Clairvaux Roman Catholic Church and unlike most of the churches I have shown in the past it is not at least a hundred years old. The church was built in 1959 and is quite spartan compared to the older ones but the Christmas decorations and flowers give it a nice warm atmosphere.
Taking part in Inspired Sunday. Click HERE to see more religious buildings from around the world.

Inside A Church

I finally made it to a church that was unlocked during the daylight and got to see the stained glass from inside. This church, St Bernard De Clairvaux, has these tall thin windows lining all the side aisles between the Stations Of The Cross so it makes for a lovely atmosphere.

All In A row

I had heard about a small street near Mt Pleasant Ave & St Clair Ave that was lined with tall inflatable Santas so over the holidays I ventured over to see for myself. There are indeed 38 of these tall guys on people's lawns. Apparently one household got 1 and then a couple more got 1 and then a group of homeowners went to a local store and ordered them in bulk! In my pic one of the Santas between the third and fourth ones has collapsed on the ground hopefully to rise again when the air pump is turned on!

Theme Day - Photo Of The Year

The January 1 theme for the City Daily Photo blogger community is "photo of the year" which can be your best or your favourite photo that you had posted over the past year. I chose this one of the Toronto skyline as seen from the Toronto Islands in summer since one of my favourite things is to take the ferry over to the Islands and wander around enjoying all the fabulous views and just relaxing away from all the traffic and construction in the city. I had originally posted this one for the July 1 theme day.
To see more "Photos of The Year" from around the world, click HERE.